The keyboard on the 180 is similar to that on Research In Motion's BlackBerry, only smaller. You've heard of touch-typing? This is thumb-typing on a minikeyboard. But it's not all that difficult to do. Is thumb-typing a faster form of input than Graffiti? Unless your thumbs are the size of potatoes, yes. Is thumb-typing faster than using a phone's touch pad for SMS (Short Message Service) messaging? I can't even believe you asked that question! Of course! However, the keyboard does create its share of problems as well.

First, one-hand operation is tricky. The cover is hard to flip open with one hand, and the keyboard is difficult to operate with one hand. Thumb flexibility and dexterity are a must. A thumb wheel on the side of the unit lets you scroll through and select speed-dial numbers, and if you can bend your thumb down to the lower left button on the unit while holding it securely, you can also scroll through and select entries in your phone book and call logs.

Second, the Palm OS is built for stylus and touch-screen input. Even though Handspring has modified the OS interface somewhat to incorporate the "enter" key on the keyboard, if you're a Palm veteran, you'll still find yourself reaching for the touch screen with your thumb to try to select a hopelessly small area to focus your text input. Or, worse, you'll pull the stylus out from its slot behind the unit to pinpoint the area on the screen, then put it back to start typing again. Sheesh!

Finally, the keyboard is so small that the shifted characters, such as the comma, dash and period, are difficult to see (especially if you're an old geezer), and they aren't where you'd expect them to be based on a regular keyboard.

On the wireless data side, the Treo supports circuit switched data rates (9.6 Kbps) and is upgradable to GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), allowing for a maximum theoretical throughput of 171.2 Kbps. Data service may require a separate contract with an ISP, depending on offerings available from your cell service provider In contrast, data service is available directly from Sprint for the PCS-based Samsung SPH-I300 phone and Kyocera Wireless Corp. QCP 6035 smartphone, which I looked at last year (see "Cell Phone + Internet Access + Palm Device = Smartphone", July 9, 2001).

Handspring includes its Blazer Web browser and a POP3 mail client, One-Touch Mail from JP Mobile.

I had trouble with the POP3 client during testing. It ignored the maximum message-size setting of 40,000 bytes and proceeded to attempt to download every multimegabyte message in my inbox. Handspring wasn't any help with this problem, but our contact said the company is working on its own IMAP client, which makes more sense than POP3 on this type of device anyway.

Vendor Information Treo 180, starts at $399. Available: Now. Handspring, (888) 565-9393, (650) 230-5000. www.handspring.com

The 180 can synchronize with your PC via USB, serial or IR ports, and it has all the features you've come to expect from a modern cell phone, including a speakerphone and a headset jack. Also included is an ear-bud headset, which you'll likely need to use in place of your existing headset, because the jack has an extra conductor for a button that lets you answer and hang up the phone. I prefer my over-the-ear Plantronics headset, but you're likely to see third-party accessories available for this phone in the future.

The Dark Side of Light

Handspring has done an admirable job of shrinking the size and weight of the 180, especially when compared with the Kyocera model. The 180 weighs only 5.4 ounces and is only slightly wider than most current cell phones. But the 180's diminutive size and weight come at a price. Battery life isn't nearly as good as that of the Kyocera phone. The 180 is rated at 60 hours of standby and 2.5 hours of talk time, but our test unit was able to endure only an hour and 45 minutes of a two-hour conference call before calling it quits (I was ready to get off the call anyway). The keyboard's small size (when compared with BlackBerry's) is a negative if you have big thumbs, as double key presses are likely.

When Handspring has had some time to work out the shortcomings of keyboard/Palm OS interface on the 180 I'd like to have another crack at this unit. Handspring just may not get it back.