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Treo 800w shows up on Sprint roadmap for July release
At this point the Treo 800w has been outed by Bill Gates himself, so while the suspense factor is pretty low, it's nice to know that it'll finally be getting here in July. That's the word according to this purloined Sprint roadmap, which also indicates the newest Treo will have GPS and EV-DO rev. A -- but still run WinMo 6.0, which is pretty sad, especially if that revised version of 6.1 launches at CTIA next week as expected. Oh well, at least it's a new Treo -- let's just hope they can shake some more ugly off this thing before it hits the street.[Via PhoneArena]
Survey says suits issued BlackBerry over Palm by a wide margin
Well golly, no wonder Palm's gone on the attack against RIM. Corporate users have historically been the bread and butter of Palm's Treo line of smartphones, and with BlackBerrys of all shapes and sizes continuing to eat every other manufacturers' lunch in that profitable arena, it only makes sense that the company would be feeling more heat than ever. We're forced to take these stats with a grain of salt seeing how ChangeWave doesn't explain its surveying methods in its overview, but we've no reason to doubt the findings that 73 percent of corporate users are doled out a BlackBerry -- the same as was reported in November of last year -- while only 18 percent get a Treo, down from 28 percent a year ago. Now granted, these numbers represent the percentage of devices actually issued, which we suppose could be quite a bit different than what employees would prefer to be issued, but we doubt the difference is enough to equalize these two. What now, Palm?[Via Palm Infocenter]
Sprint's Treo 755p gets fresh firmware
It's that most exciting time of the year for owners of Palm's Treo 755p on Sprint -- firmware update time! Unfortunately, Palm's being extraordinarily vague about the goodies contained deep within this particular binary; they simply call it a "tune-up" that improves "audio, stability, software quality and device usability." Sounds good to us. Palm warns users to set aside a mind-boggling 45 minutes of their lives that they'll never get back for the pleasure of updating, so be warned, and make sure you have a block of time where you really don't care if anyone is trying to call you.[Via Palm Infocenter]
The Palm Treo 500, now SIM free
We're not confident that many folks were waiting with bated breath for this to go down, but sure enough, that rumored unlocked Treo 500 we'd told you about is now a reality. Features mirror Vodafone's original -- 256MB of storage, 2 megapixel camera, UMTS, Windows Mobile 6 Standard -- the only difference is that the Vodafone logo is now stone-cold gone from the phone's face, replaced with a more generic Treo logo. Grab it now for £269 (about $528) -- but beware if you're stateside, there's no 850MHz support for GSM and the 3G data resides only on the 2100MHz band.[Via PHONE Magazine and Reg Hardware]
Blast from the past: come get your Treo 600 / 650 settlement!
For most, the Treo 600 and 650 are old enough so that we don't really remember if we had troubles with 'em or not -- but apparently we did, and some owners are now entitled to a little chunk of cash to show for it. A class action lawsuit filed against Palm "claimed that the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones had certain defects, failed at unacceptable rates, and that Palm made misrepresentations concerning the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones," and Palm just decided to settle the whole tiff rather than take it to trial. This means that if you owned a Treo 600 or 650 that required two or more repairs and ended up purchasing a new device within a certain period, you get a little spending money -- or you're entitled to some free repair work, even if your Treo didn't require two or more trips to the shop. Naturally, there are some rules and regs involved -- this is a legal matter, after all -- so head on over to the site to figure out whether you're affected and how you can cash in.[Thanks, Michael G.]
More Palm Treo 800w specs leak out, no change in ugliness
For the handful of you left still getting stoked on Palm news, here's some interesting tidbits. The folks over at WMExperts have gotten some "possible" specifications of the Sprint-bound Treo 800w (or as we like to call it, the Gatesnote Palm) and are sharing them with the world. According to the sources, the new Windows Mobile 6-based Palm phone will be Centro-thin, trade the old proprietary HotSync connector for a mini-USB jack, has a dedicated hardware switch for turning WiFi on and off, will sport EV-DO Rev. A, Bluetooth 2.0, as well as 802.11g, and utilizes microSD cards in addition to its 256MB of memory. The article also says that the 2-megapixel camera takes "decent" pictures, and there is an additional 128MB of memory for "something else." More shocking (and possibly stupid) is that Palm has removed the headphone jack altogether, and users must employ some type of miniUSB contraption or go Bluetooth. Ed, if this is one of those breakthrough devices you mentioned, color us unimpressed.[Via Treonauts]
Palm's Vista-compatible Desktop 6.2 arrives woefully late
C'mon -- hop in this nifty time machine here and float with us back to December of 2006. That month, friends, is when Palm initially stated that it was cooking up a Vista-savvy iteration of its Desktop synchronization software, and yet, here we are some 13 months later wondering what took so long. Nevertheless, a finalized version of Desktop 6.2 for Vista has finally been loosed (half a year after the beta was revealed, mind you), and even though it does play nice with 32-bit editions of Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate, 64-bit Vista / XP users are still left out in the cold. For Palm (and Vista) users out there willing to forgive the tardiness, go on and hit up the read link to get the 65.2MB file headed over. [Via PDAStreet]
Palm "Drucker" in the mix, better only than "Zeppelin" among Palm codenames
The Treo 680 and 750 are getting a little long in the tooth, are they not? The 680 has a spiritual successor in the Centro -- the 750, though, not so much (come on, the 500v does not count). That might just be where this "Drucker" comes into play, a phone listed on Vodafone's 2008 roadmap that alleges Windows Mobile 6.1, a 320 x 320 (!) display, 2 megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi, and triband 3.6Mbps HSDPA when it comes down the pike this July. In fact, we can pretty much guarantee it'll be replacing the 750v, seeing how it says so right on the slide. Sadly we don't have any visuals on this one (something tells us this ominous gray box isn't the actual phone), but it looks like Voda's targeting a price of £270 (about $534) and we'd be pretty shocked if we didn't see an AT&T launch in roughly the same time frame.
Unlocked Treo 500 around the corner for Europe
We suspect it might have some trouble doing battle against the best that other manufacturers have to offer in the Windows Mobile space, but that apparently won't stop Palm from soon offering a carrier unlocked version of its Treo 500 handset in Europe. The move should come shortly following the expiration of Vodafone's period of exclusivity, with availability as soon as next month according to The Register. Seeing how no official announcement has been made, there isn't any pricing information -- but our question is, at what price point would it have to slot to be competitive against, say, an i620?[Via Palm Infocenter]
Palm Treo 755p goes live (at last) on Verizon, costs more
Here's a special present to those Palm diehards out there that've been sticking with their Verizon service for the past months, hoping against hope that Palm will notice them hanging out over on the largest CDMA network in the States: the Verizon Treo 755p costs $400 with a two year contract, a full $150 more than you'll pay over on Sprint. The $400 price is after a $50 mail-in rebate, but if you play your cards right and spring for the right data plan you can get the final price down to $300. Obviously there's nothing new on the hardware end of things -- other than that ultra-fancy new paint job and Verizon logo -- so at least you folks know what you're getting yourselves into. Oh, and from the looks of things, this is that unnamed device Palm teased about earlier this month. Sorry to disappoint.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
More details on the Palm Treo 800w uncovered?
According to some dedicated -- and, might we add, thorough -- Palm fans, it looks like we've gotten a few more bits of data about the (rumored) forthcoming Treo 800w. If you believe the data, FCC documents detailing emails between Palm and the agency reveal the code names and corresponding FCC IDs of four phones... including one we've never heard of with "co-locating WiFi and radio." Hear that? There's no current (or announced) Palm phone with WiFi, so this device, referred to as the "Zeppelin" in the .pdf could likely be the upcoming new phone that folks have been speculating on lately. The document also makes reference to a "Centro 685," which is another clue in this mystery, a variant of the Centro (690 is the official Palm "number" of the Sprint version) which might be headed out on AT&T. Only time, and Palm, will tell if this thing becomes a reality -- c'mon dudes, give us something.[Thanks, Greg D.]
The Boy Genius Report: Get Verizon's Treo 755p next week!
Field tidbits from Engadget's mobile insider, The Boy Genius.After we heard that the 755p had finally (finally) passed Verizon's battery of tests yesterday, it seemed inevitable that a launch was imminent -- but wowza, we didn't realize just how imminent! Look for the launch to go down next Monday, December 17 online and on the horn with a follow-on release in physical stores come January 7. Now here's where it gets crazy: Verizon looks to command a hearty $449.99 for this sucker on a two-year contract, so we can only hope that there'll be some significant rebateage going on out of the gate.
Palm Treo 755p finally passes Verizon's gauntlet, should launch shortly
Alright, now don't everybody go crowding the entrance to the Verizon store at once, y'hear? We just know you've all been waiting with bated breath for Verizon's version of the Palm 755p -- you know, the one that launched on Sprint like seven months ago -- and it looks like we might finally see a release in the not-too-distant future. We've gotten word that the oft-delayed Palm OS Garnet device has finally passed through Verizon's rigorous testing regimen, so we'll hopefully see it on shelves before too long -- hopefully before another head has to roll. Check out some shots, why don't you?[Thanks, anonymous tipster]%Gallery-11761%
Palm hooks up AT&T's Treo 680 with hefty update
Remember the "any day now" claim slapped on that alleged Treo 680 update for AT&T back in October? Well, it's out now, which means that "any day now" works out to... oh, about 50-odd days in AT&T lingo. Fortunately, it may have been worth the wait; it seems every rumored feature has made the cut, meaning 680 owners are now entitled to goodies like push-to-talk, integrated IM, SDHC support, and the all-important AT&T branding (seriously, who wants to be seen walking around with a Cingular device these days?). Grab the update now straight from Palm's site.[Via Brighthand]
Palm's unnamed device: the Treo 755p for Verizon?
Speculation is growing that the device Palm recently blamed for its revenue shortfall is none other than the yawn-worthy Treo 755p, a phone that launched on Sprint eons ago and, despite being rumored in Verizon trim eons ago as well, has apparently had all sorts of trouble getting through Big Red's testing process. While it's hard to deny that it's a pretty unspectacular handset at this point, we can also imagine that failing to launch it on the country's largest CDMA network would account for a significant drop in cash flow -- the Palm OS / Garnet faithful are still plentiful, after all, and there's no Centro in sight for Verizon at the moment. So, tell us: is anyone out there really drooling for this thing right now?
Palm offers up unlocked Treo 750 with Windows Mobile 6
If you loathe the carrier branding, or would just like to go gallivanting around the world with zero strings attached, Palm's now selling its co-flagship Treo 750 with Windows Mobile 6 direct and unlocked for $549. The GSM world phone can of course do the 3G thing in the US and Europe, so it's ideal the jet set type willing to deal with the Treo bulk, but other than the unlock it's the same old Treo, so we're sure you've already decided whether this one's right for you. The phone is available at Palm's online and retail stores. [Via MobileBurn]
Palm finally posts Windows Mobile 6 for AT&T's Treo 750
Some ten months after we first saw Treo 750s running Windows Mobile 6, AT&T and Palm have finally dropped an official upgrade today for the carrier's branded units. Turns out that Windows Mobile 6 is just the start with this little gem of an update, though -- you'll also get HSDPA support (yeah, that's right, you've been rocking plain ol' UMTS up until now), access to AT&T Cellular Video, functional Voice Command while using a Bluetooth headset, device charging via USB, and the list goes on. Head on over to Palm's site to kick off the download, and naturally, be sure to let us know how it goes.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Update: Aaaand there we are with the problems. Fortunately, we're not (yet) hearing about bricked phones, just upset customers who are being blocked from downloading the updater, thanks to Palm's janky serial-checking tool. Way to go, Palm, we're sending air kisses your way. Thanks, Zack.Update 2: Palm says that the serial number issues that plagued some of the first few folks to try to grab the update have now been resolved, so if you haven't updated yet, have a go at it, will ya? Thanks, Paul!
24 in 1994: the "lost pilot"
How did Jack Bauer ever get by without his magical Treo? We figure it must've involved a whole lot more eyeball threatening than he usually manages to cram into a season of 24. Also, according to CollegeHumor's "unaired 1994 pilot" episode, it involved a pager and some really bad early 90's hair. Consider yourself warned, video is after the break.
Palm and AT&T releasing Windows Mobile 6 update for Treo 750 today?
We've been all over the Windows "Nightmarishly slow" Mobile 6 updates for what seems an eternity only to see this poor device left in the lurch. Well, if rumor is correct -- and it can be from time to time -- Treonauts is reporting that unhappy Treo owners may be blessed with a Windows Mobile 6 update from AT&T as early as today. While we'd love to offer to see their rumor and raise them with an actual sighting, sadly we can't. Of course, feel free to pop back soon because we'll be updating if we hear anything more.[Via Treonauts]
Unbranded Palm Treo 750s get hooked up with Windows Mobile 6
AT&T customers need not apply, but users of the generic, unbranded version of the Treo 750 finally have an official option for getting their units upgraded to Windows Mobile 6. The whole timeline is kinda silly, with Vodafone, Rogers, and others all coming out with Windows Mobile 6-equipped versions of the 750 (and in some cases, official upgrades for older units) well before Palm decided to get its butt in gear and update the unbranded peeps. We've said it before, and we'll wearily say it again: we have to believe this means the AT&T update is coming any freakin' second now.[Via MoDaCo]
