Killer Treo 650 vs. Treo Killers

Ten days ago I wrote about how I saw that the future of mobile phones was heading more and more towards Treo’s model and you may remember that at the time a rumour of a Nokia ‘Treo Killer’ had also surfaced.

Over the past week there have been a number of new mobile phone announcements and releases that have similarly laid claim to this ‘Treo Killer’ title and I thought that the time had come to briefly review some of these.

Nokia 9300 Communicator

First there was the announcement of Nokia's 9300 planned for release in Q1 2005 (talk about vaporware...).  At 167gm it weighs the same as a Treo 600 but at an estimated $850 it is considerably more expensive.  Also, it runs Symbian OS which is not exactly the most friendly platform for finding 'open' applications.

RIM BlackBerry 7100t

Then there was the significantly more worthwhile release of RIM's BlackBerry 7100t which presents a completely new form factor via an enhanced keyboard configuration and text input software.  According to PCMag, it is the first BlackBerry device to work equally well for e-mail, IM, Web browsing, and as a phone.  Forget about having any of the Treo 600's fabulous entertainment capabilities though...  Walter Mossberg, a big Treo 600 fan, reviewed the 7100t and had some interesting comparisons to make.

Windows Mobile VPA III, MDA III & XDA II

Here's a series of interesting contenders.  I particularly like the fact that it has a full size keyboard, built-in WiFi, bluetooth and also quad-band! (850/900/1800/1900) GSM/GPRS radio.  At 206gm it is about 20% heavier than the Treo 650 but you do have the benefit of a much larger screen...  I will be checking the VPA in person later this week and I have to admit that it does seem rather appealing - if my Treo could have ALL of these features it would truly be my Treo Zen.