Palm Treo 700p looking legit

Skeptics still abound, but Treo hacker extraordinaire Shadowmite is vouching for the authenticity of those Treo 700p pics that popped up yesterday evening; this dude's rep alone is enough to have most Treo fanatics convinced that this is the real deal. Anyway, we're still waiting for a few new choice pics, but in the meantime in some specs are making the rounds, and the new Treo 700p, which will supposedly be available from Sprint in April, will have a 312MHz processor, Palm OS 5.4.9, EV-DO, 1.3 megapixel digital camera, a 320 x 320 pixel display, and Bluetooth (they're not sure whether it's Bluetooth 1.2 or not). The news that Palm is busting out a new Treo running on the Palm OS has to be good news to all the loyalists who were dreading having to switch to Windows Mobile to get 3G on a Treo, but, man, Palm is really running Garnet into the ground, aren't they? Let's hope they managed to work out a lot of the stability issues that have plagued the Treo 650 before they release this one.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]

[tino @ Feb 4th 2006 12:03PM]

Haha I am glad I hold out.

Good old PalmOS is mom's apple pie, I can't let it go. Plus superior screen woot!

[Chris @ Feb 4th 2006 12:09PM]

It better have BT 1.2 and be able to support the latest 4 GB SD cards. The 650 is capped at 2 GB. I don't know if it's a OS or hardware issue though. And they really need to add WiFi SD support too. This still wouldn't be enough for me to upgrade my 650 but it certainly would convince my wife to upgrade her 600.

[JBaxt @ Feb 4th 2006 12:09PM]

Its so simple, like osx. Me love Steve Jobs for long time.

[Jason @ Feb 4th 2006 12:14PM]

Where's the gsm version at? Oh wait were not gonna get one here in the u.s till the end of the year(maybe) cause we don't have enuff real support for 3gsm yet. Sprint's version is looking hot though. I don't know if it's hot enuff for me to switch to a new $75 and more plan. I still want wifi. As i repeatedly post i'll gladly tote around an extra battery and spend $100 on a wifi card rather than pay sprint or VERI$ON for their EVDO(what an a$$ raping) That's my only gripe with the 650. I luv it,but it needs wifi. WHERE are the DRIVERS

[Jason @ Feb 4th 2006 12:14PM]

Where's the gsm version at? Oh wait were not gonna get one here in the u.s till the end of the year(maybe) cause we don't have enuff real support for 3gsm yet. Sprint's version is looking hot though. I don't know if it's hot enuff for me to switch to a new $75 and more plan. I still want wifi. As i repeatedly post i'll gladly tote around an extra battery and spend $100 on a wifi card rather than pay sprint or VERI$ON for their EVDO(what an a$$ raping) That's my only gripe with the 650. I luv it,but it needs wifi. WHERE are the DRIVERS ?

[StWaldo @ Feb 4th 2006 12:20PM]

I call fake - look at the "reflection" in the screen. It's supposed to be another Treo taking the picture, right? The antenna's on the wrong side, though. If someone were holding a Treo over it to take a picture, the antenna would reflect on the left side of the device, not the right. Whoever 'shopped it didn't flip the antenna.

[MJSgl @ Feb 4th 2006 12:32PM]

Pic was taken with a separate digital camera...it's the real deal, been following the discussion all day - trust me, this is (FINALLY) completely legit. There will be a 700P

[Anothny @ Feb 4th 2006 12:45PM]

Cause the pic is not taken with a treo, it was taken with a 6700. Read the thread, then post

[gfunkmagic @ Feb 4th 2006 12:53PM]

>>>>>I call fake - look at the "reflection" in the screen. It's supposed to be another Treo taking the picture, right? The antenna's on the wrong side, though. If someone were holding a Treo over it to take a picture, the antenna would reflect on the left side of the device, not the right. Whoever 'shopped it didn't flip the antenna.


The pic wasn't taken with a Treo, but with a Sprint 6700...

[XGM @ Feb 4th 2006 12:55PM]

#5 Its a PPC that took a pic, he even stated it.

This NOT A SHOPPED, ITS THE TRUE THING. Ive compared 3 pics from the guy, and everything is exactly the same, and constant. This is the real deal

[tino @ Feb 4th 2006 12:55PM]

#7:

Palm/Handspring has and had been able to design phones cater to the US carriers. 600 was offered on all four carriers and the 650 was offered on the 3 biggest carriers. Any competitor like iPaq 6500 hasn't been able to secure ANY mobile carrier.

I want to be nice but Nokia is quite dead in the US. Plus the Nokia N80 is 3 years behind the Treo 600, and there is less application support. GPS is more popular in the Europe than US yet GPS support on Symbian phones has been lagging behind WM and PalmOS for a long time.

[teH Munk @ Feb 4th 2006 1:03PM]

5. I call fake - look at the "reflection" in the screen. It's supposed to be another Treo taking the picture, right? The antenna's on the wrong side, though. If someone were holding a Treo over it to take a picture, the antenna would reflect on the left side of the device, not the right. Whoever 'shopped it didn't flip the antenna.

Not only that moron, but they moved the camera lens underneath the antenna too!!1OnE!!!

[js @ Feb 4th 2006 1:39PM]

It's a fake. I sense a photoshop job, along with the one posted yesterday.

Sorry, had to say that ;-O

[TJ @ Feb 4th 2006 1:54PM]

Yall are so crazy. ITS REAL. CONNECT THE DOTS!

[iZam @ Feb 4th 2006 1:58PM]

What about this picture?

http://www.pdamexico.net/content/view/1969/

[TJ @ Feb 4th 2006 2:00PM]

It is real. Yall need to connect the dots.

[nono @ Feb 4th 2006 2:13PM]

looks real to me... and the reflection is right!!!

[Anarquista @ Feb 4th 2006 2:23PM]

Whether or not you guys "think" the photo is fake or whatever is actually irrelevent since none of you are photo experts, just nerds behind a computer.

Second, the important thing here is that Shadowmite has the ROM from the 700P now and they are playing around with it (they tried to put the new Blazer on the 650 but to no avail).

Third, for those of us who were in Shadowmites IRC chat last night, we all have MORE pics of the phone that have NOT been released publicly.

Fourth, the phone has also been reportedly sold (for a hefty sum) already. Some speculate Sprint or Palm "bought it back".

Fifth, before anyone should comment they should read the forums where this originated --> Treocentral.com.

[dcpmark @ Feb 4th 2006 3:01PM]

Or what? You won't buy it? You'll cry?? What??? The supense is killing me!!!

[Dave @ Feb 4th 2006 4:04PM]

So does that mean no Windows version of the Treo for Sprint?

[Mike @ Feb 4th 2006 4:08PM]

All that resolution and they still have a cheap 256 color UI and low-res text.

Palm is just plain stupid, I hope they go bankrupt!

[Cynicdave @ Feb 4th 2006 4:15PM]

As someone who works with photoshop and other graphics program every day for the last 10 years, if that's photoshop, it's DAMN good photoshop. no seriously, the reflections and everythign is so damn perfect.

if it's fake, it's a real fake, as in, a fake device someone took a picture of.

[John Shillabeer @ Feb 4th 2006 5:22PM]

why the writing or whatever scrubbed out/blacked out thats next to "sprint"?

[John @ Feb 4th 2006 5:27PM]

With the greater number of Windows Mobile 5.0 devices like the 700w, XV6700, Q, HW6910 either out or coming out very soon, it's great to still see that Palm OS on a phone.

[Anarquista @ Feb 4th 2006 5:37PM]

"why the writing or whatever scrubbed out/blacked out thats next to "sprint"?"

'tester' or 'pre-release' Palm products traditionaly have a serial number on them for identification. he blacked it out to protect the identity of the original owner.

[Mr. Orange @ Feb 4th 2006 6:12PM]

To #22.
I completely agree.

[Scott @ Feb 4th 2006 8:53PM]

As the owner and advocate of the 6700, the reflection is definitely that of a PPC 6700.

[Frank @ Feb 4th 2006 9:53PM]

BUT WHERE IS THE MENU BUTTON ? That key cannot be missing on a Palm device! (or could there be another way to access the menus?)

[tommer12 @ Feb 5th 2006 1:10AM]

The only way to know for sure if this is real or not, someone has to go through the FCC documents to find if it's been certified as a released communication device. If it's not there, this could be someone monkeying around.

[tcc3 @ Feb 5th 2006 1:43AM]

Jason, I was reading Sprint's "Power Vision" brochure just the other day and their data rates are (still) much more resonable than verisons. Barely more than regular vision for unlinmited data.

[Anarquista @ Feb 5th 2006 2:23PM]

"The only way to know for sure if this is real or not, someone has to go through the FCC documents to find if it's been certified as a released communication device. If it's not there, this could be someone monkeying around."

There's ways of keeping FCC filings secret. Plus, it's not obvious this needs any more certifcation, since it's the same hardware as the 700W released by Verizon. Only the OS is different.

"BUT WHERE IS THE MENU BUTTON ?"

You can't see it in this pic but the Menu Button is where the Shift button is on the 650 right now (lower Right Hand corner). It's oddly placed but there.

"So does that mean no Windows version of the Treo for Sprint?"

No, Sprint at this point is reportedly still getting both. In fact the 700W will probably be released before this version (the Palm).

As far as evdo Pricing:
Sprint = $15/month unlimited ev-do; $10/mo unlimited 1x

Much cheaper than anyone, period.

[Craig @ Feb 5th 2006 3:31PM]

This is real.

[Ryan @ Feb 6th 2006 12:23AM]

I have the 650, and I can't see the point in coming out with another unstable device. My 650 is the most unstable device I've ever used, and I came from WM. I would much rather have a WM device, I just can't afford the upgrade to the 700w. Palm really needs to update their OS, putting out devices year after year on the same, unstable OS is pointless.

[Karl-Koenig Koenigsson @ Feb 6th 2006 6:50AM]

I wonder if Palm has added SMS receipt on this one? That, with the constant stability problems I had, made me switch back to an Ericsson T630.

Frankly: a GSM phone with no SMS recipt capability is more than a bit odd. I know that SMS is not that big a thing in the states but GMS has slightly more coverage than that and all other carriers that I know of are very keen on SMS. They are making money without having to provide QoS - devilery when the network has capacity for it.

So, SMS is a big thing in many countries, as is the reciept function; it is nice to know that whomever got your message or if it died of old age (there is a flag in the SMS spec for timeout).

[Daniel @ Feb 6th 2006 7:28AM]

Where's the improvement over the 650? Ooh, a better resolution camera! It will still look like crap...
Same screeen (which I love on my 650), same speed processor (although I've heard it is much faster on the UI), I bet they mess up the bluetooth just as badly as the 650.
Don't get me wrong, I love my 650 as a gadget, but this is not enough of an upgrade to be a +50 model number. This should be handed out to everyone who has been screwed over by the many faults of the 650.
I'm talking about you, bluetooth.

[Jason @ Feb 6th 2006 11:06AM]

No Built in Wifi on an enterprise device but a 1.3MP camera?

Palm must know something I don't, or they're driving their truck with blinders on.

[ChillyWilly @ Feb 6th 2006 1:46PM]

Ok, this looks real. And it could be the reason why I've held off so long on getting a Treo.

I may actually stay with Sprint if this has great reception.

And just when I switched from Pocket PC to Palm as my main PDA. The timing couldn't be better.

[palm 5 crashes all the time? @ Feb 6th 2006 8:39PM]

I agree with 36, we dont need a useless camera. We have to thank punks for this waste of space on the device...

[trevor m @ Feb 7th 2006 3:11AM]

so any chance verizon will see one of these babies? i have been waiting to buy a smart phone for what seems like forever. as a mac guy, i refuse to use anything that's micro$oft branded, but i really want a treo that will let me use mp3 ringtones out of the box without cheezy after-market apps (call me juvenile. . . ), which ive been told 650's need. so, anyone got good news for me?

[trevor m @ Feb 7th 2006 3:13AM]

so any chance verizon will see one of these babies? i have been waiting to buy a smart phone for what seems like forever. as a mac guy, i refuse to use anything that's micro$oft branded, but i really want a treo that will let me use mp3 ringtones out of the box without cheezy after-market apps (call me juvenile. . . ), which ive been told 650's need. so, anyone got good news for me?

[trevor m @ Feb 7th 2006 3:21AM]

so any chance verizon will see one of these babies? i have been waiting to buy a smart phone for what seems like forever. as a mac guy, i refuse to use anything that's micro$oft branded, but i really want a treo that will let me use mp3 ringtones out of the box without cheezy after-market apps (call me juvenile. . . ), which ive been told 650's need. so, anyone got good news for me?

[robindurden @ Feb 8th 2006 12:50PM]

^guess that mac of yours is so great that it posts up 3 of the same posts.

[Abe Burnett @ Feb 9th 2006 2:45PM]

I too have the 650 and like another user pointed out, it is the most unstable device I've ever used. Let me put it this way: it crashes more than any of the three computers I have at home running Windows. I never thought I'd see the day I considered Windows to be "stable." But that day arrived when I bought my Treo 650 and have had to live with it's frequent (weekly, sometimes daily) crashes. I too wish the company cared more about their maintaining and improving their OS and less about squeezing every last dime out of each aging OS. Besides, the next major release of their flagship smart phone and the best they do is up the camera to 1.3MP? Give me a break; other phones have twice that already. A little extra speed and EV-DO without a new OS means that my next smartphone will be Windows Mobile based and NOT a Palm.

[Gregg @ Feb 17th 2006 9:32PM]

Cingular needs to have a treo 700w/p with PTT capability. This would blow away any competition with the other carriers.

[possiblyaduck @ Feb 19th 2006 1:47PM]

the 700p is real--saw one the other day as a Palm employee friend of mine was showing it off in a bar (only because i told him i was a gadget junkie)-it'll be out in a few months for Verizon & Sprint.

[Steven @ Feb 20th 2006 4:15PM]

This is probably old news to all of you, but I spoke to a T-Mobile rep yesterday who told me that the GSM 700p is available in Europe right now. He advised me to just make certain that I get the unlocked version and can use my current (Treo 600) simm card. I have no way of confirming his statements at the present time.

[Wilfried @ Feb 21st 2006 5:34AM]

Concerning post 46: hate to burst your bubble, Steven, but that T-Mobile rep must have been a fake or drunk ... or, more likely: a drunken fake. At least he/she does not know the European mobile scene: T-Mobile Germany has NEVER EVER carried any Handspring/Palm smartphones, much to my chagrin, ever since I bought my first Visor here in Germany in 2001. Neither has any of the other big carriers (namely: the British Vodafone). The best kept secret is that e-plus, the German daughter of the Dutch KPN, can at least SUPPLY the 650 (to the tune of 729,90 Euros without a monthly plan - roughly 870 USD ... talk about pricing yourself out of a market...). But they don't push is, no ads for it, NOTHING: www.eplus.de/handys/1/1_6/1_6_detail_224.asp The "bestsellers" of e-plus are, according to their website: Nokia 6230i, Motorola RAZR V3i and Nokia 6101. The only big "Treo carrier" is Orange (now belonging to France Telecom), who have sold a substantial amount of 600s and 650s, mainly in the UK and Switzerland. - So, I must wait some more with all the other Palm OS Treo aficinados ... ;-)))

Comment 7: Could it be that you are confusing GPS and GPRS? Besides, I believe the European market is already going a different direction from the US market: I just installed a Qualcomm 3G+ card in my bosses notebook: now still with UMTS, but as of next month (launch at the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover) with an HSDPA maximum (downlink) speed of 14 Mbps...

How does that grab you?

[TreoMan @ Feb 25th 2006 10:30AM]

I have seen the treo 700p, it IS real, and Sprint is expecting it to be May before it rolls out to the public.

[Craig @ Mar 4th 2006 11:26PM]

On Wednesday (Mar 1, 2006) while helping my friend purchase a Treo 650 at a Sprint store I was told that though there is no definitive date that Sprint would be getting the 700w soon. I was particularly intrigued by this sales person's answer to my questions about future Treos at Sprint because of her care to be very precise when answering my friends questions about his 650 purchase. She was cautious not to offer any false hope that something would or not work for him. So I was VERY encouraged by her simple but confident statement that they would be getting the 700w (and doubted a new Palm version would be appearing) and that it would be soon. HOORAY!!! I'm ready.

[steve @ Mar 14th 2006 2:08PM]

I have been waiting for this model for 1.5 years, and a Sprint rep told me 2 weeks ago that the 700 Palm version would be available within the next 2 months. I was considering buying the 650 since my 600 broke (which I used my insurance for). I am very much hoping for the the voice function to be bette than the 600's.