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Sprint's Treo Pro in the wild, now with more box
Yo, Sprint, Palm, guys... seriously, give it up. We all know this thing's coming, so can we at least get an announcement or something? We've seen the CDMA-flavored Treo Pro in Sprint livery in the wild already, and now we're seeing the box, which -- no surprise -- bears a strong resemblance to its GSM bedfellow. As far as we can tell, this sucker is still on track for release before the end of the month, and with retail packaging floating around, it seems at least plausible -- so here's hoping, eh?[Thanks, anonymous tipster]%Gallery-42703%
Palm's CDMA Treo Pro gets FCC approval
We watch more FCC filings than we do episodes of Deal Or No Deal. Okay, that's not entirely true, but we watch our fair share of RF approvals -- and needless to say, when we saw a Palm handset cross the wires the day of the Pre announcement, we'd immediately assumed it was the approved device. On further analysis, though, it turns out that we're actually looking at the CDMA version of the Treo Pro, a phone that's been rumored for Sprint for a hot minute now. Actually, we're pretty shocked it wasn't announced at CES along with the Pre -- anxiety that the announcement would be totally eclipsed and buried by the Pre buzz, maybe. At any rate, we'd expect it to break cover pretty shortly at this point.
Palm's Treo Pro spotted in Sprint attire?
Our handy dandy leak sheet was already proven correct once with the introduction of the pink Instinct, so we're beginning to feel good about a Sprint-branded Treo Pro making landfall sometime this month. A curious in the wild shot over at WMExperts shows off what clearly looks to be that very handset, though we'd never put it past a mischievous Photoshopper to spit something out in a cutesy grab for attention. Whatever the case, the exterior looks about as normal as ever, and seriously, is any Sprint customer in their right mind looking to pick this up over the forthcoming Pre? Signs point to "no."[Thanks, malatesta]
UPDATED: Palm doesn't confirm Nova launch at CES, but they may as well have
Use a Palm phone? Like the idea of Nova? We hope so, because the company revealed in its earnings call yesterday that it'd be transitioning its entire lineup over to the new, homegrown platform, though it'll continue to market Windows Mobile-based devices like the Treo Pro to businesses. Speaking of the Treo Pro, Palm mentioned that it'd be bringing its top-of-the-line WinMo device to a US carrier this quarter -- we think we know which one -- but the big news is unquestionably Nova, which will be released on a range of all-new hardware starting in the first half of '09. It claims that carriers who've seen the platform are "universally excited" about it, which we suppose is a good start -- but the real trick, of course, is to get consumers universally excited about it as well.[Via Phone Scoop] Update: Sascha Seagan of PC Magazine wrote in to let us know that Nova's unveiling at CES wasn't actually confirmed on the call -- but in light of the buzz they've been drumming up, it seems certain that it'll happen. What Palm did reveal is that Nova is already in the hands of some of its development partners (anyone want to send us pictures?) and that traditional non-phone PDAs -- that is, the foundation upon which Palm was built -- will not continue to be developed as Nova comes into play. We still love the Palm V after all these years, don't you?
AT&T certifies Treo Pro, not to be confused with "AT&T subsidizes Treo Pro"
Everyone was a little taken aback by Palm's decision to sell its new top-of-the-line Treo Pro direct -- unlocked, no less -- rather than pairing up with AT&T or T-Mobile to get the phone more exposure at a lower price point. Whether that was ultimately Palm's decision or an unwillingness on the carriers' part to get a deal done, we may never know, but you've always been able to snap one up and use it on AT&T's 3G airwaves right out of the box. For the skittish among us, that may not have been enough reassurance that you'd be able to use the unbranded phone without the occasional hiccup, so for you, Palm has gone ahead and pushed the Treo Pro through AT&T's Specialty Vertical Devices program, which is code for "stuff we know works on our network, but we have no interest in selling on contract." It'll probably win a few extra sales with large companies that require fully-certified wireless gear, but for the average consumer, there's probably little consequence here.
Sprint's Treo Pro coming in January along with a pink Instinct
Say, remember how there was supposed to be a Treo Pro coming to Sprint? Yeah, well, the time is drawing near for that to go down; odds are it could've happened sooner, but Sprint probably wanted to give its fairly fresh 800w a little breathing room before getting sunsetted in favor of the significantly more attractive Pro. The carrier is currently targeting January 25 for the model to be available in all channels for $549.99 -- which we're guessing (hoping) will come down to $249.99 or so after rebates, subsidies, and all that jazz. Also launching in January should be the Motorola i365IS -- an even more rugged model of the already beefy i365 -- and a pink version of the Instinct. If that's not a veritable potpourri of phones covering every corner of the market, we don't know what is.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Palm Treo Pro listed at Sprint Mobile Software site
Take a good, hard look at that picture above. We know what you're thinking, and you're thinking Sprint might have a CDMA version of the Palm Treo Pro lined up for action. If you'll recall, this isn't the first time (this month) that we've seen a rather believable hint that such an occurrence was on the way, and generally speaking, smokes tends to signal fire. We were always curious about Palm's choice to launch this directly at high-end business users without giving it to a carrier, and apparently, it's been curious as well. So, anyone got any outlandish guesses on a release date?[Thanks, Hugh]
Is the Palm Treo Pro coming to Sprint?
Back in late August, we heard whispers that a CDMA Treo Pro could be in the works. Since then, we haven't heard a peep on any progress.... until now, that is. The eagle-eyed mobile mavens over at WMExperts happened to notice a peculiar "Sprint Treo850e" sucking down 160kbps with .229s of latency on the spcsdns.net network while checking out mobile speed tests. No surprise that the Treo 850 is better known as the Treo Pro, but finding that one is sneaking around on Sprint somewhere is. C'mon Sprint, how's about a joint release with the Touch Pro?
Palm Treo Pro now shipping
Listen up all you Palm Treo Pro hopefuls, your pre-order unit is now shipping with Palm's on-line store showing in stock availability. At least one tipster received a confirmation email saying his unlocked, $549 obsidian-black Treo is in the mail. Hell, Palm even did him a solid and expedited the order overnight instead of the 6-10 day standard shipment originally selected. Good on ya Palm.[Thanks, Matt B.]
Palm Treo Pro to get real for AT&T?
File this under rumor -- at least for now -- but Palm's quarterly earning report coughed up the usual financials and news that the Treo Pro's heading to an American carrier. While none were specifically mentioned, speculation has it that due to the Palm's relationship with T-Mobile -- or lack thereof -- AT&T's the Treo Pro's potential new home. We've not gotten anywhere near a release date or pricing, yet, but WMExperts is speculating December looks good for the big party. Holiday gift giving ideas anyone?[Via Boy Genius Report]
Palm Treo Pro now available on Vodafone UK
Business customers in the UK are now invited to sign up for the Treo Pro, beating out shipments of the unlocked version straight from Palm's own store. Pricing ranges from £340.43 (a curious figure that works out to about $624) to free depending on the plan you've selected, and we do like the sound of "free" compared to the $549 Palm charges. Then again, that $549 buys you a phone devoid of carrier branding. Life's about trade-offs, eh?[Via CoolSmartPhone]
Palm now happy to take your $549 for a Treo Pro preorder
Great news for Palm fans, Treo fans, Windows Mobile fans, and anyone who lives out in the sticks: the Treo Pro is now officially available for preorder. Palm's US site now lists the Treo Pro in glossy black "obsidian" for the expected $549 with shipping anticipated in two to three weeks. We'll admit, there's something vaguely sexy about an unlocked smartphone with North American 3G -- no matter how ancient the platform might be. Any chance this'll be upgradeable to Nova, Palm?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Palm Treo Pro gets props from Telstra for extreme signal strength
For our money, there's really nothing worse than dropping a few hundred bucks on a shiny new 3G toy, taking it home to the Outback, and realizing that we're getting more wallaby meat than we are reception. Happily, Telstra has a pretty unique program in the carrier world -- dubbed "Blue Tick" -- that awards certain devices in its lineup for their killer signal strength, which theoretically makes them more appropriate choices for use in rural and fringe areas where lesser phones might struggle. Interestingly, the Treo Pro is now the first smartphone in Telstra's Blue Tick range -- which they're offering for as little as zilch on a two year contract, by the by -- making it a solid choice for anyone around the world who's looking for a modern WinMo set with enough signal-pulling power to make a Motorola V365 green with envy. Only question is, can we still completely encase it in gold and hold a call?
The Engadget Review: Palm Treo Pro
The Treo Pro is the first of what is clearly a new design direction for Palm -- a shiny, black mutation of the popular Centro coupled with a few lines from the Treo 500 and a dash of the original Xbox thrown in for good measure. Under the hood is the staid and familiar Windows Mobile 6.1, with few changes save for the typical Palm shortcuts and the inclusion of an HTC-licensed task manager. Is this combo powerful enough to lift the smartphone-maker out of the doldrums of its current lineup, or is it just another half-step along the uneven pavement the company has been treading? Read on to find out.
Palm Treo 800w and Treo Pro accessories revealed, boredom hard to fend off
Regardless of brand or model, one of the very first accessories many smartphone owners start rifling through the parts bin for is an extended battery of some sort. Unfortunately, Palm either doesn't know that or doesn't care, because a glance through its fresh round of accessories for the 800w and Pro doesn't reveal any. What we do see is a leather sleeve case for the 800w -- fancy! -- along with a "micro" charger that comes bundled with a spare battery. Depending on just how "micro" we're talking about, that could be a decent investment. It's not the most exciting group of SKUs, but for Treo fans, excitement is pretty hard to come by anyway.
Palm cooking up a CDMA Treo Pro?
The hardened news hawks over at China Economic News Service would like to hit us up with some knowledge: Palm allegedly plans on outing a CDMA version of its Treo Pro "in the future" for carriers like "Verizon, Wireless [sic] and Sprint." While we wouldn't typically pay an unsubstantiated report like this much mind, Palm does see a lot of love from its CDMA partners -- and we have to believe that both Verizon and Sprint are putting the full-court press on 'em to pony up the goods after seeing how much more attractive the Treo Pro is than Palm kit they're currently able to offer. And don't give us any weak sauce 800w arguments, alright?[Via Brighthand]
Palm chose HTC over Inventec for Treo Pro?
We thought it was funny in a nerdy, chortle-quietly-to-ourselves sort of way when we realized that HTC would essentially be competing with itself this fall in the very upper echelon of the Windows Mobile market by releasing the Touch Pro and making the X1 for Sony Ericsson. Now it seems that they're adding at least one more player into the mix -- just for sport, we suppose -- if DigiTimes' claim that the contract for Palm's Treo Pro has gone to HTC is correct. Recently, Palm has favored Inventec over HTC for many of its models -- though the on-again, off-again relationship with Peter Chou's company stretches all the way back to the Treo's early days, so there's definitely some precedent. That, and the fact that HTC seems to really know what it's doing lately.[Thanks, Marios S.]
Palm Treo Pro unboxing and hands-on at Engadget Mobile
You love the new Palm Treo Pro -- right? Not sure yet? Haven't seen enough photos? Okay, we get it. Well if you're really interested (and we know you are), take your bad self over to Engadget Mobile, where we've got some exciting and enlightening pictures of the latest Windows Mobile device from the folks in Sunnyvale. Get over there now! Seriously... what are you waiting for?
Palm Treo Pro unboxing and hands-on
Well we've gotten our hands all over Palm's new Treo - the Pro - and we've documented it all on film... er, disk. Here's what were liking so far - no more recessed screen (finally!), that HTC-licensed task manager, and the extremely slick packaging. Honestly, we think Palm might have one up on Apple with the presentation this time around. Also of note: the new modular power adapter (which Palm tragically forgot to throw into our box), earbuds you might not be ashamed to sport, and no install CD -- it loads when you hook the phone up to your PC. Check it all out in the gallery below (as well as a few size comparisons with the iPhone 3G), and we'll have pics of that power adapter just as soon as they courier it over. No, really.Update: Palm has -- in fact -- couriered over the accessories they forgot the first time around, and we've added some new pics. Huzzah!Update 2: We'll be doing a full review on the device, so stay tuned for that in the near future.%Gallery-30079%
Palm's Treo Pro gets official
Well you can't say you didn't see this one coming -- between the leaked shots, more leaked shots, and those -- yes -- leaked press materials, this was only a matter of time. That's right: Palm has gone and gotten all official with its latest and greatest smartphone, the now-familiar Treo Pro. The new Windows Mobile device is being sold unlocked (!), and features an HSDPA cell radio (tri-band UMTS, quad-band GSM), GPS, 802.11b/g, a 320 x 320 touchscreen display, 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM, a 2-megapixel camera, support for microSDHC cards up to 32GB... and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack! The Pro will run you $549 contract-free here in the States, while you'll be able to purchase it through Vodafone and O2 for prices ranging from €399 to nothing at all (with a contract, of course). Hit the read link and take a tour of the new device, or watch the totally radical -- and long, and detailed -- video after the break.%Gallery-30035%
