The Treo 670 is real and does run Windows Mobile
By Peter Rojas 
posted Aug 5th 2005 4:37PM
posted Aug 5th 2005 4:37PM
Dudes, we were skeptical, but now we're convinced: roc a fella himself just emailed us a video of a
Treo 670 running on Windows Mobile. Yeah, it's a little
blurry, but there's no mistaking that this is the real deal. Everything just got very interesting.
WATCH VIDEO 1
WATCH VIDEO 2
WATCH VIDEO 3 [Right-click
and download]
P.S. - Peep these earlier stories, it looks like it's this phone in the videos: New Treo 670 pics? & The Treo 670?
PERFECT COUNT ME IN!!!! this is what i've been waiting for. when can i pick one up is my question.
o shitttt its real
Hell has just frozen over...
that is so cool! im a fan of ms software but tired a treo, and loved the form factor just hated the os! cool!
well, now i have to wait another three to six months to replace my already in the grave phone. we need this asap palm.
What is this? Treo 650 for another provider, or a completely new phone?
First Apple goes x86...
Then a two-button mouse...
Now Treo running Windows Mobile...
THE APOCOLYPSE IS UPON US PEOPLE!
(when I see Duke Nukem Forever, then I'll know the end is nigh.)
I think its a little early to declare this a fact.This could easily be a video running on a normal Palm Treo. Notice how they never actually touch any of the hardware buttons or the screen in the video, and how the picture they provided earlier is in the same menu as the video. It could very well be true that there will be a windows mobile treo, but I hardly call this blurry video definitive.
For the super hackers out there who don't want to wait, just get the demo version of Windows CE platform builder and make it yourself:
http://www.windowsembeddedkit.com/RegPage.aspx
i friggin told you rox was reliable
its for verizon and "sean" with the comment up top is a moron
Ubur.
I've been waiting a long time for Palm to switch over.
Palm + Windows Mobile = :)
"First Apple goes x86...
Then a two-button mouse...
Now Treo running Windows Mobile...
THE APOCOLYPSE IS UPON US PEOPLE!
(when I see Duke Nukem Forever, then I'll know the end is nigh.)"
GAHAHA... No crap. I can't believe it, a Treo running a non-Palm OS. WOW. My Treo 650 feels like a piece of junk now. :(
YESS please again like i said with the first photo. The BEST hardware with the BEST software make and amazing product!!!
could someone PLEASE explain to me how to watch a .3g2 file? i must see this!
I love this thing! Does this mean they will be switching all of their products to Windows? I wouldn't mind my Tungsten C to have Windows.
download quicktime dummy
.3g2 files open in Quicktime for me.
Anyone else disappointed that the 670 looks just as thick as the 650? The Motorola Q has me drooling with how thin it is...
# 15 I used Quick time to view the file
I'm only interested if it has WiFi built in...
well #18 i am drooling over the razerryberry also, but i have verizon wirless so, i need this one, or is moto could please make a motorola Q for CDMA tha'd be sweet
I'm having trouble wrapping myself around the idea thatonly Verizon is going to have this phone though. Wasn't the 600 + 650 GSM phones BEFORE they went the likes of Verizon and Sprint?
Um, those videos don't prove anything. You people do realize that the Treo could simply be displaying a full screen video of the Windows Mobile interface, right? I'm not saying that this is fake, I'm saying that it could *easily* be faked. I could post a video of my iPaq 5550 "running" Palm OS 5 if you want proof how easy this is to fake.
I don't get it; is Windows CE that much better than Palm OS? Can someone explain why this is such a big deal? Or are there just a bunch of people looking for an excuse to buy a trick new gadget and this is it?
nutin' wrong with that of-course, although I'd go for the net-gun that was on engadet a few days ago.
@23
Didn't one show him pushing a button and a file opening on the screen?
In order for this to be a hoax, the hoaxer would have to:
(a) Replace the front faceplate and buttons on a Treo. Those are not Treo 600 or 650 buttons, folks!
(b) Play a full screen Windows Mobile mpg/avi on power up
I'm sorry. I hate to believe it (because I think this is going to kill PalmOS although Palm may go on) but this looks legit...
Something isn't right. It is still showing the "old" PalmOS style keylock warning over the windows screen.
guys who are doubting this source, be nice to him he probably shouldn't be showing this to any one be he is nice and brave enough to show us, so enjoy dreaming about your new Treo 670 like i will be doing and shut your motuhs.
#22 - No, in fact the 650 was CDMA long before the GSM version was released. Verizon was the last major carrier to adopt Treos though only beginning to carry the 600 just before the 650 was released.
It is sad that everyone sees Windows Mobile as the gold standard in mobile OS. I have always found it buggy and slow.
hey source can you tell us if it has wi-fi and when do you think we can get one? i believe you that its real.
I don't care if it kills Palm to be honest but it must have WiFi, also decent Bluetooth would be nice...they could even up the camera to two megapixels if they wanted to be extra sweet!
dummy #28, this is windows mobile 5, you haven't even used it yet, shut it, its amazing i saw a tech demo, and peter rojas and the other editors have used it and say its great
#28, windows mobile is the lesser of two evils. You can't even multitask in palm! It's gaaaaaaaaaaaarbage
Wow, why doesn't it surprise me that the people who think this is fake are the ones who like PPC?
wuts PPC?
#s 32 & 33 -
I can only assume you are referring to me. Especially aj, who by my page is #28.
Anyway, I agree that PalmOS has taken a wrong turn. My 650 is rather unstable and often annoys me with crashes and reboots - much like Windows Mobile.
Maybe Windows Mobile 5 is great and maybe you find yourself needing to multitask on your phone (I don't and actually own a Treo) but I would venture that most people who are posting their excitement about a WM5 Treo have never used a Treo or experienced WM5. Relax.
ops, sorry for my too long "NOOOO..." @#33
you might have to fix your css...
This guy has got humor: "that's Windows isn't it, uhum". Even if it is fake (I doubt it), I had a good laugh.
Palm lives forever. Oh well, at least for a little while.
Arrrggg! I went with the Treo because it was Palm OS.
what are you talking about harrier?1 your crazy
I don't see how anyone could LIKE Windows Mobile over PalmOS. Oh, but Windows Mobile is so PRETTY.. blech...
What advantages does it have? OOh, it syncs with crappy bloated ass Outlook. Big friggin deal.
Oh, I get DLL's on my phone! What fun! Wait, I get BIG ASS FONTS that take up TOO MUCH SPACE on a PDA/phone!
Wait, there's more! Yes, I get to navigate a Start Menu instead of hitting a simple icon! Yessiree folks, you too can have a bloated crap ass operating system on your phone!
For those that think Palm is going to die overnight, remember that Palm has about 5x the number of apps and has way more FREE apps than Windows Mobile, thanks to the fact that Palm's dev tools are FREE, while M$'s cost $$$.
Nothing to see here, move along...
everyone is arguing with wrong ppl because the numbers keeping changing spots its anoyying it should be when you click the link form your email you are last on the list or you shouldnt have to open your email it shout just be posted this anoyiing please fix this ENGADGET, it will pry save you some money so you dont have to use the weblogs service
Palm Inc. are a bunch of betraying backstabbing bastards. I am permanently moving on to WM (and NOT a Palm made one).
#39 I believe you're right on one account, the vids are different. I believe the user and vid shooter realized that they needed to cover up the id numbers with something before they are "fired" or "sued" for releasing info too soon to the public.
We'll see. Look legit though...
This makes the "Cobalt" portion of the rumor much more credible. Please let that be true and let it come with EV-DO. It becomes darn near the ultimate mobile device.
Third video is funny:
"Let's see here now... Press the power button... Oh, what the hell is that, Verizon Wireless? Oh, that's Windows, isn't it? Mmm, hmm."
I think we've got a fake on our hands. Looks to me like that is one of the 650 engineering samples. I just dont buy it, if you are going to the trouble of making a video at least launch Solitaire and show a staple of the Windows Mobile OS.
I've had the 650 for six months, no problems whatsoever and best phone I have owned. I would buy the form factor in either OS. If it runs EV-DO all the better.
Why do you guys dismiss the possibility that this is fake, there are some people out there who would in fact go through all that trouble and change the buttons and face plate to fool us, and it may be 670, but comon, it is so so easy to fake anything running on that, and its entirely possible to start a vid playing on start up, its not like it was soft reset or something, as its playing just turn it off, then get the camera ready, turn it on and there u go, u got a wm 5 device, i don't think so. its not that difficult to use photoshop and at a verizon logo to the movie either , you guys are very narrow minded, and whats this crap about the people who believe its fake like ppc? wow there really are some very narrow minded people around here
Well, I still have my doubts. The resolution of the screen seems to be much lower than that of the Treo 650, which could be due to OS constraints, but does seem strange.
Either way, I hope this is not the end of PalmOS-based Treos (whether that be because Palm stop doing them or the carriers stop selling them, which is the greater risk, I think). I for one would never buy a Windows Mobile device after having had the "pleasure" of using an Orange SPV.
However, a Linux-based one would be another thing, especially if it comes with the Cobalt interface.
ummmm how do you open a .3g2 file, thats the extension on the video files showing the phone.
"YESS please again like i said with the first photo. The BEST hardware with the BEST software make and amazing product!!!"
best hardware? the hardware is what prevented me from buying the Treo 650 when it was released. not the software. i could go either way on software. but to say the Treo hardware is superior to things like the Benq P50 or the HP hw6500/6700 series or just about every single WM convergence phone is silly at best. the hardware improvements from the 600->650 were appallingly weak and IMO totally underdelivered compared to basically everything else coming out.
Outlook / Exchange support? no thanks. thats only the least interesting feature of WM. i'm suprised people even think Exchange (or Outlook!?) is cool. sort of disturbing honestly.
dummy Chris Paddock, you think your so cool, maybe you waster your life doing that but look how cool a Treo running WindowsMobile 5 is, it real that is how all phones start up idiotand he didnt keep the video going because he is using his other video phone to take these video, see phone in the relflection of the third video when the phone is still off. duh so if he could make the videos go past 15 which he cant becuase thats the physical limitations of his phone thats it its a minmo 5 device and i think you hate winmo5 you scaredy kat. everyone stop thinking its fake, this guy is pry risking his job or a contract or soming cuz he has this phone, just so he can show it to you, so shut and learn to like it(winmo5)
Harrier,
Looks like he just covered up the id# for the test device. Apparantly the guy realized late that he just screwed his source by revealing the code HD677...
Am i the only one who noticed the PalmOS keyguard screen in the third video?
I could be wrong if Palm wrote a Windows Mobile keyguard to look JUST like their existing PalmOS keyguard screen... I'm not saying Palm isn't capable of any number of bizarre moves...
But this looks pretty bogus to me.
yea brian(currnently #47) you are right about the thrid video being funny, i laughed at it too he is being funny, just like all causal, o look its runnign windows haha.
what key gaurd are you talking bout? could you show me?
mike (currently #44), your dumb, windowsmobile 5 is better cuz it syncs with your entire PC system. word excel powerpoint outlook, kinternet explorrer favorites ext., and windows media player 10 for all your media. now palm cant do all that, the only thing your right about is the money, but you get what you pay for, palm really is only good is your a mac fan becyuase the UI's are similar in atmosphere and fell
Wicked,
The Keyguard on my Treo 650 looks a little different... The lock icon on mine is a little bigger. And mine doesn't show the time.
It wouldn't be so "bizarre" for Palm to design it based on something they have that works.
Man its tough to be a PalmOS fan and a Yankees fan this days. F_F
(for the record I don't hate windows, I just like other alternatives better. XP is not bad but for my next desktop, I will go back to OSX.)
Hey aj #55,
The resolution of the screen isn't small just because of the resolution of the video (duh). If you look at the original image posted, here is my original analysis of the screen resolution:
"Because the font displayed is 12pt MS San Serif, which would make the term "No upcoming" exactly 63 pixels wide. Since those words are 30% of the width of the screen in the image, then that would make the resolution of the screen pictured roughly 210 pixels, far lower than the 320 pixels of the Treo screen we know and love."
And anyway, what's up with all the PocketPC supporters calling the doubters morons and idiots and fags? Really, is there a need to be so obnoxious about this stuff? We're talking about smartphones for crying out loud. You guys are getting defensive and hostile... about a smartphone. That's really quite sad.
The device looks exactly like what engadget posted on 3/17/2005 and 3/11/2005. So this looks like the next Treo. The next thing that needs to leak is release dates. If it has EVDO, could Verizon get it before Sprint? If it is Sprint, will it be this fall? Wasn't it October of last year when Sprint releaed the 650?
you guys are driving me crazy everyone just post that the phone is cool cuz it is :-)
no its verizon dummy see the video where it says verzion when it turns on and in the top left hand part of the device
aj - are calling ME a dummy? Dude, take vallium!
I was simply refering to the release date. Just because a demo exists doesn't mean that it will up for sale soon.
Well, well, quite a good fake. But I'm more impressed by the stupidity of these replies. A Treo running WM5 is as likely as Apple selling Windows computers. Remember that Palm makes the Treo and also just signed a deal with LG Electronics to license their PalmOS to them for their new line of mobile phones (http://www.palmsource.com/press/2005/070605_lg.html)
Come on peeps, use your brains.
chris, you might want to use YOUR brain before you comment. Palm and PalmSource are two different companies, it's Palm that makes the Treo and PalmSource which signed the licensing deal with LG.
Remember that apple is a hardware and a software company....PALM is a hardware company not software.
"5) Rumors have been swirling around on the web about a Windows Mobile Powered Treo, as Olimpo noted in our question thread, while 100thMonkey is concerned about Symbians threat on the Treo. PalmSource is slowly rolling out Cobalt, while at the same time acquiring a Linux firm to create the next generation Palm OS. How important is the brand of operating system, as compared to the basic phone, email, and web functionality (which could feasibly be standard across many different systems)? Is the Treo platform operating system agnostic?
Haitani: First, I have to say from experience that any answer I give will be misinterpreted as a tacit admission that we are developing alternate platforms. That said, I will repeat what we have said for yearswe are focused on the customer experience first, and operating systems or any other technology only matter to the extent that they can support a superior customer experience. So yes, the Treo platform operating system is agnostic. The true value of a Treo is not in any individual piece of the puzzle, but the integrated experience. "
from the Rob Haitani interview here...
http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/621-2.htm
haha ... is aj for real? if he is he must be about 7 years old ... I wonder if his parents know he's using their computer. Fantastic use of the language ... haha ... please aj write some more ... you're funny.
all the pictures are being water marked and put up within a hour or so.
#69 I am completely aware of the difference between Palm and PalmSource. I am also fully aware that PalmSource And Palm still share a fair amount of stock ownership! Besides Palm, formerly PalmOne, is still heavily dependent on Palm developers and its existing user base. Just try to at least think about the strategic consequences of this alleged move, think, think, think. Would Apple really develop a Windows machine; just as likely as this.
download quicktime dummy. shut your motuhs. dummy #28, this is windows mobile 5, you haven't even used it yet, shut it. your crazy. dummy Chris Paddock, you think your so cool. your an idiot dave s.
--
Just thought I'd collect all of aj's thoughts into one thread as so we may study them closer in an effort to decipher their true inner meaning.
haha aj, wow, i love wm5 and cant wait for it to be released for the hx4700, but i am not a "dummy " or "idiot" because i have an opinion of wether or not this is indeed fake, i am still not convinced that its real, what hard proof do u really have, none, you might as well eliminate this video, haha wait a couple minutes and i'll whip one up of my hx4700 running windows xp.
Better yet Chris, can you make it run POS5.4? =P
haha EnricoSwave, yes, but guess what aj!! I have my hands on exclusive shots of hx4700 running vista and the old whatever ppc that is running wm5, how crazy, so now we know, vista's being made for the hx4700 and hp will update that crappy ppc to wm5
http://www.paddockscorner.com/engadget/vista.jpg
http://www.paddockscorner.com/engadget/wm5.JPG
although a bit blurry, they should be proof enough, dont you thing aj?
Chris give it up with your arguement about being Photoshopped...a video was provided for a reason..
since when was my argument about anything being photoshopped bo? I was simply showing how easy it is to put a pic or video on full screen on a pda to pass it of as somthing else
Even if wifi won't be included there are so many windows compatible wifi sdio cards out there, the hack on a windows mobile phone to enable wifi shouldn't be very hard. the future is bright.
on my vx6600, the picture looks really fuzzy, i'll have check it out later on my desktop ..(had to soft reset to continue this comment)..hehe, jk- i love this little quesadilla of mine, yeah, treo w/ ms mobile would be nice.
This will be my next phone if the Cingular version has WiFi.
aj, you are a complete idiot. Not a single intelligent word came out of you, please go to Disney.com to impress 1 or 2 mousequeteers, here your nonsense is to obvious.
About the phone: It's a movie. Now, lets move on to the next topic.
I was just going to throw my vote in with #8. If this is for real why do we get 3 short videos that ALL manage to not show any interactoin between the buttons and the screen, and also no use of input via touch screen.
Adam
It appears to be the same keyguard, but if you look closely at it, there are some differences.
This keyguard has the time and tells you to press the calendar button to unlock, unlike the treo which just tells you to press the center button with no time. I have a HP Hw6515 and the keyguard warning is very similar to this telling me to press the calendar and messaging button to unlock.
Face it. This is real
God. This is horrible. I love my Treo! You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you find our your girlfriend cheated on you..
Well.. ug.. Palm.. you bitch!
"mike (currently #44), your dumb, windowsmobile 5 is better cuz it syncs with your entire PC system. word excel powerpoint outlook, kinternet explorrer favorites ext., and windows media player 10 for all your media. now palm cant do all that, the only thing your right about is the money, but you get what you pay for, palm really is only good is your a mac fan becyuase the UI's are similar in atmosphere and fell"
This is about the lamest reply I've ever read. "Syncs with your whole PC".. ooh.. Internet Explorer Favorites.. big deal. Most sites look like crap on a handheld.
Windows Media sucks. Palm has Pocket Tunes and several different video players which play more formats than Windows Media player.
Outlook sucks balls.. and you can view and edit Word and Excel docs on Palm just fine. There are several different programs that are actually superior to Pocket Word and Pocket Excel.
"Palm is only good for Mac users".. what? Windows Mobile has always been more cumbersome and less intuitive than Palm OS. Period. I should know, as the first PDA's I owned were a Philips Nino and a Palm V. I've also owned 2 different iPaq's, a Sharp Zaurus (which runs Linux), and two different Clie's.
You know which was the best of ALL of those? The Zaurus. It has a menu system that's a hybrid of Windows Mobile and Palm OS, is super easy to use, and has the best Word and Excel compatible editors. Period.
I stick with Palm because there are so many free and cheap apps. I've never liked Windows CE/Windows Mobile and probably never will. Outlook is among the most bloated applications ever written. People who use this app are like crack addicts, hopelessly addicted. Why people use this abomination of an operating system, let alone DEFEND it, is truely beyond me.
The whole defending an Operating System PERIOD, is pretty dumb to begin with. The fact you're defending another Operating System, based soley on your OPINION, is kinda retarded........
"not everybody likes Corvettes...."
Forgive me for not being in-the-know among handheld gadgets but
Why is this significant?
I must say that the endless Palm vs. PPC saga sure brings out the crazies...
I just posted more pics on howard forums
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=695201&page=2
I don't much care for Windows Mobile. A friend of mine works for T-Mobile and picked up one of their HP smartphones and I was quite underwhelmed. I've used a number of Palm OS 2.x-4.0 devces. Though this his was far more multimedia capable, getting things to work on it were a hassle.
ok first and foremost, I ***do not*** repeat DO NOT work for PALM, Verizon Wireless or any company that has ANYTHING to do with either of them.
Second, Yes i have more than one phone. And yes they are for sale. The best way to reach me is on howard.
If this is true, then that means that Palm is really and truly screwing those people who liked the Palm OS (despite its warts, and it has them, but it also has benefits, particularly if your desktop is not Windows) and those who preferred an alternative to Windows Mobile to begin with.
They will also be announcing that they are screwing their ISVs, who probably don't have Windows Mobile versions of their apps, unless they ported to be in that market. I don't know how much money is in either the Palm or WM market, but I suspect that a lot of the small shops choose one or the other and stick with it.
For example, a lot of Palm people use products like Llamagraphics' Life Balance. There is no Windows Mobile version of that. What's that ISV going to do, except try to port faster or be bitter?
This will also begin to kill the software market for Palm OS, which will affect current Treo owners, as well as those of every other device Palm sells. Which means it will begin to kill Palm's hardware sales.
Overall, this switch doesn't seem like a good move. Palm may have thought they have no choice or have considered all their options, but I really truly think this will make their current sales drop precipitously. From the lack of information we have now, it's not like Apple's switch to Intel at all.
Bravo Histrionic! Finally read a well put together comment. Let's all save the trolling for Slashdot.
THIS VIDEO DOES NOT MEAN ITS REAL
I Am a Computer Graphic major at the school of visual arts and understand my major is all about video and cg trickery for TV
Now it is not hard to take a video IE of the OS and use any compositing software (After Effects as such) that is redily avail onlien to download ileagaly and pinpoint the video into a moving object like this its so easy to plaster a ad that does not exist on some thing its not even funny...
the question is do they have these skills?
If it's real....
Tell the guy to send it to you for the weekend.
You pay the fedex both ways.
If he doesn't agree...
It's a hoax.
right on the money ANGRYPC.COM
My guess is that there is indeed a Treo 670 that can run WM5. Both OSes use ARM so the hardware is already similar, and WM5 now supports square screens.
However, you've probably seen as much of the 670 as you ever will.
PalmSource just licensed the Palm name back to PalmOne. There's no way PalmSource would have agreed to do this if PalmOne was going to ship the Treo 670. It would have been a suicidal move for PalmSource because it would destroy the Palm brand.
More likely, the 670 was a hedge against PalmSource's demise, or a bargaining chip for PalmOne to use in negotiating with PalmSource.
Sorry, WM fans!
P.S. I use both OSes, and use the Treo 650 as my phone.
OR more likely, they licensed the Palm name so they could sell a WM Palm Powered (tm) device. Why else would they need full rights to the name? (it was 50:50 before with PalmSource)
Surur
Good doctor(logic), why do you assume palmOne would have told PalmSource about this little plan prior to negotiating to get full rights to the name? There are other possible lines of logic.
Infusing PalmSource with cash and "ensuring" the survival of the Palm name could explain those negotiations very well. The name was something palmOne _could_ buy. And it protects them from someone else buying out PSRC and then having to negotiate with a new party. The list goes on.
I just died a little bit inside.