More blurry pictures of the Palm Gandolf -- the Treo 800 series?

Man, this thing just gets uglier every time we see it. This here is apparently the very latest, piping hot batch of blurry shots of the Palm Gandolf, the multifaceted new platform that Palm appears to be readying in both Garnet and Windows Mobile flavors with the carrier's choice of either GSM or CDMA under the hood. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be getting any prettier as it gets closer to an official debut -- quite the opposite, actually, and the keyboard is said to be a good deal smaller than its predecessors', eliminating one of Palm's few remaining talking points for the Treo line. The device is now rumored to be taking on the "800" moniker, a move which appears to call this out as being the Treo line's new king of the hill. Anyone else think this abomination of industrial design looks more like a "500" at best?

[Via Slashphone]

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 5th 2007 1:46PM]

I would like to register a vote of "no confidence" at this time.

[Eric L. @ Aug 5th 2007 2:12PM]

didnt palm hire that big shot ex-apple designer a little while back? did that guy suddenly pick up a crack habit or something? you would think that if he was anywhere near this project (which if this is really going to be the new flagship treo line, he should have been), he would have axed this monstrosity asap.

in any case, this is some seriously bad news for palm, even speaking as a palm-friendly treo user...

[bombastinator @ Aug 5th 2007 2:04PM]

White plastic is always bad looking on phones. For some reason it's being done more and more though. There has to be a reason.

As a person who's treo 650 is starting to have trouble with his space bar (an early indicator of an eventually fatal keyboard condition) I have one and only one question:

Does it have wifi?

Really. Thats all. Gimme wifi and barring other vast engineering stupidity (like locking third party apps out) I'll buy one. No wifi and I walk.

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 5th 2007 2:06PM]

Put your shoes on.

[hm @ Aug 5th 2007 3:00PM]

i feel the same way about chrome. it just looks cheap--and most of the junk from china seem to be covered in it. i was initially very surprised to see that the iphone has chrome.

[Galley @ Aug 5th 2007 3:08PM]

Some of us happen to like glossy white electronics, thank you very much.

[byaah @ Aug 5th 2007 3:08PM]

I agree. As long as it comes in a color other than white and includes wifi/good specs, I really don't think it would be that bad.

[Stevie Wonder @ Aug 5th 2007 2:12PM]

Engadget needs to chill on the "fugly" comments!

They can call the Logitech wave keyboard beautiful, but they call this ugly? It looks practical, and I personally don't have any problems with its design.

Not everything has to be "buttonless" in order to be well-designed.

[Sam @ Aug 5th 2007 3:07PM]

So says the blind man.

[yoinkers @ Aug 5th 2007 7:12PM]

Are you looking at the same picture I was? Seriously, you're defending that monstrosity?

-Treo700p owner

[ericdano @ Aug 5th 2007 2:12PM]

Palm is dying. Who'd want one of these now with the iPhone out..????

[Ellianth @ Aug 5th 2007 2:40PM]

I dunno...

Probably people who don't buy things just because they see other people with them.

[Bart Lee @ Aug 5th 2007 4:05PM]

Well anybody who gets this certainly won't be doing it for that reason.

[Arthur Nonamiss @ Aug 6th 2007 9:43AM]

Maybe anyone who isn't willing to switch providers just to get a $600 phone.

[ItsTheOMGShow @ Aug 5th 2007 2:14PM]

Sprint's internal computers show SKUs of 2 upcoming models of Treo: the 800 & the 690.

If I had to make a guess, this looks like an entry level low priced model which would better fit the 690 nomenclature as opposed to something like 800 which would be 'above' today's models.

[dreampc @ Aug 5th 2007 2:30PM]

Palm is dead...

any company that would put out a device with buttons that tiny... has lost it's connection to what made it successful in the first place.

..even a slider would have saved this phone.

[Santa @ Aug 5th 2007 2:36PM]

So now that Palm is a non-entity and the Zone is Doune, what's going on next? Dell's or HP's?

[Bob @ Aug 5th 2007 2:43PM]

I hope this thing is cheap...

As a long time Palm user, the direction of the company and its products is pretty disappointing.

[xbit @ Aug 5th 2007 2:49PM]

Two words - death spiral.

[ScOObyDoo @ Aug 5th 2007 2:52PM]

I think they decided that the Foleo just wasn't enough to kill the company, so added something even worse.

[ethan @ Aug 5th 2007 5:56PM]

ahahahha! i've been a palm user for the past decade, and that was the best comment on this whole post. kudos.

[dcpmark @ Aug 5th 2007 2:58PM]

I don't know....if the keyboard is usable and the hard buttons work well for emus, I might buy it to replace my 700p.

[Chimuel @ Aug 5th 2007 3:00PM]

Idc what it looks like, as long as it has WiFi...yes, I'm THAT desperate for a Treo with built in WiFi.

To actually comment on what it looks like, it resembles a child's toy.

[Cody @ Aug 5th 2007 3:06PM]

Anyone else thinking "foleo mini"?

[tigs @ Aug 5th 2007 3:08PM]

RE: "this abomination of industrial design..."

Who are you kidding? If that thing had an Apple logo on it, everyone would be salivating and praising its beauty.

Seriously, the keyboard and screen may be small, but the design is certainly not an 'abomination'. In fact, I like what I can see so far.

[Zorque @ Aug 5th 2007 5:24PM]

That's two strikes against you.

[Silver @ Aug 6th 2007 12:43AM]

"If that thing had an Apple logo on it, everyone would be salivating and praising its beauty." - tigs

Nice try. That thing would never have an Apple logo on it.

[tigs @ Aug 6th 2007 6:40AM]

what is this, a "me-too" convention?

live with it, guys. not everyone thinks that this new treo is as ugly as your Engadget slavemasters or the most vocal PIC and Engadget posters.

[Nick @ Aug 5th 2007 3:46PM]

how the hell am I supposed to be able to type on that thing?!?! whats the point of having a QWERTY keyboard if im gonna be needing to use a tooth pick in order to press the proper buttons.

[derF @ Aug 5th 2007 3:53PM]

Palm Gandolf = Grandflop

[Eli @ Aug 5th 2007 4:44PM]

YOU... SHALL NOT... SELLLLLLLL!!!

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 5th 2007 6:04PM]

Eli FTW!

Well done sir!

[Revrant2394 @ Aug 6th 2007 4:32AM]

Ohhh, Nice, beat me to it Eli! Ha!

[Bandit @ Aug 5th 2007 4:04PM]

Why does Palm persist in making oversized ugly devices? The basic Palm should be roughly the size and thickness of a credit-card in this era of iPhones and Moto Qs, but instead the entry-level Z22 is as thick as a hamburger. This looks like it was made by the same team. Ugh.

You know, the Palm Vx was very sleek and thin for its day. I don't think Palm has ever come back to that brilliant form-factor milestone. A real shame.

[Rob @ Aug 5th 2007 4:34PM]

Since people are voting, I vote ugly. I was a Palm III user, than got the Treo 600, then the 700p. My wish is that Palm would out with a smaller phone that opens to reveal a bigger keyboard than we currently have. Basically, a smaller phone with a bigger keyboard.

[Chris @ Aug 5th 2007 4:37PM]

palms marketability has really faded. at least the folio did well!...

[Ricardo @ Aug 5th 2007 5:09PM]

For me the best keyboard on a cellphone is no keyboard at all. I just don't see the point of something that constitutes half the size of a device, but will only be used 20% of the time. Either you have a full keyboard that really makes a difference, or just remove it entirely.

I have a phone with an on-screen keyboard (Motorola A1200i), and guess what? It does everything any other smartphone does, with half the size.

[craig @ Aug 5th 2007 5:25PM]

Of course, Ricardo, because there's no sense in a device having a usable input method. Cellphones should be output-only.

You may have convinced yourself that your onscreen keyboard works as well as a real one but you won't convince others. This device was obviously not meant for you. Who it was meant for I have no idea.

[Clarion @ Aug 6th 2007 9:20AM]

I'm not usually one to openly defend the iPhone (I own one and love it, but I realize that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and a lot of people dislike the iPhone or at least dislike hearing about it). However, I will say that having been using it for a couple weeks now, I find the on-screen keyboard extremely usable. I've never been able to type fluidly on a Blackberry, Treo, Blackjack, or any other keyboard equipped smartphone. However, I have no problems typing on my iPhone. So while some people may disagree with the usefulness of an on-screen keyboard, I agree with Ricardo that it's better to utilize more screen real estate.

Craig, perhaps you haven't actually tried the iPhone, at least for any longer than 5 minutes with a demo unit in the store. It take a day or so to get used to, but it's highly capable.

[Gordon @ Aug 5th 2007 5:23PM]

"oasdh IDM SO3ury THiwASD KEysaaboesrdd suacdksa."

For ppl not using Palm Gandalf, that was oh I'm sorry, this keyboard sucks.

[RD @ Aug 6th 2007 12:06PM]

Are you sure you weren't typing from an iPhone?

[vern plageman @ Aug 5th 2007 5:41PM]

Does it come with a key chain attached? I wouldn't be surprised to find one of these in a happy meal.

[Tim Bevil @ Aug 5th 2007 7:10PM]

This Palm 800 series is ugly. What are they thinking. I'm a big fan of Palm. I had the Palm 550, the 650 and now the 750. I will not be getting this white cheap piece of plastic. Hellooo iPhone.

[ronin @ Aug 5th 2007 7:33PM]

the t-mobile dash and the nokia xpress music phone should have had an abortion.

[Rick Austin @ Aug 5th 2007 9:16PM]

Ugly yes, but come on, what kind of consumer/business research leads to such a mistake. The Treo 750 is a fantastic device and could be simply improved to make a fantastic 800 Series. On the software side, they must invest in add-on applications that give the Treo the sex appeal of the iPhone (but aimed at business). On the hardward side, just add high resolution screen (missing for some time now - I think they exist (good grief - my HTC's have had them for years so I think they actually do exist). Add Windows Mobile 6 now (come on - hasn't it been long enough now?). Maybe license HTC Touch software (need an iPhone killer for business). 2MP camera at least. A wheel for selecting stuff from lists. And for goodness sake - a MiniUSB connector (this proprietary crap is killing me). MicroSD to save a bunch of space (instead of current MiniSD). I love the feel of the Treo 750 (rubberized case) and the size - not too big, not too small - just right in my book.

[Emceay @ Aug 5th 2007 10:04PM]

Slap some glitter on that thing and it'd be poptastic.

[emy_77 @ Aug 5th 2007 11:06PM]

If I hadn't moved to Windows Mobile, and if it had 3G, I would have made it my Treo 600 replacement. It's everything I wanted in a PDA phone- small, such that even though it has everything a PDA would have, it's still sized just like a regular mobile phone, and it's white. I like white, like iPods etc. And it suits the 800 well. Treo 680 also has white, but it doesn't suit the form factor.

[gerbick @ Aug 6th 2007 2:30AM]

I have to go with the consensus... this is quite an ugly phone. And even with wifi, it will not be enough to sway me.

And sadly, I'm in the market for a phone. Looking like I might have to go to the Openmoko Neo 1973 for a "decent" form-factor with wifi...

[Nervid @ Aug 6th 2007 5:12AM]

to me it just looks like a cheap reskinning of the current crop of treos. looks like same thickness and top half. they need to throw that entire design out the window. period.

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 6th 2007 8:53AM]

BTW, it's not like A 500.

It's like THE 500.

"Here they die."