Don't let gadget snobs tell you the 680 is a low-end device for newbies. The 680's fruity colors (orange, red, white and gray, the first three of which are available only from Palm's Web site) and simple, friendly design mask serious power and extreme capabilities. The Treo 680 is powered by a 312-MHz Intel chip and 128MB of memory -- half of it available for storage, which can be augmented with up to 2GB of SecureDigital (SD) storage. The 320- by 320-pixel, 65,000-color TFT color touch-screen display makes your applications, videos and photos look beautiful.
Bluetooth v1.2 wireless and IR support lets you do incredibly powerful things, such as use your Treo as a wireless laptop modem or zap info directly to another Treo. The smart phone's backlit QWERTY keyboard lets you touch-type full e-mail messages, URLs and notes-to-self quickly. The installed Blazer Web browser will show you most Web sites as they appear on a PC, albeit smaller. And as with all Palm OS devices, you can choose from thousands of mini applications that mirror capabilities available on full desktop PCs -- many of them free.
Did we mention that it makes phone calls? The 3GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone boasts multiparty conference calling and a speakerphone. The 1200 mAh rechargeable battery gives you four hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby. And its signature internal quad-band (850/900/1800/1900) antenna works better than any other Treo's. At deadline, only Cingular had announced support -- and it's offering a rebate of $100 with a new two-year commitment.
The Treo 680 is this season's perfect gadget gift. Everyone from jaded power users to the most technophobic neo-Luddite in your life will love it. Just make sure you pick the right color.
Honorable mention: For the CrackBerry addict in your life, the hot new BlackBerry Pearl 8100 smart phone is your best bet. The Pearl ($200 after discount and rebate) competes feature-for-feature with the latest Treo, Motorola Q and Sidekick, but it's closer in size to a chocolate bar than to a grilled cheese sandwich. The black or silver Pearl is powered by an Intel XScale processor and has a respectable 64MB of memory, and its features include voice-activated dialing, picture caller ID, trackball navigation, a 240- by 260-pixel light-sensitive LCD screen, BlackBerry Maps functionality, a Micro SD slot, and a redesigned QWERTY keyboard -- all in a tiny 4.2- by 1.97- by 0.57-in. frame that weighs just 3.1 oz.