Handspring Gets FCC Approval for Two Wireless Handhelds
Handspring has received approval from the Federal Communications Commission for not one but two new wireless handhelds. Unlike the just revealed Palm i705, these can handle both data and voice.
One model, the Treo k180, has a built-in keyboard like the Blackberry pager. In fact, it is the first PalmOS device ever to not have a Graffiti area at all. The other model, the Treo g180, relies on the traditional Graffiti for text input..
Both allow Web surfing via Handspring's Blazer. They also come with an SMS application.
Hardware
Possibly the most shocking part of the Treo series is that neither model has a Springboard slot. This is a huge departure for Handspring, as the Springboard expansion slot has always been what they used to differentiate themselves from other PalmOS handhelds.
In another big change, these are also the first Handspring models to have a jog wheel, which the company calls a Jog Rocker.
They have 160 by 160 monochrome screens and have a vibrating ringer, which doesn't appear to be able to also be used as with alarms.
They use li-ion rechargeable batteries. The batteries are good for two hours of talk time and 72 hours on standby. The manual says the batteries can be fully charged in only an hour. Their Power Adapter can be plugged directly into the handheld.
The four buttons across the front are now Phone, DateBook Plus, Blazer, and SMS.
On the top is the power button, an infrared port, the antenna, a switch to turn the ringer off, and a single LED used to indicate both battery status and whether the device is in range of a transmitter.
In yet another example of how Handspring has thrown out the rule book, holding down the Power button now turns the radio on or off. The Power button must be hit twice to control the backlight.
In a move that many may not like, neither model comes with a cradle. Instead, they use a HotSync cable that the Power Adapter plugs into. They support USB though a serial version of the cable will be available.
Mobile Phone
Handspring had added an application to let the Treo models be used as mobile phones. This app is launched with the Phone button, which replaces the Address Book button on the front of the unit. It offers speed dialing as well as a traditional on-screen keypad.
If the phone is ringing, just opening the cover will answer the call. In fact, just opening the cover will turn on the handheld at any time and closing it back will turn it off.
The cover acts as the earpiece when using these as a mobile phone. There is also a headphone jack. The large window in the cover allows the phone to be used with the lid closed by using the jog wheel to pick a number from the speed dial list .
E-mail
The user manual for the Treo k180 that is part of Handspring's FCC filing is very light on information about wireless e-mail, hardly even mentioning e-mail at all. However, at this time these devices appear to lack the "always on" e-mail capability of the not yet released Palm i705.
Handspring has not yet said when these will be available and hasn't even officially admitted these exist. Donna Dubinsky Handspring's CEO, has said that her company is working on handhelds with built-in wireless capabilities that they will release before the end of the year. There is no word on prices, either.
Other details that will probably have to wait for the official unveiling include whether thse devices will be able to share any peripherals with other Handspring models, like styli and cradles. Obviously, cases are out.
Before anyone makes any conclusions about the looks or specifications for these devices, keep in mind this is based on very preliminary information from the FCC documents. -Ryan
We have recieved a request from Handspring to remove some of the details and photos that originally appeared in this article. Handspring also asked the FCC to remove the info that they mistakenly made public and they complied. Handspring described the info obtained from the FCC filing "very preliminary and also very competitively sensitive". They convinced us that toning down this article a bit was the best thing to do and therefore some info that was previously available has been removed. Just so we're clear, there were no threats; they just asked nicely.
Thanks to Tipton and ollopiz for the tip, and to everyone who has helped comb through the FCC filing for details. -Ed
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RE: nice handheld
This looks like a great machine.
It would be nice to see some memory expansion possibilities though.
Because its GSM, you can easily fake always on performance using SMS alerts for e-mails and so.
GPRS would be nice though....
Nick Trevethan
Devon
UK
RE: nice handheld but...
While this is a nice device, there are some concerns from a quality standpoint. For example, the fliptop seems to have clear plastic hinges. Clear plastics to me have always been brittle, or seem brittle This may not be a very good idea in the final product. I can see several users sending their devices back for service because they've snapped off the tops.
Additionally, if this device has any flaws at all, will Handspring be able to survive the financial rigours of a product recall or major replacement drive? Remember that these won't be the relatively cheap mobile devices that Nokia and Ericsson produce - these will be PDA's with more costly components. To compete with the Kyocera offering, Handspring's margins may have to be low as well, even though the phones operate on different bands - CDMA vs. GSM.
Handspring has gone back and redone the "sweaty screen" that people had issues with in the original VisorPhone. Phone functionality would probably be better implemented with a retractable earpiece.
And something I couldn't determine and haven't had the time to verify yet. Is the window in the flip cover an open hole, or is there something there to protect the screen? If there is just an open hole, I believe that we have an design problem. A touch screen, no matter how rugged, should really not go unprotected.
RE: nice handheld
RE: nice handheld
RE: nice handheld
Cover open- device on.
Cover closed- device off.
This being the case, I doubt that there is an open hole to worry about.
RE: nice handheld
RE: nice handheld
RE: nice handheld
RE: nice handheld
Palm/3com/USR have also had problems...
The first Palmpilot Professional I bought last century (!) stopped working within about 10 minutes of taking it out of the box.. On the other hand, the Virsor Deluxe and Visor Prism I own have both worked flawlessly... Its the luck of the draw... Any mass produced, complex device is going to throw up problem units...
Handspring stands behind their products. And their return policy ensures you aren't left device-less for weeks on end.
Anyway, the person making the post questioning quality is basing his judgement on a picture or two.
Why not wait until you get your hands on it before leaping to conclusions?
Nick Trevethan
Devon
UK
All I want for Christmas is ...
Landscapable screen w/ virtual graffiti
More built in RAM
A reliable wireless network
A land-based modem for when I'm vacationing where there are no reliable wirless networks
...
and 7 of 9
RE: All I want for Christmas is ...
HOLY SH**
I know there's gonna be 800 fellow tekkie-geeks tearing these things a new orifice for not being everything a boy could want. But let me be the first to say that I am grateful to be living in the time in science when all of this is coming to fruition. I bet they had similar (albeit greater) feelings of witness during the birth of cars.
I looked at the pics of these and the i705, then I looked down and my IIIc and giggled. I have a Handera in the mail on it's way to my office tomorrow. Giggle.
It's only been a year, and I'm already retro-tech!
I don't care what the haters say. This is great ****.
Hells yeah.
:-)
RE: HOLY SH**
Way to go Ed and PalmInfoCenter.
now u can have your choice, if you're phonecentric or emailcentric
life is good.
Long live Palm OS
RE: HOLY SH**
RE: HOLY SH**
No Springboard, hmm?
In fact, these units are really Palm OS based smartphones, direct competitors to the Kyocera 6035 and the upcoming Samsung i300. Time will tell how they compare against those units, but this seems to suggest a bit of a shift in Handspring's emphasis.
Could this be the end for the Springboard expansion format? Considering how few Springboards ever managed to ship, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if true.
RE: No Springboard, hmm?
HandSpring, or used-to-be-Palm, has something special that Micro$oft will never learn, is that HandSpring knows how to take things out. HandSpring takes unnecessary things out to make its PDA simple and clear.
We know that SpringBoard are nice, but can you imagine how much a cell-phone PDA and SpringBoard module plugged-in weights and how large it's going to be? They already learned a lesson by their VisorPhone that it's too big and too complicated to dial a number.
Great Job, HandSpring!
R.I.P. Springboard
Who knows whether SD will catch on, either. Perhaps all this expansion is geek-oriented but doesn't appeal to the average user. Who really wants to carry a fanny-pack around to use their PDA?
RE: No Springboard, hmm?
RE: No Springboard, hmm?
RE: No Springboard, hmm?
This isn't Star Trek, and my wife isn't 7 of 9.
The smallest PDAs are not color, and when you add wireless capability to them they are no longer small.
The best wireless PDAs are neither color nor small.
Nice girls are not beautiful, and beautiful girls are not nice.
PDAs are getting better but these rules still seem to apply.
RE: This isn't Star Trek, and my wife isn't 7 of 9.
And 7 of 9 has lots of Borg Springboard module enhancements.
RE: This isn't Star Trek, and my wife isn't 7 of 9.
Are pretty girls the last people on earth you can be bigoted to? Unfair generalizations are unfair generalizations no matter what group they are leveled against, even in jest.
RE: This isn't Star Trek, and my wife isn't 7 of 9.
RE: This isn't Star Trek, and my wife isn't 7 of 9.
RE: This isn't Star Trek, and my wife isn't 7 of 9.
No Springboard slot
I do however think that the wireless outlook [Palm and Handspring models] is looking pretty sweet right now....you gotta love that! I can hear the pitch to my boss now...
RE: No Springboard slot
GSM/GPRS
AT&T has a pilot network operating commercially in Seattle now, and both Cingular and VoiceStream are in testing mode. If their plans go as announced for once, most of the US should be covered by GPRS by the end of 2002, at 800 and 1900 MHz. (The older cellular systems in the US have always been referred to as "800 MHz", whether analog, CDMA or TDMA. They are now trying GSM on the same frequencies, but the GSM naming convention will call these "850 MHz". Go figure.)
Most of Europe is already covered by GPRS, of course, though at 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies. I presume Handspring will have version for our friends across the pond?
-cashman
RE: GSM/GPRS
These new devices look great - but I pray that they are GPRS based. I wouldn't be surprised if they are rolled out concurrently with the Cingular 2.5G network.
With the VisorPhone being a "World Phone" (tri band GSM), I would be surprised if these ones aren't ready for global markets. Makes Palms Mobitex offering look like too little too late (unless the i705 IS colour).
Token.
RE: GSM/GPRS
---
News Editor
RE: GSM/GPRS
RE: GSM/GPRS
Rogers AT&T: both companies being joint, but the wireless division in Canada is privately financed seperate from Rogers &/ AT&T (recently but doesn't affect consumers in anyway)!, have plans to add EDGE technology over GPRS raising data transfer speeds to 384Kbps. before the end of 2002!!
Hows that taste!!!!
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nice handheld