It's a little late for AT&T to be quoting "roses are red" in their press release, but they've got the red -- not (red), as in the money-losing charity -- tip covered for the Treo 680 and, of course, BlackBerry Pearl. Both will set you back $200 with a two year commitment. Is red plastic really worth all that to you?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Usually it's not all that noteworthy when a popular product drops one of its features, but when that device is the Treo 680, and that feature is the VGA camera, then it's certainly notable to your security-conscious businessfolk. Even though this is the Treo that's supposed to draw in the non-techie consumer -- and even though this SKU is barely advertised -- Brighthand is reporting that a camera-less 680 is indeed available, although you'll have to make a few phone calls if you want to to secure one. As usual, you're gonna pay the same amount whether you want the cam or not, so don't think you're gonna save any loot by forgoing the crappy shooter. Hit the Read link for more details, or more specifically, for actual proof that this mythical creature exists (hint: peep the small footnotes at the bottom of the page).

[Via Brighthand]

After our tear-filled eulogy of the Copper 680, we're pleased to report that rumors of the phone's death were greatly exaggerated -- specifically by Palm, who's "no longer available" warning kind was giving off those discontinued vibes. Those old messages have been removed from Palm's site, which is now listing all colored versions of the Treo 680 as shipping within 1-2 business days. So if you were holding off on a purchase, we're guessing you know what to do -- you internet savvy shopper, you. Still, and we're sorry to sound like a broken record here, but now that you've got those supply issues sorted out, how 'bout you start working on shaving a few millimeters off these things, huh Palm?

[Via Palm Infocenter]

It's not entirely clear whether someone at Palm jumped the gun here, but a page on Palm's own online store now tempts us with a "Palm® Treo™ 680 Cingular, GSM" in exchange for 349 of our hard-earned dollars. While it's no secret that we expect the 680 to grace Cingular with its presence any minute now, Inventec's apparent failure to implement a little something called quality control seemed to put the handset's release date in doubt -- alas, Palm's page alleges that their new low-end Treo is in stock with shipment in 1-2 business days. Sadly, we're not seeing a place to select which of the 680's tasty colors we'd like in our pocket, suggesting that this might just be the drab gray one pictured here ("Graphite," as it's known). What, are Crimson, Copper, and Arctic not good enough for you, Cingular?

[Via Reaper PC/PDA]

Life is like some wonderful dream for Treo lovers lately, with the quad-band 680 getting FCC approval just one day after the agency gave the 750 a thumbs up. With all the formalities complete, expect this everyman's Treo to hit Cingular any day now at price points you're probably well aware of. So if you haven't decided what color you're gonna go with yet, this is just a friendly reminder that it's coming down to the wire...

Ah yes, this is what we've been so eagerly awaiting. Enough pussyfooting around with the Palm Treo 680 and HTC Hermes / 8525 coming to Cingular -- we know they're due. We need prices, we need dates. And according to what appears to be a recent Cingular marketing presentation, we've got 'em:

• Treo 680: $424.99 straight, $349.99 one year, $249.99 one year with unlimited data (and $100 rebate), $274.99 two year, $174.99 two year with unlimited data (and $100 rebate; their ad, however, shows a $200 list price, but it's good to know we can count on around two Benjamins. Expect it November 5th (tentative).
• Cingular 8525: $559.99 straight, $484.99 one year (not including $50 rebate if included with unlimited data), $409.99 two year (also not including that same rebate); expect it October 29th.

See, now that wasn't so bad, was it? Both came in right around where we'd expected and hoped; between the Dash, the Q, and the 680, it looks like that $200 price point is the sweet spot for ever-slimming smartphones. And the 8525 ain't too bad either, considering what you're getting.

[Thanks also to djnth]

Ah, can you smell; the autumn in the air? For some that means it's iPod season, which, incidentally, just celebrated its fifth birthday this week. We've got the scoop there and on how you too can avoid blowing out the Windows virus candles your iPod may have shipped with, as well as some talk on Logitech snapping up Slim, Art Lebedev's latest project, and some interesting (albeit unsurprising) details that surfaced about the Treo 680 on Cingular. Tune in, Engadget Podcast 92 coming right up.

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Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Music: Solvent - Instructograph (Ghostly International)

Program:
00:33 - Apple says some 5.5G iPods shipped with Windows virus!
06:52 - The iPod turns five
17:00 - Logitech acquiring Slim Devices
21:32 - Here comes the Upravlator!
26:30 - Treo 680 headed to Cingular
29:08 - Listener emails
47:56 - Contests: deck out tech for Halloween, sing an Engadget song, shoot some sweet photos

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

Big surprise everybody, the Palm Treo 680 is coming to... wait for it... Cingular. Right, we know, we all figured it was coming to Cingular anyway, but we snagged an internal Treo 680 PowerPoint doc and now we know for sure. It'll have everything we've been expecting: Palm OS 5.4.9 with that new five-tabbed quick access (dial pad, favorites, home screen, contacts, call log), quad-band GSP / GPRS / EDGE, 312MHz XScale processor, 2.2-inch 320 x 320 display, SDIO, Bluetooth 1.2, IR, PocketTunes, 1200mAh battery, and a 4.41 x 2.36 x 0.88-inch body weighing in at 5.28 ounces. Oddly, Cingular also made mention of a few things in their "confidential and proprietary" document that we found a little puzzling: listed with their compatible email clients, it mentions XpressMail, Good, BlackBerry Connect and... "Microsoft Direct Push (Q1,'07)"? Huh? Ok, so maybe the Cingularian who threw this document together didn't know his biz as well as s/he might have, but either way at least now we know for sure orange customers can expect theirs soon.

It was a total mob scene after Palm's DigitalLife press conference, but we managed to fight the crowd and get our hands on the new Treo 680. Click on for a bunch of jumbo pics!