Handspring is back on the combined PDA and mobile phone trail with this new Treo model, and the big news is the addition of a colour screen and optional GPRS.

At first glance it's almost impossible to tell the Treo 270 apart from the older, mono Treo 180. Despite the addition of the colour screen, the new model is only 6g heavier and is the same size, measuring 69 x 110 x 18mm (w x d x h). The screen uses older STN technology and only supports 12bit colour so it's not a patch on that of, say, the Compaq Ipaq, but it's still more than up to the job.

Under the bonnet there's no change between the 180 and the 270. Both use version 3.5.2 of Palm OS, have 16MB of Ram, a 33MHz Motorola Dragonball processor and offer dual-band 900/1,800 GSM support. However, taking on criticisms of the 180's battery life, Handspring has improved the power pack on the 270.

The unit now has a quoted maximum talk time of three hours, but that's still only around half that offered by today's mobile phones. Unlike the 180, this version is only available with a keyboard, and this has been improved with the addition of a backlight to allow you to make out individual keys in poor lighting.

GPRS support is an optional add-on running through the original GSM Sim. Unlike many other GPRS handhelds, the 270 can remain GPRS-ready even when on standby, but this puts a strain on the battery life.

Overall, we've got the same reservations about the Treo 270 as we had about the 180. Palm OS is more clunky to use with the keyboard and pen combination. The unit is also too bulky to use as a normal phone unless you use the hands-free kit, and battery life is poor. That said, it is the best handheld for GPRS use.

SPECIFICATIONS

DETAILS
Price: £299.99 (£255.31 ex VAT) with connection, £549 (£467.23 ex VAT) without
Contact: Handspring 020 7309 0134
www.handspring.com