Palm's Treo Pro in the wild, probably not fake
By Chris Ziegler 
posted August 15th 2008 12:34PM
posted August 15th 2008 12:34PM
[Via WMExperts]
posted August 15th 2008 12:34PM
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The one on the left looks the best.
I'm no Palm fan, but is the one on the left a shipping model? Stub antennas are ridiculous.
Dude that's Treo 650...the original gangsta of ALL them smart phones ...
show some respect.
Growin up on the south side of silicon valley, 650 always had it rough. After seeing his brother, 600, get gunned down by the WinMo mafia, 650 set out to claim back what was rightfully his. "PalmOS 4 Till I Die Mutha F**kas!!!"
Whats with the blue line that looks like it was put on there in paint?
It's to hide the unique identifier that all prototypes/beta test units have. Otherwise, Palm would know who to bust for violating their beta test NDA.
Looks nice. If this comes to Sprint I will upgrade my Wife's phone from the Centro.
I'm 99% sure it'll be GSM. CDMA carriers just got the Treo 800w.
It's funny how if you look closely, it's pretty much the same basic design as the Centro, but with glossy black finish and slightly larger screen. And yet, it looks soooo much better than the cheap-looking Centro.
A close look... no Menu key?
It's running Windows Mobile, so no, no Menu key needed.
Since Engadget didn't include the specs from the WMexperts article:
What we know:
* 400Mhz CPU , but snappy response
* 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM! (Other reports show “In use: 43.96mb, Free 57.72mb)
* 320*320 screen
* GPS
* Full Tri-band 3G, Quad-band GSM
* 2 Megapixel camera
* microUSB connector!
* 3.5mm Earphone connector
* 1500mah battery (this is looking like it might actually be true?)
Over the years I have yet to find a Windows Mobile phone with "snappy response" (HTC Typhoon excepted). My Treo 750 is almost always bogged down and lags when opening contacts, dialing or hanging up. With 3G enabled it drains the battery in under 18 hours on standby.
Palm and Microsoft has had their chance for my loyalty, I'm moving on to a BB or iPhone.
you forgot to mention the wifi.
a 320*320 display means it can't go against the best of the best, since the x1 is 800*480 and the Touch Diamond is 640*480
I'd be willing to bet this is a ton faster than those two devices though. Instead of layering on custom interfaces and making things much slower, like HTC and Sony, Palm tends to rip out unnecessary crap from WM to improve speed.
@Joe H
There's no reason that a well-programmed custom interface would necessarily slow things down at all. What makes WinMo slow isn't custom interfaces but the high CPU and RAM requirements of the WinMo OS. Cycle for cycle, Palm will always be snappier than WinMo. At least that's my experience as an owner of two Treo's and two WinMo phones.
I'm not talking about Palm's Garnet devices. Palm's WM devices are consistently faster than the competition even with the same or slower processor. Check out the 800w for a prime example of that. Because of the way WM works (and because MS has only given Palm permission to mess with the inner workings of the OS, last I read), a custom interface is basically just plopped on top of the standard WM interface. This means more CPU cycles and more memory being used. Sure, faster devices can cover for that, but it makes things more bloated, which on a mobile device, is not what you want.
2" screen vs. 2.8" and 3"
2.0 megpix vs. 3.2 with flash
No accelerometor
etc.
I have said it before, Palm used to be an inovator - the 650 pictured there is the proof. Now, years later ? Their best is an also-ran, midrange, forgetable phone. Sad.
Am I missing something? Shouldn't Palm finally eliminating the sunk in screen be getting more attention?
what's the diff between this and the 800w that just came out? they both look like junk to me.
Too bad AT&T's rates don't come close to Sprint's still though. I mean, even without the old SERO plans that some have:
Sprint Everything 450 (Unlimited texts, internet, nights and weekends at 7, GPS navigation): $69.99
AT&T 450 Minutes Plan (only 5000 nights and weekends minutes) $39.99
PDA Personal Bundle (unlimited internet and texts) $60.00
AT&T Navigator $9.99
Total $109.98 for the same plan (and actually not even as good, limited nights and weekends minutes) that is $69.99 on Sprint.
Kind of ridiculous if you ask me.
(Also, I noticed on the AT&T website that they're now giving away free Treo 750s with a contract... maybe to get rid of their stocks, for the Pro?)
In your sudden about-face you forgot ONE wee minor detail about Palm devices - pricing compared to the competition.
It's the OS stupid!
Yeah...ummm...they really should look into hiring that kid that "made" a new Palm as a photoshop project
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/11/palm-centro-2-leaked-lacking-qwerty/
If anyone cares the one on the left is a Treo 650
Anyone over 10 probably knows that's a Treo 650.
@ yea...
Clearly, Peter (2nd post up top) is under the age of 10 then.
Looks nice. I just wish that they would make their devices thinner. Other than that, it's pretty slick.
It's better this way—easier to use with one hand. The only real gripe anyone should have is the smaller keyboard and glossy exterior.
Finally!! They finally made the screen flat all the way through instead of the inset style. But its still too fat.
fake fake, fake fake, fake fake, fake
How can you say its fake when they just had an article about a flash demo on the palm site? It was taken down though.
I've held this model in my hand about 4 months ago. The Palm-man tould me it would be launched as the 800w, but I guess he was wrong... The battery is indeed a 1500 mah one, he showed me that. Also nice to know is that there is a WiFi hardware switch on the side somewhere. Also, the model he showd me had a grey/steel-like lining on the edges and around the call/end buttons instead of the glossy black one showed here.
other than the battery, you're describing the 800w. Not that he gave you any clues it'd be called that ;)
And yet, still a fatty.
Better luck next time.
looks really cool, wish the screen was a little bigger though.
Maybe it is just me but how can your brand be so diluted that even a Windows Mobile device is called a Palm. I have yet to see a Windows made product running Palm OS but a Palm made device with Windows Mobile can still be called a Palm Treo.
I wonder how many people came to this article thinking they would be seeing a new Palm OS product?
Yet they would just as easily send a C & D letter to a developer who helps maintain their limited old stock of hardware.They might as well change their name to Treo because they don't really make Palms anymore in the traditional sense of the word. The last Palm in my opinion was the Palm TX.
Well for one, its not their brand anymore. Palm OS is not Palm OS anymore, its owned by Access and called Garnet, so its not really diluting their brand.
A new Palm OS is supposedly coming in 2009 as well, but they plan on having 3 lines.
The entry-level Centro running Garnet
For professionals, the Treo, running WM
And the upcoming Prosumer Nova devices (the new Palm OS).
a "windows made product" eh? Since when did Windows make phones?
It's still palm hardware. If HTC makes an android phone it's still an HTC device, just not running the OS they first made devices with.
Boot camp. A Mac running Windows is still a Mac
Never knew there was a hardware company called Windows (at least not in the Computer and IT domain, not the 'other' hardware)! :-s
Phoenix, I stand corrected.You are absolutely right. I lost my head there.
I am still in a daze on how Palm has been so assimilated by their former competitor. As a fan of Palm from way back the fact that their hardware runs Windows Mobile is still hard to get over as well as them selling their OS (and buying it back again eventually). What else do you have left?
It all amounts to advertising Windows Mobile under your Moniker because you have to and giving Apple a head start that may be too much to overcome.
"Boot camp. A Mac running Windows is still a Mac"
Unless it's a Psystar.
Some of the design elements seem to be taken off a certain N82... though i must say it looks good!
At my risk of getting low ranked, I have one major issue with the Pro:
It has the same keypad as the Centro!!! I have big thumbs, and when I tried out the Centro, I could barely type on it!
Now, I do have a BJ2, but the keys have much better spacing, and are slightly bigger (but I still have occasional problems, having just graduated from the Dash I had for a year).
Thumb-Reduction surgery, anybody? For reals this time?
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/man-has-thumbs-altered-to-improve-iphone-dexterity/
FINALLY someone said it! It looks like it could be a nice device, but it needs the real Palm keyboard. Though that would bsically be a glossy black 800w (not bad)
Also trimming a bit of the fat would be nice, but it better than the old Palms.
I have one major issue...
The keypad!!! It looks just like the Centro's, and I had soooo much trouble with that thing (due to my big thumbs).
Thumb-reduction surgery, anybody? For reals this time?
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/man-has-thumbs-altered-to-improve-iphone-dexterity/
(note: this is my second attempt at this post, after 5 minutes of constant F5 mashing.)
Awww... Damnit!!! Right when I click "add comment", it pops up!!!!!!!
Well, it was five minutes, right on the money.
F5, and then refresh.
It it runs linux, its a fake LOL!
still no wi-fi... junk
With the exception of EVDO/3G and a little bit better camera there is almost no improvement over the Treo 650!