Palm Releases Major 700w Update

Posted By: Kris Keilhack Thursday, April 20, 2006 8:11:04 AM

Palm has made available today a comprehensive software update for the Windows Mobile powered Treo 700w smartphone on Verizon Wireless. The free update gives Palm Treo 700w users automatic push email functionality and improved exchange synchronization with outlook, calendar items, contacts and tasks from Exchange Server 2003 SP2.

The 700w software update (version 1.10) provides the following updates:

  • Palm Treo 700w smartphoneEnterprise email support with Microsoft's Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) with Direct Push Email Technology for automatic wireless synchronization of email, calendar, contacts and now tasks with Exchange Server 2003 with Service Pack 2
  • Enhanced email capabilities, including more support of push email solutions, such as Wireless Sync, Verizon Wireless' email solution for Domino and Exchange environments; and enhanced synchronization capabilities with the ability to maintain an active data connection after POP or IMAP email synchronizations, and the ability to auto- synchronize all email accounts based on user settings
  • Updated memory management
  • Pictures and Videos media application enhancements
  • New Wireless Manager that provides an updated interface for turning wireless radios on and off on the Treo 700w

The addition of push e-mail support is by far the main attraction of this update. Windows Mobile MSFP includes Direct Push Technology and gives Treo 700w smartphone users automatic wireless updates of their email, calendar items, contacts and tasks, allowing IT managers to deliver this information directly from Exchange Server 2003 SP2 without incurring additional third-party infrastructure costs.

The downloadable update and installation instructions can be found here. Additionally, Verizon Wireless will notify their customers who own 700w smartphones of this update's release.

The Palm Treo 700w is exclusively available from Verizon Wireless in the US.

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Not clear how it works

SeldomVisitor @ 4/20/2006 2:57:17 PM # Q
> ...The addition of push e-mail support is by far the main
> attraction of this update...

Absolutely necessary for The Enterprise, it is not clear to THIS reader how this particular flavor of push email works nor how much power is used up by it.

RE: Not clear how it works
Surur @ 4/20/2006 3:18:31 PM # Q
Its DirectPush, HTTP-based Exchange Activesync push with Exchange 2003 SP2 only, and it uses significantly more battery power than polling and SMS-based AUTD.

Surur

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

RE: Not clear how it works
EdH @ 4/20/2006 9:47:52 PM # Q
You know how you can be on a Yahoo page with stock quotes and every few minutes, the page just refreshes? That is HTTP Refresh. The server keeps a thread alive with the client browser and "tugs" on it to tell the browser to refresh.

ActiveSync on the device in conjunction with Exchange 2003 Sp2 works the same way. ActiveSync connects to the server, syncs, then maintains that HTTP refresh thread. Over time, (15-30 minutes - maybe longer, not sure. never timed it), the server will break the thread at which point ActiveSync will re-establish it. This is called the heartbeat. If, before the heartbeat happens, there are any changes to the user's account that warrant a refresh, Exchange "tugs" on that thread and the device syncs. Changes I've observed that warrant this are a new email or any time you save/create a contact, task or appointment, or anytime you mark a task complete on the desktop. Those seem to immediately get pushed to the device. Marking emails read/unread don't seem to warrant a sync.

It is VERY fast. 9 out of 10 times, when sitting at my desk, my device gets the email before Outlook 2003 does.

And contrary to Surer's opinion, It seems to be much more battery friendly than SMS for several reasons.

1) GPRS is on all the time anyway. An HTTP refresh thread doesn't materially affect battery life.
2) A background sync while the device is off is very battery friendtly. The screen stays off. If the reason for the sync is a new email, then your email alert can have an adverse impact on battery life - the LED, the vibrate or noise. However, SMS push alerts would do the same thing, so that is a wash.
3) SMS alerts would wake the device all the way up, so the screen comes on and the backlight comes on for 30sec-1min that most people have. I found SMS push to be so battery draining I never used it during business hours before MSFP. I set it to 5min sync which was much better. The new HTTP push is better than even the 5min sync as rarely does someone get an email every 5 minutes all day long, so you sync less.

RE: Not clear how it works
Simony @ 4/20/2006 10:06:06 PM # Q
^ Looks like the Propagandists have taken over the asylum.

RE: Not clear how it works
Surur @ 4/21/2006 2:22:56 AM # Q

Theory is fine, but I've seen actual tests which show a big battery hit.

Surur

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

RE: Not clear how it works
EdH @ 4/21/2006 5:49:26 AM # Q
Then it must be device dependant. I've had actual experience via use of the K-Jam and JasJar where SMS AUDT was far more battery unfriendly than HTTP Refresh push, to the point at the end of the day there was 20-30% less battery life when AUDT had been used vs scheduled sync. I have had no discernable difference between scheduled (every 5 min) and HTTP Push, so they seem to be roughly equivalent.

RE: Not clear how it works
treo007 @ 4/21/2006 5:58:21 PM # Q
Wow....Hansberry propagandizing for MS...shocking!

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how major is the update?

joad @ 4/20/2006 9:14:30 PM # Q
Is this finally the anticipated update that replaces that lousy WinCE operating system with PalmOS?

...if it isn't, nothing to see here....

RE: how major is the update?
VampireLestat @ 4/21/2006 2:10:32 AM # Q
Notice how Palm Inc. plasters palm.com with only the Treo 700w ads for months non stop. We even saw 700w TV ads, something unheard of for Palm OS device. Now the Windows Treo is getting tons of rushed "major" upgrades and it is taking over Palm OS boards.

1 word: sellouts

RE: how major is the update?
joad @ 4/22/2006 8:05:34 PM # Q
well, it seems all that Palm has to "sell out" at the moment is a couple of cell phones -

one, a long-in-the-tooth 17-month old minor update to a phone release in late fall 2003

and

the other, a slight redesign of both (with finally more internal memory), but constrained by a lousy Palm-wannabe operating system and long-term single-carrier release with Verizon.

Last time I checked in with Verizon, it would be the LAST company I'd purchase data minutes from, or for that matter simple voice minutes - Waaaaay overpriced. MAYBE if the Treo included an analog radio and I travelled into the "sticks" a lot, but for anyone mainly in a metro area you can't do better with a Treo than Sprint in the US.

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The update has been pulled

SeldomVisitor @ 4/22/2006 9:36:59 AM # Q
http://finance.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=1600640725&tid=palm&sid=1600640725&mid=241657

RE: The update has been pulled
Admin @ 4/24/2006 10:52:56 PM # Q
explanation here:

http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8544/

-Ryan

Reply to this comment

Have you used a treo?

stonyboy @ 4/22/2006 12:31:22 PM # Q
It is not what it was back in the day. It is out dated, I usedto think that Palm was the best and it was back when I would buy things from sony. I has been a long time since 5.0 was relased. I would like to use more then one bt device, not have my calls sent to email when my palm is on the data network. That and it is no longer the benchmark for stabilty! It has gotten old and the only thing that keeps me from getting a 700 is the fact that there is going to be a "750" coming and I dont want to get another half baked device.

Reply to this comment

Why does the name ring a bell w.r.t. OSes?

SeldomVisitor @ 4/24/2006 6:30:45 PM # Q
Codename Crossbow:

-- http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20060424/tc_pcworld/125513

Why did some of my memory synapses start firing when I read that?

Hmmm...strange...

[note - my computer side goes back to the early 70s - a name such as "crossbow" for some type of OS-like entity could date back that far!]


RE: Why does the name ring a bell w.r.t. OSes?
PenguinPowered @ 4/24/2006 8:10:04 PM # Q
it has been used a lot in an OS context. Sun has an open-solaris 'project crossbow' aimed at virtualizing network stacks. There's an embedded sensor project that uses Crossbow. (I think there's even an embedded hardware company by that name.)


May You Live in Interesting Times

RE: Why does the name ring a bell w.r.t. OSes?
SeldomVisitor @ 4/25/2006 6:41:03 AM # Q
Yeah, I did a Google search for "operating system crossbow" and got those hits, too, but neither is what fired those synapses.

Interesting...maybe just a feeling of deja vu all over again...

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