Free Mobile Music Pack with Treo 680 Purchase

According to the latest Palm Treo eNewsletter, if you purchase a Treo 680 you can get a Palm Mobile Music Pack free. You can view the details of this special offer here.

Palm's Mobile Music Pack includes a 1GB memory card (in the past, Palm's 1GB memory card has been a 1GB MMC card), a Palm hybrid headset that allows you to listen to music and take calls. Also included on the CD is a copy of NormSoft Pocket Tunes Deluxe, access to Internet radio and a collection of audio books. You will also find a copy of Yahoo's Music Jukebox and a free 30-day trial to the Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go service.

If you are planning on buying a Treo 680 before December 22, make sure you take advantage of this special offer. Even if you don't plan on using the Yahoo service, the 1GB card and Pocket Tunes Deluxe is well worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from GrassNet!

Now, put down your Palm and go enjoy your family and friends!

-Alan

48 Hour Palm Store Sale!

This Friday and Saturday, Palm is running a 48 hour sale on their online store!

Save $50 off select handhelds (Z22, Tungsten E2, and TX), 10% off factory outlet handhelds (Z22, Zire 31, Tungsten E, Tungsten E2, LifeDrive, and TX), and special pricing on accessories and software for your Palm handheld.

Enjoy Black Friday from the comfort of your own home and let others deal with the crowds. You can browse the Palm Store ad here.

1SRC Treo 680 Special Edition Podcast

I've just posted a special edition Treo 680 podcast over on 1SRC.com. In this special edition podcast, I take a closer look at the Treo 680, what's new, pricing, and how the new 680 stacks up against the Treo 700p.

Listen to the 1SRC Treo 680 Podcast
1SRC Treo 680 Podcast Show Notes and Discussion

And Now, Please Welcome the Treo 680!

It is just about 12:15am here on the Eastern coast of the United States and Palm has just announced the arrival of the new Palm Treo 680 smartphone for Cingular! You can read the press release here.

The Treo 680 is an unlocked GSM phone that sports the new antenna-less look of the European Treo 750v, is thinner than the Treo 650 and 700p, and comes in four colors: Artic (white), Copper (orange), Graphite (Treo grey), and Crimson (ruby red).

When you sign up for a two year voice and data contract with Cingular, the Treo 680 can be yours for the new low price of $199. When you purchase with a Cingular contract, the only color selection you have is Graphite. If you want to get a Treo 680 in one of the other 3 colors, you'll have to purchase it directly from Palm's online web store. That privilege will set you back $399 and does not include a service contract.

To learn more about the Treo 680, run don't walk, to the Palm website! The Treo 680 looks like it is going to be a run-away device for Palm. The combination of software, form-factor, colors, and price will give Palm an edge this holiday season when people will be buying a new phone as a gift or for themselves.

Treo 680 Launch Getting Closer?

It looks like Palm is getting ready to launch the new Treo 680 on Cingular Wireless in the very near future. This photo was taken by Charles Gonz who happened to be at a Cingular retail store while boxes of the new Treos where being delivered.

This is good news for Cingular customers who have been waiting all year for a new Treo to replace the Treo 650. It is also good news for Palm as their current financial quarter closes at the end of the month.

Is the Palm OS Still a Platform?

“Is the Palm OS still a platform?” is a question that I have been thinking about for a while now. Back when I first started using Palm handhelds, there were a number of companies developing solutions based on the Palm OS: Handspring, Sony, Garmin, Fossil, Symbol, Kyrocera, Handera, AlphaSmart, and of course, Palm.

The current Palm OS landscape has four companies still offering solutions that run the Palm OS: Palm, Garmin, GSpda, and newcomer Janam. For all intents and purposes, only Palm is actively developing solutions for the general public.

Can the Palm OS still be considered a platform if only one company is actively developing hardware and writing software for it? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a platform as “the computer architecture and equipment using a particular operating system.”

Read more of my editorial on 1SRC.com Discuss this editorial

Palm Releses Sprint Treo 700wx SMS Patch

Palm has released a patch that will fix the Sprint SMS issue that has been plauging Treo 700wx customers for about tree weeks now. This update is only intended for Sprint branded Treo 700wx smartphones. This update is not required on any of the other Windows Mobile Treos.

The update can be downloaded to your desktop and then installed or downloaded over-the-air directly to the device. If your Treo 700wx has ROM version TREO700WX-1.13-SPNT then you should install this update. Since this update is a patch, if you hard reset your Treo for any reason you will need to reinstall the update.

To learn more about the update including the download links, visit the Palm's Sprint Treo 700wx SMS Patch page.

Palm Pays Back Promo Ending Soon

Palm has been running a customer loyalty program for the past few years called Palm Pays Back. Unfortunately that program is coming to an end at the end of the year. Customers who are currently enrolled can still receive credit for people's purchases of Palm handhelds and Treo smartphones. You have until the end of the year to use up any remaining credits that you might have.

There is one catch. The credits are only good in the Palm online webstore and can not be used to purchase Treo smartphones. (Actually, it has always been this way.) Treo owners fear not! While you won't be able to use your credits to purchase a new Treo, you will be able to use the credits to purchase Treo accessories from the Palm store. US customers recall that there are two Palm online stores: The Palm Store for Palm handhelds and accessories; the Treo Store is for Treo smartphones and accessories.

The good news is that you can get Treo accessories in the Palm store. For example, you can purchase Treo cases, software, and even the new Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition 2. Browse the Palm Store to see what is available.

The last day to earn credit for purchases is Thursday, November 30th. The last day to redeem your credits is December 31st. Make sure you get your last credits in and get your discount code soon! Time is running out!

Palm Powered(TM) Desk Reference Is Now Available!

The GrassNet Palm Powered(TM) Desk Reference is here! The Palm Powered(TM) Desk Reference is your desk reference guide to solutions for Palm OS handhelds from palmOne, Sony, Kyocera, and others. The reference guide is also your source for answers to correct handheld problems. Order your copy today!

Welcome to the new GrassNet

I figured it was time to give the Grassia Network Solutions website an overhaul. The old site was 100% manually maintained by yours truly. The end result was a functional website with infrequent updates. By switching to an automated site like Blogger, I should be able to post more frequent news updates and articles that were not previously possible with the old site.

I'll leave the old site online so you can continue to download all of the old Tech Talk podcasts and access the old HowTo articles in the Palm Resource Center. The Tech Talk forums are going to be closed. I might bring them back in the future if there is a need for them.

I hope that the new site continues to bring you the information that you need to use your Palm Powered handhelds and Treo smartphones more effectively!