Treo GPRS Software Patch Available Now (Updated)

Posted By: Ed Friday, August 30, 2002 10:25:06 AM

One of Handspring's international sites has posted the GPRS upgrade for the Treo 180 and 270 models. This will allow these models, which now use GSM networks, to also use faster GPRS networks.

GPRS is the next generation of GSM, offering 144 Kbps connections. One user of this update confirmed that GPRS connections stay active even when the device is turned off. In addition, the network connection stays active when the device ID off. This allows users to intermittently use their Treo without having to frequently go through the slow process of reconnecting to the network.

Update: In an official statement, Handspring says that this upgrade has been released only for Singapore and New Zealand and urges users in other countries to wait to upgrade their Treos until a version is released for their home country.

The full text of this statement reads:

The GPRS Upgrade is being made available to limited audiences in Singapore and New Zealand in conjunction with local mobile operators, in addition to our distributor GrandTech. Very soon we will launch a GPRS Upgrade for all of our customers worldwide and we suggest that you wait for this version if you do not live in the countries mentioned above. We cannot guarantee your experience nor will we support it if you choose to use a version of the upgrade that has not been released in your market with your mobile operator. If you decide to execute the download, please be aware that you will not be able to re-install the original ROM should you encounter difficulties with the software. Handspring will roll out GPRS to broader markets worldwide over the next several months and we urge you to wait until your mobile operator is supported before installing the GPRS Upgrade on your Treo Communicator.
The software download is 6.56 MB. It supports English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It is for the Treo 180, 180g, and 270. The Treo 300 uses a completely incompatible network.

The GPRS patch has been in beta testing among Handspring employees for some time and was recently released to employees of Handspring's partner companies.

This patch has been eagerly awaited by Treo users, who want the faster connection speeds and always-on access. Handspring has been promising it would releases a GPRS update for the Treo models sometime this year since the first day they were announced.

Thanks to tomato75 for the tip. -Ed

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Yay!

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 10:28:11 AM #
So, now I only need one with hi-res colour screen, and Treo can have my $$$. I guess I could live with the stupid flip.
Anybody knows when this will be available in Europe?
J.
RE: Yay!
huggy @ 8/30/2002 10:59:35 AM #
I wouldn't bet much for a hi-res treo... But for the rest of the treo line, they're already available in europe. Maybe you're not seeing them in stores, because handspring expects to sell them mainly through mobile carriers... but you can buy them through their european websites.

-------------- huggy ---------------
RE: Yay!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 11:40:39 AM #
The current battery life on the Treo is not very good. If you were to add a hi res screen you would suck the battery (in its current state) dry in no time. First Handspring needs to get the battery life to an acceptable level. Until that point I would not advise anyone toward the Treo.
RE: Yay!
mtg101 @ 8/30/2002 11:50:45 AM #
Treos are around in Europe... but it's not so simple to actually get one...

Firstly the Treo is GSM 900/1900. This means it works in the USA and about half of all EU carriers, because about half use GSM 1800. For example in the UK T-Mobile and Orange use GSM 1800, so you can't use the Treo on either carrier.

Then there's actually buying them... mmO2 have sown up the EU supplying rights pretty much... so you'll need to find an mmO2 company most likely to buy them.

As for when the GPRS Upgrade will be available in Europe? No idea... whenever HS and mmO2 are ready I guess. In the meantime you can upgrade a regular EU Treo with the GPRS patch on HS's Asia site and use GPRS now (assuming you've got GPRS setup on your account)

---
russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk

RE: Yay!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 11:56:53 AM #
> The current battery life on the Treo is not very good.

Did you get one of the early models? Handspring released an update May 1 that really improved the battery life of the Treos that had been made up to that point. Later Treos came with this patch already applied.

Read whether it will do you any good
www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=3398

RE: Yay!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/31/2002 2:27:36 AM #
The Treo 180 and 270 comes in two versions: 900/1900 for the US and 900/1800 for the rest of the world. I have not heard of any problems with carriers.
RE: Yay!
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/1/2002 3:15:34 AM #
> The current battery life on the Treo is not very good

It's got a cell phone in it, and it's one of the smallest palms out there. Don't expect anything unrealistic... just plug it in each night when you go to sleep, and surf and email all day to your hearts content. I only come close to running out of power if I'm doing a LOT of Internet stuff AND forgot to charge it the night before. I'm using the 270 with GPRS in Singapore. ;)

grandtech

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 10:51:35 AM #
who is grandtech, and why should we trust them? i'm not touching this patch until it comes from the handspring tld.
RE: grandtech
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 10:54:05 AM #
Oversimplified: Grandtech takes care of Handspring's business in Asia. They're trustworthy, but I get the feeling that this is either a mistake or not meant for us. Note that there are no instructions, just the file.
RE: grandtech
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 11:55:13 AM #
Go here www.grandtech.com/handspring/contact_grandtech/contact.asp
RE: grandtech
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 9:59:51 PM #
Just to add to that, Grandtech is actually the authorized distributor for handspring products in asia. I bought my 180 in a retail store in Singapore, and the speaker went dead after 2 months. I left my receipt in China, and when I went to Grandtech Singapore, they replaced the unit right away, no question asked, and the guy could completely accept the fact that I didn't have the receipt with me. (probably cause everyone who bought the unit must have bought it within the 1 year warranty period :D)

Also, when I asked a retail store in Indonesia, if they could replace the unit for me, they replied that the only thing they can do is to help me send the unit to Grandtech, since I didn't buy the unit in Indonesia.

Just want to straighten out how credible Grandtech is.]
I believe they're based in Hong Kong, but have offices in Taiwan and Singapore too.

Now, anybody in Asia tried this one out yet???
I'm kind of concerned with the statement that it can't be undone...

RE: grandtech
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/1/2002 1:32:51 AM #
GrandTech are 100% kosher, they are linked from Handspring's website... at: http://www.handspring.com/asean

You'll see you end up at the GrandTech website.

I met these guys at Singapore Comex last week, installed the GPRS patch, and it's great. I had trouble connecting initially, did a hard reset, then everything's been great since.

You connect once, but then the connection stays on even when you turn off the Treo. WWW and mail is much faster, and you can continue to take calls and receive SMSs while surfing. GPRS is only charged for the data you actually download. I use my Treo to administer unix networks remotely, and have telnet, ping and FTP clients for the device... it is pretty nice.

Just a quick point: Compared to the XDA PocketPC smart-phone that one of my colleagues bought recently, the Treo is in an entirely different game. The PocketPCs lose their GRPS connection when the device is turned off, cannot match SMS numbers to your address book, and cannot wake up and beep you if you have mail, like the Treo can... ;)

push mail?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/4/2002 12:21:25 PM #
I got the patch working really great too, in China.
no need to set anything, it just works like that! awesome... :)

However, I still haven't figured out about the push email. how do i get notifications that an e-mail has been sent? I'm using multimail pro on my 180.
Is it dependent on the mail software we use? which mail programs support this push email?

Another thing I found, I can receive and make phone calls while connected, and also can receive sms. However, I can't send sms while connected, because the phone detected that I'm in the middle of a data call.

source?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 10:53:16 AM #
I gotta ask, because you link directly to the file, not to a web-page with instructions for said file. How did you find this?

...it's gotta be a boo-boo.

RE: source?
Ed @ 8/30/2002 10:59:33 AM #
I got a tip from a reader. Like I said in the article, it is entirely possible this is a mistake. But it is on an official Handspring site, which makes it semi-official. I wouldn't have posted this article if someone not related to Handspring had put it on their site.

If this is a mistake, it is possible this is a beta version of this upgrade. Use with caution.

---
News Editor

RE: source?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 11:46:45 AM #
As handspring has not officially announce the patch software, this is a beta version that developers and a small group of users are undergoing the testing.

Backup your treo first if you wanna try it.

Grandtech semi annouces this beta in an exhibition Comex 2002 at Singapore.

Website ->
www.sicec.com/Calender_eventinfo.asp?which=463&CurMonth=8&CurYear=2002

RE: source?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/1/2002 1:45:12 AM #
I went up to the official Handspring stand at Comex here in Singapore and asked about the GPRS upgrade. They said "oh, it's on the website", and SMSed me the url. I asked if they were official Handspring folks, and they told me they were the grandtech guys (from www.handspring.com/asean). The patch works fine. Not sure why there's no webpage, I'm thinking it's a "release candidate". ;)

GPRS - Finally

big_raji @ 8/30/2002 10:55:54 AM #
I've been a longtime critic of the Treos, mainly because of the lack of GPRS.

IMHO, this patch really completely transforms this device(s) from a simple "Palm glued to a phone" into a true communicator.

I just hope it's not too late...

---
Wooo!

not next generation, an addition to GSM

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 11:16:15 AM #
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is a data service (IP) based on GSM.
The next generation after GSM will be UMTS.
RE: not next generation, an addition to GSM
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 11:23:56 AM #
What about EDGE and WCDMA?
RE: not next generation, an addition to GSM
mtg101 @ 8/30/2002 11:42:31 AM #
EDGE is 2.75G. GSM is 2G (1G was analogue phones). GPRS is an upgrade to GSM, adding packet switched data capabilities. Edge is a faster version of packet switched data, but not next generation... so it's being called 2.75G

WCDMA is not in the GSM family. WCDMA is an ITU (IIRC) standard based on Qualcomm's proprietory CDMA standard. CDMA is 2G and WCDMA is 3G. CDMA doesn't need a 2.5G because it had packet switched data from day one.

---
russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk

RE: not next generation, an addition to GSM
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 12:24:10 PM #
Russ that's a bit too delineated.

What people commonly refer to as "CDMA" today, is actually IS-95a or IS-95b over a CDMA air interface.

Just as what most people refer to as "TDMA" is actually IS-136. GSM, GPRS, and EDGE all share a TDMA air interface and a 200KHz carrier. AT&T's IS-136 network and iDen are also TDMA air interfaces.

GSM is on the migration path to WCDMA (UMTS), but that's an evolved GSM working over a 5MHz carrier CDMA air interface to make use of it's advantages and efficiencies.

In fact already back in '98, Vodophone was working with Qualcomm and made test calls using GSM switches, and IS-95 (CDMA) air interface. http://www.qualcomm.com/press/pr/releases1998/press966.html

Wideband CDMA/UMTS is the evolution of GSM, in many cases with stops at GPRS, and EDGE alone the way.

CDMA2000 is the evolution path of IS95 (what people often refer to as CDMA today.) Interim stops along the way to full CDMA2000 are:
-CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (1x Evolution Data Only)
-CDMA2000 1xEV-DV (1x Evolution Data and Voice
-CDMA2000 3x (uses 3 1.25 MHz channels to approach the performance of WCDMA/UMTS single 5MHz channel)

In the 3G realm we have the same GSM or "CDMA" debate. It just takes on new names. Who will prevail... WCDMA/UMTS or CDMA2000.

In the 3G realm all roads lead to CDMA, but only on the air-interface. A bit like today's ethernet. You can still run your choice of TCP/IP, AppleTalk, Netbeui, or IPX/SPX over that wire.

-Craig Bowers


RE: not next generation, an addition to GSM
Token User @ 8/30/2002 1:31:19 PM #
Craig, well worded reply.

You did neglect CDMA 1xRTT as used by Verizon and Sprint with their wireless modems (Sierra Wireless Aircard 555). This slips in before the 1xEV-DO, and is an evolutionary step towards 1xEV-DO.

Unfortunately, despite standards converging towards a common bearer, it is a shame that frequencies allocated at an international level are not consistent. We are going to continually run into the triband GSM type of problem. Easy problem to articulate, much more difficult to resolve (without extra hardware in each handset).

Token

RE: not next generation, an addition to GSM
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 2:18:56 PM #
And so I did, thanks. Especially apropos to the Treo 300. 1xRTT available on Bell, Telus, MTS, and SaskTel in Canada as well.

Service Question.

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 11:45:03 AM #

I have a Treo 180 with service from VoiceStream. When the GPRS patch becomes (officially) available will I need to upgrade my service with VoiceStream to allow me GPRS access, or is this something thatcomes along for free on a GSM network?
RE: Service Question.
mtg101 @ 8/30/2002 11:48:07 AM #
You don't get GPRS as standard. Like being able to roam abroad, make fax calls, have a second line and so on, GPRS is a service that you get sold. You'll need to contact your supplier and get them to enable GPRS on your account and sort out a payment scheme, and in some cases I think you may need an updated SIM.

---
russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk
RE: Service Question.
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 12:26:18 PM #
Has anyone gotten this to work with Voicestream?
RE: Service Question.
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 12:31:36 PM #
You'll need to add iStream to your account before it'll work. iStream = GPRS services.
RE: Service Question.
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 1:00:19 PM #
Did that. But, the Handspring install says that Voicestream/T-Mobile isn't supported. Were you able to get it to work?

6+MB?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 12:23:07 PM #
How big is the patch itself? My understanding was the Treo didn't have a flash ROM. Is there a separate flash ROM for the radio stack or does this thing fit in RAM? That would be nasty if you lost this "patch" due to a hard reset when out of the office.
RE: 6+MB?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 12:30:23 PM #
This upgrade completely flashes the ROM. The Treos do have flashROMs, you can use Brayder's JackFlash/JackSprat to store files in them. A hard-reset, therefore, does not erase the Treo's GPRS capabilities...
RE: 6+MB?
Token User @ 8/30/2002 12:30:31 PM #
Treos do have flash - its just not being touted as a feature. They are being VERY quiet about it. However, it was always acknowledged that the Treos had flash for the phone side - and GPRS goes into that area, not the OS.

RE: 6+MB?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 12:32:02 PM #
The Treo's DO have flash rom, both for the OS and the radio...
RE: 6+MB?
Ed @ 8/30/2002 12:42:35 PM #
You can read more about the discovery that some Treo models do have flash ROM here:
www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=3844

---
News Editor
RE: 6+MB?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 2:44:03 PM #
Thanks guys. I forgot about the phone ROM vs the OS ROM, but good to see HS put both on a Flash ROM.

How did the GPRS Upgrade Go?

jonecool @ 8/30/2002 1:20:21 PM #
Has anyone installed it already? Any problems during the upgrade? Thought I'd ask before Flashing my wife's TREO 270 ;)

Thanks!

RE: How did the GPRS Upgrade Go?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 4:36:35 PM #
I downloaded the file and took the installation as far as it allowed me. The installation aborted when the install wizard detected that I had Cingular as my service provider, which does not yet have GPRS enabled. Still it was curiosity on my part. The following are the instructions that are presented to you during the install:

IMPORTANT PREREQUISITES TO GPRS UPGRADE:

I. You must have subscribed to and activated GPRS data services
with your mobile service provider.

II. Your Treo’s battery must be full.

III. You must have 6.5MB or 6,700K of free memory on your device to
temporarily accommodate the Upgrade program.

*Turn off all system hacks on your device as they will
interfere with the Upgrade.

If your battery is not full or you do not have 6.5MB of free memory,
do NOT install the Treo GPRS Software Upgrade program onto your
device.

You can return to the installation program at any time once you have
fully charged your Treo’s battery or removed programs to free
up memory. The 6.5MB is needed only temporarily to accommodate the
Upgrade program on your device. Once the GPRS Upgrade is complete,
the program will automatically be deleted from you device and the
6.5MB will, once again, be available for other programs.

How do I know if my Treo's battery is full?

1. Press the PhoneBook application button on the front panel of
your Treo.

2. Note the battery icon in the top, right corner of the screen.
If it is not full, connect your Treo to its charger to charge
the battery.

How do I know how much memory is available on my device?

1. Go to the Application Launcher area of your device and
launch the Menu.

2. Select App/Info. You must have 6.5MB or 6,700K of "Free
Memory" for the Treo GPRS Software Upgrade program to run on
your device.

How do I free up memory on my Treo so I can run the GPRS Upgrade
program?

1. Go to the Applications Launcher area of your Treo and launch
the Menu. Select App/Delete.

2. Make a note of and delete those applications that amount to
6,700K of Free Memory. The amount of Free Memory is indicated at
the top of the Treo screen and will increase as you delete programs.
IMPORTANT: make a note of those applications that you delete!

3. Perform a HotSync operation to delete these applications
from your device. The deleted applications are not lost; they are
stored in the Archive folder under your User_Name folder.

C:\Program Files\Handspring\User_Name\Archive, or
C:\Program Files\Palm\User_Name\Archive

4. Run the Treo GPRS Software Upgrade program from start to finish.

You will perform one HotSync operation to install the Upgrade program
to your Treo. You will perform another HotSync operation to install
GPRS settings and restore your data - less the applications you deleted.)

5. Once the GPRS Upgrade process is complete and you have exited the
installer, you can restore the programs you deleted from your device
using the Install Tool.

Launch the Install Tool from the Start menu,
Program Files\Handspring\Install Tool. Click Add. At the "Look in:"
pull down list, browse to locate the Archive folder and select those
applications you wish to restore to your device. Click Open and Done.
The applications will be restored to your device the next time you
synchronize.

Some applications may need to be reinstalled using the original
installer program. (Ex: Vindigo, AvantGo, Treo Mail, etc.)
For more details, please see: http://support.handspring.com


RE: How did the GPRS Upgrade Go?
Ed @ 8/30/2002 4:40:49 PM #
Handspring is urging people who are not in the Asia-Pacific region and New Zealand to not install this upgrade. Check the article for the latest info.

---
News Editor
How To Install This Upgrade
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2002 5:17:42 PM #
TreoCentral has a work around to let people install this upgrade in other countries:

First, backup your Treo's HotSync folder. Download this file, CurrentCarrier.PDB and put it in your HotSync Backup folder. Then run the GPRS upgrade application. This file makes the program think you are using SingTel-G9, a provider that supports GPRS.

You can find CurrentCarrier.PDB at:
www.treocentral.com/notresponsible/CurrentCarrier.PDB

You can find more about this work around at:
www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/143-1.htm

RE: How did the GPRS Upgrade Go?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 5:47:50 PM #
I've successfully installed the upgrade on a Treo 180 connected to the Telefonica MoviStar network in Spain, but I've had to use the tip mentioned in the previous post.

As far as I have tested, the GPRS service works great.

Good work Handspring!

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