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Palm Treo 800w revealed?
Are we staring at the new Treo 800w? We obviously know what's up with the Centro and the 500 (namely the 500v), so the only missing ID in that lineup is the 800, successor to the 700-series flagship throne. Well, if this thing is the 800w we do kind of hope Palm tosses that fish back. Rearranging the WinMo buttons and giving the phone a more industrial, geeky look does not a greater Treo make, so unless this thing is like half as thin as current-gen devices (which it won't be, Palm seems pretty dogmatic about keeping its devices thick), it'll just be more of the same.
Updates coming any day now for AT&T's Treo 680 and 750?
AT&T Treo 750 owners have been waiting patiently (or not so patiently, as the case may be) for an update to Windows Mobile 6 seemingly since Earth was a hot, lifeless mass of molten lava -- and thankfully, it seems that wait might be drawing to a close. TreoCentral's forums have turned up what appears to be a legit slide deck from within AT&T detailing software upgrades for both the 750 and the Palm OS-based 680, with the former getting the aforementioned Windows Mobile 6 Professional, 1.8Mbps HSDPA, Cellular Video, AT&T Mail, AT&T Music, MobiTV, TeleNav, and a refreshed active call display. The 680 gets boosted with PTT support, MP3 ringtone capability, TeleNav, MobiTV, and instant messaging. The slides list October 15 as the rollout date for the 750 update -- a date which has obviously come and gone, so we're holding out the naive belief that we'll see it pretty much any minute now. The 680, meanwhile, allegedly gets hooked up on the 22nd. Here's hoping![Via Palm Infocenter]
Verizon lays out upcoming smartphone lineup; Samsung i760 comes first
No surprises in the mix here, but we're delighted to see that Verizon is finally getting official with four smart devices that have been rumored to be in its pipeline for ages. Of the four, only the i760 from Samsung's been priced and slated for release -- October 19 online, November 2 in stores for $350 on contract after rebates -- featuring Windows Mobile 6 Professional, QWERTY slide-out and offset numeric keypads, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The XV6800 succeeds the tired XV6700, going up against Sprint's Mogul by offering the HTC Titan reference design in a custom Verizon skin; it shows up with a 2 megapixel cam, WiFi, and a full QWERTY keyboard. Already released on several CDMA carriers, the HTC Libra sees the light of day on Verizon as the SMT5800 bearing Windows Mobile 6 Standard and a 2 megapixel cam (we loved the Libra's GSM cousin, and we're guessing this one's great too). Finally, make some noise, Palm OS fans -- it's okay, don't be shy! Verizon finally gets down with the Treo 755p, a phone that could ultimately serve as the platform's swan song in the classic Treo form factor. As we mentioned, only the i760 has been priced and dated at this point, but we'll keep ya in the loop just as soon as we know more.
Treo 500v sports a revamped Windows Mobile interface
For all of you fervent Treo fans chomping at the bit to get your hands on the 500v, here's an interesting piece of information which may stir "things" deep inside your mind and body. Apparently, the Windows Mobile-equipped smartphones will be touting a UI that's a pretty big step away from Microsoft's staid and standard operations. According to a slow, yet detailed video we've seen, the new interface will be pulled together using a completely revamped "start menu," (similar to the UI which Samsung is employing on its SGH-i620) which gives you much faster access to applications and settings, and has a completely new look. Menus and application icons also appear to be a departure from what we've seen in other WM devices, giving the interface a wholly unique aspect. Check the video after the break and see for yourself.[Via pocketnow]
iPhone report: most owners left Treos, Sidekicks behind
While we've seen a variety of surveys pitting the iPhone against its most notable rivals, a recent study conducted by the NPD Group breaks down the numbers behind who left what phone (and what carrier) to acquire an iPhone. Not surprisingly, iPhone early adopters were "ten times more likely than other new phone buyers to have previously owned a Treo and three times more likely to have owned a T-Mobile branded phone, such as the popular Sidekick model." When it came to carriers, Alltel and T-Mobile were said to have lost the most customers to AT&T, as consumers who "switched carriers to buy an iPhone were three times more likely to switch from Alltel or T-Mobile than from other carriers." Notably, the lack of "corporate email support" was pinpointed as the main reason that many BlackBerry users didn't make the leap, but it did praise the iPhone for helping to "bridge the gap between consumer-focused feature phones and productivity-focused smartphones."
Is this Verizon's PDA line-up for November?
With the holidays right around the corner, carriers will pull out all the stops to attract new customers and Verizon's no exception to the rule. First up, it's the Motorola's elusive Q9c -- cousin to the Q9m -- outfitted with a 1.3 megapixel camera, expandable memory via miniSD, 128MB of RAM and 64MB of ROM, Windows Mobile 6 Standard, and Bluetooth 2.0. Next up, it's UTStarcom's QWERTY-sliding SMT5800. The device will rock a 1xEV-DO Rev. A radio (which unfortunately looks like it will be held to Rev. 0 at launch), 2 megapixel shooter, microSD support, 128MB of RAM and 64MB of ROM, Windows Mobile 6 Standard, and Bluetooth 2.0. UTStarcom looks to finally bring the XV6800 running WM6 Professional, too -- but sadly, it will also have the EV-DO Rev. A radio downgraded to Rev. 0 at launch. Rounding out the November launch schedule is the Palm Treo 755p, trailing Sprint by a country mile, but Palm OS faithful are probably thinking it's better to launch this one late than never. Let's hope these dates stick, yeah?[Thanks, HTC Kid]%Gallery-8629%
Palm Centro review
Okay, now we know what you're thinking. Sure, we (lovingly) raked Palm over the coals in our open letter to the company, and yeah, we haven't been the sweetest of hearts to the crew from Sunnyvale (with good reason, of course). However, If you've paid attention to our past good-intentioned prodding, then you'll know that getting our hands on a new Palm device still gives some of us geeky chills.After seeing scores of "leaked" photos of the Centro, and hearing enough internet chatter about the device to make your brain vibrate like a tightly-wound piano string, actually getting our hands on the phone was honestly a bit of a surprise, both bad and good. We're going to break it down piece by piece and hopefully give you a rounded impression of the smartphone crown-chaser (or at least princess-in-waiting).
Palm Centro unboxing
The kind folks at Palm have sent us over a brand-spanking-new Centro to take for a spin, and we'd thought we'd share that special moment when a phantasmagorical waking dream becomes cold, hard, metallic reality. At a first glance, it's pretty clear that the $99.99 price point will leave you hungry for accessories if you sink your teeth into the Sprint-only (for now) phone, as the box has the bare minimum included -- they don't even throw in a cheap set of earbuds. Other than that it's pretty standard fare. Check the gallery for all the views (including a size comparison with the Treo 750, so you can see how they stack up), and stay tuned for a thorough review.%Gallery-8406%
Palm Centro unboxed at Engadget Mobile
Love Palm? Love the Centro? Love unboxings? Well, it's your lucky day, because we've got a lean, mean, eye-shattering gallery going on over at Engadget Mobile, featuring a full-on unboxing of the new Palm / Sprint entry. Direct your browsers this way, and prepare to have an out-of-body experience.
Crystal ball (or spreadsheet, in this case) reveals Verizon release dates
We've caught boatloads of noise detailing Verizon's pipeline for the remainder of the year (and possibly into early '08), but exact launch dates have been harder to come by. Granted, the carriers often don't know these until the last minute anyway -- network test failures and supply problems being what they are -- but Boy Genius Report has scored a spreadsheet that should at least start to give us a rough idea of what we can expect for the next few months. The Samsung i760 finally (and we do mean finally) launches on October 19, followed by the Juke two days later on the 21st. The first of November sees the BlackBerry Pearl 8130, LG VX5400, and Palm Treo 755p (probably right about the same time Alltel gets it), with the LG Venus coming just a short few days later on the 4th. The 15th sees two new shades for the G'zOne Type-S -- black and "burgundy / gold" -- alongside the Samsung u900 "FlipShot." The ultra-cool LG Voyager and G'zOne "Type-Sptt" (possibly just a Type-S without the cam) slide in on November 18, with two new VX8550 shades dropping on the 21st. Whew! Now, the real question: how many of these dates are actually gonna hold?
Come and get your love: Alltel's upcoming lineup?
With major releases like the Motorola RAZR 2 V9m and BlackBerry 8830 in its rear-view mirror, Alltel's been doing a commendable job keeping up with its larger, national rivals -- and if our intel's accurate, we can expect the trend to continue. In the smartphone department, the Palm Treo 755p should be launching pretty shortly (alright, granted, they're a little late on this one) along with the 8130 variant of the so-called Pearl 2 from RIM, a nice stablemate for the more businesslike 8830. One wildcard that we're hearing about here is the UTStarcom 6850 -- it's not clear what this device is, but given the UTStarcom branding on HTC's PPC-6800, it's conceivable to think that this could be some sort of mild refresh. Then again, it could be some totally boring low-end device sourced from a generic ODM, so we'll just have to play the waiting game on that one. From Motorola, look for two: a U5 (likely a new CDMA PEBL, given the "U" prefix on the model number) and the MOTOROKR Z6m. Not bad if it all pans out, eh?[Thanks, dizzy]
Palm Foleo unboxed, AT&T-branded Centro spotted?
Welcome to Engadget: Bizarro Edition. Look, truth be told, now that the Foleo has been wiped from a foreseeable Palm future, we kind of wish we could get our hands on one (rare gadget collectors that we are). Well, at least one lucky, lucky gentleman has done just that, and he's been kind enough to share the pictures with the rest of the world. We're not sure how an individual goes about procuring this device, but we can honestly say we're pretty jealous. It's essentially like having an embalmed unicorn in your living room. But that's not all, kids. Take a long, hard look at that Centro in the photos (which is referred to as the Treo 500P) -- it's got AT&T branding all over that home screen. Is your curiosity piqued? Join the club. Take a look at the little curiosity after the break.
Hands-on with the Palm Centro
Well, here's the shiny little Centro, in all its slightly-less-than-breathtaking beauty. Truth be told, the phone doesn't look or feel too bad -- we still don't get the gray stripe through the middle, but what can you do? The keyboard is unbelievably tiny, but we'll take it where we can get it. The surface of the cherry red or metallic black phone is quite slick, and we suspect will go tumbling out of sweaty hands like gang busters. Of course, the EV-DO connection was snappy, but the thing we're most stoked about is the fact that Palm has finally eliminated that 2-pixel border around the screen. Hey, no new OS... but that border is gone. The Centro is due mid-October for the shockingly low price of $99.99, which should help push more than a couple of these out the door. Hit the gallery and check out all the hot photos.%Gallery-7863%
Sprint ups the Palm Centro teaser: $99 on October 14
Sprint just brought up their Palm Centro site and with it, a few more details to make the dealio all official-io. The "world's smallest Palm device" will cost you $100 beans after $100 mail-in rebate, minimum $25 data plan, and two year commitment to Sprint (and Garnet) when it launches on October 14th. We're also seeing a choice of a candy-red finish for the first time if black is a bit too staid for your tastes. Perhaps we'll hear a little more later today when the DigitalLife show kicks off in New York.[Thanks, Conrad A-B.]
Rogers releases WM6-equipped Palm Treo 750
AT&T customers still have a grueling wait ahead of them (apparently) for an official Windows Mobile 6 update to their Treo 750s, but our buddies north of the border are on the ball. Canada's GSM grandpappy, Rogers, has finally gotten around to launching the device -- a bit late, yes, but with Windows Mobile 6 and enabled HSDPA out of the gate. Normally we'd say the timing sucks with a newer product having just launched overseas, but let's be honest: between the Treo 500 and the 750, we're sure there are still plenty of folks willing to take the older model. Pick it up now for $599 CAD (about $584) on a two-year contract, or a far more palatable $249 CAD (about $243) on a three-year.[Via the::unwired]
Palm Treo 500v hits FCC via Asus
Historically, Palm's had manufacturing relationships with HTC, Foxconn, and Inventec for its Treo line, but it seems they've turned to Asus for the Treo 500 series. How do we know? The FCC tells us so via the device's filing from one ASUSTek Computer Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan. We can understand shying away from HTC -- maintaining a meaningful business relationship with a company that's whipping your butt competitively can be awkward at best -- but we can't help but wonder what led Palm to turn to an entirely fresh ODM relationship this time around. Was it looking to inject some fresh insight for the 500's creation, or did the order simply go to the lowest bidder? Of course, none of this changes the fact that the handset's me-too design and pedestrian feature set arguably leaves it at a competitive disadvantage before it's even released, but at least we can toss a little sliver of that blame Asus' way this time around.
Palm shareholders approve Elevation Partners sale
In a move that could be described as "totally unsurprising," Palm shareholders have approved the much-discussed partial sale of the company to a private equity firm called Elevation Partners (of which Bono is a member), and also a change in the board of director's makeup. The plan, if you'll recall, is for Mr. MacPhisto and co. to pay $325 million for a 25-percent stake in the company, while Palm itself will pay out a $9 per-share distribution of cash to current shareholders for a reduction in ownership. There will also be a new executive board chair, namely, Johnathan Rubenstein, an Apple alumni who ran the iPod devision from 2004-2006. Fred Anderson (another former Apple officer), and Roger McNamee (a Silicon Valley investor) will also join the board. Our man Ed Colligan said of the switch, "There are a lot of moving parts here, but the goal is to bring in a transformation and change the dynamics of the company," er... okay. Apparently, Palm has hopes that Mr. Rubenstein will help create "innovative products" and "bring them to market quickly." In our dreams guys, in our dreams.
Palm's Treo 500v gets official
Well folks, you can't say we didn't warn you. Palm's European wing announced today that the Treo 500v was really real, and headed onto the monolithic Vodafone network in October. As expected, the new model will be coming in two colors, a bright white and gray finish (called Glacier White), as well as a muted charcoal tone (known as, surprise, Charcoal Grey), and will be running Windows Mobile 6. The phone will not have a touchscreen, as we reported, but will rock 3G / UMTS data (not HSDPA), have a 2-megapixel camera (so at least we know Palm isn't completely recycling older phones' guts), 256MB of onboard memory (150MB for users), plus a microSD slot and Bluetooth 2.0. Everything else about the phone should feel like standard territory, as Palm doesn't seem to be offering anything in the way of software that's different, though this phone could (and should) find some fans with those looking in the direction of BlackJacks, Qs, and Dashes. Still, we can't say we're not a little deflated... maybe the rumored "800" will blow our collective minds.[Via Pocket-lint]%Gallery-7352%
New Treo 500 pics surface showing off color schemes, back and side views
Sure, we know the actual event is only a few hours away, but can you ever really see too many pre-release photos of a new mobile phone... especially when it's this much of a let-down? That's right folks, feast your sparkling eye-socket-fillers on these new Treo 500 pictures, featuring both variations of the monochromatic, totally mediocre color-schemes that Palm has cooked up. We don't know where our friends in the Netherlands got these pics, or why the white version's keyboard is blurred out like a still from a Paris Hilton "video," but we do know some things, namely: the camera and speaker placement on the backs have changed ever-so-slightly; these phones are thinner, but not that thin; and... these designs look straight out of 1999. Look, we know you're trying guys, but you're going to have to do better than a BlackJack-aping, Windows Mobile almost-ran to win our hardened hearts back.[Thanks, Lenny]
More Palm Centro details leaked for Sprint
The cats at the Morning Paper claim to have a piece of marketing collateral which spills, or at least, reshuffles the beans on the Palm Centro for Sprint. EV-DO, check. Palm OS (Garnet), check. Touch-screen, check (obviously). Really, the only things we haven't seen before is the list of Sprint services it'll be packing: Sprint TV, On Demand, IM, Mobile Email, and Google maps in the slimmest Treo, er Palm OS device yet. But Garnet on a Q4 2007 Palm release? Puh-lease.[Thanks, Sheldon]
