While on the phone scheduling a meeting, my friend was driving into a basement. We weren't even halfway down the ramp when the call was dropped.

Apparently, an unfortunate side effect of the antenna-less profile of the Treo 680 is poor reception. At least compared to Nokia smartphones, which seem to maintain a weak signal one floor under the ground. Even two on rare occasions.

Though I discovered a useful feature that may offset this shortcoming. After the SMS I composed to explain the sudden interruption failed to send (I had no signal, after all), the Treo helpfully offered to try again once it regained signal.

Sure enough, when I checked the messaging app minutes after I reentered coverage, my text was indicated as sent. The reply's arrival a few minutes later confirmed this. What was great my attention was never needed. The Treo 680 took care of things on its own. But maybe if it had a better antenna, there'd be fewer things to deal with in the first place.