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| Palm Unveils The Treo 680 |
| Oct 16 2006, 12:57 AM |
Palm this week unveiled the Treo 680, a streamlined version of the Treo smartphone aimed at mainstream consumers looking for improved mobile phone functionality.
According to Palm Chief Executive Ed Colligan, the Treo 680 will be available by the end of 2006 and will be available in four color options. Pricing for the device may launch starting at $200.
The Treo 680 is a GSM/GPRS/EDGE smartphone with a slightly thinner appearance and no external antenna. High speed data networks EVDO and Broadband Connect are not supported on the Treo 680.
The vibrant touch-screen resolution remains at 320 x 320 and will have 64MB user storage memory, with up to 2GB available with an additional SD memory card. The Treo 680 runs the Intel 312MHz processor.
The smartphone is powered by Palm OS Garnet 5.4, which lacks multitasking, protected memory or improved security, but does provide improved user interface graphics including a simple graphical Phone start page.
The Treo 680 provides built-in dial-up networking (DUN), which shares the Treo internet connection with any laptop computer with Bluetooth capabilities. It also ships with an improved Blazer 4.5 web browser that provides faster and smarter website caching performance. VersaMail 3.5 is included offering full email and MS Exchange connectivity.
Microsoft Office and Adobe PDF document viewing and editing is included with Documents To Go v8, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe PDF formats.
The Treo 680 measures .8" thick and weighs in at 5.5 ounces.
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| FIFA World Cup On The Treo |
| Jun 8 2006, 02:15 PM |
It seems like only yesterday that the World Cup action was fast and furious here at TreoMB, and now Tinystocks is back with Football 2006, the free Palm program to keep track of the action from the 2006 FIFA World Cup competition in Germany.
Taking advantage of the simple Palm interface, Football 2006 organizes all of the action, alerts you to upcoming matches, and even wirelessly updates scores as they happen.
Treo owners can run the program in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch.
Who will take the ultimate crown?
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| Palm Treo 700P Offers Evolutionary Improvements |
| Jun 3 2006, 03:16 PM |
The Palm Treo 700p is a moderate evolution of the Treo smartphone that offers increased data speed, additional system memory, and a few improved hardware features that will satisfy new users, but may not amaze existing Treo 650 owners.
Identical in appearance to the recent 700w with a higher density 320 x 320 pixel display, the 700p hardware features slightly improved keyboard and button layout, and an improved screen appearance.
The Treo 700 weighs in with the same size as the Treo 650, and is powered by the same 312 MHz Intel processor. The device has been given a boost in the memory department, with 60 MB available memory, up from 24MB with the previous model.
The 700p includes a much improved 1.3 megapixel digital camera, that can also record video clips with audio at a slightly larger size 352 x 288 movie with a smoother frame rate.
The Palm OS struggles on, sporting a slightly improved Palm OS Garnet version 5.4.9 that contains limited updates to it's system graphics.
The 700p is also the first Palm OS based smartphone to take advantage of high speed EVDO wireless networks, with actual speeds at 60KB per second. The web browser is an updated version, Blazer v4.5, that improves page speed, caches pages for returning later, and includes built-in Java support. EVDO subscribers can now click and view Windows Media content streamed from web pages.
Also included is the latest Bluetooth 1.2, which allows for additional wireless acccessories.
VersaMail 3.5 has also been updated, now with the ability to sync with a Microsoft Exchange 2003 server, for email, calendar and contact sync. AutoSync can also be scheduled for any combination of email, calendar and contacts.
Unfortunately to some of the more advanced users, the Treo 700p does not allow WiFi support, there's no Bluetooth voice dialing, and as of launch it does not recognize memory cards larger than 2GB.
The Treo 700p is available for the Sprint and Verizon wireless networks in the US. |
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| Treo 650 Launches in China |
| Dec 2 2005, 03:51 PM |
This week Palm launched the Treo 650 in China, with immediate availability to retail customers of CEC Telecom, a subsidiary of China's largest telecom manufacturer.
"Palm is thrilled to collaborate with CECT to help reach the huge market potential in China and redefine the smartphone experience there," said Palm senior vice president John Hartnett.
China's 1.3 Billion inhabitants make up a growing marketplace for Treo-like smartphone devices, with 7 million such devices to be purchased in the next three years, according to IDC.
"The increasingly mobile workforce in China is looking for mobile devices that feature superior ease of use and excellent hardware and software integration to manage their busy lives," said CEC Telecom chief operating officer Gu Lei. |
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| Treo 1.17 Updater for Cingular Customers |
| Dec 2 2005, 03:51 PM |
Treo 650 1.17 for Cingular Wireless customers is now available for download from the Palm website.
The update includes improved memory performance, voice quality improvements and Gmail support in Versamail 3.1c.
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| Verizon Treo 650 Update Now Available |
| Oct 5 2005, 11:43 AM |
Palm today posted the Treo 650 updater 1.04 for Verizon Wireless customers which improves memory performance and offers better call handling.
According to the company website, the new features include:
- Optimized memory handling with non-volatile file system improvements
- Improved user interface for multiple call scenarios
Also included from the previous version 1.03 (released July 2005):
- Latest version of Wireless Sync email application software
- Internal settings modification to allow correct access to Verizon Wireless roaming partner networks
This update is only for Verizon Treo owners and should not be attempted with other wireless networks. Previous Treo updates can be found here. |
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| Palm Embraces Windows Mobile |
| Sep 26 2005, 08:56 PM |
In a stunning development for mobile computing, Palm today unveiled the next generation Treo powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile OS, its longtime rival.
The Windows Mobile Treo will be available on the Verizon Wireless network in the US in the beginning of 2006.
"It's about growth and about taking this whole category to the next level," said Ed Colligan, CEO of Palm. "We think that this operating system offers some functionality that the Palm operating system doesn't necessarily have. Certainly it does some things better."
The move is the latest in a series of hurdles for Palm since it divided PalmOS software and Palm hardware into separate companies.
The software entity, PalmSource, purchased Be Inc. Software in 2001 to power the next generation of devices. But the project, codenamed Cobalt, was mired with delays as PalmSource shifted development to a Linux system.
Then came the recent surprise announcement that Japanese software developer Access, Inc. purchased PalmSource for $324M. Access outbid rivals Motorola, Palm and ultimately Nokia with an 11th hour winning bid to take control of the Palm operating system.
palmOne, the hardware manufacturer of Palm devices, purchased back the rights to the Palm name, and finalized agreements with Microsoft and Verizon for the next generation Treo powered by Microsoft.
"This is a landmark alliance that will help businesses remain on the cutting edge of competitiveness," remarked Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Technology Architect for Microsoft. "Demand for accessing information on mobile devices is soaring, and businesses want a low-cost, scalable solution."
The Windows Mobile Treo will utilize Verizon's EV-DO high speed network with download speeds averaging 400-700 kilobits per second, which is the largest high speed network in the US.
The new Treo Windows Mobile 5.0 platform brings greater Microsoft PC compatibility, with Outlook Mobile email, Office Mobile applications, and Internet Explorer Mobile web browser built into the smartphone. Users will also be able to sync directly with Exchange Server 2003 for greater corporate compatibility.
But the transition to the Windows Mobile platform could lower demand for existing Palm devices, which recently controlled nearly 50% of the handheld market, as consumers wait for greater availability or consider other Windows Mobile devices.
"There is some cannibalization, there are people who'd want to move to this platform, no question about that, but I also think it expands the market, too." said Colligan. "I think it gets more people seeing Treos who want to use this type of functionality and that grows both markets."
Shares of Palm, Inc. traded 18% lower Friday as quarterly financial results boasted strong Treo sales but warned of significant cost increases and reduced handheld PDA sales going forward.
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| MobiTV: Live Internet Television for the Treo |
| Sep 9 2005, 04:24 PM |
Live streaming television on the Treo 650 has arrived.
MobiTV for the Treo 650 offers more than 20 channels that stream full resolution and frame rate broadcasts to the Treo using existing data services. The streaming TV channels include ABC News, NBC Mobile, CNBC financial, Fox Sports, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, The Weather Channel, MSNBC, Major League Baseball Highlights Channel, and others.
MobiTV is now available as a $10 monthly subscription for Treo 650 phones in the US on the Sprint, Cingular, and Verizon networks. There is no trial version of the application available for Treo users.
The company plans to offer support to the Treo 600 in the near future, with other worldwide mobile network support to follow.
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| Palm Updates Desktop Software |
| Sep 5 2005, 09:22 PM |
Palm has issued updates to its Palm Desktop software for Windows and Mac.
The Palm Desktop 4.2 for Windows is available from download here and is only for Treo 650 owners. The update includes bug fixes and a new migration manager feature that will copy all data from another Palm device into a new Treo 650. The migration application will also detect and avoid migrating any older software and information that is incompatible with the Treo 650.
The Palm Desktop 4.2.1 C for Mac offers bug fixes and adds Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger compatibility with iSync and the iCal and Address Book applications. Previous to this update, Tiger users were unable to sync a mac with the Treo 650 without considerable effort. The Palm Desktop for Mac users is available for download here. |
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| Slight of Hand |
| Jul 15 2005, 12:19 AM |
In an effort to reconnect with it's core brand, palmOne yesterday officially changed back to Palm, Inc. trading under the NASDAQ symbol PALM, after nearly two years under the name palmOne, trading under the symbol PLMO.
Earlier this year the company reached an agreement for exclusive rights of the Palm brand with Palmsource, Inc., makers of the Palm OS. The brand had been co-owned by the two companies since the October 2003 spin-off of PalmSource from Palm, Inc. palmOne agreed to pay $30 million for the full rights.
"I'm confident we'll build our momentum even faster now that we can use the same term consumers and business people have always used for our products," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer.
With the brand shift also brings a new, high-visibility orange Palm logo, in addition to new expanded headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. |
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