Palm Treo 850 spy shots leak out
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted May 21st 2008 11:04AM
posted May 21st 2008 11:04AM
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
Judging from the screenshot with the IME switcher, it is a windows mobile professional.
And the start menu and the upper left, AND the ok/start buttons
It's Professional
I've not been a big fan of Palm devices in the past, but this one shows some real promise.
http://www.PalmTreo850.net
OMG It's an iphone ripoff! just look at that screen! it has colours like the iPhone!
You spelled "colors" with a "u".. that takes all of the jovial fun out of it.
Funny that English people spell things fully and do not cut out letters because we are too lazy, for instance color is american, Colour is English. Yes you speak ENGLISH, not AMERICAN, so learn where your language, democracy and heritage is all from. If it was not for us, you would be a bunch of red indians roaming around the countryside with Tee Pees etc.
actually, I don't think we borrowed democracy from you, we developed it in response to the English. Early parliament was surely not an example of rule by the people.
Excuse me to both of the people who think that the US or the UK developed democracy, neither did.
Greece did a very long time ago in around 5th centruy BC
in the city state of Athens.
It literally means Peoples (demos) Rule (kratos)
Excuse me all of you.
America is a republic :) And England did not create the U.S. it caused it.
Some of your have been victims of the education system. A lot of the information that was fed to you as kids regarding Indians, democracy and so forth is untrue. Pick up a few of the newer books and find out for yourself what took place a few hundred years ago. Oh yeah, and BLAINE OLIVER, i'd bet you'd like to be those redneck indians and wish you had the balls they had since I bet you lack them, little miss kitty lol.
Yes since the iPhone was the first phone to have color!!!! WOW what an iphone ripoff!
Blaine, your last sentence was uncalled for and racist!!
The Brits invented the language, the Aussies perverted it, and the Americans perfected it.
I beg your pardon, Persians invented democracy long before the Greeks did.
In fact, the real name is United States of America, not America. America is not a country. Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica are part of America for example.
ok well, I'm an iPhone fan, but WHAT other than color, mic, speaker, and cellular phone does THIS phone have in common with the iPhone??? Are you dumb AND blind??
You think its similar because it has COLOR!?!?!?! wow...
WANT!
--to shove it up his ass. It looks like shit and thats where it belongs.
Phone with keypad are so retro nowaday everything should be all touch screen.
including the PS3? :p
A lot of us would rather have a real keyboard. Leave all touchscreen to gimmick phones
I'll take tactical feel over gimmicky touchscreens anyday..
it HAS a touchscreen. That's WM6(.1) Professional
Looks pretty swee, too bad it does not have a new OS.
OK ... Palm ... Please do away with the waste of space giant buttons and make the screen bigger!!
Release this on Windows Mobile Smartphone (basic?) or Palm OS and I'm sold!
about 12months too late..
Judging from the font size I can see it is 240x240. yawn.
Your judgment is wrong, it's 320x320.
Looks like a good device for those WinOS business users.
I like the physical changes... we need the new OS now though damnit.. whats taking so long???
gotta wait til they finish GTA4
Ugh, those worthless buttons take up too much room in the middle. Screen is WAY too small. I guess Ill just go with the 3g iPhone
Josh,
That *is* a touchscreen device.
WM Pro devices have an "OK" button and soft keys. You need to fix your post ;-)
This is a WM Pro device with a flush KB, just like the Vodafone "drucker" map said.
And the start menu on the upper left
If they release this around the same time as the Xperia X1, the HTC Diamond and the 3G iPhone I'm sorry to say it will probably be the last phone Palm ever made.
Haven't you heard of the term "retro"? It means that when you've run out of design ideas, you just use some old crapola from yesteryear and claim you intended it to look like some handset from the past. So don't insult the Palm lovers and say it looks like a tired-looking, old-fashioned piece of crud, just call it retro and chuckle. They'll never know the difference.
WTF! A 400 MHz processor. Didn't they retire those old fogeys a year ago?
Ever heard of brand loyalty? There could be a ton of other much better phones, released at the exact same time, sold in the same store, for a whole lot less, and people may still go and buy this phone... because they think palm was good to them over the years.
And the start menu in the upper left
Feck. Wrong post
As a former Palm user (I defected over to BlackBerry about ayear ago) I can honestly say that Palm was never, ever good to me (in the smartphone market, anyway). Went from the Sprint Treo 600 to the Sprint Treo 650 and finally to the Verizon Treo 700p. Each phone was far worse than the last, even though I bought them expecting to solve the problems with the previous ones. I will never, ever own another Palm device as long as I live. Fool me once, shame on you.. fool me three times... well, I must be a $#@&!*! idiot.
Lack of curved keyboard eliminates a royalty to RIM.
@Touchy Feely
While that would be nice, it's not true. RIM's patent is on the whole idea of a "front qwerty KB", not the "smile".
"...“a hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs.”
Look at a Treo 600--there is no "smile" either ;-)
Thanks for playing.
Now read the litigation and patent.
@ Calling Bluff
You're kidding, right? Look at the Treo 180, 270 and 300...i.e. the devices cited by RIM for violating their patent in 2002.
No smile--they are straight.
The patent by RIM is on “..a hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs.” That is their claim.
It is not the "smile" since Handspring/Palm devices did not even incorporate that until the Treo 650. You know...years after they have settled with RIM on the kb infringement issue.
Check yer facts, bub.
You have to stop spouting crap and trying to pass it off as knowledgable fact. And not just about Rim keyboard patents.
Here's a picture of the Treo 300: Straight, huh?
http://www.djajic.com/handhelds/images/HandspringTreo300.jpg
the guy(s) you're talking to is actually a stupid sap who likes to post with different names to convine someone that they are right. Just click his profile. He's Franklin Peabody
My "name" changes for every post, which you would have noticed had you (1) a single brain cell or (2) bothered to read the posts that you see when you click on my current ID...
Sheesh.
BTW -does it MATTER who posts something or is it, you know, the post itself which counts?
Double sheesh.
Looks good. Too bad it is using WM Pro. I love the design but not the OS they should rather build it on Palm OS instead.
I mean the new version of Palm OS that is linux based. or at least on the current version. I know it looks aged but it does everything I need and runs fast and stable.
Hurry up with that Nova Palm Os already!
awesome! someone spraypainted a centro black!
The Centro is already black.
Moron.
Gen an iPhone and funk Palm!
iPhone Rules, Palm, Rim, Nintendo, MS suck!!!!!!!!
iPhone is better
Looks mighty fine to me.
Get the new Palm OS running on that puppy with WiFi and GPS and I'm sold!
That's actually a pretty sexy Palm phone... too bad Palm phones still run only Windows Mobile or the antiquated Palm OS. Come out with something that trumps the iPhone and maybe the company will rise from the depths... doubtful though.
With the amount of skins and customizing programs available now for WinMo, you can pretty much have any user experience you want.
Not everyone likes the iPhone UI, just like lots of people don't care about Macs and their OS's.
There's plenty of room for all types of devices in the market. Personally, the front facing keyboard (non slide out) works best for my needs so this device looks good to me.
Would be nice if it were PalmOS, or Linux that Palm's been promising for a long time... At least it's kind of sex looking, imo.
Eww. I was hoping that the keyboard would be larger/of different material than the Centro, but the gloss on the buttons makes it seem like they're made of the same squishy plastic that made me throw down the first Centro I touched in disgust. I'm hoping the keys are bigger or else I'll be _really_ sad. The 650 I'm holding right now is just about the perfect size.
Not the worse looking device but I think Palm has become one of those brands that you just don't want to be seen with.
Why do you care what people think?
I use the phone that suits my needs best and I couldn't give a hoot whether some phone-obsessed fashionista thinks it's a hip brand or not.
I guess the IPhone goes really well with your matching purse and pumps.
first
..
@Mal who erroneously stated: "The patent by RIM is on “..a hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs.” That is their claim."
You, clearly do not understand the first thing about patents. Firstly, what you state is the Title of RIM's patent application which carries zero legal weight, and is _not_ part of any of their patent claims. Secondly, all Palm has to do to not infringe on RIM's patented radius (which forms either the "smile" or "inverted smile") is to change the radius by a single degree in order to make it useful and unique.
Get a f'ing clue before you give the internet a bad name.
backbeat...didn't we ban your troll a** at TC? (and your infamous and witty "Backbeat-II" nom de plume?)
Thought so.
lol, what a loser.
That would assume I lowered myself to using a Treo. Wrong on both counts. Getting your insider info from James comes at the steep price of reality, kid. The first thing "losers" do, when they are left with nothing but the emptiness of their bs fabrications, is fling their excrement. You throw like a little girl.
So much for holding out hope that your blind ass could get a f'ing clue.
You all know this thing is going to be three inches thick and weigh half a pound, right?
Sad, really. Palm was once an innovator. Now even their rumored products look dated.
Maybe it will be as thick as your head
Must have touched a nerve, eh Dirk?
Still waiting for the Foleo are you?
Wow, can you read my mind!
America is a CONTINENT, not a country.
United States of America is a country, a republic, etc.
America is a whole continent: North, Central and South America are part of it. Not 3 separated continents.
Keep in mind this is just an update to the 750 and windows mobile ... it's really just to keep people thinking about Palm until we have their new device and o/s in April 09.
Looks like a step forward, but if only they have used a different keyboard and made the screen larger with a better resolution. Oh, and I forgot it would have been better if they didn't use that terrible windows mobile OS and instead used their linux OS.
Been using a Treo 700p for a while now--and can't wait to get ahold of a Samsung SGH-i900. HA!
yay, a new windows mobile device! Im so excited! NOT!!!!!!!
Palm's OS is what every phone needs... but with better multitasking which could possibly be an easy software fix. maybe not for the 650's but definitely for the 700's and up because they have more ram.
Another POS from Palm. Square screen, unusable keyboard.
@Victor
Bad news. Those pills... are Tic-Tacs.
if you look closely the keyboard IS curved... alas it's a sad face instead of a smiley...does not bode well....
treo755p looking to change for anything that works!
Perhaps I will show my ignorance or lack of geekyness here, but I just don't understand why phone manufacturers can't integrate a full touchscreen AND a slide out tactile KB. I like the screen and UI of the iPhone, but hate it's lack of usefulness when conducting business. I want to see a full size touchscreen AND tactile KB NOW!
I'm actually really shocked (and interested) by many of these comments- I am actually really interested in what so many people find appealing about the iPhone.
yes - it has many "wow features" - but I'd love to hear from someone who has had one for a while (like a year, so I may have to wait for this) and see if they would buy another-one, especially if they came previously from a legitimate smartphone
I'm not bagging the iPhone, but I do see it as a play-thing phone - buts thats just me, as someone in this set of comments says, if you don't like it, don't buy it... well said.
the other thing that interests me, is how many people complaining about the screen size and the buttons in the middle of the phone have used a treo (or centro) for an extended period of time? The buttons you use most are those ones in the middle, they do not take up too much room, they are best that way, most people want to be able to answer their PHONE without looking just by feel. Also, what real (not just "wow" factor) benifit would a larger screen actually give, the current one isn't that small?
and again for the people who haven't actually used either device, if you use the keyboard regularly, you KNOW that tactile buttons are crucial especially if this is to be your everyday phone, and on screen keyboards are clever toys, but not useful.
anyway - this is all just my opinion - I really think that Palm (handspring) nailed this whole market years ago when they first landed the treo600 - especially the form (screen size, function button, full "big enough" keybourd in a candy bar from) it's just a real pity that palm hasn't really improved it since then. (I don't consider adding windows to be an improvement!)
Personally, I think the iPhone is not a replacement for the Treo - and neither does Popular Mechanics.....
For further evidence that Jobs and co. haven't changed their stripes, consider which oft-requested and rumor-mongered features didn't actually end up in the new product. If Apple had truly become a listening company that responded to all reasonable requests from users, these features would not be missing. Again, all of these—save shooting video—are issues of software, not hardware. Any of them could have come pre-loaded in the first-gen iPhone, but they won't even make the second one:
1. MMS: It's still impossible to send photos taken on your iPhone to non-iPhone users without attaching them to an e-mail.
2. Cut, copy and paste: You literally cannot move text and pictures freely from one application to another, despite upgrades in iPhone 2.0 to programs like Microsoft Office and PowerPoint.
3. Landscape keyboard support outside of Safari: Don't like typing vertically? Apple doesn't particularly care.
4. iPhone tethering as 3G modem for laptops: You can either surf the Web or use your laptop with the iPhone. No connectivity along the lines of the long-standing Treo feature.
5. No bluetooth keyboard support: It's great that this iPhone has full iWork compatibility. Why not make it possible to use the iPhone as an actual mobile working platform?
6. Videocamera support: iMovie for iPhone could be the best application that Apple ever puts on a mobile platform. Unfortunately, they still haven't turned on video capture for the iPhone's camera.
7. Flash support: A huge swath of the Web remains inaccessible via the world's premiere mobile platform.
8. Bluetooth headphone support: Don't want to listen to music over cables? Tough luck.
All of this functionality comes completely standard on other smartphones—and plain old cellphones—so there's simply no reason that Apple should leave them out. People really do want them, and Apple is the only company that can deliver these features on iPhone, no matter how open third-party development becomes. As always, if Steve Jobs wants a feature, it gets built immediately. If anyone else does? It's not getting in there without a major fight.