Friday, April 14, 2006
Palm's Treo 700w Reviewed: Part 2 (Software, Performance, Conclusions)
Posted by Janak Parekh in "HARDWARE" @ 06:00 AM
Treo 700w Performance: Wireless and battery life
There's a couple of things to consider about the 700w's wireless performance.
Overall, I've got no major complaints, but as always, if you are interested in a device on a particular carrier, make sure the carrier has good coverage where you live and work. Every carrier has their strengths and weaknesses.
Application compatibility
Earlier, I mentioned that the 240x240 screen does affect some programs, as it's a relatively recent WM5 construct. The "short" answer is that most productivity applications will run anywhere from okay to fine, but that games' compatibility differs widely.
Application compatibility: In general, most recent applications, including standard fare like Resco File Explorer, Pocket Informant, etc. are all WM5-certified at this point and are fully square-screen capable. Older applications are a mixed bag: many will work fine, although a few that assume a 320 pixel height show a scroll bar when launched, like WIMR (Where is My RAM?). If you look closely at figure 64, there's actually two scrollbars: the regular scroller for the file list, and a scroller to navigate the 320-pixel-high application. Unfortunately, the application scroller obscures the file list scroller; it's usable, but a bit clunky.
Figure 64: WIMR, a "legacy" WM app, running on the 700w.
You will also have to deal with less real estate, although it's partially mitigated because you don't have to use a SIP; in other words, you have the same amount of usable screen space during data entry. This also means that most dialogs, both in pre-WM5 and WM5-compatible applications, fit just fine on the 700w: application developers have always assumed only 240 pixels of usable space during input, and in general most applications have been aware they may not have 320 pixels to work with since the SIP can be summoned at any time. In short, you can install productivity applications with impunity, and you can expect them to work as expected most of the time.
Games: Games are a different matter entirely. Many games will just not work on the 700w, because they are hardcoded to a 320 pixel height, and while they survive the pixel doubling to VGA, are simply cropped off on a square screen, meaning the lower 25% simply doesn't show. 8O Vendors have been slowly updating their games, and use one of two ways: (a) a redesign of the UI for 240x240 screens, which produces the ideal result; or (b) scaling their screens from 240x320 to 180x240. The latter looks absolutely horrible, but if you're desperate to play your favorite game, it's usually functional. Unfortunately, most vendors make it very difficult to tell if their game has been updated. By far the best company in this regard is Astraware; they list each of the screen sizes that WM5 devices support and explain whether it's scaled, native, or unsupported (here's Chuzzles, for instance). For others, you'll have to poke around and cross your fingers. Some vendors, like PDAmill, are working on 240x240 versions, but they don't quite work right on the 700w yet. That's right, no PDAmill games. :cry: I miss them.
A number of sites on the web are building application compatibility lists. You can try Googling for them. PPCT user marathon332 has been diligently putting together a list on Pocket PC Thoughts, and has now started a blog that you may find useful in this regard. I know what you're wondering: is this a killer problem for me? No, despite the lack of Gamebox Gems and the like, I'm mostly okay with it, especially now that more and more games are being fixed every day.
Finally, to better quantify device performance, I ran Spb Benchmark 1.6 on the 700w, and compared the results against a smattering of other WM5 devices. Curious how the 700w stacked up against the competition? Read on!
There's a couple of things to consider about the 700w's wireless performance.
- Reception: The device has about the same reception as the previous Verizon devices I've used. It isn't amazingly better than the others, nor is it amazingly worse. Anyway, in New York, Verizon has excellent coverage, including rail and car tunnels. Verizon even now has decent coverage in some of the "shallow" subway stations in NY, like the 1 train stops in midtown, so the Treo 700w is usable almost everywhere I am.
I do have one problem with the reception, though: the antenna signal strength meter lags occasionally, especially when you wake the PDA up. The 700w doesn't have trouble regaining a signal quickly, but it occasionally has trouble informing you of the current signal. It's not a major problem, but don't always trust the number of bars you see. - Voice quality and loudness: Voice quality is fine; callers sound clear, and no one has had trouble hearing me. The earpiece volume is okay, but not overwhelmingly loud if there's lots of background noise (as there is often in NYC). This may be a concern if you use a case that separates your ear from the earpiece (e.g., a Vaja case with an earpiece grill). Unfortunately, I can't say for sure until I try one.
- Data: EVDO is one of the huge selling points of the 700w, so how does it stack up? The short answer: EVDO, if you can get it, is fast. This screenshot should give you an idea:
Figure 63: EVDO performance. This is a result shot from the first bandwidth test site you get when you Google for "bandwidth test".
To conduct the experiment in figure 63, I walked to Bryant Park in midtown New York, a place that's relatively open and is bathed in solid 4-bar CDMA signal. I ran three tests with this particular site on a Sunday, thereby avoiding peak congestion on either Verizon's network or the Internet. I ran the test three times, and got 470kbps, 564.9kbps (pictured) and 529.2kbps. Note that this may include PIE overhead; it's not a scientific test, and your result may vary depending on your signal strength and the types of things you're doing on the device. This evaluation is informal, and intended to give you an idea of a typical result. A more precise evaluation of EVDO performance would probably be done on a laptop with integrated EVDO, and I'm guessing it would be a bit higher, but this is still really quite good. Combine it with the search box on the Today screen, and browsing on this device is far more functional than, say, GPRS connections on larger-screened devices.
Of course, speeds like this are contingent on (a) being in a region where Verizon has EVDO (most cities do now, although many suburbs do not); and (b) having a strong enough signal. If either you're not in such a region or have a weak, 1-2 bar signal, the 700w drops down to 1x, at which point you can expect 80-100kbps. Fortunately, the device is smart about switching up and down; it won't switch in the middle of a data transfer, but as the connection idles the device can switch as it enters and exits EVDO coverage. Additionally, 1x isn't too bad performancewise. However, 1x does seem to use more battery than EVDO (counterintuitively; I guess EVDO is just a much better, newer wireless data standard).
As mentioned before, the device supports both a "connected-and-active" mode, and a "connected-but-idle/suspended" mode; this is represented by the connection arrows, which are grey when idle and solid when active. It's important to note that 1x and EVDO behave differently if you try to make/receive a call while the data connection is active. 1x will suspend upon an outgoing call, but incoming calls go to voicemail; EVDO is smarter, and any incoming or outgoing call will temporarily suspend the connection. The idle timeout is short (on the order of seconds), so it's not a major issue on 1x, but if you're a heavy mobile surfer or ActiveSync a lot, you might want to keep this in mind if you're on 1x service. - Battery life: Battery life is always difficult to gauge on Pocket PC Phone devices, as it depends on the amount of voice, data, and PDA use, plus the signal strength and the type of data connection you have. Overall, with a 1800mAh battery, it's one of the better CDMA Pocket PC Phones battery life-wise. I use the device quite heavily: during a typical day, I use Exchange ActiveSync SMS push email (I push 30-50 of my emails on average, plus time spent replying to 5-10 or so), gameplaying for 20-90 minutes, a variable amount (15-30 minutes) of websurfing, light (15-30 minutes) PIM, and variable voice (10-60 minutes) of phone calls.
With a relatively weak signal in the office (1-2 bars, switches frequently between EVDO and 1x), and average 1x-only coverage at home, I'd say the battery is about 60-70% depleted on average at the end of the day. If you're in stronger signal and sustained EVDO, I'd guess the battery consumption for the same behavior would be only about 30-40%, and if you turn Exchange ActiveSync push off, I'd expect it to be even less. I can't stress how much of a difference coverage and usage patterns make. New York is a challenging place for cell phones, thanks to the subway, steel buildings, and the like, and as a result I charge nightly. Incidentally, keeping Bluetooth on probably adds a 5-10% hit to the battery life. The good news: I've never managed to run down the battery yet, although I've come close.
(By the way, in case you're wondering, NYC is indeed blanketed with EVDO and solid Verizon coverage. My building happens to be particularly unusual coveragewise: there's a power substation in the basement, and we suspect it introduces RF interference, as I get a full signal right outside my building.)
Finally, I'm tempted to get Seidio's extra-capacity battery: it adds 33% more capacity in the same size, adding a little weight in the process. I am also curious how Direct Push and AKU2 will affect battery life; Palm is slated to release the update some time this month, and I'll keep everyone posted as I have more data.
Overall, I've got no major complaints, but as always, if you are interested in a device on a particular carrier, make sure the carrier has good coverage where you live and work. Every carrier has their strengths and weaknesses.
Application compatibility
Earlier, I mentioned that the 240x240 screen does affect some programs, as it's a relatively recent WM5 construct. The "short" answer is that most productivity applications will run anywhere from okay to fine, but that games' compatibility differs widely.
Application compatibility: In general, most recent applications, including standard fare like Resco File Explorer, Pocket Informant, etc. are all WM5-certified at this point and are fully square-screen capable. Older applications are a mixed bag: many will work fine, although a few that assume a 320 pixel height show a scroll bar when launched, like WIMR (Where is My RAM?). If you look closely at figure 64, there's actually two scrollbars: the regular scroller for the file list, and a scroller to navigate the 320-pixel-high application. Unfortunately, the application scroller obscures the file list scroller; it's usable, but a bit clunky.
Figure 64: WIMR, a "legacy" WM app, running on the 700w.
You will also have to deal with less real estate, although it's partially mitigated because you don't have to use a SIP; in other words, you have the same amount of usable screen space during data entry. This also means that most dialogs, both in pre-WM5 and WM5-compatible applications, fit just fine on the 700w: application developers have always assumed only 240 pixels of usable space during input, and in general most applications have been aware they may not have 320 pixels to work with since the SIP can be summoned at any time. In short, you can install productivity applications with impunity, and you can expect them to work as expected most of the time.
Games: Games are a different matter entirely. Many games will just not work on the 700w, because they are hardcoded to a 320 pixel height, and while they survive the pixel doubling to VGA, are simply cropped off on a square screen, meaning the lower 25% simply doesn't show. 8O Vendors have been slowly updating their games, and use one of two ways: (a) a redesign of the UI for 240x240 screens, which produces the ideal result; or (b) scaling their screens from 240x320 to 180x240. The latter looks absolutely horrible, but if you're desperate to play your favorite game, it's usually functional. Unfortunately, most vendors make it very difficult to tell if their game has been updated. By far the best company in this regard is Astraware; they list each of the screen sizes that WM5 devices support and explain whether it's scaled, native, or unsupported (here's Chuzzles, for instance). For others, you'll have to poke around and cross your fingers. Some vendors, like PDAmill, are working on 240x240 versions, but they don't quite work right on the 700w yet. That's right, no PDAmill games. :cry: I miss them.
A number of sites on the web are building application compatibility lists. You can try Googling for them. PPCT user marathon332 has been diligently putting together a list on Pocket PC Thoughts, and has now started a blog that you may find useful in this regard. I know what you're wondering: is this a killer problem for me? No, despite the lack of Gamebox Gems and the like, I'm mostly okay with it, especially now that more and more games are being fixed every day.
Finally, to better quantify device performance, I ran Spb Benchmark 1.6 on the 700w, and compared the results against a smattering of other WM5 devices. Curious how the 700w stacked up against the competition? Read on!
