No smart phones have begotten more buzz than Palm's Treo line. They are stylish, they are usable, they are full-featured, and the 700wx, which will be sold by Sprint Nextel, has the family resemblance with its features and finish. Its specs are identical to the 700w that's been sold by Verizon Wireless since January -- same 312-MHz Intel XScale processor, same Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, same CDMA/EV-DO network technology, same 240x240 TFT touch screen, same 60MB of memory available to users.

The Treo 750wxIf you're among the noisy crowd of Treophiles that's been hoping for more -- more memory, perhaps, which was a particular sore point with the 700w, or built-in Wi-Fi, or the amputation of the stumpy antenna -- you're probably disappointed by the 700wx. You may not be thrilled by the price, either. The 700wx is expensive -- US$499 with a service plan, vs. $399 from Verizon. Cingular will sell you a Treo 650, admittedly a lot less phone, for a lot less money: US$199.

(Each of the major cell phone carriers offers one or two Treo models, and the variations seem to have as much to do with the carriers' marketing and network technologies as they do with price or performance. For help with the you-can't-tell-the-players-without-a-program tangle of release dates and features, see a "A Treo Timeline."

But in the smart phone game, money is hardly a factor, since often it isn't yours. The choice of a smart phone is more likely to be made by a business's IT department than its users, and if you work in the IT department of a company with a contractual tie to Sprint, you may be thrilled by the 700wx.

The reason is the operating system. Windows Mobile 5.0 is built from the ground up to connect to an Exchange server, and it has strong support for corporate virtual private networks. You can synchronize your calendar and contacts information with Outlook on your desktop PC and even schedule meetings and invite attendees.