Surfing on the EDGE with Cingular

Cingular Wireless last week launched the palmOne Treo 650 smart phone, which can connect to Cingular's Enhanced Data for Global Evolution network for faster download speeds. The device also includes a quad-band world phone, which means Cingular users can make and receive calls in more than 170 countries and access data in about 75 countries, the company says.

The Treo 650 works on Cingular's AllOver network, and will cost $540 without a contract, or $450 with a two-year contract. Several data plans are available, including an unlimited data plan for about $45 per month, Cingular says.

We found the device to be the perfect companion for traveling executives and others who need wireless e-mail, a great personal organizer, a cell phone that can work around the world and some Web access.

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Cingular Wireless last week launched the palmOne Treo 650 smart phone, which can connect to Cingular's Enhanced Data for Global Evolution network for faster download speeds. The device also includes a quad-band world phone, which means Cingular users can make and receive calls in more than 170 countries and access data in about 75 countries, the company says.

The Treo 650 works on Cingular's AllOver network, and will cost $540 without a contract, or $450 with a two-year contract. Several data plans are available, including an unlimited data plan for about $45 per month, Cingular says.

We found the device to be the perfect companion for traveling executives and others who need wireless e-mail, a great personal organizer, a cell phone that can work around the world and some Web access.

The Treo 650 combines a Palm OS-based organizer with wireless e-mail capabilities and the cell phone. The device also has features including a high-resolution screen, an MP3 player (RealPlayer software, songs are played via a Secure Digital card, sold separately), digital camera (VGA resolution) that also can record video, Bluetooth wireless and a removable battery. The smart phone also includes non-volatile memory, which means if the batteries run out you won't lose your data, unlike with some previous handheld organizers.

The device includes a qwerty keypad for easy text entry (we actually didn't mind sending a Short Message Service or Multimedia Message Service message), especially for the wireless e-mail applications that make it feel like a BlackBerry. Options for enterprise e-mail include Cingular's XpressMail, or Good Technology's GoodLink software (sold separately). For personal or Internet-based e-mail, you can use the bundled VersaMail application.

Click to see: Treo650

We couldn't tell whether our testing location fell within the EDGE network; Cingular's map is very tiny and hard to pinpoint. But we felt good because we are located about two miles from a major highway. It was also hard to tell whether we were actually accessing the EDGE network; the device doesn't really tell you what your rates are.

The downloads through the Blazer Web browser seemed to go faster than with a dial-up connection and slightly faster than with previous Web browsing on handheld devices. We tried to access several online bandwidth-speed test sites with the device, but we couldn't connect or the browser timed out during the test (not a good sign). If you buy this device thinking you're going to be Web surfing at the speed of light, you'll be disappointed. But the speed rates did seem good enough for regular e-mail downloading (although we had some problems viewing attachments).

More likely you'll want to get this device for its numerous features to help you become more productive, such as the cell phone, organizer and wireless e-mail. For corporations, a VPN client is available to let users connect to a corporate network for other application access. For fun, the digital camera and MP3 player create nice diversions.