Head to Head: Palm Treo Pro and AT&T Fuze

thumb_450_Pro%20v%20Fuze%20One.jpg

The Palm Treo Pro and the AT&T Fuze are probably the two nearly anticipated Windows Mobile releases this Fall. While the Treo Pro remains a feisty independent it's only a matter of fourth dimension before it gets branded by one or more than of the major wireless carriers. The Fuze is the result of adding a nuance of AT&T with the HTC Touch Pro.

While there are other Windows Mobile devices flooding the marketplace, nosotros thought it would be interesting to compare the Treo Pro with the Fuze. How do these two phones measure upward toe to toe? Does a sliding keyboard work ameliorate than the front facing QWERTY keyboard? Is TouchFlo enough to knock out the Pro? Does one WM Device accept an clear edge over the other? Read on after the break to come across if there are any knock out punches.

The tell of the tape

Looking at the specifications of these two devices, the Pro gets the nod with respect to a meliorate battery, thinner/lighter grade cistron, and that wonderful 3.5mm jack. The Fuze gets the nod with respect to retentivity, processor, screen size and foot print.

Physically, the Treo Pro has a larger footprint and the Fuze is noticeably thicker. Despite the dimensional differences, both feel really expert in the hand. The Fuze is almost a full ounce heavier than the Treo Pro only the weight of the Fuze is well distributed making it less noticeable.

The Pro and the Fuze share the aforementioned "fingerprint attractive" finish, not only with the casing but also with the screen. The Fuze has the odd patterned backing while the Pro is flat. I found information technology a lot easier to de-grease the Pro considering of the flat, polish bankroll. The Fuze takes a footling more effort to get all the prints wipe off the triangular backing. It would be really nice if a Windows Mobile device engineer would read the endless comments on this blazon finish and CHANGE things.

Unlike the Samsung Epix, where the expansion slot is on the side of the device, the Fuze and Treo Pro have their card slot curtained backside the back comprehend. The Fuze's back cover is noticeably easier to remove than the Treo Pro's cover.

Both devices come fitted with a decent camera, GPS, Wifi, and BT. I like Palm's dedicated buttons for wifi and turning off the speaker. The Fuze tin exist easily muted by pressing the volume keys which prompts a book graphic with a "silent" and "vibrate" push on the screen. Yous besides have a setting tab in TouchFlo where you tin can pull up your communications manager. Palm's buttons but seem to exist easier.

The Pro has a micro-USB port while the Fuze has the mini-USB port. Palm gets the advantage with respect to headphone jacks by using a standard 3.5mm jack. The AT&T Fuze uses a proprietary adapter. Where the Pro conceals its soft reset button beneath the battery cover, the Fuze hides its soft reset button in plainly sight side by side to the mini-USB port. Oh and if you get your hands on a Fuze and wonder what the little pigsty in the back is; information technology's for a manus strap accessory.

Software

Beingness an unlocked phone, the Treo Pro doesn't come with the branded software the Fuze comes loaded with. The Fuze has 73.96mb of storage taken up by pre-installed software. This can exist trimmed downwards a little by deleting all the sample images, songs, etc. that are loaded on to the phone. While in that location is some bloat on the Fuze, both devices come loaded with some dandy applications.

Both accept Sprite Fill-in, Mobile Office and QuickGPS. Both devices have Pocket Cyberspace Explorer only the Fuze too comes loaded with Opera Browser (default browser). I practice like the Instant Messaging application on the Fuze (standard on most AT&T WM devices) that brings Yahoo, AIM and Messenger all under 1 umbrella. It's one awarding that I missed with the Treo Pro. There are tertiary party apps that you tin purchase to do the same on the Treo Pro and if yous don't mind BETA versions, Beejive IM has a pretty skilful free application available so the loss wasn't missed for long. I have to requite the edge to the Fuze for software applications. TouchFlo solitary is worth the cost of admission. I actually like the graphics and interface TouchFlo offers. The weather tab is but apartment out cool especially when information technology'due south raining and you first see rain drops hit your screen than a windshield wiper goes into action. The Treo Pro comes with the standard WM Today screens which pale in comparison to the TouchFlo screens.

The but downside I've experienced with TouchFlo is that every and so oftentimes when I slide my finger on the screen, it'southward recognized equally a tap, taking me into an application. Equally long every bit you accept your time and don't try to rush through the screens, TouchFlo is a great feature of the AT&T Fuze.

Another "cool" characteristic of the Fuze can be establish in the settings. Y'all can choose a setting that when you are connected to a call and pull the stylus out of information technology's silo, the Fuze opens the Notes application. The stylus is magnetic and tin can exist fastened to the frame of the Fuze while you lot are between taps. Don't worry, if you loose the stylus the Fuze is packaged with a spare.

I do like the Pro's screensaver and that yous tin can wake the Treo Pro upwards by hitting a variety of buttons (Send, End, Power, etc.). The Fuze relies solely on the Power button to wake the device up. You can wake the device upwards by sliding the keyboard out but it would accept been overnice to take seen a front facing solution.

One concluding thought on software is "cooked" or custom patches. The Fuze is essentially an HTC Touch Pro with AT&T'due south postage on information technology. Custom patches, fixes and ROM's are available and constantly beingness written to add together to the Fuze's customization. The Pro, being a HTC device equally well, has the aforementioned potential for customization but developers take a little catching up to match what'due south out at that place for the Fuze.

Keyboards/Keypads

The sliding keyboard and screen size are probably the two stand up-out design differences between these ii Windows Mobile devices.

Comparing the slide out keyboard to the front facing QWERTY keyboard of the Treo Pro is difficult. If I had to creepo out a lengthy email to someone, the Fuze is hard to beat. If I had to crank out a brusk email on the run with one hand tied behind my back, the Pro gets the nod.

The Treo Pro's keyboard is past no means perfect simply better designed for one-handed operation. The keys on the Pro need to exist a smidgen larger and infinite a affect further autonomously. When I first started using the Treo, the keyboard was hard to maneuver around just the more I used the Pro, the easier the keyboard became to use.

The sliding keyboard of the Fuze is spacious, well laid out, responsive and very like shooting fish in a barrel to type on. It isn't very conducive to 1-handed functioning and as they say it takes two hands to handle a Whopper and it actually takes ii hands to handle the Fuze.

Where the Treo Pro has soft push button shortcuts to applications such as the calendar and messaging the Fuze has similar shortcuts on the keyboard. You also accept a shortcut to the communication manager on the keyboard. In a nutshell, the Fuze'south keyboard is feature rich.

While the Fuze's physical keyboard might be too cumbersome for one-handed functioning, you do take a virtual keypad. The screen keypad can be set up every bit a total QWERTY keypad, compact QWERTY, a full keyboard, a block recognizer (much similar Palm's former graffiti interface), a letter recognizer, a transcriber that recognizes handwriting from anywhere on the screen. The Fuze offers yous a wide range of virtual input options that should arrange everyone's tastes. Personally, I liked the total QWERTY screen keyboard and found it very "finger friendly".

Information technology takes a little getting used to coming from a front end facing keyboard but I found the combination of a sliding keyboard and on-screen keyboard to requite the Fuze a caste of flexability that the Treo Pro lacks. I can sit down with the sliding keyboard and blazon a memo, email, etc. with ease or while walking down the sidewalk, use the on-screen keyboard to type out a brusk response to an email. While the design of the Treo Pro is more adaptive to one-handed use, information technology tin exist cumbersome for long winded typing.

The Screen

The Fuze wins hands downwards as having the larger screen, only size doesn't e'er matter. Or does it? I will acknowledge the larger screen is nice but in my opinion, the quality of the screen is a smidgen improve with the Pro with colors having a little more "popular". In tinkering with the Fuze, yous take an "auto adjust backlight" setting that seems to slow the screen a little. Turning the setting off and adjusting the backlight manually, the colors improve.

The Fuze has a very receptive touch screen. At first it seemed rigid but after using it for a while, it seemed to become more receptive to the touch. The Impact Flo screen gives the Fuze a "wow" gene that is lacking with the Treo Pro. The Pro has a really skilful screen and it's a shame that Palm didn't make more employ of information technology.

I'd have to call the touch aspects of these two devices a draw. I had no difficulty scrolling, tapping, highlighting, etc. with either touch on screen nor did I feel the scrolling issues that I found evident with the Samsung Epix. The sensitivity was consequent throughout the screen.

Buttons and Controls

Comparing the surface controls, it's another difficult comparison. The Treo Pro has the answer/end buttons, center control button likewise as Get-go, OK, Agenda and Messaging buttons. The Fuze has an reply/end buttons, a home button, back push and center control pad. Both of the devices have their primary buttons beneath the surface, soft buttons of sorts. I have to admit that I like the hard, rounded, above the surface buttons (such every bit the answer/end buttons on the Pro) better. They offer a trivial better confirmation of activation in my stance.

The center button is distinctly different betwixt the 2 devices. Palm has a conventional; four way pad with the center push. The Fuze has the four way buttons beneath the surface, surrounding the center button. The center button has an optical sensor of sorts that lets you lot zoom in and scroll with some applications by tracing your finger effectually the "rim" of the button.

I did experience one trouble with the Fuze's push button layout. The right pointer on the "four fashion" control is so close to the Back Button that on occasion when I would press it to get right; I would activate the back push button, sending me to the previous screen. I would have preferred a back push on the side of the phone and this space allocated to another primal (Start or OK peradventure?). I give the nod to Palm for the main button blueprint and functionality.

Both phones take the ability to customize or map out buttons. Nevertheless, the Fuze is rather express in the number of buttons that can be mapped. The Fuze only allows you lot to map one button; button 1 (that's holding downwardly the send key). The Treo Pro tin can map 5 buttons and has the option to utilise the OPT+key to map further functions. I would have liked HTC to have put more front end facing controls on the Fuze and utilize the correct side for the back button. I plant myself missing the OK and Start buttons. You exercise have these buttons on the slide out keyboard but not having them on the face of the Fuze takes a little getting used to.

Information technology's a Phone too?

With all the talk of processor speed, application performance, internet access, e-mail setups, and all the other things these marvelous devices tin can do we oftentimes loose sight of the most important role; the phone itself. If the phone functioning sucks, all the bells and whistles won't permit you loose sight of that.

Luckily, both the Fuze and Pro have really skillful phone performance. Both accept good sound, microphone and speaker performances. AT&T'due south signal came through near equal also. In a basement office with no windows I pulled in two bars with both phones.

Cost

It would be an oversight if I didn't mention the cost associated with these two devices. Being unbranded, the cost of the Treo Pro isn't subsidized so you pay the total price. Some retailers are offering discounted prices simply the cost will still be in the $450-550 price range. The Fuze on the other hand is subsidized through AT&T and with rebates; the cost can be equally depression as $299 with a ii twelvemonth service understanding. The out of contract cost for the Fuze is $499.

Overall Performance

I have found that my Treo Pro can be a very productive device but I had fun using the AT&T Fuze. Both devices are extremely more stable than their WM 6 predecessors and while there are some aspects/features of both that I'd like to run into changed, every bit is they are both quality Windows Mobile devices.

I liked how both devices felt in my hand. The Fuze is smaller only has a solid feel to it. The Pro is larger, thinner device with an equally solid feel. The flatter pattern of the Pro seems to fit my hand more naturally simply that's not to say the Fuze is a brick.

I didn't accept any issues with either telephone with respect to processor speed. Yes, the processor in the Fuze is noticeably faster than the Pro's but the merchandise off is battery life. The Pro has the slower processor but larger battery. With average daily utilize the Pro tin make it through a 24 hour menses. The faster processor of the Fuze eats more battery, and with the smaller battery, it's tough to make it through a 24 hour period.

TouchFlo is slowly growing on me. I like the interface and it adds a little "wow" in using the Fuze. It makes the standard interface of Windows Mobile look dull and boring. SPB Mobile Beat out is my alternative to TouchFlo and while non perfect, helps keep the doldrums of the standard interface at bay.

I like the physical controls of the Pro a little better than I do the Fuzes'. The traditional 4-way controller has a more positive feel to me. While the Fuze has shortcuts on the screen to access the communications director, the wifi button on the Pro adds a caste of convenience.

Equally mentioned, the keyboard choice is really 1 of personal preference. One-handed functioning is discussed at length when comparing slider keyboards, screen keyboards and front facing keyboards. Ane-handed operation has become important in a mobile society but slowing down a picayune to slide out the keyboard isn't necessarily a bad thing. The more than I used the Fuze, the more comfortable the blueprint became. Information technology'southward not impossible to use the Fuze one-handed but you'll have to rely on the screen keyboard which is a piddling more than prone to typing errors.

The Verdict

Both the Fuze and Treo Pro are very capable, quality Windows Mobile devices and it is very difficult to say which one is the amend phone. The Treo Pro has a thinner form cistron, slightly better battery life, 3.5mm headphone jack and the front facing keyboard. The Fuze has a smaller foot print, larger screen, slightly faster processor and the slide out keyboard.

While there are a lot of positives to say nigh each, there are features that I'd like to encounter changed or added. I would love for the Treo Pro to have a slightly faster processor, a slightly larger screen and a footling more "wow" features. I would like the AT&T Fuze to have a few more front facing controls and more customizable buttons.

Old habits are hard to break and for equally many years as I've grown accustomed to front facing QWERTY keyboards, I'yard not ready to declare the Fuze the clear cutting victor in this head to head comparing only the more I use the Fuze, the harder the option becomes. I call up the combination of a sliding keyboard and on-screen keyboard gives the Fuze plenty flexibility to push it slightly by the Treo Pro.

If this was a horse race, I'd have to judge the photo finish as having the Fuze winning "by a hair" or perchance fifty-fifty "too close to call". Both the Fuze and Pro take common features that will appeal to every WM user besides as unique features that focus on the user's private needs. The truth of the matter may very well be that it merely boils downwards to your personal tastes and I don't call up you can go incorrect with either the AT&T Fuze or the Palm Treo Pro.