Treo 'Hollywood' Images Leaked?

I am disappointed too but obviously not AS much as you are. I was just hoping for an even sleeker formfactor that somehow deviated a bit more from the 700w other than hacking off the antenna and making the unit a tad thinner.

Palm's targeting this thing at the same executive types who bought Palm V's in droves in '99/'00 and Blackberries & RAZRs in the past few years----solid but unspectacular specs and a premium $ put on style & sleekness.

Remember, compared to a standard Treo or a BB this thing is still fairly sleek. Also, compared to a BB, the 700w/Hollywood specs still are very strong.

This is the same ol' componentry that Palm uses in most of their other devices but in a snazzy new casing.

Palm had better get the 700P out ASAP before any more Hollywood pics circulate. Otherwise the 700P is bound to look even clunkier and more of a retread than it already does! Maybe having four different colors of the 700P will help distinguish it?

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No Lowrider this year either?

So....assuming Adama is correct ( I have zero reason to doubt him) that makes the four new Treos for '06 the following, in order of likely release schedule:

700W CDMA (Verizon only)

700P CDMA (Sprint only)

700P GSM (Cingular & everyone else globally)

700W GSM (T-Mobile & Cingular but primarily for global markets)

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Surur

They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...

Probably. At the very least, it could be expected to launch with AKU2, which is a kind of service pack for Windows Mobile, which the 700w won't get until late this month. This includes push email, some other tweaks, and possibly Bluetooth headphone support.

Ryan wrote:
If Adama's source is correct that could indicate that these images here could be the Treo 700w for GSM networks.

Assuming the pics are legit, that would be my guess. The specs are too close to the 700w to make sense having a GSM version of that, plus this.

Why no standout features at all?

One must remember this is suppose to be a low-end phone. One does not see "new" or "standout" features in low-end devices. The only "standout" feature one should expect is price. For that we will have to wait and see.

http://img414.imageshack.us/img414/8947/roguesgallery27fw.jpg

For the limited features, its just not pretty enough. If they want the suits to buy it they better make it fit in a suite without making a bulge.

Surur

They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...

I'm not seeing it. Half those devices aren't even close to sleek. I've seen the P51's predecessor in person. And "modern" is rather in the eye of the beholder. Can you see a single design ethic common to all those devices other than "rectangle with buttons and a screen"?

That's what I was surmising in the TC forums. If these images are real, it seems like little more than an antenna-less 700w (possibly *slightly* lighter and thinner) which is likely possible *because* it's GSM.

I sure hope that when Palm said that they'd have 3-4 new Treos they weren't just talking about these slight variations for each network. One article quoted a Palm rep (Colligan?) as saying that we'd see new form factors. I'd like to think that he was talking about something more interesting (e.g., Nokia Communicator-styled clamshell smartphone) and not simply an antenna-less 700w. But then again, this is Palm we're talking about.

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To amplify on what Scott means, Verizon requires phones it carries to have a stub antenna. I don't know why--maybe they're afraid their customers will forget which way to hold the phone. GSM carriers, on the other hand, have no such requirement.

I'd like to think that he was talking about something more interesting (e.g., Nokia Communicator-styled clamshell smartphone) and not simply an antenna-less 700w.

If they come out with a clamshell design like the Motorola v360, count me in for one.

If you want to edit or view office docs or add other complex apps, then you're out of luck.
You can buy a Palm E2, Tx or even Pocket PC and use DUN via Bluetooth with this tiny Samsung, hell a Tx with this phone may even be less bulky than a Treo and you get Wi-fi too!

Third: Where is the Qwerty keyboard? How many of the 'executive types who bought Palm V's in droves'will seriously even consider this to be in the running?
Maybe the same ones who bought the Palm V without a keyboard! :-)

Okay rsc1000, you do have some valid points but what I'm trying to say is that in a market where even the dumb phones can match and exceed most if not all the features on a Treo 650, Palm has to come up with smartphones with a wider market appeal if it's to get beyond selling to Palm OS devotees and upgraders. So far it's only attempt to do that was launching the Windows Mobile 700w where it faces even stiffer competition from numerous other WinMob licensees; at least with Garnet it's the dominant Palm OS smartphone manufacturer.

Good question. Simple answer: no idea. Currently, there's no evidence to suggest that there is, and no evidence to suggest that there isn't.

Treonauts is attributing to Ed Colligan a statement that Palm will make all hardware versions available in both operating systems, however this is not any kind of official statement that I'm aware of. If somebody can tell me otherwise, please do.

Funny, I recall hearing that same thing four years ago. It was no more true then than it is now. CF slots may not be present on converged devices, but there's still millions of handhelds a year sold that sport them.

The world is slowly moving away from SD to mini-SD... people want devices that fit in pockets...

Odd. All this time with devices based on CF and regular SD, and I always thought that I could put them in my pocket. I must have been hallucenating.

Handhelds in general are dying

That must be why they hit an all time sales high last year, right?

The companies that are losing out in handhelds are the ones like Palm and HP that are buying into the smartphone hype and killing their handhelds by neglect. But even Palm still sells only a few thousand more Treos than handhelds. They care more about the Treos, because that's where they can push up the selling price, but the market demand is still there.

That was mostly what I mean. HP's not bumping off their existing lines either, but by decreasing the R&D, both companies are essentially promising incrementally upgraded clones of previous devices. Not at much innovation translates to fewer sales, as compared to some of the edge-pushing models like the Palm V, iPaq 4150, Tungsten T series...

I think that they'll continue building them as well--after all, you don't lightly pull the plug on half your products. I just wish they were being a little more aggressive. Those big profits coming in off the Treos could be used to fund some riskier, more innovative designs: a digital scratchpad, like a whiteboard with beaming and internet capabilities. Or imagine a PDA built into a wallet. Or an in-dash computer for cars that handles GPS, Bluetooth handsfree/dialing, weather, and live info on traffic delays, all for under $300. New, compelling stuff to draw in customers. Even if only a fraction of the designs ever made it to market, spending that money on R&D could only help. The market for portable computing is huge, and only a small fraction of it is being tapped at the moment.

I guess I had always read those comments in a slightly different way. That is, I had thought what Palm was saying was that they saw customer demand rising for converged phone/handhelds, hence they needed to position themselves to be able to meet the demand. But when you look at those quotes again, maybe I misunderstood (again); maybe they really are preparing to just abandon handhelds altogether. I hope not, but I hear what you say.

What do I think Palm SHOULD do? Focus on the $100, $200 and $300 pricepoints exclusively for PDAs. Drop the LD line like a hot potato.

Continued tweaking of the $100 Z22 price point can bring mp3 playback ala Zire 31 and make a STRONG case for Palm in the impulse buy retail market. The $200 T|E variants will always sell to business users and people wanting a "better" basic PDA. Then focus on the $300 HVGA TX type model as being for both business users who need a large screen and media-savvy users. With the plummeting price of SD cards (4gb for $100 is stunning even if it's a non-spec SD card) Palm should try to tout its models' media capabilities more in the future.

FrankenGarnet is effectively dead BUT Palm can still keep it around as a servicable PDA OS for the next two years, especially with the large installed base of software and strong brand/name recognition. With HP just milking their line with nothing other than a few OS & memory updates and Dell essentially announcing that they are not releasing any new Axims, Palm is within a few inches of seizing the remnants of the PDA market. And of course, as professionals & gadget freaks switch over to cellphones Palm can continue to push PDAs to schoolkids & in emerging markets.

Canning the PDA line would be falling prey to the "chicken little" mentality of the rest of the industry and would prove a very foolhardy move indeed for Palm. Of course we all know Palm is no stranger to foolish missteps but I really hope their renewed enthusiasm is for real. Five months into '06 and one out of four new Treos on store shelves isn't an encouraging sign by any means.

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This almost-show-stopping bug is not present on the Treo 600 or 650--just the Verizon 700W.

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