Palm Treo Refurb Sale at AT&T

Nothing too special here, but it must be the end of product life cycle for some early Treos (750 and 680). AT&T is offering the refurb units for FREE. Check them out here.

Palm Mobile Portal Link

Didn't know this existed, found out via backtracking from my previous post regarding to VersaMail 4.01 only being available as a Palm Centro update. In any case, here is a mobile portal for all Palm deviecs. (http://mobile.palm.com/us/)

For all Palm mobile Support, go here.
For Treo 650 mobile support, go here.
For Treo 680 mobile support, go here.
For Palm Centro mobile support, go here.
For Treo 700p mobile support, go here.

Got my new toy, Treo 680 arrived!

As mentioned yesterday, I've decided to pickup a Palm OS device just for kicks, if nothing else, this will help me round off my mobile experience for this site. I picked up a brand new, unlocked Treo 680 off of eBay for $200 shipped; the seller had a bunch available out of Jersey, so it got to my apartment in NYC within 1 day, amazing. While this phone is brand new as promised, I did noticed the firmware is up to date with a UK version at 2.12 as opposed to the US version at 1.12. Regardless of where its coming from, I got a solid smartphone, unlocked at an amazing value.

In so many ways, I can see where the iPhone has drawn inspiration idea from the Palm Treo such as the user interface, side-mounted button to switch between ringtone and vibrate; as I go on to document my mobile experience and learnings from this smartphone, I will call out the resemblances.

The Treo 680 is a sturdy phone; weighing in at 5.6oz, it is drastically heavier than my N95-3 but feels more solid as well. I really like the construction and feel of it. The one thing I can complain about is that the center button in the 5-way D-Pad feels a little lose, or not precise (compared to a BlackBerry's trackwheel supression). The 320x320 LCD is gorgeous and fully functional as touchscreen; I love between the touchscreen and buttons, I have so many ways to perform basic tasks.

Palm OS is vastly different than anything I've ever used before; for the most part, it is best described has having a floating structure. There isn't a centralized home screen, whatever application you are using (phone, camera, calendar, program menu, or etc...), that is the running application for the moment. Because there is no "home screen" to return to, you can never quit or exit an application. You may simply move on to the next application (and the previous application would be closed out). Therefore, you would not have the ability to switch amongst launched applications. In a sense, I recall having to go through the same realization as I first played with an iPhone. Programs can never be 'closed'; just returning to iPhone's home screen.

As far as the default applications that came with the Treo, they are plenty sufficient. The most frequently used app would be the browser, aka Blazer. Using EDGE, it was sufficient to let me check the weather, email and stocks. I read somewhere that one of the updates in Palm Garnet OS is a cache function which allows visited websites load faster. I noticed a drastic difference with the mobile web experience from when I first launched it and later on in the evening, so it worked! The "World Clock" application is a fun way to look at different times with a globe that very much reminds me of iPhone's clock widget. Camera's simplicity and operation reminds me of the iPhone as well. Versamail, Treo's email application has already gotten a series of POP email profile built-in (again, I can see where iPhone draw the idea from), its unfortunate that Gmail IMAP is not officially supported for the Treo(only Centro) The threaded IM-styled SMS text is again, something iPhone has been inspired from. Palm's supporting software (firmware) and HotSync (Palm Desktop) is pretty easy to use as well. Since I keep my contact and calendar in Outlook 2007, Palm as built an extra conduit software to ensure a smooth synchronization. While Palm may not have an iTunes like efficiency, I find myself enjoying my experience visiting their site and get all the necessary information at my finger tips.

When it comes to third party applications, I was really counting on Google Maps, Gmail Application and Opera Mini. Google Maps runs almost like a default application just as it would on every platform I've ever tried, the only complain is the lack of support on My Location feature (only available on the Palm Centro). Gmail Application is just like the same way it is on a Windows Mobile device where you have to run it as a Java Midlet inside a Java Virtual Machine. Speaking of which, as of Jan 2008, Palm no longer distributes the IBM Websphere Java Virtual Machine, fortunately I was able to find two of the latest versions from here. Once this is installed, Oper Mini will work as well.

I will spend more time in the next couple of weeks to test out other third party appolications and other functionalities, as it stands, I like the Treo 680 and very happy to have add it to my smartphone collection. I hope this phone can be more reliable than my N95-3.

Palm Treo 680, a True Classic before the iPhone

Prior to the iPhone craze, Palm Treo was the smartphone that set the world off by storm. The original Handspring Treo 600 launched in 2004 made a big name for itself for having all the must-have features combined into one cool device that was very easy to use. Over the years, Palm has evolved and produced a few more handsets (ie. Treo 650, 700w, 700p, 680, 700wx, Centro, 800w etc). Many of which, is in my belief, the design inspiration for the iPhone you see today. Treo is known to be simple and intuitive; take a look at the dial pad touchscreen image below to see the close resemblance to an iPhone's UI.

For whatever reason, I've never gotten my hands on a Treo although I've always wanted to own one. Perhaps my reason for not owning one in the past was a pursuit for the perfect smartphone, one that features WiFi, GPS, 3G, high megapixel camera and etc... Having these criteria, I always looked elsewhere, hence I've owned, AT&T 8525, Nokia N95-3, BlackBerry 8830 and iPhone, etc.

Figuring I have some time while waiting for the iPhone 3G to become more available (without the crazy long lines) and having to commit more of my personal time and finance into this mobile blog, I've decided to pickup a GSM Treo 680 to play around for the time being. It would be part of my phone collection so it would no longer bear the pressure of being that 'perfect' phone. Since it will perform 90% of my day to day smartphone task, everything works out. If I am traveling to a foreign country and need GPS w/ pre-installed maps, I can easily switch back to the N95-3.

I picked the Treo 680 amongst others to add to my smartphone collection because of the following reasons:
1. It is one of the latest GSM Treo featuring most recent Palm OS Garnet 5.4.9 with its classic design (I don't like the Palm Centro look)
2. It is a smartphone with both Touchscreen and QWERTY and a tolerable EDGE data connection
3. According to this comparison guide on Treonauts, Treo 680 has the advantage in resolution (320x320), Weight (5.6oz), SDHC 8GB Support (only Treo680 goes up to 8GB) while holding its own in other hardware specs (CPU, Memory, Cam, Music, Streaming, etc.)

While Palm Treos' have had their shortcomings, especially Treo 680 (ie. no WiFi, no 3G, no GPS, VGA-only cam, 2.5mm stereo/headphone jack), I really can't complain paying $200 for a brand new unlocked unit off of eBay. For what its worth, this is a great and reliable smartphone that can be used to do everything an iPhone could plus more. For example, its EDGE connection is up to par with iPhone 1st gen but it has IM programs, Camcorder, MMS, Copy&Paste, and ability to view and edit Office Docs (PowerPoint slides viewed on Treo's 320x320 high res screen is amazing). Since it supports various popular mobile applications like Google Maps, GMail and OperaMini, I am anxious to give this classic smartphone a review. Considering my temporary solution to the N95-3's random shutdown is using EDGE(GSM-Only) mode, I wouldn't be in any more disadvantage.

Palm Treo 680 Added on Cingular Site

Yesterday, we reported that Palm has finally put the Treo 680 on their website. This morning, I find it added on the Cingular Site as well. The price is $449.99. With a 2-yr contract, it will cost you $299.99. An additional $100 rebate is available. Happy Thanksgiving!

Palm Treo 680 Launched!

After Palm made the announcement of the Treo 680 smartphone in late September, it is finally available for purchase today. The phone is confirmed to go through Cingular Wireless and will cost $199 with activation or $399 for an unlocked unit. It looks like you can buy it directly from the Palm store for the time being. At the time of writing, Cingular's website hasn't updated their smartphone lineup to show the addition. There are four colors available; Graphite is the standard color and the other three color (Arctic, Crimson, and Copper) is only available exclusively through the Palm store directly. My feeling towards this phone is best described by Sascha Segan's review titled "Palm's Treo 680 Smartphone Should Cost Less, Do More".

What Happened to Palm Treo?

Palm Treo smartphones have always been regarded as some of the best mobile devices coming out of North America. In its infancy stage, the Treo 600 brought phone, pda, music, camera, web, connectivity, QWERTY keyboard and so much more to reality. The phone was definitely ahead of its time as it promised form, functionality and high performance.

Palm continued to capitalized on the Treo's momentum with an upgrade to Treo 650 which made a number of enhancements. It was even the smartphone of choice for CTU special agent Jack Bauer. However, it was at this point, users started to complain about the smart device being buggy and people are forced to try new firmware to get around many problems.

As Palm released a series of new Treos in the recent weeks, fans were disappointed release after release from a bunch of mediocre smartphones that lacked improvements, innovations and new design that once propelled Treo phones to success. Lets start with the Treo 700w (or 700wx for Sprint), the first Treo to run on windows mobile OS. In terms of hardware spec, it still couldn't touch 1 year old Samsung SCH-i730 also running Windows Mobile 5.0. Treo 700w's CPU is Intel XScale 312MHz (vs. Samsung's 512MHz). Treo 700w does not offer WiFi either. This makes applications like Skype Pocket PC useless. Most of Dell's AXIM Pocket PCs can out compete Treo's hardware spec.

Next up, Treo 700p powered by Palm OS. Again, not much of improvement over previous versions. The only significant improvment, like the 700w, is the EV-DO 3G support and "improved" camera/camcorder. Again, the phone lacks WiFi capabilities and doesn't support Palm's own SD WiFi card.

Finally, Palm released some information for the upcoming Treo 680, the only Treo without an external antenna. In short, its basically a Treo 700p rebadged with a marketing angle towards multimedia. This phone was announced at the Digital Life conference back in September and at the time of writing, it is still no where in sight.

I am not by any means a Treo-hater. Infact, I had high hopes for each of the Treo releases. However, if you stack the new Treo(s) up against the competition (ie. Moto Q, Blackberry Pearl, Nokia E62), you'll find that competition is offering phones thinner, faster and more bullet proof.
And I haven't even addressed the countless of "bugs" reported by users.

I hope Palm can re-evaluate its products for today's market. I would love to see the same innovation that produced the original Palm Pilot and Palm Treo to fight back. Think about the product from ground up and give us what we want: WiFi, 2MP camera, bigger and better display, more memory, faster CPU, and more. I still have faith in you.