Treo Pro up and vanishes from Palm website
By Laura June 
posted January 22nd 2010 6:47PM
posted January 22nd 2010 6:47PM
posted January 22nd 2010 6:47PM
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They have it on Dell Business for $179. It's a good entry-level smartphone price; I've even seen 6.5 running on it.
Too bad it doesn't run Maemo, though, right?
@N900 too bad it doesn't run Maemo, though, right?
@AndroidRokz ugh. i hate the comment system. I promise i didn't do that on purpose. it didn't show at first. sorry. can downrank it if you want.
@N900
damn that's tempting, if it was Garnett I would have bought it in a second but alas, it's Windows
@N900
Square Screen kills it for me, a lot of apps on windows mobile dont support square screens
Physical Qwerty keyboard is very 90s technology, full touch screen covering most of the device would be more appropriate
Palm, being made by palm and their 90 day warranty's guarantee's it wont last longer than a year, ive had 3 palm devices not one lasted more than 6 months
@N900
meh whatever, got it anyway, it's a good deal for a brand new smartphone, could sell it on ebay to get money back
@OCEAN CLAK
I'd much rather use 90s technology than use a computer without a keyboard.
Touchscreens are for toys. I'd rather use a keyboard-only computer like a Nokia E90 or E71 than some touchscreen-only toy like the iPhone or HD2.
@OCEAN CLAK
I've got one of these as a secondary phone to my HTC Touch Diamond. I'm like that guy in those AT&T commercials that carries the two CDMA phones. I tote around a iPod Touch too. If only Sprint had an iPhone, then I'd be all set...just kidding. I could never work with just an iPhone.
Anyways, the price was right...free, so how could I pass it up since I already had a second line with the original HTC Touch. Man, I loved that original Touch. But the Palm Treo Pro is a solid device too. I love Windows Mobile so it had that going for it. The way the buttons above the keyboard integrate with the software is very well thought out. Having a dedicated Windows START button and an OK button is very convenient. The 3.5 jack is a plus too.
The only thing I really don't care for is the screen size. I've had a few programs that didn't allow you to scroll down and obviously were written for a taller display. Google Maps comes to mind as one of the culprits.
@jgp "Touchscreens are for toys"
Amen, brother
@N900
It looks nice for old-school. Should still be a use for it.
@jgp The Treo Pro is powered by a 400 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201 application processor. The phone radio is a Quad-Band GSM unit (850/900/1800/1900MHz) with Tri-Band 3G HSDPA/UMTS (850/1900/2100MHz) wireless data support. The Treo Pro also includes built in 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0, an IR port and a GPS receiver. More details: http://bit.ly/palm-treo-pro-details
GOOD. I went into a Verizon store last week to ask them about any pertinent Palm Pre Plus info, and she asked, "Do you mean the Palm Pro?" No, I mean the Pre Plus. She kind of hinted that the Pre didn't exist, and I was like, snitch, I gots one in my pocket. She then looked around a little while longer and told me if I was looking for info to go to phonescoop.com (as if!).
I should know better than to ask the people at the store, but I can't help myself.
I'm just glad to see Palm finally getting rid of WinMo and sticking only with webOS. Makes me feel all nice inside.
@statelypenguin Unless Palm is getting ready to release the Palm Pro Plus. HA.
@statelypenguin
While I agree, it's the death of the smartphone line that was (arguably) the first revolutionary smartphone. The Treo, I mean.
It would be like RIM cutting all Blackberry's but the Storm from their line. It's a little sad.
@Jonathan K: except the Storm sucks (IMO).
And the Pre. You know. Doesn't.
@Kirtay Well yeah.
But it's the same thing, brand wise.
@statelypenguin
Well, BlackBerry did something similar: their old devices just had a four-digit model number, no brand name. Now, even their classic-style devices have brand names like Curve, Bold, etc. The original brandless BlackBerry is gone.
And, in terms of form factor alone, the Pixi is pretty much the successor of the Treo.
@jgp maybe I'm not a purist, but I prefer to have a device where I don't have to memorize yet another model number. to be fair, a 4-digit number was a good system on RIM's part (not like the ungodly Sony product KDL-XBR9 that my tv is called) but still, it's nice to have a name.
Eh, it wasn't even a real Palm anyway. It was an HTC device.
Of course, that _does_ mean it's probably hackable...
@jgp
Sadly, this is one of those rare HTC sourced devices XDA didn't get behind.
I would toss the Pre like a turd for a WebOS Treo!
@Jon Rubinstein since when? since january 3rd?
is this news? dropping pretty old products? they should have done it since the first day they announced palm pre.
@Jon Rubinstein
@Jon Rubinstein
Ok, I love my Palm Pre smart phone. I have some suggestions to improve new user experience, and also essential improvements to the device. Here is an innovative (yet simple) idea for the next Palm Pre phone. Please bring back the Orange key, but in an enhanced way. Here’s how. Make the top half of the key “orange” and the bottom half of the key “light blue”. Then color the numbers on the keyboard orange so that they are easily distinguishable for making telephone calls; and color all the special symbols on the keyboard (/,+,%,”,=, etc.) light blue.
While I have your attention, could you put a nice video ad about the Palm Pre and Pixi phone at Amazon showcasing its features? Amazon allows you to list a number of videos on the same product page. So you can have a video ad for gaming (for example “Need for Speed”), and another video showcasing the elegance of the notification system, etc. Amazon allows videos and many companies take advantage of that feature. Amazon is visited by millions of consumers as a go to place for information. For over seven months now, Palm has not taken advantage of this valuable venue to promote your products – it is cheaper than all the millions spent on advertising – and likely free. Over fifty million Americans use Amazon.
While you are at it (smile), you could post some how-to videos at the Palm website (with a visible notice on the home screen – like “click here to see how-to videos”) showcasing a collection of how-to videos (videos with audio) for the first time Palm Pre and Pixi users. I am an Electrical Engineer (with Masters in Computer Science – just like you), but it took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to open the back of my Palm Pre phone. You don’t want first time users to experience that level of frustration – so this will be a good topic for the how-to videos. Also Cut and Paste. And finally, for the general use of the keyboard – the new user is definitely going to need help in this area. The keyboard has some nice, but essential features which I encountered by accident. Here is an example, to type numbers continuously in the Memos application, simply press the orange button twice. I never knew that this feature existed, and as a result, I would for example press “1” then press the “orange button”, and press “2” then press the “orange button” again, ad infinitum. Same applies for locking letters for typing in all uppercase. Ok, I think you get the picture! Overall, the Palm Pre is an excellent product. Thank you.
@Thinker
I am mildly surprised that this guy doesn't realize that's not the real Rubinstein.
@Greenverde
It is unthinkable that Engadget would allow his name and picture to be used by someone else. And besides, the comments attributed to him seems consistent with a man of his stature. The same goes for the picture and corresponding name of Bill Gates.
If you can provide me with proof or reasons to believe that this person is not Jon Rubinstein, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
@Jon Rubinstein
I want a webOS foleo too : ) I'd be more than happy to sell my HD2 for an HD2 with webOS. But, I guess I'd have to wait for for 2-3 years after it's release - in the Netherlands. : (
BUMMER
Come on Palm kill it already! They still offer these devices as business phones at work and for reasons I just don't understand around half the people choose Palm WinMo phones over the cheaper Nokia E71. It looks nicer for sure but no one should have to put up with Windows Mobile.
@smiggs
the palm is .. just ... nicer.
and you know it :)
@(Unverified) everyone who gets a palm Win Mobile device ends up hating them, everyone who gets a nokia e71 thinks they're awesome.
Nice looking phone.
unless I'm mistaken, the Treo Pro went away as soon as the pixi went on sale on Sprint.
@wunderbar
it went hidden, like they had'em but didn't want you to buy it unless you were really dedicated to getting a Windows phone
umm
http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/treopro/index.html
@mooples
the url may still exist, but there is no link to it on the palm site: http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/
Into the museum :) Win Mobil sucks like windows~ Android, WebOS to save the day. I am glad to see this one vanish :) Upward and Onward to the next iteration of devices~
and this is a bad thing?? i loathe all treos. sure, back in the day they were great but man.. what a POS compared to any other phone.
plus add onto them WM? yea, lets just say it keeps me and my coworkers with jobs at work. hehe
palm pre, whole different story. great phone, just wish Good would make a Good for Enterprise app for it.
@seamonkey420 : I don't really care about "good for enterprise" as much as "good for me". But then again, I do not tether my reality to a corporate entity, I merely work for them from time to time. :)
I love my Treo Pro. Still using it on SERO. Sure, I'd rather have a Pixi, but not for $30-$40 more a month.
it's still on the UK website, along with the Centro.
Then again, we only have the original Pre.
@PhoenixFox
well the UK is known to like old-fashioned things like monarchies and such
The Pro was probably my favorite phone for WM development. I'd never use a WM phone for day to day stuff, but for development purposes, they were great. Just never was crazy for side sliders, and for some odd reason, I could always get activesync to work the way I wanted for debugging with a Treo (as opposed to "insert generic HTC brick phone here").
Treo pro webos edition to be announced at MWC? (wishful thinking)
@ACMartin
that's pretty much just the Pixi...
@PhoenixFox
The pixi is more like the centro of the family.I'm looking for the same screen size and internals of the pre plus, but with the pixi form factor.
Teo Pro is still on the Australian website. Palm/au also has the Palm Pre and the Centro on the front page..neither of which are available!
Maybe next week there'll be a Foleo and Tungsten T
end of the line for a classic.
The GSM Treo Pro is a great, underappreciated phone. There are WM 6.5 custom ROMs available for it at XDA and other sites. It has excellent RF reception and NA 3G bands. It also had a nice implementation of WM 6.1 with some classic Palm tweaks. It flew under the radar in the US because it was only sold unlocked as AT&T never picked it up. The CDMA version is another story, but the GSM version is a really good device, especially at current prices.
@dwboston1 It seems to be common to diss the CDMA (Sprint) Treo Pro but really, I don't have a single problem with mine at all (except, of course, leaky programs that force memory cleanup or the very occasional soft resets). My boss's iPhone drops FAR more calls than my Treo Pro - I don't think I've been able to complete a single phone call with him without being dropped out at least once and he constantly loses his connections inside our own office as well. He even drops calls when he's in a different city, so AT&T's problems range throughout the country!
Only time I've dropped a call was when moving and I hit a reception hole. The phone is a total joy, quite stable and I've never missed an incoming call. I really do think that there may be problems on Sprint's side when people report their STP's fail to forward calls but it seems nobody looks towards that direction of solution.