Treo 670 running Windows Mobile? Ehhhh, probably not
Feels 'shopped, but a pic of what purports to be a Treo 670 running on Windows Mobile 5.0 has popped up on HowardForums. The poster also claims that this baby has EV-DO, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 megapixel camera (how about just go for the gold and say it has WiFi, too?) and that they'll be posting up some video soon to back all this up.
UPDATE: It's real! Video can be found here.
Filed under: Cellphones
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jimmy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
ick...windowz
seen it here too:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000030035535/
aj @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
yess!! the best hard ware finally paris with the best software
B @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
look at the upper left hand corner and let your eye wander down... see the blue layer over the edge of the plastic? Looks photoshop'd to me.
aj @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
yea your right B
iDean @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
This better be B/S...I hate windows...
treo lovah @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
it is just so amazing to see how badly these windoze fanbois want the treo, which IS the best smartphone on the planet right now, to run microslop. why don't they go p-shop some ppc screenshots into ipods, eh?
Ted @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
It looks real to me. The reflection of the blue from the screen on the top of the phone is pretty real looking to me, I don't think it's photoshopped!
jg @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
windows is the best move for palm. their os was a nice start but windows is much better now. i could care less for any linux options. i hope this is true.
Adam Stewart @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
That blue you see if the plastic from the protective screen cover that ships with the phone. If you look closely, you'll see the blue tint travels the whole way across the screen.
You'll also notice that the "reflective light" in the upper-left corner of the screen (right over the windows logo) is a matte reflection instead of a glossy reflection. This is also indicative of the fact that the blue is a protective screen cover that hasn't been removed yet. Any treo, or PDA screen, that i've screen has always had a glossy reflective screen.
In my opinion: It's authentic.
ChillyWilly @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Wow... this would be nice, as long as they can make it stable... not that WM is unstable that I know of, but I like the feature set of WM devices.
I've been wanting a Treo for sometime now. If this happens, I might have to do the upgrade.
Jon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Yeah, I call BS. The poster also claims there's another version running Cobalt OS. WTF is that? Next....
B @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Ted... Im not talking about the reflection at the top. Im talking about where the left hand corner of the screen is. There is a distinct flat horizontal line that goes accross the metal edge. There should not be a blue tint on that side. The only other possible thing it could be is a screen protector, but why would it extend on onto the plastic?
Ted @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
ChillyWilly said:
not that WM is unstable that I know of
I have used both, WM is as unstable as the Palm OS on my Treo650 right now. They are unstable in different ways (mainly to do with how they handle memory & errors etc) but I would say that they are as stable or as unstable as each other.
The bigger thing has been that until Windows Mobile 5.0 one handed operation of a Windows Mobile device was simply not possible. Obviously this is one of the huge selling points of the Treo. WM 5.0 is "one-handed enabled" but the apps you run will need to be one handed enabled as well. I would assume that most of the phone functions, email, SMS etc would be one handed enabled, but 3rd party apps will take some time to catch up in this regards.
As a Treo650 owner, I would seriously consider the move to a 650 like WM device if it was as easy to use as my current 650. In my opinion this would be an ideal device.
Ted @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
B - "Im talking about where the left hand corner of the screen is."
Yeah, I see that too. I like your screen protector idea, I don't think it prooves photoshop though...but I would like to see more pics to be sure...
Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
I think that a move to WM would be a poor decision for Palm. Yes, there are positive aspects about the platform, but one of the key things that many of you are forgetting is that unlike WM, there is an avalanche of FREE software for Palm devices. If we move to WM, we suddenly rely on MSoft for everything, where with palm, there are multitudes of developers out there making my Treo experience all the more gratifying. And cheap.
Rod @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Jon, cobalt is the next version of palm os.
Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
The guy who posted the pic is a pretty reliable source. He has been right about alot of other phones from Verizon. I think he may also work for Verizon.
andy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Probably NOT a photoshop.
The HoFo poster "roc a fella" is pretty reputable and it's likely that this is a real upcoming product.
andy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Palm fanboys: I was reluctant to like Windows Mobile at first, too, but after using an i730 extensively, I must say that I'm excited about an upcoming WM Treo. Give it a shot before mindlessly bashing it.
Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
#14
I had a treo, (sold it) but I don't know of many free prgrams for the Treo. Just to get MP3 ringers you have to finaggle and get a program that costs 30 bucks.
But I'm speaking from my own experiences.
GSM @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Couldn't this simply be a screen capture of a WM device screen, cropped to 320x320 (notice you can't see the bottom edge), and displayed on a Treo?
Khaytsus @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Bryan,
Having to buy an mp3 ringer does not equate to there not being any free programs for the Treo. There are HORDES of free programs for Palms. Lots of shareware that works in a limited capacity without having to pay. And a lot that's quite cheap.
Your experience is obviously very limited.
Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
#21
I had to buy a program to do it. I'm not talking about the MP3 ringer itself.
I saw lots of prgrams I saw as "useful" to me. IM programs, seperate e-mail prgrams calendars and other things, and NONE of them were less then 20 bucks. Same as Windows mobile programs.
And my experience is admittedly limited since I sold the thing after a week......
I'll buy something that takes a little less money to get it to do what I want it to do.
Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
basically what IU'm getting at, is that if you want prgrams not "limited in use" your gonna have to pay for it either way........
ian spain @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
if you frequent Howard Forums, you know that roc a fella, that user, is a pretty damn reliable source of information
Desert @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
It looks real to me as well. But the sad part isn't that they're making it, it's that people actually prefer PPC over Palm. Marketing always amazes me.
JonnoB @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
That blue hue is the protective cover that comes on new units. It is temporary and you pull it off after you buy a unit. Most LCD and other display screens will have this kind of cover. Remember how you remove covers on your ink cartridges, your new camera, your new mobile phone, etc?
Rightclick @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
How come such pictures are never, well, um -- clearer? I mean, if he really had the phone take some good pictures with the D-SLR you probably have too if you're so cutting edge!
Jeff Lewis @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
I'm amused that everyone's missed the obvious way to fake a picture like this: the Treo *is* a PalmOS device at the moment, no? How hard would it be to capture a screen shot on a WM device.. then *display* it on the Treo and take a picture?
I know 'photoshopping' is the trendy excuse - but come on - that's a LOT of work to do this when there's so many simpler ways.
And for the guy who was asking: Cobalt was the next gen version of PalmOS that would have replaced the current versions if Palm hadn't started imploding and exploding all over the place recently.
There's also PalmLinux.
Personally, while I would be rather surprised to see a Windows Mobile based Treo... no one would have believed Nokia making non-Symbian phones either...
roc a fella @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
I just posted the video
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=0804051316
franz @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Guys check out the video. It looks legit. The biggest question though for me is release date for Sprint. I'm getting ready to buy a Treo in the next few weeks, but damned if I don't want the next version - Windows or Cobalt. I'd just like EVDO or WifFi.
tonicboy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
I guarantee that this is an absolutely true picture... of a Treo showing a screenshot of the Pocket PC OS. And you know why?
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.
Is it possible that they actually gave the Pocket PC version a low-res screen? Maybe, but it seems highly dubious.
Also, why would Palm brand their prototype with the Verizon logo? Why would a Wookiee an eight foot tall Wookiee want to live on Endor with a bunch of two foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! If Chewbacca does not make sense, you must acquit!
Dan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Video is up
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=0804051316
Paul @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
*cough* What was that tonicboy?
roc a fella @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
I just posted the video
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=0804051316
roc a fella @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
anyone who claims i post spoofs is an idiot
Ted @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Uh, yep, it's real. That is windows mobile running on a Treo and you can see him press a button and make the menu pop up, so it isn't just an image on the phone...the screen looks bigger to me and the body is very similar to those other Treo "Windows" shots that were out before, especially the key layout. Interesting
Peter Rojas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
roc a fella asked us to host the video, which you can find here: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000840053340/
Iceman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
It's about time that we could order a phone with our choice of OS's. End the PPC/Palm wars once and for all.
Grandpa @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
For the price of the Windows CE Platform Builder (the demo version is free) and a week of hacking it would be pretty easy to get Windows Mobile running on a Treo.
It would certainly make sense for Palm* to have it in the works. Whether it gets released or not is the other question.
tonicboy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Well, the Treo in that video looks real enough, and just different enough to seem plausible for a new model. So, the question is... did they really lower the screen resolution?! Because that text is definitely no smaller than 63 pixels across - there's just no physical way to make it any smaller! So that means that the screen really is about 200-220 pixels wide. Yuck.
hippie @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
That move is only good for Microsoft. One competitor less, while consumers get less choice than before. Palm on the other hand will have trouble differentiating them from other zero-margin windows competitors like HTC, Asus and Acer.
Anyone should already know from PC business that there is only one company making billions of money - the one who's OS everyone licences. Some learn from history, everyone else is doomed to repeat it.
To everyone here who is wishing this is true: Is it really that good in long term that there is less choice and competition? Wouldn't it make more sense to wish for new versions of palmos/linux/symbian that had every feature you like in WM and more?
jason @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
wait, wait... i thought you GUARANTEED something, tonicboy....
how's the crow taste?
Surur @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
Hippie spouted the uninformed opinion that "Palm on the other hand will have trouble differentiating them from other zero-margin windows competitors like HTC, Asus and Acer."
Maybe this article will reassure you about the viability and profitability of WM companies.
HTC Reports 97% Increase in Record Year Profit
http://msmobiles.com/news.php/3550.html
Margins and Average Sales Price are actually better in the WM side.
Surur @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
And for the people complaining about freeware, there's piles of pocketpc freeware, and they are of better quality than POS freeware.
http://www.pocketpcfreeware.com/en/index.php
http://www.freewareppc.com/
And as to why Verizon would be eager to launch this phone quickly? ARPU of course. WM users generate 25% more average revenue per user than normal phone users. And for the networks its all about ARPU
http://www.orangepartner.com/site/enuk/news/press/spv_e200.jsp
Surur
DF @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
I closely examined the "Type a name or number" label in order to count pixels.
Basically:
- crop the image to extract the label
- adjust brightness and contrast a little bit
- use "sharpen" or "sharpen more" filters
- try to resize the label with different sizes, until best fit (lowest fuzziness, which means you found the right resolution)
My results :
- screen width is 394 picture pixels
- real width vs. picture witdh is 142 / 238 (at the level of the label mentioned above)
=> screen width is 394 x 142 / 238 = 235 actual pixels
Given the error margins, this leads to a screen width of 240 pixels, which typically is the one of a Windows Mobile device... and LESS than the Treo 650 !!!
James @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
The obvious decision Palm made was that they are a hardware only company (PalmSource sells the software). As a hardware company to increase your hardware sales, it makes sense to offer a Palm & WM version, plain & simple. More offerings, more sales, more profits.
Agent Polgas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
By splitting the Palm company (Palm, palmOne, now back to Palm again)to hardware and software makes it more viable to increase sales and provide further options for each company. Since that time, there has been no word from the hardware side developing a WM OS until now.
I used to work for Palm's Tech Support and its about time that by introducing this would determine which really has the best software for mobility.
Keep spreading... Get Firefox:
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/?q=user/register&r=87240
Agent Polgas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
By splitting the Palm company (Palm, palmOne, now back to Palm again)to hardware and software makes it more viable to increase sales and provide further options for each company. Since that time, there has been no word from the hardware side developing a WM OS until now.
I used to work for Palm's Tech Support and its about time that by introducing this would determine which really has the best software for mobility.
Keep spreading... Get Firefox:
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/?q=user/register&r=87240
Mo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:18AM
treo 670, could run in windows but it would not be a competitor for the new hw6515. Treo users you better old on to your signal..