I’m not sure how trustworthy the source is, but a PalmInfoCenter.com reader wrote in with some details they found out while at a local Sprint Store about the Treo 700p -

“So the story is our source visited a Sprint store this past Saturday. He asked their lead tech if he knew anything about the release of the Treo 700p. The tech pulled up a webpage from Sprint that not only had the Sprint part number for the 700p but also had a “May/June” release date indicated, which he let him see for himself.”

PalmInfoCenter | Treo 700p Spotted, Likely May/June Release

Janet (tokerud) from tech ronin, submitted this terrific article about recent moves in the Palm world -

Last week Japan’s Access outbid Palm and other European players in the purchase of PalmSource, the keeper of the keys to the Palm OS. Access is the creator of the Blazer web browser that comes with the sale of higher end Palm devices. It’s not surprising that Palm tried to acquire PalmSource to secure it’s influence over the future of the OS it originally developed. But the Access and other players bid the price up so high that Palm dropped out and Access got the Palm. This single event creates distance between Palm and Palm OS. Maybe Palm OS as we know it is truly dead.

An Access-owned Palm OS will likely veer away from the kind of Palm OS we’ve been used to in the West. Access is likely to go after the huge possibilities of a Linux-based Palm OS in the Chinese cell phone market and shape the Linux/Palm OS according to that market’s needs. It is believed that PalmSource’s acquisition, China MobileSoft, was an especially attractive part of the deal to Access.

This week we learned that Palm is doing a big press announcement Monday morning and all evidence points to their introducing a Win Mobile 5 Treo! It seems strange after PalmOne just paid $27 million in May to get back the Palm brand name, that they would abandon the Palm OS, but things look dicey. Bill Gates will be in on the announcement on Monday. Seems like a pretty big deal.

It’s not clear yet whether Palm will also announce a new Palm version of the Treo. If Treo goes Win Mobile without a Palm counterpart, it may presage a complete switch from Palm OS to Windows Mobile. That’s big.

On the other hand, Palm might hedge their bets between Win Mobile and Palm OS over the next while. They could experiment with Win Mobile as a long-term option and also use it as a low cost stop gap during the iffy transition between the fast-becoming-ancient Palm OS Garnet and the Palm/Linux OS that PalmSource hopes to release in late 2006/early 2007. After all, Palm also recently licensed the Palm OS through 2009.

Palm’s Ed Colligan admitted in June that the PDA market is in decline. We now have credible reports that Palm’s new round of PDA’s will be far from groundbreaking. They look like they are being treated like cash cows with few new features, running the same aging Palm OS 5.4 that last year’s devices were already running. From a marketer’s point of view, that would seem appropriate.

A smaller, white, low-end color Palm called the Z22 selling for $99 seems to be the result of an effort to distill the essence of Palm into a potent, high-volume play. The new Tungsten model, now called the TX, seems to be a scaled back T5 (which many thought itself was disappointing) with only one new feature - wi-fi. It will run at 312 mhz instead of the 400 mhz of the T5 and will have 128 mb flash ram instead of the 256 mb of the T5.

These models should have great battery life but will certainly disappoint Palm enthusiasts who have been champing at the bit to have Palm go head to head against bigger, more powerful and feature-laden Win Mobile devices like the Dell Axim X51v. Even though I’m probably one of those enthusiasts, knee-jerk reactions aren’t always best.

This actually seems like smart thinking at Palm who, with visionary Jeff Hawkens, have the intellectual firepower to be smart on these things. Each of Palm’s devices has a distinct positioning. The T22 for those, especially women, who might use this cute little device instead of a paper organizer. The TX for the more practical power-user who wants lots of screen, wi-fi and good battery life in a pocketable device that will compliment his (or her) small Bluetooth cell phone. And the Lifedrive which is harder to fit in a pocket with its hard drive, but gets Palm in first to the promising hard-drive-based media/PDA space.

Even the Treo 700w, the new Win Mobile Treo, is a scaled back effort. This comes as a shock to 650-owners who especially love the Treo’s 320×320 screen. The 700w is expected to have a 240×240 pixel screen. That’s anathema to a Palm fanatic, but probably not shocking or necessarily too disappointing to Win Mobile enthusiasts. Win Mobile doesn’t support 320×320. Palm had to choose between 240×240 or 480×480 and chose the less expensive, less power-hungry option.

[photo via Engadget, Z22 and TX details via PalmInfoCenter, good analysis via Dylan Tweney, and Jeff Kirvin’s 1src podcast 42]

Thanks Janet!

Technorati Tags: Access, Microsoft, Treo, Verizon, Windows

msmobiles.com pointed a story out on Gizmodo, it seems that user “johnnytk36″ in the TreoCentral forums reported seeing a Treo 670 in a catalog at work. He posted this -

“The company I work for gets a 4th quarter catalogue for our 4th quarter “product show” we have to go to every year to order our stuff for christmas and stuff. In the book under cell phones it has a Sprint Treo 670 listed. It also has a “new” sign showing that it is a new product. BUT it has a picture of the 650.( I guess since they don’t want to show the 670 till the show) It says more details and pricing will be avalible at the show.”

Gizmodo goes on to state -

“If the rumor is true, this means that the first carrier for the Treo 670 will be Sprint, and that it may be launched by end of this year. The rumor-monger doesn’t say anything about it running Windows, but you guys knew that already, right?”

I loved that image from msmobiles.com - reminds me of my X-Files lovin’ days.

msmobiles.com | Another Windows Mobile Treo sighting - Treo 670 coming to Sprint USA soon ?
Gizmodo | Rumor: Treo 670 Sighted in Catalog?
TreoCentral Forums | Treo 670 Sighting

Technorati Tags: smartphone, Sprint, Treo, Windows

Gizmodo pointed out a picture and details supposedly of the Treo 700 from CoolTechTimes. After looking at the picture, I think its easy to tell its a photoshop job. The details say that it has EVDO capability, a 1.3 megapixel camera with 8x zoom, a slightly bigger screen (but still at 320×320 res) and new more rounded style. I think the EVDO and 1.3 megapix cam are “safe” guesses for details, but when comparing the pic of the 700 to the 650 the screen doesn’t seem to be much bigger. Plus I don’t think Palm is going the “more rounded” way with the Treo. With the pics of the 670 we see more angular design with sharper edges, which seems to be more in line with current styles (RAZR and Q for example). The buttons seem to almost exactly match the Treo 650 - with just a couple of them ’shopped and the numeric pad brightened. The EVDO capable phones are CDMA phones which would probably be Sprint or Verizon branded on the top left. I could go more into detail about what seems phony about this pic, but I personally think its pretty easy to tell its a fake.

What do you think? Did you notice anything peculiar about the image? Comment below…

Gizmodo | Is This The Palm Treo 700?
CoolTechTimes

Technorati Tags: Palm, EVDO, Treo

RUMOR - We’ve seen a number of pictures this past week featuring the “Treo 670″ and now Digitimes is reporting that HTC will likely be the manufacturer of the Windows Mobile Treo, with shipments possibly starting the first quarter of 2006. HTC is well-known for manufacturing Windows Mobile-based devices for companies like Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, and Orange, along with others.

DigiTimes | Report: HTC to manufacture Microsoft-based Treo smartphones for Palm

Technorati Tags: Treo 670, Treo, HTC, Windows Mobile

This photo looks a little too real to me. Roc a fella started breaking the story on howard forums Thursday. I think we will be seeing a Treo running Windows Mobile 5 real soon now (announced Q3, available Q4). I’m not sure what the black ink in the top middle is covering though. The word is that this little guy will run EVDO and have 1.3 mpx camera. Engadget has a bunch of cool photos from which this one came and a few low rez videos too.

This changes everything in a single stroke. We all heard the rumors but this will get tongues wagging on the forums and blogs I’ll bet. So, while the iron is hot, I’ll put in my two cents worth of speculation and analysis.

I’m a Mac user, so I have a slight bias against a Windows-based Treo. But, Mac is going Intel inside and I’ll be first in line for one of those, so I’m not that opposed to this option.

I like the possibility that even more Treos will sell because some will buy the Palm version and some will buy the Win Mobile version depending on their preferences. I think there is a good chance that this 670 doesn’t preclude a 700 that’s Palm OS-based. Roc a fella mentioned that there was a Cobalt version in the same thread.

It’s a little shocking in that the easy to use software, the Zen of Palm, virtually defines the Palm platform. To abandon the core identifying feature seems drastic at least. I’m wondering if Palm is throwing out their competitive advantage here.

Switching makes good sense of some recent events. Such as:

• David Nagel stepping down - I can imagine him opposing the switch and quitting or being forced out. Voting for Microsoft is always a lot like voting for IBM used to be in the early days of computing.
• Cobalt never being implemented on a released device.
• PalmSource announcing they will put all of their efforts into a Unix-based smartphone OS and cutting staff.

If Palm is really abdicating its own OS, then where does that leave all the other Palm OS-based devices? Unless, Palm decides to support both platforms.

I also like the competition between Palm OS and Windows Mobile. Healthy competition has a lot to offer. However, I do think there will be more than enough competition in the smartphone space. It’s too big and growing of a market to not stay competitive, innovative and interesting.

UPDATE: Jeff Kirvin’s analysis on the 670 over at 1Src is particularly thorough and well thought out.

Technorati Tags: Cobalt, handhelds, mobilephone, mobility, Palm, PalmOS, smartphone, treo, treo 650, treo 670

Palm Addicts has a quick blip that points to Engadget: “The Treo 670 is real and does run Windows Mobile“. Apparently, somebody with a cameraphone or PDA (which could capture video) grabbed three videos of the purported Treo 670 running Windows Mobile. This is pretty convincing stuff…I wonder when we might see this bugger?

PalmAddicts | Breaking news, video shows windows mobile 5 on a treo

Engadget | The Treo 670 is real and does run Windows Mobile

I caught this at Engadget:

BargainPDA is pretty quick to disclaim this as a “completely unsubstantiated rumor”, but supposedly Palm, Inc. is getting close to sending some developers beta-testing units of a new Palm handheld that’ll be running on a new operating system that isn’t Palm OS 5. The only problem? Their source doesn’t seem to know what new OS that might be, but assuming this is actually reliable info there are really only three options: Palm OS Cobalt, the new Linux-based version of the Palm OS, and Windows Mobile.

Sounds interesting, huh? I am feverishly curious what Palm will do next to “refresh” its aging Garnet OS. Only time will tell…

Engadget: Palm testing a new OS?

Engadget pointed out a brief mention on BargainPDA, that the next Treo may not come until 2006. Here is the highlight from the article:

“Isolated reports say that the next Treo will be released some time in the first quarter of 2006, rather than in late 2005 as would fit with PalmOne’s usual schedule. These claims too are unconfirmed, as is any information about the specifications or general design of PalmOne’s next Treo.”

Engadget notes that while this is unconfirmed, usually around this time there is rumors flying around about the specs on the next Treo.

Personally I’m not too concerned, I really like the Treo 650 and I think my next Treo will be a Palm on Linux powered Treo. Plus I should wait until 18 months after I purchase this Treo to get another one so I can take advantage of Sprint’s rebates. So that will puts me mid 2006.

BargainPDA : PDA News - 10 GB Microdrive, No imate upgrades, Palm rumors
Engadget : No new Treo until 2006?

Technorati Tags: palmOne, Treo

According to a reliable user in the TreoCentral forums, Sprint will be releasing a firmware update to the Treo 650 by the end of June. “Kash76″ states that the update will include fixes for Versamail, issues regarding speed-dial delays, and BlueTooth fixes.

Also on the topic of updates, Sprint recently released a PRL update (Rev 10028). You can get this update by dialing *2 and asking a representative to flag your account for a PRL update. After they do so, call *2 again, choose your language, and your phone should begin to receive the update.

TreoCentral Forums : New firmware coming this month for the Sprint Treo 650!?

Technorati Tags: Palm Software, Sprint, Treo