The Treo blog offers news and rumors surrounding the Palm Treo smartphone, Treo accessories and software.
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
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.
Palm Europe recently pushed a teaser promotion surrounding the release of a new smartphone. This immediately led to speculation of a European launch of the new Palm Centro with the Windows Mobile OS. Not so fast says the Official Palm Blog saying, “it’s not the Palm Centro smartphone!“. The outlines in the teaser certainly look like the shape of the new Palm Centro, so what gives. Perhaps, this is the first release of a new form factor for the Palm Treo? Some have speculated that it could be the Treo 800w. A few months back, blurry photos of a white Vodafone branded device made the rounds. If both the Treo and the Centro have similar form factors, how will Palm differentiate the two? Vodafone was the first carrier to release the Treo 750v and it certainly looks as if they will be first yet again. All we know for certain is that it’s happening on September 12th and it’s being dubbed “the latest cool phone”. Stay tuned.\
Palm Europe has a teaser page announcing a competition for a chance to win five of “the new Palm smartphones“. The page states, The new Palm® smartphone. The word is, it’s great for email, mobile internet, instant messaging, text and - with a full keyboard - saying what you really mean.
Sign up now and you’ll be the first to know all about the latest cool phone from Palm on 12th September 2007. Not only that, you’ll automatically be in with a chance to win five of the brilliant new Palm® smartphones. That’s one for you and the other four for your friends, family, colleagues or whomever you want to impress.
If you notice, it doesn’t say new Palm Treo smartphone, lending credibility to a possible Euro launch of the new Palm Centro smartphone. Leaked images earlier this year depicted a white Vodafone Palm phone that showed Windows Mobile as the OS. The outline fits the shape of the new Centro. With the new Palm Centro expected to hit Sprint on or about October 14th, it certainly appears that folks in Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the Netherlands will get the jump on the US. We’ll find out next Wednesday.
Source: PalmInfoCenter
An Asian trade journal Digitimes issued a report last week claiming that Palm is readying a a Linux-based smartphone for an October release. This is in sharp contrast to comments made by Palm’s CEO Ed Colligan who said the transition would start in 2008 from Palm OS Garnet. Analysts at the Tech Summit a few weeks back were treated to a preview of the new Palm Centro smartphone. The Palm Centro is due out in October, but it’s highly unlikely that phone will feature Linux, as no information supporting this came out of the Tech Summit. So, what’s the new Linux smartphone? Football season is upon us, so many Palm is running a bit of interference with Centro, while keeping the new Linux Treo under wraps. If this report is to believed, perhaps the next generation Treo that will send everyone in a tizzy proclaiming that Palm is back. One can only hope.
Source: PalmInfoCenter
Tired of looking at the latest blurry photo of the rumored, but recently confirmed Palm Centro? Luckily, a leaked photo made it’s way to Dave’s inbox over at Mobility Today earlier this morning and this is indeed the real deal. Is there a crack in the armor at either Palm or Sprint, or perhaps they were growing tired of all the negative criticism surrounding the blurry photos making the rounds. This device is expected to drop on October 14th, thanks to a leaked release sheet courtesy of The Boy Genius Report. You get the picture. Leaks everywhere surrounding the Palm Centro. Interestingly, the release sheet lists the product sku as PTR690HKP and the name as Palm OS Device. The Palm Treo 755p is listed as such, but carries a similar sku #PTR755PHK. Only a few more weeks until we get the official goods on this device or until the next leak.
