Well, it appears the rumors earlier today were on the mark. Palm has announced the official release of the Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for Palm Treo 750 owners in the U.S. It’s safe to start dancing in the streets. Visit Palm for the free download along instructions on how to upgrade your Treo 750.
According to a source over at The Boy Genius Report, AT&T is reportedly set to go live with the official Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the Treo 750. We’ve heard this before, but perhaps this is for real. Check back tomorrow for details. Palm’s official blog did mention the Treo 750 update was “in the queue”, so it is quite possible the release is the real deal.
While it’s been available in and around the Intraweb, Palm nor AT&T have released the real deal. Thankfully, this could change soon for Palm Treo 750 owners waiting for the official release. Palm has announced the Treo 750 WinMo update is “around the corner”. What that means, we’re not exactly sure. December? 2008? Hopefully, it means sooner than later. Either way, it’s was nice of Palm to provide us with a heads up.
Well, what do we have here? It looks like a leaked photo of the Palm Treo 800w. Just so happens, this photo has been released leaked on the same day as the CTIA Wireless conference. No one can confirm if this is real or a fake, but it’s refreshing to see some spy shots of the Treo 800w. The whole thing started in a TreoCentral forum discussion and the alleged image was shared by a friend of a Sprint engineer who was beta testing the unit. According to the source, he’s going to try and share a photo of the device. The current leaked image appears to be pulled from a PowerPoint presentation. No way to tell if the Treo has been dieting, so we’ll wait for the blurry cameraphone leaked photos before we get too excited.
Source: TreoCentral
Finally, a new Treo for those in the Verizon Wireless camp. According to a leaked release sheet, Verizon will see the Treo 755p on November 1st. No other details available yet. Verizon has been selling the Treo 700p (released in June of 06′) and the Treo 700wx. This is also an indicator that Verizon could release the Centro smartphone when Sprint’s exclusivity ends in January.
Source: The Boy Genius
Truth be told, the update to Windows Mobile 6 Professional for the Treo 750 is long overdue. The update has been floating around the Internet for months and many have reported success when upgrading WM5. So, if that’s the case, then where is the official release? Well, according to a source at Howard’s Forums, the delay is being caused by assorted bug fixes. AT&T is waiting on Microsoft to squash assorted bugs. The fixes then get routed back to the vendor (Palm in this case) for integration and then back to AT&T’s labs. This loop is the reason for delays. If this source is authentic, the target date for the Treo 750 WM 6 update is now mid-December. Ouch!
Source: HowardForums
According to a report in The Guardian, Palm told them “it will be 12 to 18 months” before a Linux based Treo appears. One can only hope this report is incorrect. Earlier this year, Palm’s CEO Ed Colligan stated that the Linux Treo would debut by the end of 2007. He later pushed back the estimate saying the Linux Treo would ship in 2008. If this latest report is true, this would be devastating news to those clamouring for a next generation Palm OS Treo. There are only so many ways one can repackage Garnet. This would be a great opportunity for someone at Palm to make good use of their blog and say it ain’t so. If left undisputed, one can only guess it to be true.
If reports are true, Palm did not have much to do with the customized homescreen of the Treo 500v. Rather than ship with standard Windows Mobile 6 standard homescreen, the chaps at Vodafone have gone out of their way a pretty slick interface for Windows Smartphone. Whoever is responsible, this appears to be a job well done. Check out this video for a preview of the new Treo 500v homescreen.
If you thought the Palm Treo 500v was strictly for our friends in Europe, guess again. Look for the Palm Treo 500 (drop the “v”) to land in the US sometime this fall. Palm has filed an application with the FCC for the Treo 500, a step that is necessary and usually a pre-cursor to stateside launch. It’s safe to assume the feature set will mirror that of the Treo 500v, leaving many waiting for a Palm release that actually generates some excitement.
Source: I4U
Palm and Vodafone took the wraps off the new Palm Treo 500v. It will run Windows Mobile 6 Standard, meaning it will be the first to sport a non-touchscreen interface. The GUI looks to be a customized homescreen reportedly designed by Vodafone. The actual release date will be October 1 and no price has been announced yet. You can expect this phone to ship at a lower price than previous Treo smartphones. “The Treo 500v is priced to enable a broader audience to experience the internet and email on the go,” said John Hartnett, Senior Vice President, Global Markets and Windows Business Unit, Palm Inc. The Palm Treo 500v will be available in two colors: glacier white or charcoal gray (as pictured).
Other major changes include a mini USB connector as seen below.
The Palm Treo 500v supports 3G (UTMS), includes a 2 megapixel camera along with a suite of Microsoft apps (Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook). SMS messaging appears to be of the standard variety meaning no threaded SMS messaging (Note to third party developers, there is a major need for this in both the Moto Q and Palm community).
So, there you have it. While the Palm community anxiously waits for a next generation Treo, the company has delivered another “entry-level” device. Given the expected price point and the competitive landscape in the European market, Palm will most likely see moderate success with the Treo 500v. If and when it arrives in the US, the Treo 500 will see stiff competition from the Blackjack and upcoming Moto Q Global.
Is it me or did Palm just tell us the Centro, complete with touchscreen interface, was their entry level smartphone?
For more details, check out Palm’s UK site.
