Treo 700w officially announced

We just tuned in for the official Treo 700w announcement, in which a great drinking game could have been had surrounding the words "strategic partnership." Not a lot of earth-shattering new details beyond what we already knew (WinMo 5.0, one megapixel camera, EV-DO, Bluetooth, 64MB memory), other than the fact that it's gonna be launched exclusively on Verizon. They haven't announced an official naming scheme for the device quite yet, and are currently referring to it affectionately as the "Treo smartphone on Windows Mobile." They're opening up the Q&A now with the warning that they won't be announcing any further specs or pricing at this time. When pressed on release schedule, Palm President and CEO Ed Colligan indicated "very early next year."

Update: From the Q&A it does appear that the screen resolution is 240x240.

[iomatic @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

NNOOOOOOOO!!!!!


MY EYES! MY EYES!

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Did they announce the screen resolution?

[Homer J @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Yawn

[Stephen Lease @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Lame

[Josh L @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

the retards at Palm can't even get the site to work - it keeps reloading the same redirect/splash page (even when I unblocked Omniture [2o7.net] cookies)... Maybe they should call their own useless tech support. Or not.

[Eli Hodapp @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I guess the only question left now is should my next phone be a HTC Wizard, or the Motorola Q?

*Pours one out for the Treo*

[Rimsky @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Where is the GSM version?

[Night201 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

There won't be any Wi-Fi on this version of the phone, but they didn't rule out future ones. Oh well. It still looks awesome. I plan on getting one!

[carlos @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

this is great! two possiblilities, or Palm is trying to capture the windows users market or Palm at least recognise that Palm Os is inferior to Windows Mobile

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Countdown till verizon cripples the bluetooth.
Congrats on them for adapting their product to the WM market, failure to adapt to market trends can take down the biggest giant.

[lindsey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Damn, I have to pour out some Ole E for my homie TREO. Even though you had some problems like the network search problem, it was still nothing but love for ya homie. R.I.P.P. (rest in peace palm)

[Jason Corosanite @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Most of the numbers in the contacts were 555 numbers but it looked like there was a genuine 408 number there for Bill Gates. Any one else try calling it - I just called and Bill Gates' phone just answered back stage - Heard him talking about getting SMS messages while on stage - I don't think he realized he answered the call - oops he just hung up - this is toooooooo funny!!!

[Homer J @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Whats up with WiFi?

OK, so you can get the SD card to link up, but the whole point of the device to reduce my pocket clutter. So whats the deal, am I going to have a pocket full of SDs?

What about battery life?

[aw @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

to answer the first post about the screen-- towards the end of the q&a someone asked about how they can have a 240x240 device and still compete with the Q (which is 320x240)...anyone else hear more?

[paultakeda @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I've got an iPod, a phone, and a PDA -- I'm not budging till one device takes care of all three (telecom, DUN, BT, WiFi, storage capacity, full Windows Mobile). I give it... two years.

[exodar @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

This is terrible news. I have been watching this story in hopes that it wasn't true. I won't even get into the arguement of whether or not Windows Mobile is better than Palm OS (even though I have personally owned and used both and prefer the Palm OS). This is a company that I have loved for years now deciding to sell their competitors Operating System on their hardware merely to gain market share as quickly as possible. It is always about money. Rather than do right by us customers and develop their OS further to meet or exceed the competitors product, they just jump the bandwagon and eliminate another product for us to choose from. I know that the Palm OS still exists on several of their other devices...but this feels all to much like what the future will hold for Palm. I fear they want out of the software business because they feel they can make more money by concentrating on the hardware.

The only person to gain in this is the upper-echelon of Palm and the consumer will lose. Without competitive OS development in the PDA market, our choices and features will come to a grinding halt.

Say what you will about the Palm OS, PocketPC, or Windows Mobile...having more options is BETTER for us! Not vice versa.

And for people like me who love the platform it is a bigger loss. This is the equivalent of Steve Jobs telling me my next Powerbook will only run Windows Vista. When that day comes my friends, I am getting out of the computer business and going off to teach philosophy.

[Carlos @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

F&!@ Palm!!!!! If they abandon Palm OS and there is no more Palm OS Treo I am forcefully jumping ship to M$ but never giving Palm a penny of my damn money.

[tonicboy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Oh great, so the best thing about the Treo - the opertaing system - is now gone. Wonderful. And, ooooh yeah, fantastic screen resolution!!! Yippeeee!!!!

[Heffer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

So I guess I'm still a little confused from what I've read/heard so far. Is Palm going exclusively with a Windows Mobile Treo or will another PalmOS Treo be coming out in the near future?

Regardless, the hardware already seems dated and will be more so when it officially comes out. Only 64mb, 1mp Camera, 240x240 screen, No WiFi integration...

I'm putting my money on the Motorola Q as the next smartphone champ.

[Bruno @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I wonder if they corrected the volume issue that the 650 had with the earpiece?

If they didn't then the phone is not worth buying

[h0mi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Does this work with palm desktop?

[blee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Shit Apple needs to come out with a smart phone and fast I'm tired of these companies jacking me around. I just bought a Treo 650, and now to lose support for the os??? That conference was a load of crap Palm OS is history, why develop for 2 OS's when you could just develop for one? besides since palm was the primary distributor of the Palm OS if they stop who will pick it up? I will admit I love the hardware but OS stability remains a big issue.

[shaun @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

what about sprint?

[Id @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

OK, Now what?

[Tim T. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

So when is Engadget going to give a more complete review (or is anyone going to give one)? Everyone is talking about the merits of Windows Mobile on a Palm device, which frankly is a one-trick story if you ask me. Either you are worried Palm will die or you view this as what it is, another phone to review.

I mean, seriously, how does this hurt the Palm lovers? Palm OS wasn't releasing anything new anyway, and being just purchased probably slowed any plans they did have. This didn't end anything. The only thing current Treo 650 owners had to look forward to was a better camera, more memory, or EV-DO. So stick with your 650, you aren't losing much.

This announcement is really nothing more than "here is another smartphone, review it please". This is no more or less news than the other HTC devices coming out. The PalmOS issue was really decided long before this announcement.

I personally have been waiting for a phone with this form factor, EV-DO, and either Windows Mobile 5 or a blackberry abilities (connect or OS). Blackberry with a camera, EV-DO, and better screen would win hands down!

The net result is it seems I am closer to getting a phone I could use, assuming ActiveSync works as advertised. If Samsung released a phone with the same features and form factor I would be just as interested - no more or less.

So, Engadget, how about that full review?!?! Battery life, one thumb navigation, sending and receiving pics, syncing docs to the storage card, voice dialing, call quality? Is this a GOOD PHONE?

[Tyler @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

First off, I am sure Palm isn't going to discontinue support for the PalmOS anytime soon... this will be their first non PalmOS PDA, and it won't be out for 4+ months.

There aren't enough new features in the 700w to cause many to upgrade, unless they want WinMo.

If Palm proceeds to offer both a 700w and a 700p, I imagine the breakdown would go about like this: about 25% who would have bought a 700p will get the 700w instead, because of the OS. Meanwhile, 50% of those who do buy the 700w will be buyers who wouldn't have considered a Palm OS PDA at all.

So yes, I imagine this will cannibalize sales of PalmOS Treos, but I think they will still sell more then the WinMo Treo. Furthermore, combined unit sales will definitely be higher then the would be if Palm only offered PalmOS.

[Permanent4 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

So now that Palm is moving to Windows Mobile, what really separates the Treo from the Motorola Q or the HP hw6715? Size? Touch screen? The "Treo" brand? Seems like all three of them do exactly the same thing, and they all have to go up against Blackberry, not to mention all those other Windows smartphones with sliding keyboards.

What I *really* want to know is this: What are the Symbian licensees doing to counter this? Are there any Symbian QWERTY smartphones coming down the pike aside from the Nokia 9300? How come Nokia isn't putting a QWERTY keypad on any of its N-Series phones? I would take an N70 with QWERTY over a WinMob Treo any day.

[Elias @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Good, but...

Lo-res screen and CDMA-only...?

Why are they shutting-out the global market? They could have sold so many more units had they released it GSM.

-- Elias

[Craig @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

First, Palm is definitely not ABANDONING Palm OS, at least not any time soon. They aren't about to lop off 90-100% of their sales and current customer base just to please Microsoft. Ed Colligan's comments made it quite clear that the WM Treo is a product line *addition*, not substitution.

Second, the WM Treo is a first-generation device by an experienced company. It's good, but definitely not earth-shattering. What surprised me is that it took 2+ years to bring this thing to market. Yeesh...what a product dev cycle!

[L'Emmerdeur @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Fugly. Ah, well, Hermione, kindly step onto the stage and perform your audition piece.

(never going to give my $ to Motorola again after that POS called the v80, so no Q)

[Thought @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

It's a shame they won't release it this year in time for Christmas. They'll lose out on some sales because of this...

[ChillyWilly @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Not till early 2006?? Well, that does give me more time to save. Although, I'm really hoping that Sprint will get this phone at some point. My plan is too good with them to switch to Verizon Wirele$$.

And no, I'm not some Windows Mobile fan boy... I just like the features of Windows Mobile over Palm OS. Several key apps that I use are only on Windows Mobile and work as I need them to, not forcing me to change how I work.

With that said, I'm sure once the phone is out, then apps for the Mac like Missing Sync will offer 700w support, just as they are planning to offer WinMo 5 support here shortly.

I do admit that the Palm OS works better for Mac users, but Palm hasn't really kept up with the changes over the years. I mean, Sony had some great Palm devices, but since they are officially gone now, there's not that many devices left that can really give users the features they need.

I never thought I would look forward to getting a converged device like the 700w, but it seems to be the device that will allow me to retire my aging Jornada 568 and my Palm m500 (which I use both on a daily basis).

[Brit @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Finally!
I tried the 600 for long enough...the palm os is quite a letdown and I'm happy that palm realized that they needed a different OS to keep up. Too bad for Apple too. As for whether or not Palm is done, he did say that Palm "was out of the OS buisiness, for sure."
Later.

[Sauron @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

SCREW THOSE WINMOB SUPPORTERS! Goodbye my friend its hard to die...

[Dr. Glenn B. Hurtado @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I really like this model of Treo from the reviews it must really be great!!!...when will this be available in the Philippines? I am willing to purchase one...do email me if it is already released. thanks so much!