Filed under: Cellphones

Listen up all you Palm Treo Pro hopefuls, your pre-order unit is now shipping with Palm’s on-line store showing in stock availability. At least one tipster received a confirmation email saying his unlocked, $549 obsidian-black Treo is in the mail. Hell, Palm even did him a solid and expedited the order overnight instead of the 6-10 day standard shipment originally selected. Good on ya Palm.

[Thanks, Matt B.]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Not that many of you are still paying attention, but for you Palm die-hards we’ve got more news (bad of course) regarding the next generation OS. Dubbed Nova or Palm OS II, Palm’s execs have routinely called for the OS to be running on handsets sometime in early 2009 following the end of the 2008 development cycle. Handset delivery was subtly changed to “first half” of 2009 during an analyst call with Palm’s CEO last week. Now given the history here, it’s pretty safe to call that a delay. Good luck to you Palm, hopefully for your sake someone does notice amidst the onslaught of Android-powered smart- and feature-phones from LG, Samsung, HTC, and others we expect to be flooding the market at that time — you can’t say we didn’t warn you.

[Via The Register]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

If you were wondering why Palm just posted another less-than-stellar quarter of earnings despite the runaway success of its Centro line, we think we have the answer: it’s been digging into the piggy bank to ice out its gear. Palm has commissioned Ed Hardy to “specially equip” some Centros as gifts for presenters at the Primetime Emmys (which fall somewhere between Cable Ace and Teen Choice Awards for prestige), and the result is… well, this. The designs won’t be available to the general public, but we think we’re going to reserve our envy for anything else.

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Filed under: Handhelds

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Great news for Palm fans, Treo fans, Windows Mobile fans, and anyone who lives out in the sticks: the Treo Pro is now officially available for preorder. Palm’s US site now lists the Treo Pro in glossy black “obsidian” for the expected $549 with shipping anticipated in two to three weeks. We’ll admit, there’s something vaguely sexy about an unlocked smartphone with North American 3G — no matter how ancient the platform might be. Any chance this’ll be upgradeable to Nova, Palm?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Cellphones

The Treo Pro is the first of what is clearly a new design direction for Palm — a shiny, black mutation of the popular Centro, but with Windows Mobile on-board and a unique marketing scheme allowing you to buy the device unlocked right at launch. Want to get the low-down, dirty news on whether or not it’s for you? Then truck on over to Engadget Mobile where we’ve got the full on review.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Outgoing Engadget editor-in-chief Ryan Block contributes Engadget Cares, a friendly advice column for the people who make your technology.

Hard to believe, but it’s been a year and a day since Peter, Josh, and I published our intervention letter to Palm, wherein we rattled off a number of (admittedly unsolicited) suggestions on how we thought they might best turn things around at a time when Microsoft, RIM, and Apple were really eating into their slice of the smartphone pie.

Palm CEO Ed Colligan took the time to publicly reply, letting everyone know that he “forwarded [our letter] to [Palm’s] entire executive staff and many others at Palm have read it. …We are attacking almost every challenge [Engadget] noted, so stay tuned.” When the dust settled, we were cautiously optimistic, if not a little hopeful.

In some ways that letter inspired Engadget Cares. And since it’s my last day here at Engadget as editor-in-chief and all, it seems only appropriate to check in on things and see whether Palm really did “attack every challenge” from a year ago. Read on.

Continue reading Engadget Cares: The state of Palm - checking in a year later

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Filed under: Cellphones

You love the new Palm Treo Pro — right? Not sure yet? Haven’t seen enough photos? Okay, we get it. Well if you’re really interested (and we know you are), take your bad self over to Engadget Mobile, where we’ve got some exciting and enlightening pictures of the latest Windows Mobile device from the folks in Sunnyvale. Get over there now! Seriously… what are you waiting for?

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Filed under: Cellphones

The New York Times has a little puff piece on Palm to accompany the launch of the Treo Pro today, and buried between the fawning references to Jon Rubenstein’s former gig at Apple and how that’s affected his management style (”He made them redesign the battery panel on the back so it didn’t squeak. And he asked for fixes to the software so it would lock up less frequently.” — solid work, homey) there’s a little tidbit about how Palm OS II and a single new device to run the new software will arrive in the “first half of next year.” Two things interesting about that: first, that’s a much wider timeframe than the “early 2009″ window we’ve been hearing for a while and could signal even more delays, and second, it’s a little odd that Palm is going to debut the new OS on just one device. Launching on a single device is pretty Apple-esque, so we’ll cut Rubes some slack on that, even if we don’t think it’s the best idea — but at this point the only real info we’re hearing about Palm OS II is news of delays, and that’s not exactly out of the Jobs playbook — remember, real artists ship.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Well whaddya know? The iTreo 800p is finally selling on eBay! We thought the day would never come that we could actually get our hands on this totally sweet — and absolutely real — phone. Man were we wrong. Sure, the listing says you’re selling off a Treo 800W, but given the large amount of completely reassuring blue text, scrolling text, and large font text, we’ll happily accept that we will, in fact, receive the device pictured above via UPS Next Day Air. So, yes. Yes. We will “buy it now” for $349.99, safe in the knowledge that by this time tomorrow, we’ll be the only guy on our block busting out the iTreo 800p at parties, pool halls, and any place else where all the happenin’ stuff happens. Thanks “naseemajid” — you’re A+++++ in our book.

[Thanks, Spencer]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

The dam has been breached, and now there seems to be no stopping the internet at large as every little nook and cranny of the Treo Pro is exposed and explored. TreoCentral member scottymomo has fleshed out a few more details on the device, and dug up that Comm Manager shot up above. Details include:

• HTC task manager.
• Comm Manager’s Airplane Mode and other assorted easily switched options.
• MicroSD (up to 32GB supported) isn’t under the battery, but you do have to take off the battery cover to access.
• 1500mh battery.
• Other stuff.

It’s all very exciting, we assure you, but you can explore the shots for yourself if you’re really feeling hard up for Treo Pro infos. Oh, while we’re thinking about it: sexiest Treo yet, or disastrous usage of phone face real estate? Both?

[Via Palm Infocenter]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

In case there was any lingering doubt that the Treo Pro (alias Treo 850) was real — and there probably shouldn’t be, considering it got snapped all the way back in May — this round of non-blurry (dare we say artistic?) shots should pretty much seal the deal. The glossy shell, promise of a 320 x 320 display, and a general acknowledgment of circa-2008 industrial design definitely have us feeling just a little less pessimistic about Palm’s prospects right now; if anything, it makes us wish they had some Android kit up their sleeves rather than slaving away on the thus-far vaporware Palm OS 2. As WinMo goodies go, though, this thing looks like it’s ready to hang with the best of the best — so bring it on, Palm. A legion of fans with well-worn 750s awaits you. In the meanwhile, check another shot after the break.

[Via WMExperts]

Continue reading Palm’s Treo Pro in the wild, probably not fake

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Would you look at this. A very official looking page — at a Palm.com domain, no less — has unveiled the previously rumored Treo 850 as the Treo Pro. We’re still digging the new look, though the keyboard does look suspiciously small in these shots. At a cursory glance we’ve got WiFi, a camera and a 3.5mm stereo jack. A couple more pics after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Palm’s Treo 850 is really the Treo Pro?

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Filed under: Cellphones

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Filed under: Cellphones

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Filed under: Cellphones

Quick, you ever heard of WiAV Solutions? You know, the owner or exclusive licensee of several vague patents on the use of GSM tech in smartphones? The company that doesn’t make anything or even have a web site, but files so many patent lawsuits that some companies have taken to pre-emptively filing suits for declaratory judgment against it? Yeah, well, get used to the name — it’s just sued RIM, Apple and Palm for violating ten patents on things like detecting the difference between silence and voices, mobile device power management, and altering music to accommodate voices. WiAV wants a permanent injunction on the sale of all devices that allegedly contain its tech, and not surprisingly, it’s asking for damages and attorney’s fees as well. There are some procedural hurdles to jump through here — WiAV is Mindspeed’s exclusive licensee for eight of the patents, not the outright owner, so it has to ask the court to join Mindspeed as a plaintiff as well — and it doesn’t sound like any of the companies are talking just yet, so we wouldn’t expect this one to get resolved any time soon.

[Thanks, Becky]

Read - AppleInsider post on the suit
Read - WiAV’s complaint [Warning: PDF]

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Filed under: Cellphones

So Palm, what exactly have you been up to lately? Besides pumping out that tired, ho hum 800w, of course. The snoopers over at monoNews went and dug through your latest 10-K filing, and it seems as if that noteworthy Elevation Partners deal wasn’t the only agreement you were wrapped up in during the past little while. As a matter of fact, we’re seeing that during February of 2007, you “acquired the assets of two sole proprietorships [at a cost of $19.2 million] focused on mobile computing and media devices, one a developer of user interface environments and the other a developer of email software applications.” Oh, and in October of last year, you “acquired substantially all of the assets [for $500,000] of a corporation focused on developing solutions to enhance the performance of web applications.” Curiously, you nonchalantly failed to mention any names, but it’s pretty clear that those new pick-ups weren’t utilized in the last 16 months or so.

[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of DayLife]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Baby steps. When it comes to Palm’s mainstream businessphone line, that seems to be the name of the game, and the new Treo 800w is certainly no exception to the rule. So is it new enough, advanced enough, and badass enough to do the duty while still being sufficiently incremental to satisfy even the most easily-agitated suit? Engadget Mobile reveals all in the full review, so click on!

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’re not sure if you check most mobile provider’s sites every ten minutes or so (like we do), but if you did, you would have noticed that the latest Palm Windows Mobile device — the Treo 800w — is available for purchase at Sprint’s online store. The phone, which features a 320 x 320 screen, EV-DO Rev. A, WiFi, and GPS, is currently listing for $249.99 after a $250 instant savings, $100 mail-in rebate, and two-year contract. So if you’ve been absolutely, positively dying to get your hands on this thing — now’s you chance.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Last we knew, a 436-page Treo 800w manual popped up from deep within the confines of Sprint. Fast forward a few days, and a few diehards are already trumpeting the receipt of their precious new Palm. Yep, that handset you see above is indeed the 800w, and if you care to ask some early adopters how things are going, feel free to hit the read link and surf on over to the forums.

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