Analyst report details new Treos

You can't always trust everything that comes out of an industry analyst's mouth, but a Caris & Co analyst just published a research report with some juicy details about what the future may hold for the Treo. There are a few things we more or less already knew, like that Verizon Wireless would be getting the new Windows Mobile-powered Treo by the end of February, but the real niblet is that Palm is planning a followup to the Treo 650. (You mean, besides the Treo 700w?! Looks like it!) Not too many specifics, but this new Treo will supposedly have EV-DO and hit Verizon in May. Sprint will probably also be getting the phone around the same time, but Cingular customers won't see a UMTS version of this new Treo sometime around the end of 2006. They don't come right out and say what operating system this new Treo will be sporting, but the report does seem to imply that it will be some version of the Palm OS since they say that the Cingular release will be delayed in order to give Palm more time to focus on the launch of the new Windows Mobile Treo. Either way, the rock doesn't stop there: the report also claims that Palm will launch a new line of mid-range Treos sometime next year that are expected to retail for around two hundred bucks.

[Thanks, Brian]

[yelohbird @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I kinda read it the other way - as in Palm will be pushing back the release of its (Cobalt?) "update to Treo 650" because the want to concentrate on the "other" OS first (i.e. WM).

Btw...a $200 Treo?? Sign me up!!

[jjd @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

May is a very long time from now. Not sure my Treo 600 will be able to hold out...

[E Ness @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

That thing looks sweet. Can't wait for Cingular to get the Windows version....

[Peter Rojas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

yelohbird -- you're right, my mistake, accidentally wrote "won't" instead of "will".

[Orneta @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Will there really be any demand for a Palm OS based Treo? It will be interesting to see if anyone is even interested. Obviously the future for Palm is Windows Mobile.

[donald @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Actually Orneta, there are still a lot of hardcore PalmOS people out there that have custom design, coded, and produced applications for the workplace. We have 3 we use on a regular basis that have been in use since '00 that we first rolled out on the Handspring Treo line. Currently, about 500 people in various locations abound the US use it check databases for supply orders. And that is just our company.
So I would say that the PalmOS is still going to be in demand for a good long while.

[kc! @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I for one am holding out for a Palm-based Treo 700 (hopefully, the 700p) or fantasizing for a Mac OSX-powered one (maybe a 700m??).

[derek @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Interesting, I just ditched my 600 with a busted screen for a Tungsten E2, but I definitely would be interested in a newer Treo that doesn't cost 450 dollars. Oh, and RUNS PALM. Windows Mobile just doesn't have the history that PalmOS has as far as many varied, custom apps that cover, well, anything.

[Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I agree with Donald. PlamOS is the truth for many people. I have probably spent about $300 in the last year on applications for PalmOS. I feel like any OS there is room for improvement. I would get PALM tatooed on my neck if I could. Now that's loyalty. :)

[clicclic @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Besides the Series 60 (Symbian) phones - now called S60 - the endless Palm apps make sense in a cell phone. I'll be getting a Treo 650 this xmas or the Nokia N70...

[bc @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Palm OS rocks due to its simplicity. Like apple's OS... i think i read somewhere that its been 1200 days since they upgraded their OS to 5.0 (OS 6 due!).

[Andre @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

So the Treo 700w has been pushed to the end of February? I thought it was sometime in early January.

[4phun @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Read the Amazon.com user reviews of the Treo 650 and you will notice it makes for a very poor cell phone. Its a gadget that trys to be a cell phone and fails. You need to use a headset to even use it in most situations as the internal speaker volume is very low.

You could never use it as a speakerphone.

IMHO the new TREO's will probably also be hardware deficent.

[gualti @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

concerning the GSM Treo I think the analyst talked about end of fiscal 2006 not end of calendar 2006 so new treo gmsm should come out in may june

[FlyBoyCO @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Unfortunatly, I dont think a palm version is gonna come out for the 700, Access (japan based company) bought out Palm Source and they dont plan on keeping PalmOS for much longer (til 2009, only because of a contract agreement w/ Palm that prevents them from dropping it completely)... Maybe they'll come out w/ a different OS, one thats easy to develope and can compete w/ Windows devices. and with the GSM version not even being due for almost a year after the CDMA version, i dont think they're even gonna plan a PalmOS version of the 700
Personally, I need a new device of one form or another... the 650 is dropping in price a lot, but I dunno if I want to wait for the 700w

[PhoneGuy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

The phone is called the groovy & groovy2. One EVDO and the other 3G...

They run WM5.

[Allen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

4phun, I disagree with you (or the reviewers at Amazon). After owning a Treo600 and Treo650 (now a PPC-6700), the treo is about the easiest to use as a phone "gadget" there is. In fact, the only thing keeping me from going back to my T650 is the lack of WiFi and EVDO. Windows mobile 5 is much less phone oriented and the menus way more mucked up that the Palm OS. People keep saying that there is a learning curve to any new device, but my Treos were intuitive and made sense from the minute I picked them up. The menus make sense and everything is where it seems like it should be. I have a strong feeling that the WM5 on the Treo 700 will be highly modified to make use of the Treo's easy one handed use.

[Elias @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Why no love for GSM? Certainly the others had GSM, and that allows for a huge number of potential clients. Especially for the business-oriented target audience that travels the world. Can't do that with Sprint or Verizon.

-- Elias