Being a recent convertee(?) to the Palm Treo 700w from the Verizon XV6700 due to the Apache's unpredictable "dark screen of death" (DSOD) syndrome, I was happy to read this review end-to-end to pick up on things I didn't realize when I got the device. Needless to say, I'm really happy with this device despite its little quirks I've noticed as a power user myself, too. I'll be interested to read part 2 of your ginormous review.
I may be bold to assume that the Treo 700w is regarded as a "transition" device for Treo 650 users, specifically in the corporate world. And thus, it would have been in Palm and Microsoft's best interest to make sure that the corporate user would not have to go out and purchase all new accessories. In fact, it would be as simple as swapping out the 650 for the 700 and replacing HotSync with ActiveSync, and that's it. As a die-hard Windows Mobile user who never owned any previous Treo model, it obviously didn't work out to my advantage - I ended up spending for USB sync & charge cables, AC and DC adapters, etc.
It's been a
long-standing rumor that HTC was the actual designers behind the Treo line, or at least the 700w (then rumored as the 670 - eek, what a model number that would have been). Perhaps the nice things about the 700w device, such as the hardware switch, keyguard, Alt-symbol list, and more, might have been design-patented or guarded by Palm as to not be implemented similarly in other HTC products like the Apache, Wizard, Prophet, Hermes, etc.
So far, I feel better and confident about my purchase. Thanks again for the review, and I'm looking forward to part 2!