Handspring Treo 600 Getting Closer

Posted By: Ryan Friday, August 1, 2003 4:52:31 PM

The Treo 600 is nearing release. Due sometime in the fall, the highly anticipated Smartphone will come in both GSM and CDMA flavors. The FCC has recently granted both devices approval, marking an important milestone towards release. Read on for further information and an inside look at the Treo 600.

Treo 600FCC Approval
The FCC filing does not provide much in terms of new information, but does include a few new pictures of the Smartphone. The pictures reveal some subtle differences between the GSM and CDMA versions. The CDMA version has a darker shaded grey exterior, a slightly more pronounced top and weighs just more than an ounce more than its GSM counterpart. The pictures also show a leather case and hands-free kit, which will likely come with the smartphone.

 

Treo 600 GSM Treo 600 CDMA Treo 600
click on any image for a larger version

Aero GSM/GPRS transceiver
Silicon Laboratories has announced that Handspring has selected the Aero GSM/GPRS transceiver for the Treo 600. The Aero transceiver was selected by Handspring due to its small size, ease-of-use and reliable performance. The Aero transceiver product family reduces component count up to 85 percent and board space by 75 percent when compared to competing solutions, making it the most integrated multi-band GSM/GPRS transceiver available today.

Electric Pocket's Designs the MMS Architecture
Electric Pocket has announced it was selected by Handspring to develop a standards compliant multi-media messaging service (MMS) solution for the Treo 600 smartphone. Handspring's new MMS application, which will be based upon Electric Pocket's popular Pixer MMS foundation.

Treo 600 TutorialTreoCentral has posted a series of images of the built in tutorials found on the Treo 600. The pictures give a good preview of some of the Treo 600's new functionality.

About the Treo 600
The Treo 600 runs Palm OS 5.2.1 with a 144 MHz Texas Instruments OMAP processor. It will have a 160x160 pixel color screen, 32MB of RAM and a SD/MMC/SDIO expansion slot. There is also a Five-way navigation dial for one handed operation. The Treo 600 has a built-in digital camera (640 x 480 VGA), so you can take and send pictures or connect a face to a phone number with picture caller ID. It will also feature a dual speaker architecture for high-quality phone and system audio.

It will have a large capacity 1800 mAh rechargeable Lithium Ion battery for up to six hours talk time (GSM); or up to five hours talk time (CDMA); and about two weeks organizer use for both versions.

Pricing is not known but is expected to be in the $400 - $500 range, with the actual price determined by the each carrier. Treo 600 series products are expected to come at a price premium relative to current Treo offerings, and Handspring plans to offer a compelling upgrade incentive for owners of current wireless Treo products. The phone will be available though Handspring's web site and Sprint PCS in the US and Orange SA throughout Europe in the fall. Other carriers are expected to be announced later.

Internal Photos
In addition the FCC filing also included some interesting images some of the internal circuitry or "guts" of the Treo 600. Some of which we have posted below.

Treo 600 Insides Treo 600 Insides Treo 600 Insides Treo 600 Insides

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The Dynamic Duo

gfunkmagic @ 8/1/2003 8:00:35 PM #
According to the FCC filings, the code name for the GSM version was "batman" and the CDMA version was "robin":

http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/242-1.htm

IMO, the dark knight definitely looks better than the boy wonder...

Visit http://goodthatway.com/
-better living through better technology.

RE: The Dynamic Duo
schon @ 8/2/2003 7:47:22 AM #
Is it me, or does the CDMA version have a slight bulge towards the top of it?

RE: The Dynamic Duo
Palm Cow @ 8/30/2003 6:00:09 PM #
That it because the top of the unit is closer to the camera lense than the bottom in that photo.

_____________________
Kevin | Iospeff
kevin707s@mchsi.com
Current PDA: SJ20

Reminds me of Hitachi G1000

markgm @ 8/1/2003 9:43:42 PM #
The Treo 600 reminds me of the Hitachi G1000. Everytime I see that phone in a banner ad I do a double take because I think it should be showing PalmOS on the screen, not whatever version PPC is up to on it! Looking at them without a magnifying glass, they seem to be very similar.

RE: Reminds me of Hitachi G1000
abosco @ 8/1/2003 10:59:35 PM #
Except the Hitachi looks like it's going to open up its mouth from one of its many flabs of fat and swallow up the Treo. Come on. The Hitachi G1000 is a monster. It could probably eat me.

-Bosco
RE: Reminds me of Hitachi G1000
LiveFaith @ 8/2/2003 12:18:02 AM #
Bosco,

Your right about that. That beast is massive looking! It should have a pair of flip out wheels and a retractable towing arm like most good luggage does now. That way biz people could haul it thru airports and still use an attached ear bud to talk on. :-)

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

RE: Reminds me of Hitachi G1000
markgm @ 8/2/2003 1:01:56 AM #
Yeah, I see it from a *good*...okay, better angle though. You know how those marketing people do! Those were 2 funny posts.

Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)

LiveFaith @ 8/1/2003 9:43:26 PM #
This is a spectacular device. I would step up to the plate, but ... 160x160. I still can't believe it and keep scanning the specs each time, in case that's all been a lo-rez lie. Say it IS so tho.

That may be OK for most, but I'm too data-centric as Palm puts it. Guess I'll wait for the SGH-i500 which should be released in 2007. :-|



Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
platbr @ 8/1/2003 10:10:09 PM #
Why does everyone think that the SGH-i500 will have high resolution? "162 x 176 pixels (324 x 352 support)" does not mean high res... it means that it will SUPPORT high res -- which is just what it says. It also EXPLICITLY states that the screen will be "162 x 176 pixels" ... which means it will NOT be anything greater.

I also think HS dropped the ball on the Treo 600 by not making it High Resolution. However, I'm still going to buy one because it is the best device around. However... no waiting for a high res device with a low res screen already announced.

YMMV.

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
hotpaw4 @ 8/1/2003 10:57:58 PM #
someone wrote:
> I also think HS dropped the ball on the Treo 600 by not making it High Resolution.

This illogic keeps getting repeated. Would you buy a hires phone with one half the battery life (of PDA usage)? My guess is that many people would prefer the lower power consumption of a 160x160 display in order to leave battery power for a longer talk time. And if you look at the pictures, there isn't much room for a larger battery without making the phone bigger. At over 90 dpi, the Treo 600 display already has a fairly high resolution.

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
LiveFaith @ 8/2/2003 12:23:01 AM #
Hotpaw,

There's no illogic in wanting hi-rez. After all it's been available on Palm OS since just after the Civil War. I realize that the smaller screen packs the 160x160 a little tighter, but compared to a Zire71 or even an SJ, this screen will be arcane.

As I stated the device looks/sounds fabulous. I literally would buy one, but can't bear $500 and cheesy-rez.

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
MJGunn @ 8/2/2003 1:22:44 AM #
What will not being high res do with compatibility with palm os5 programs, most if not all of which have been programmed with 320x320 in mind? I don't know about everyone else, but thats what I'M worried about.

Does anyone know what KIND of screen it uses? (keeping my fingers crossed that its transflective)

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
platbr @ 8/2/2003 11:06:29 AM #
Hotpaw wrote:

>This illogic keeps getting repeated ("I also think HS dropped the ball on the Treo 600 by not making it High Resolution")

--

Hotpaw,

That argument is absurd, and terming it "illogic" is the kind of reaction we'd expect from a fanboy. The battery life argument is a red herring. There are numerous Palm and PocketPC products out with decent battery life and high resolution screens.

And did you REALLY want a 160x160 screen? I've been with a 160x160 resolution since my Palm 1000. I'm sick of 160x160. The new 320x320 palms are gorgeous. And I do "THINK" that Handspring (think is the operative word there) could have designed this as a high resolution device (and don't make the dpi argument... that is another red herring). Nobody cares about the DPI... we care about the overall resolution. 160x160 at micro scale is still crappy resolution 160x160. The Treo 700 will have a high resolution screen, in my estimation, and all those of us who bought the Treo 600 will lust after it too.

That said, I'm going to buy one because the 160x160 resolution isn't that much of a hindrance. However, to say it is "impossible" or "illogic" is "illogic." The T2 and T3 have high resolution screens, as do many other Palm products. The Treo 600 COULD have been a high res device, but you are correct, it would have been a bigger device. Perhaps that would have been a worthwhile tradeoff. We'll know when they release the Treo 700.


RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
Lucky Bob @ 8/2/2003 11:06:37 AM #
"What will not being high res do with compatibility with palm os5 programs, most if not all of which have been programmed with 320x320 in mind? I don't know about everyone else, but thats what I'M worried about."

Well, I do remember reading that OS 5 did not abandon the 160x160 resolution. But I could imagine seeing some incompatibility with OS 5 programs...

"Does anyone know what KIND of screen it uses? (keeping my fingers crossed that its transflective)"

It's a reflective CSTN display.

(Why do some people say you can kill two birds with one stone when it's hard enough killing one bird with two stones?)

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
hotpaw4 @ 8/2/2003 3:31:32 PM #
someone wrote:
> There are numerous Palm and PocketPC products out with decent battery life and high resolution screens.

I have two PalmOS device with 320x320 display. Sure they look nice. But they are both noticeably bigger than a Palm V or my cell phone, and neither will last even one cross-country flight. I'd hardly call that "decent battery life". Hopefully the 600 does better in this regard.

The smaller Palm V would last a cross-country flight even after a week of light usage.

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
grumpyelf @ 8/3/2003 12:08:41 AM #
Yeah but PalmV is an organizer compared to ARM based PDA. It doesn't even have real speaker or decent screen.
RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
narnia_77 @ 8/3/2003 5:04:00 PM #
160x160 on a stand-alone PDA? No way, for me!
BUT... 160x160 on a *phone* that has PDA capabilities? Oh yeah. After all, it's better resolution than my color-screen phone right now.


- - - - - - -
"There's always hope, because it's the one thing nobody's figured out how to kill yet." -- Galen, Crusade (B5)

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
Calroth @ 8/5/2003 9:02:58 AM #
Why does a hi-res screen require more battery power? I would have thought that most of the power requirement came out of the backlight, and that doesn't change unless the physical size of the screen changes.

Sure, you've got 4 times as many pixels, but each pixel is 1/4 as large... I guess there could be a small hit from the extra overhead, but "one half the battery life"?

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
dona83 @ 8/9/2003 10:07:14 AM #
It's just like how the Tungsten W only has the ancient Moto Dragonball 33mhz processor, why? To save battery life. Somewhere out there 33mhz is sufficient, these phones are marketted towards business people who need to log on to the corporate network.... receive, revise, and send off word and excel documents... and play the occasional game of solitare or bejeweled. I suspect that they suspect that the average Treo 600 user is not going to have the same demands either... although text editting at 160x160 will be a pain in the butt.

RE: Wow, this is a killer phone/pda! (But)
Renegade @ 9/1/2003 8:31:46 PM #
Folks, read the Treo 600 newsletters at Handsrping carefully! The references are not to the Treo 600, but to "the Treo 600 [b]series[/b]". Jeff Hawkins is no fool. Remember when the Treo 300 and 270 were unveiled? There was never a hint about the Treo 90, but it did pop up shortly thereafter. My hunch is that the hi-res resolution so many of us demand (it really does help to see more of your data per screen) will be in a subsequent version in the "series". I've lectured myself :"Thou shalt NOT buy prior to next summer." To allow time for my longed-for baby. Heck, if I'm proven wrong, at least the prices will have dropped, so let me dream...

:-)

Renegade

SprintPCS Phone - It's Pugly!!!

mopcodes @ 8/2/2003 1:24:42 AM #
Hi.

Finally Sprint PCS is getting a phone with a "Wow"
factor and it turns out to be rather ugly. The GSM
phone looks a lot better. Both in color and form
factor. It almost looks like Sprint is trying to
make this phone look like that ugly Pocket PC
phone we all saw first at Microsoft Teched. That
puppy was a brick and ugly.

I suggest that Sprint hire some of the folks away from Palm or Sony to brighten up this baby before it leaves the shoot. Otherwise it's got my vote for pugliest PDA phone I've ever seen.

That sleek silvery GSM phone looks hot! Yeah Baby!!



D. Martin
Former Amiga/Commodore Author/Writer/Reviewer

RE: SprintPCS Phone - It's Pugly!!!
sandeman @ 8/2/2003 4:40:02 AM #
I think the image of the CDMA version is distorted so it looks worse than it is. At least if it has a square screen in reality.
In the picture the screen is wider at the top because of the viewing angle.
RE: SprintPCS Phone - It's Pugly!!!
sandeman @ 8/2/2003 6:57:44 AM #
I played a little with PSP8 and with perspective correction changed the image to this:
http://www.sandern.dds.nl/treocorrected.jpg
Now it has only a slight bulge in the top middle (where the speaker is located).

RE: SprintPCS Phone - It's Pugly!!!
indesman @ 8/3/2003 12:09:30 AM #
I think everybody is correct about the photographic perspective being the only difference between these two phones. I think that event the chromed area around the navigator/application buttons is identical. It's just that the lighting was controlled in the photo of the GSM version to show it in relief. I also noticed that the area around the speaker on the GSM phone appears to be dead flat while every other surface on the entire device has curvature to it. I suspect the photographer didn't like the highlights around the speaker bulge on the GSM phone so it got photoshopped to make it look flat.

Perspective

amin @ 8/2/2003 10:27:38 AM #
Most or all of the difference in form between the two models appears to be due to perspective.

Screen colors

wildx @ 8/2/2003 10:27:19 AM #
I have looked at the manual of the Treo 600, and I found out that the colors were just 3375 (11.5-bit), not 65k (16-bit).
Any idea wheather which is the real spec out there?
And the camera is in 12-bit color recording format, which is lesser than the sony clie series.
Feeling strange about the spec on the manual.....


RE: Screen colors
LiveFaith @ 8/2/2003 8:13:05 PM #
Heard it was going to be "12"bit somewhere else too. I think that your right, but this is a 2" square screen. The difference between 12bit/16bit color is basically a mute point anyway. Tansflective vs reflective would make much more of a difference regardless of the number of colors.

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com
RE: Screen colors
LiveFaith @ 8/2/2003 8:22:08 PM #
From the looks of the pix, this is a transflective screen, based on the darkness when off. A reflective has a grey tint when turned off.

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com
RE: Screen colors
wildx @ 8/2/2003 9:55:36 PM #
If it's going to be 12-bit, then that would be a problem in displaying pictures to my friends..... coz the palm os 5 is for multimedia.
If it's just going to be a 12-bit screen then why dunt they just use the os 4 instead of os 5.
Just to let u guys out there know that in Hong Kong, we're going to have a os 4 device that would have a 260k color screen... and it's a smartphone....
Still unknown if they will come with an english version of it.

"a slightly more pronounced top"

legalgeek @ 8/2/2003 12:22:29 PM #
That's not "a slightly more pronounced top" on the Sprint/CDMA version on the right. It's just taken from an odd angle for a product shot -- looking from above, rather than straight-on (like the GSM shot on the left) or from below.

You usually see the straight-on shot for maximum accuracy, since it allows you to gauge dimensions better. You see the looking-upward shot where the point is to push the product as hero -- it makes the product (or person) appear larger than life, as though you're looking up to it.

I could read a lot into the choice of photo. Maybe the point is to show it more the way you'll look at it, on someone's belt. Or maybe they wanted to emphasize the size of the screen, even though it diminishes that of the keyboard.

The most likely reason for the difference, however, is that the GSM shot was done by a professional photographer for promotional purposes, and the Sprint/CDMA shot was done by an engineer for FCC approval only.

I suspect that if you tweak the pictures in Photoshop, you'll be able to determine that the form factor is identical, and only the color is different, if that. After all -- why on earth would Handspring invest in two form factors where one will do? Molds and circuitry ain't cheap.

RE:
Calroth @ 8/5/2003 9:10:02 AM #
The CDMA version is an ounce heavier than the GSM version. I think it'd actually be very difficult to figure out how to pack an extra ounce of weight onto a device so small, especially if the form factors are identical.

Heavier components, yes, but that much heavier? The only difference in components is the CDMA radio vs the GSM radio, I'd presume... and these days, they're quite small.

Difference in the battery?
Marshall Flinkman @ 8/7/2003 10:54:18 AM #
If the CDMA radio requires more juice, maybe a higher-capacity battery in that one for comparable battery life...?

Form Factor
plio @ 8/26/2003 8:31:59 PM #
I don't know if you guys saw this, but I wanted to be sure that everyone checked this out:

http://www.sandern.dds.nl/treocorrected.jpg

(The pic is down as of this posting, but I emailed Sander to put it back up).

It shows that they are really the exact same shell. I bet they stuffed a slighter denser component or two in that makes up for the weight difference! I am so pleased and relieved that it is the same shell! Thought that Sprint had ruined our baby for a minute!


Tough decisions this Autumn

Louis Berk @ 8/2/2003 1:01:17 PM #
Wow! This is going to make it a tough time this Autumn. The Handspring Treo 600 or the rumoured T3 with the 320x480 screen?

I may be driven insane with the choice!



RE: Tough decisions this Autumn
LiveFaith @ 8/2/2003 8:17:10 PM #
You could settle it now and buy that Hitachi PPC2003 phone with 240x320, full keyboard. Also comes with a free backpack and one of those giant stretchy braces that dock workers wear to keep from throwing their back out. :-)

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

Well....

vesther @ 8/2/2003 9:54:36 PM #
....I hope that Verizon Wireless will sell this kind of Smartphone because Handspring Treos seems to be popular within the Smartphone Market. It would be a heartbreaker that Verizon would not offer this kick-ass phone.

Established Consumer Palm Handheld Possessor since 2002
RE: Well....
southbound747 @ 8/3/2003 11:13:30 PM #
i heard verizon will carry it. and that is my carrier now, verizon. unfortunately they have no unlimited data plans. so i plan to jump ship for the treo 600 with sprint as soon as it is available. why would anyone have a smartphone and not have unlimited data?

does it do voice recording?!

jturnbul @ 8/14/2003 11:16:06 AM #
As an enthusiastic Treo 270 owner, the one shortcoming that really disappointed me was that Handspring did not create a "dictafone" function, so us punters could record all those thoughts and tasks that fleetingly buzz through our heads when we're driving or whatever..
I have not seen any mention of it yet with the Treo 600, and have a bad feeling they've neglected it again!
Anyone know the real story?
Cheers,
James T.
(Sydney)

does it do voice recording?!

jturnbul @ 8/14/2003 11:16:06 AM #
As an enthusiastic Treo 270 owner, the one shortcoming that really disappointed me was that Handspring did not create a "dictafone" function, so us punters could record all those thoughts and tasks that fleetingly buzz through our heads when we're driving or whatever..
I have not seen any mention of it yet with the Treo 600, and have a bad feeling they've neglected it again!
Anyone know the real story?
Cheers,
James T.
(Sydney)

RE: does it do voice recording?!
mydogamber @ 9/1/2003 11:36:58 AM #
I am so on the same page. I can't figure out why voice recording is not a huge issue. I could use it so often. The Garmin PDA has a separate button for voice recording. With a good processor you could also compress voice. Why not record a phone call or meeting, take notes during it, then download to your computer?

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