Palm Treo 700p is Top Business Phone

CNET just published a business phone review entitled: Top 6 Phones for Business Users in which they choose the Palm Treo 700p as THE top business phone.

If the BlackBerry debacle taught us anything, it's how much we depend on devices to stay in touch with the office, get work done on the road, obtain news and more. Smart phones have changed the way we work, so no longer are we slaves to our desks.

So which models make the best business associates? A number of qualified candidates are out there, but these are our six favorites. These smart phones are stocked with productivity tools such as QWERTY keyboards, e-mail and software, as well as connectivity features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HSPDA and EV-DO, and they've proven themselves in the performance department. Read on to see if one is right for you.

1. Palm Treo 700p
- Editors' rating: 7.7 (Very Good)

• The good: The Palm Treo 700p boasts EV-DO support, a 1.3-megapixel camera, increased memory, a sharp display and Bluetooth 1.2. The smart phone can also be used as a wireless modem and has solid call quality.
• The bad: The Palm Treo 700p lacks integrated Wi-Fi and runs the stale Palm OS 5.4.9.
• The bottom line: With EV-DO support, increased memory and enhanced multimedia capabilities, the Palm Treo 700p makes a powerful smart phone even better. Sure, it's not perfect, but the solid performance and new features make it worth the upgrade.

2. Cingular 8525
- Editors' rating: 8.0

3. T-Mobile Dash (aka HTC Excalibur)
- Editors' rating: 8.0

4. Nextel i930 by Motorola
- Editors' rating: 6.6

5. Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device (PPC-6700)
- Editors' rating: 7.0

6. Nokia E62
- Editors' rating: 7.3

As you can see, the Treo 700p did not receive the top Editors' rating, in fact two of these phones beat it out. But they didn't earn the TOP SPOT, and the Treo 700p did. I think this proves that the overall worth of a phone is not determined solely by how well it does individual tasks, but rather by how well the whole package works together. Despite the Treo's stale Palm OS it does excel at being a great overall smart phone. I encourage you to read the rest of the CNET article to find out for yourself why a better Editors' rating didn't mean the top spot in this Top Six list.