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.
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.
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.\
Yes, you read it right. Palm CEO Ed Colligan today announced plans to cancel the Foleo saying, “I have decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration and focus all our energies on delivering our next generation platform and the first smartphones that will bring this platform to market.”
In a word, this move is surprising, but a move that should be applauded by the Palm faithful. Whether it was Engadget’s open letter that sent shock waves through the blogosphere or simply the lukewarm reception in the Palm community, the deed has been done. There really is no good time to cancel a product that you’ve spent months hyping, but this marks a turning point of sorts for Palm. The “new” Palm will focus its efforts on their core product lines. “I hope this renewed focus at Palm will allow us to deliver more compelling solutions to our core smartphone market“, said Colligan.
Some will write this off just another misstep of many for Palm this year. The way I see it, Palm needed to take a step backward in order to move forward. The Foleo was a niche product and many struggled to identify that niche. Today’s announcement signals their renewed focus on their core smartphone products and more importantly their core audience. Palm fans have long been waiting for the next generation Treo and today Palm took a step forward in that direction.
You can read Ed Colligan’s full post at Palm’s blog.
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.
Kinoma Player EX 4.0 received a major update last week to version 4.3 and today gets a minor update to 4.3.1. Kinoma streams audio and video along with offering support for a multitude of codecs for Palm OS smartphones. If your Palm smartphone or handheld has an internet connection, just choose Check for updates from the Media menu. You can also download the update via your PC.
Reports last week that Foleo, Palm’s new smartphone companion product, was delayed until the fall. Even worse, the reports claimed the delay was due to an inability to sync properly with the Palm Treo 680. Palm responded to these reports and proclaimed the Foleo is still indeed on track for a “late summer” release. “As stated on May 30, U.S. availability for the Palm Foleo mobile companion will begin this summer. We will let you know if this changes,” said Jim Christensen, Palm’s director of communications. Panned by the media, most are wondering if there is a market for a “smartphone companion”. With the summer rapidly dwindling down, that answer should come sooner than later.
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.
