Palm - and Treo lovers - are hoping the 750v is the holy grail of smartphones. UMTS 3G, push-email support, a 1.3-megapixel camera... this Treo ticks all the boxes, but will it leave us wanting?

I mentioned that Palm has tweaked some functionality of the 750v to make it stand out amongst the sea of WM5 smartphones.  Most can be found on the Today screen, and focus on making the phone as easy to use as possible.  A “Dial by Name” box as well as easily set-up speed-dial and photo speed-dial shortcuts are right there as soon as you unlock the keypad, as is a web search box that triggers IE Mobile.  They’ve also given some thought to handling untimely calls, with an “Ignore with Text” function that offers either a preset list of “I’m in a meeting” stock responses or lets you quickly tap in a dismissive “I’m having a nap” excuse.  Later, if they’ve left a voicemail message then the Treo shows on-screen playback controls such as skip, replay and delete rather than you needing to memorise which number key relates to which function. 

Phone performance itself was reasonable, with a generally fair signal although occasionally muffled audio (though I had no complaints from those I was calling).  Not having an earlier Treo with external aerial to hand, I was unable to compare neither their ability to connect nor their clarity having once done so.

In terms of price, you have to consider the 750v in both the short and long term.  Vodafone will happily give you the handset free… if you sign up to a year-long contract at £70 a month (or 18-months at £50).  Pick a mid-range tariff, say £35 for 18-months, and the Treo will cost you £70.  Over time, however, the UMTS data charges could easily mount up: Vodafone charges £2.35 per MB, and given the absence of WiFi you’ll be dependent on the 3G connection.  I also had trouble finding any sort of data log to monitor exactly how many MB I’d used.

So would I buy the Treo 750v myself, and more importantly would I recommend it to you?  Well I’ve certainly learnt that push email and a full keyboard is something I now won’t do without, but I’m not sure if the 750v is the device that’ll be serving it up to me.  The Nokia E61/E62, already reviewed by SlashGear, has a broader screen, more keyboard space and uses that excellent browser I’m so impressed with.  Yes, it doesn’t have a camera, but the quality of the Treo’s photography wasn’t all that impressive, and I’d much rather have the Nokia’s WiFi.  Still, the familiar Windows’ interface, easy to use controls and reassuringly solid build-quality of the Treo, coupled with reasonable performance in calls, would make it a sound choice for anyone looking for a QWERTY-enabled smartphone.

Disclosure: Palm & Vodafone supplied both the Treo 750v and contract SIM for this review