Verizon XV6700
I played with a (tethered) Verizon XV6700 for about 30 minutes today. My reaction: “Not bad.”
The XV6700 is a decent Qwerty phone. I like the general feel, the bright and large screen, with a wide keyboard that slides from side, thus using the screen in landscape mode.
I also liked the “real” spreadsheet (Pocket Excel). The scaled down Outlook email is OK (but not as good as SnapperMail for the Treo. The camera function seemed awkward, but I didn’t invest much effort trying to figure it out.
I was sure I would despise dialing using the screen (no dedicated phone pad) but it’s not half-bad. Let’s get a grip–this is one smart phone with a great address book. Wouldn’t your most common method of making a phone call involve the name, not the number?
If I were to purchase the XV6700, I’d invest an extra $40 to get the Microsoft speech recognition utility. Screw the keyboard; voice commands are where it’s at.
Since (as a Cloudy Thinking reader) you are one smart puppy, you suspect a “but…” is coming. After all, “not bad” is a far cry from “the most fabulous Qwerty phone imaginable.”
What’s NOT to like? I’ll REALLY need to work at making peace with Microsoft software on a phone. It’s not horrible, but it feels clumsy. It feels to me like too many menus, with some common options buried too deep. I’m not sure how Microsoft missed the need for dedicated keys for a couple of VERY common functions (calendar and contacts).
Oddly enough, I left the store musing about my (now retired) Color SideKick from two years ago. The innovative Danger Research design got so many things right. That keyboard was better than the 6700. The clever and SIMPLE way you selected major functions (using a circular menu and navigating with a scroll wheel worked brilliantly well.
The SideKick made instant messaging a first class application, right up there with email, calendar and contacts. And that’s so right: IM is one of the best applications for a Qwerty phone. Unfortunately SideKick screwed the pooch with the SideKick II. It was too modest, too little, too late. I hope they surprise me soon with a KILLER SideKick 3, but that hope is fading fast.
Will I buy a XV6700? Maybe. But first I need to test drive the Motorola Q, try out a Blackberry 8700 (when will Verizon get it?) and I will seriously look at the HP iPAQ 69xx. However, since it’s GSM from Cingular (at least at first) and I’m a very loyal Verizon fan, it will have to be ultra killer to win my heart and credit card.
The Treo 700W is a “possible,” but the rumor of a seriously upgraded Treo (whatever the model number) seems reasonable to me. The 700W is a modest improvement over the Treo 650. Palm can and must do better. (OK, I admit, Treo lead the Qwerty phone pack but the Moto Q could easily kick in Treo’s teeth!
Bottom line: XV6700 is a definite maybe. But for now, I remain a relatively satisfied Kyocera 414 + Palm Tungsten C user.