Several tips for the Palm Treo 700w phone

I am still very pleased with the performance and functionality of the Treo 700w smartphone and am uncovering little things that aid in the experience of using it. Here are several tips for owners of the 700w:

1. Tapping the OK button on the Treo works like a BACK button in most programs and will apparently close the active program. The program is not closed out of memory but is in fact still present in the background. Pressing and holding the OK button will bring up the Windows Mobile Task Manager where you can bring programs to the foreground or close any (and all) programs in the background. I think the "press and hold" function is a Palm addition.
2. If you sync with an Exchange Server- ActiveSync takes a few minutes to connect and sync via EVDO but if you go to the Messaging window for the Exchange Server mailbox and select SEND AND RECEIVE from the Menu soft button the Treo will sync to the Server in less than a minute. It seems to be a full sync with the server, much quicker than ActiveSync. Note that if you also sync to your PC this will not occur using this method.
3. Pressing the green Call button will pop up a menu listing the last 10 calls. This is an easy way to dial frequently called numbers.
4. Pressing and holding the red "power off" button will disconnect the Treo from the Verizon network and shut down the phone. If Bluetooth is enabled it will not be deactivated by this action so if you want to save battery life by shutting down all radios in the Treo then select the "Turn flight mode on" option that is available by clicking the signal strength meter in the top menu bar.
5. For easier navigation of many contacts in the Contacts application be sure and turn on the alphabetical index on the Options menu.
6. When you exit a program with either the OK button or by tapping the X in the upper right-hand corner the program does not close. If you wish to maximize program memory by actually closing these programs when you tap the X button then install the freeware program Magic Button. Magic Button is a task manager and will actually close the program when the X button is tapped. It takes very little memory and can run completely invisibly if desired and works very well on the Treo.

Comments

[Len Egan]

James, it was funny reading this because Magic Button is the only background app that I added because of the memory issue. I love Pocket Plus but it takes up too much memory. You could load it and disable everything except the closing program function. I might also activate the file explorer functionality so that encryption and .zip would function.

Did you install anything else? Pocket Informant? I find the less you gunk it up the better.

[jk]

Len, here's what I have installed on the Treo so far:

Newsbreak (RSS reader)
eReader Pro
Picsel PDF viewer (included by Palm)
Skype
SiriusCE

[kamikun]

So, bottom line it. Does this completely replace your e800? And, if it does, are you looking to sell your old Tosh?

Just looking for a spare e800; those things are still gold to me.

[jk]

kamikun, the e800 has been finally decommisioned as the Treo has replaced it totally. I was only using the Tosh as an ebook reader and now I use the Treo for that and PIM functions. Unfortunately, you wouldn't want my Tosh. The screen is totally scratched up and even has a cut on it from overuse and abuse in the field.

[Paolo]

So the question of the day - can I use the 700w as a means of getting my laptop online (via EVDO)? Basically I need to know if I'm in for a 700w + Data Plan + EVDO Card for the laptop + EVDO for the laptop, or if I can get away with the 700w + Data Plan. I've been trying to get an answer on that for awhile, but no one really seems to know.

[Darren]

Wisbar Advance 2 is a handy little program/task manager/menu replacement. Not free, but worth a look: http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/wisbar/

[Ralf Sellig]

can you help me, I cant gt rid of the notification button on top of the today page telling me I have a new voicemail. checked , voice, soft reset doesnt do it. any thoughts