Palm Treo 700wx Now Available for Sprint Users

Palm just announced that the Treo 700wx is now available for Sprint users. As you can see from my previous post, physicians who are using many applications on their handhelds may find this a useful upgrade from their current Treo 650 models. The 700wx is the Windows version of the Treo and also comes with broadband-like speeds over the respective phone data networks. With the 700wx, you get additional usable memory (60MB of ROM) as with the 700p. I'll let you know soon how the 700p functions as I will be receiving a unit this coming week. You can read the marketing information on the 700wx here.

Running out of Memory

I've always advised physicians to buy devices that have plenty of memory and an expansion card. So, why am I running out of memory? Well, unfortunately, the Treo 650 phone/pda by Palm only has about 20MB of usable onboard memory. This means that programs like ePocrates, HanDBase, and other useful medical programs soon run out of space. So, I'm going to be giving the new Treo 700P a whirl. This device sports about 60MB of usable onboard memory, although the total is 128MB. Sure would be nice to have all of that usable, as there are many programs that work best on the main memory section of the PDA. Information on the Treo 700P can be found here.

Palm Ultralight Bluetooth Headset features

A brief review about the new bluetooth headset from Palm. It has DSP, a great carrying case, and can be charged with the same charger as your current Treo....a real advantage when traveling. See the review here

New Ultralight Wireless Headset for Treo Devices

Palm just announced a new wireless headset. I have had problems with poor sound quality and inability to hear due to lack of an in-ear headset in previous ones I have tried (Motorola among others). This headset appears to overcome some of these limitations without the bulkiness of the "Jabra" headsets. See product info here.

Treo 650 Review

Here's a great review on the Treo 650 that was posted this weekend on the Washington Post site. It's by Rob Pegoraro, who has a respectable column in the newspaper each weekend. In addition to the programs that he mentions for personal use (e.g. Google mobile, getting baseball scores and weather), I highly recommend Voice Dial by VoiceSignal, which voice-enables all your Outlook contacts on your phone so that you can voice dial any contact. The review can be found here.

New Motorola Q Phone

There is a nice review of the new Motorola Q phone posted here. Unfortunately, the phone doesn't run the full Windows Mobile 5.0 software, but is a version for smartphones. Many software vendors in the healthcare IT space have yet to develop their software for this platform, so make sure you check that your favorite programs work before considering this device. Unfortunately, PocketBilling has not been developed for this platform to date. Neither has ePocrates, and most other major medical programs.

New Palm Handhelds

Palm has released a new fleet of models over the past few months and we have updated our comprehensive PDA selection webpage to reflect this. The good news is that the model variety is now converging allowing for easier selection. Make sure to select a handheld that has at least 32-128MB of RAM and that is expandable. There is only one model now that isn't (Palm Z22), so avoid this particular model. The life drive has a huge 4GB built-in hard drive, but it is a little slow to access files, so only choose that one if you plan on storing picture albums or extensive music collections. Finally, if you want a phone/PDA you can pick either the Treo 650 or the new 700W which runs the Windows operating system. It's nice to have these choices, and at the same time not be overwhelmed with too many options. I've also found that the Palm T/X runs wireless flawlessly right out of the box and with minimal setup. It is the most reliable wireless configuration I have seen on a handheld to date. My Treo also continues to function as a workhorse with all the features needed by a busy physician.