Palm Treo Pro Makes A Cameo Appearance

Yesterday pictures of what appears to be a new Windows Mobile Treo appeared briefly on the Palm website. WMExperts forum member "scottymomo" discovered the Treo Pro, which bears a striking resemblance to the rumored Treo 850, while visiting the Palm Self-Paced Learning site. References to the Treo Pro have already been removed from the site.

If the Treo Pro is in fact the rumored Treo 850/Drucker that was leaked back in January, I think that many people will be pleased with Palm's next Windows Mobile smartphone.

To see the three screen grabs, including the uncropped version of the above photo, visit the WMExperts discussion forums. (Registration required)

2 Million Centros, Treo 800w BT Update

Palm Sells 2 Million Centro Smartphones

Earlier today, Palm issued a press release stating that the smartphone maker had sold it's 2 millionth Centro smartphone.

"Consumers are ready to do more on their mobile phone, and Centro has struck a chord around the world," said Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. "Centro has everything a person needs to stay connected with everyone who is important to them -- and at a price point and size that make smartphones more attractive to a much wider audience."

The same press release continues:

"Now available from almost 20 carriers worldwide, including the three largest carriers in the United States, Centro has reached more young adults and women, as well as a broader range of household income, than any prior Palm smartphone. It offers customers an affordable, simple and fun option for staying connected and doing more with their mobile phones."

With the consumer-oriented Centro smartphone, the ease of use of the Palm OS, stylish design, and a great price point come together to create a solution that does delight the first smartphone customers.

Palm Releases a Bluetooth Voice Dialing Update

Owners of the recently released Windows Mobile Treo 800w are now able to install a small patch that will allow them to use hands-free voice dialing commands over a Bluetooth headset.

The 131kb patch can be install from your desktop Windows XP or Vista computer, over-the-air directly to your Treo 800w, or via a microSD card. The installation and download links can be found on the Sprint Treo 800w downloads page.

Since this is a software patch, and not a full flash ROM upgrade, if you hard reset your Treo 800w, you will need to reapply this patch. Furthermore, this update is only intended for Sprint Treo 800w smartphones running the TREO800w-1.03-SPNT software image.

Palm Officially Launches the Treo 800w

Earlier today, Palm has launched the Treo 800w smartphone for the Sprint wireless network with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, 802.11g Wi-Fi, and GPS capabilities.

"Palm is adding a unique stamp to the Windows Mobile experience with the Treo 800w," said Stephane Maes, vice president, product marketing, Palm, Inc. "It's an easy-to-use feature-packed smartphone that will keep users happy, empowered and productive."

The complete list of Treo 800w product specs can be found on the Palm Treo 800w website.
A downloadable PDF datasheet for the Treo 800w is also available.

The Treo 800w can be purchased for as little as $249.99 with a qualifying service plan and after instant and mail in rebates. Without a service agreement, the Treo 800w sells for $599.

You can purchase the Treo 800w from Palm's online store or Sprint's retail outlets and online store.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend, Palm made three important moves, not that anyone noticed with iPhonemania 2.0 in full swing.

Electric Blue Centro, Temporary Price Cut

On Friday, Palm introduced a new electric blue Centro on the AT&T wireless network. If you are following along on your scorecards, AT&T now has three colors to choose from: obsidian black, glacier white, and now electric blue. To entice even more people to chose Centro, AT&T has lowered the price to $69.99 when you sign up for a qualifying two-year service agreement. That is great news for anyone looking to jump on the smartphone bandwagon!

You can purchase an AT&T Centro either online from the Palm or AT&T website, or from any AT&T retail outlet. For more details, visit the Palm Centro website.


Sprint Begins Selling the Palm Treo 800w

At long last the new Palm Treo 800w is available! It has a great looking case and offers several new built-in features previously unavailable on any previous Palm smartphone.

Just some of the new features include Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1; a 320x320 touch screen display, a 2.0MP camera, and built-in Wi-Fi and GPS radios. The new Treo retails for $599, however, when you sign up for a qualifying service plan, after instant and mail-in rebates, the 800w sells for $249.99. A handsome price for what could be a very nice phone.

On Sunday night, Palm has yet to issue a press release or update their website and online store. Look for more details come Monday morning.


Oh Palm, sigh…

Working with AT&T to bring out a new Centro, if only in color, and putting a price cut in place was the right thing to do. And launching the much-anticipated Treo 800w on Sprint was another positive step forward.

Yet, once again, Palm’s marketing department show how inept they are. Launching two new phones and introducing a price cut during the same weekend that Apple was rolling out their new iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 software was just poor planning.

John Paczkowski from the D: All Things Digital website, has the perfect quote from Charlie Wolf who is an analyst at Needham & Company. The quote reads:

“They took the wrong day to do it,” said Charlie Wolf, a wireless analyst at Needham & Co. “It’s going to be drowned out by the hoopla around the iPhone.”

I truly hope that Palm learns from this mistake, and doesn’t start talking publicly about their Palm OS II/Nova plans and/or devices during the same week that Apple is rolling out new products at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco come January 2009. Palm needs to get out in front of Apple, or get behind them. Just don’t go toe-to-toe with them.

Sprint Begins Selling the Palm Treo 800w

Starting today, Sprint has begun selling the Palm Treo 800w smartphone. According to the Sprint website, the Treo 800w has the following product specifications:

• Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1
• Autonomous and simultaneous GPS using Sprint Navigation for turn by turn directions, and points of interest searches
• Stereo Bluetooth lets you listen to your music on the go
• Embedded Wi-Fi
• 2.0 Megapixel camera/camcorder
• MicroSD card support
• 320x320 TFT display capable of displaying 65K colors
• 256MB of user memory, 128MB of program memory
• Incoming call alerts when a data session is in progress, avoid sending callers directly to voicemail
• Phone as a modem support

The Treo 800w sells for $599 without a service plan and can be had for as little as $249.99 when purchased with a monthly $25 or more data plan (in addition to a voice plan) or the Sprint Simply Everything plan ($250 instant savings, $100 mail-in rebate).

Palm has yet to issue a press release officially announcing the Treo 800w. Additionally, the Palm website and online store have yet to be updated. I expect Palm's official launch of the Treo 800w to come on Monday morning.

Make sure you tune into this week's 1SRC.com Podcast for more details on the Treo 800w.

For more details, or to purchase the Treo 800w now, visit the Sprint website.

Rumor: Treo 700wx Windows Mobile 6.0 Upgrade

Later this summer, it would appear that Palm is planning on releasing some ROM upgrades for their devices.

Of particular note is the Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional for the Verizon Treo 700wx. Note that this is not a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional upgrade and it will not be made available for the Verizon Treo 700w. (The Treo 700w has 32MB of RAM versus the 64MB on the Treo 700wx.) Palm is also reportedly working on two minor upgrades for the Sprint Centro and Treo 755p for Verizon that will likely be released later this year.

According to the latest rumor, the Windows Mobile 6.0 update for the Treo 700wx is be no different than the already released update for the AT&T Treo 750. Also like the Windows Mobile 6.0 update for the Treo 750, there are some important things to consider before applying the upgrade:

• You can not revert back to Windows Mobile 5.0
• The update will be available for free from the Palm website
• The upgrade can only be downloaded once. You are advised to burn the installer to a CD before applying the upgrade
• Any Treo 700wx sent in for repair service will automatically be upgraded
• The upgrade can be installed either from the desktop computer or by running the upgrade directly off of a SD card
  

I honestly never expected this update to be released for the Treo 700wx. I'm glad to see that Palm will be releasing the update. A lot of Treo 700wx customers have been asking for it.

[Thanks to Ain't No Snitch for the tip.]

Treo 750 Update 2.25 Recovery Tool

I don't know how many people have seen this or not, so I wanted to mention it here. I'm a Palm OS user, and I carry a Treo 700p. That said, I try to keep up on what is going on over on the Windows Mobile side of the Palm house.

While researching the Treo 750 Updater 2.25 (the one that adds Windows Mobile 6.0) for a customer over on the Palm Community Help Forums, where I'm a moderator, I ran across the directions for using the Updater 2.25 Recover Tool.

I'm actually excited to see that Palm has packaged this tool into the upgrade kit. While I don't have a Windows Mobile device to test this on, the tool appears to give customers a second chance to recover from a Treo that was "bricked" by a failed upgrade.

AT&T and Cingular Wireless customers can download the 2.25 Updater here. The directions for using the recovery tool can be found here.

Centro: For the Rest of Us

I have posted week's 1SRC editorial has been posted and talks about some of the advantages that the new Palm Centro has over Apple's much talked about iPhone.

"The Centro can’t stand up to the Apple iPhone. And it doesn’t have to.

Focus on the Differentiation

The iPhone and the Centro are both being marketed to people who use regular old cell phones. In the United States alone there are millions of people up for grabs. Centro is intended for people who wouldn’t otherwise consider purchasing a $500+ phone from Palm, Apple, or High Tech Computing (HTC).

The Centro offers a better user experience when trying to type out a text message or short email to your friends. There is also a large selection of software to choose from. (Apple is planning on releasing the tools to create native iPhone/iPod Touch applications early next year.) Regardless of what you want to do or what interests you, there is likely an application for you that will run on the Centro. When you compare the ease of use of the Centro to feature flip phones you see that it is possible to obtain a better mobile experience for a comparable price for all but the cheapest cell phones given away free with new service agreements.

You also can’t over look the ease of use of the Palm OS platform. Despite its age, Palm OS 5 is still a very capable operating system. At the heart of the Palm platform are the core 4 personal information management (PIM) applications: Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Memos. These applications are straightforward and easy to use. It is this ease of use and straight forward approach to PIM tools that has kept me coming back Palm every time I thing about upgrading my phone.

Messaging Matters

If you accept that the Centro is intended for 20 and 30-somethings, then you also must agree that it offers a better messaging experience over feature phones. Cento comes bundled with an IM, test messaging, and, email applications. Using Centro’s built-in keyboard improves up on the process of typing out messages to friends and coworkers.

The Centro is also cost competitive with the iPhone. After carrier discounts and mail in rebates the Centro can be purchased for the low price of $99. The Centro ends up being $300 less expensive than the iPhone and has almost all of the same features. Centro is also cheaper than the consumer oriented BlackBerry Pearl and the T-Mobile Sidekick. Furthermore, Sprint’s voice and data plans are slightly cheaper than AT&T’s. If you are on a budget, the Centro just makes sense.

In Conclusion

The new Palm Centro is an effort by Palm to reach out to customers who would otherwise not consider buying a smartphone. When talking about sales figures it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing sort of thing. There are more than enough cell phone users for both Apple and Palm to market to. In recent years Palm has lost their leadership position in the smartphone market. The Centro is a good start in working back to that coveted spot. If Palm is serious about getting back on top of the smartphone heap, than future phones will need to be more innovative, look good, work well, and have the marketing muscle behind it to really generate some buzz in the industry. If you are in the market for a new phone and want to have the empowering features of a smartphone without the bloated price tag, the Centro is the device for you."

Via 1SRC.com...

ComputerWorld Reviews the Centro

ComputerWorld has published a review of Palm's new Centro smartphone.

"Go back five years when Palm handhelds ruled the mobile device market, before smart phones began their ascendancy. It's easy to imagine that Palm's new Centro -- the company's first smart phone not named Treo -- is the device Palm envisioned as the future of handhelds.

That's not damning by faint praise, either. Centro is far smaller than those old handhelds. For that matter, it's significantly sleeker than Palm's Treo, yet it provides most of the Treo's capabilities and, at $99 (with a two-year contract from Sprint plus rebates) is quite inexpensive."

Keep reading...

Palm Shareholders Approve Elevation Partners Investment

Palm has just posted a press release indicating that the company shareholders have voted to approve the $325MM investment in Palm by Elevation Partners.

"Palm, Inc., (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that Palm stockholders have approved proposals that will permit Palm to conclude a $325 million investment by Elevation Partners, L.P., borrow up to $400 million in an associated debt financing, make a cash distribution of $9.00 per share to Palm stockholders, and make related adjustments to its equity plans."

"We appreciate our stockholders' strong support of these proposals and look forward to an era of renewed innovation and focused execution at Palm," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer."

It will be interesting to see what becomes of this deal. Many Palm fans are hoping that this agreement will help put the company back on track with new and innovative products while avoiding the problems that plagued the recently canceled Foleo mobile companion.

Read the full Palm press release...

Palm Launches the Treo 500v on Vodafone

Earlier this morning, Palm officially launched the Treo 500v, previously named as "Gandolf" in Internet rumors, for European Vodafone customers. (Note: The European Palm website has not yet been updated, however, Palm has issued the following press release at 6am, Eastern Time in the United States.) The new Treo will become available for sale this October, meaning Palm's customers may still have to wait another 4-6 weeks.

The Palm press release reads:

"Palm Europe Ltd today announced the Palm(R) Treo(TM) 500v smartphone which combines multiple forms of communication and multimedia capabilities with high speed 3G/UMTS mobile internet access, allowing users access to popular websites such as MySpace, YouTube and eBay whilst on the move. The new Palm Treo 500v smartphone will initially be available exclusively to Vodafone customers from October.

The Palm Treo 500v smartphone runs on a Windows(R) Mobile(R) 6 standard platform and has a full keyboard, large screen, video streaming capability and a comprehensive multi-messaging functionality covering Instant Messaging, SMS, email and phone and personal information management software in a new design(1). The compact form factor is available in two colours: glacier white and charcoal grey."

The press release goes on to list some of the features of the Treo 500v, including:

• All-in-one smartphone with messaging, email and web
• Full keyboard for fast and easy typing
• Automatic delivery of Hotmail/MSN, Yahoo!, and Gmail, email as it arrives
• Large, high-resolution screen
• Internet Explorer Mobile full-featured browser
• Access to Google Maps and eBay
• Vodafone live! for news, sports, and entertainment on the go
• 3G/UMTS network
• Planner with address book, calendar, to-do lists, and more
• View Microsoft(R) Word, Excel(R), PowerPoint(R), and Adobe PDF files
• Windows Media(R) Player Mobile for music and videos
• 2.0 megapixel camera captures video too
• 150MB of memory, expandable with microSD expansion card
• Windows Mobile(R) 6 Standard software
• Microsoft(R) Direct Push technology for delivery of Outlook(R) email
• Bluetooth(R) wireless technology
• Device available in two colours: glacier white and charcoal grey

Read the complete Treo 500v press release...

Windows Mobile 6 Update for Treo 750v

Palm has released a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade, officially named Treo 750/750v Updater 2.18, for European-based Vodafone Treo 750v smartphones. This English-only update is available for immediate download if you own a Vodafone UK, Netherlands, or Ireland Treo 750v. According the the Palm website, a generic non branded update for the Treo 750 is "coming soon."

What the Update Does

This update installs Windows Mobile 6 Professional on the Treo 750 and installs an update to address loss of system sounds. According to the Palm website, it also includes the following enhancements:

• Improved Calendar management with enhanced User Interface
  
  
• Enhanced E-mail messaging, HTML/Smart Filtering, SharePoint access and more
  
  
• Voice command via Bluetooth
  
  
• USB cable charging

Important Safety Considerations

Before you apply this update, there are some important things you need to know before you start. Ensure that you read and understand the following:

• You can only download this update once. As soon as you download it to your computer, strongly consider burning the download to CD or making a backup copy or two. (You will be prompted to enter your device's serial number to begin the download.)
  
  
• There is no way to revert back to Windows Mobile 5.
  
  
• If you are using the BlackBerry Connect (BBC) software on your Windows Mobile 5 Treo 750v, DO NOT install this update. Palm's implementation of Windows Mobile 6 does not support BlackBerry Connect.
  
  
• This upgrade is only being made available to customers until October 31, 2008.

System Requirements

To install this update, you will need to be running Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2, or Windows Vista. You will also need Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5 if you are not running Windows Vista. Vista customers will use Windows Mobile Device Manager to synchronize their Treo with the computer.

More Information and Downloads

You can read the full documentation for this update and access the download links from the Palm website.

What About US Treo 750 Customers?

Brighthand is reporting that Treo 750 customers who use AT&T will have to wait until September for the update to become available. No further details were made available.

Documents To Go v10 Now Supports Vista

Earlier today, DataViz announced Documents To Go v10.001, which adds support for Microsoft Windows Vista and Palm Desktop v6.2 Beta 1.

Registered users of Documents To Go v10.000 and download the 10.001 update for free. Customers running previous versions of Documents To Go can upgrade to the latest version for $29.99. For more details, please refer to the DataViz Documents To Go and Windows Vista technical support article.

Documents To Go v10 adds support to view Microsoft Office 2007 Word and Excel files on your Palm OS device. The following Palm OS devices are compatible with Documents To Go v10:

• Treo 755p, Treo 700p
• Treo 680, Treo 650, Treo 600
• LifeDrive Mobile Manager
• T|X, Tungsten C, Tungsten T5, Tungsten T3, Tungsten E2, Tungsten E
• Zire 72, Z22
• Zodiac 2

For more information about Documents To Go, please visit the DataViz website.

Palm Desktop for Vista Beta Released

Palm has released a beta version of Palm Desktop intended for use with Microsoft Windows Vista only. The new version of Palm Desktop is version 6.2 and includes HotSync Manager 7.0.

Palm Desktop v6.2 is a beta release, which means that the software may still have bugs in it. Palm is releasing the software early so that customers using Windows Vista have a way to HotSync their Palm with their computer. Palm Desktop v6.2 supports the following Palm devices:

• Treo 755p, 700p, 680, 650
• Tungsten E2 (aka "E2")
• Z22, TX

All other Palm OS devices, including the Tungsten T5, Tungsten T3, Zire 71, Tapwave Zodiac, Garmin iQue, and Sony Clie are not supported.

Palm Desktop v6.2, like all previous versions of Palm Desktop is a free download from the Palm website.

I strongly encourage you to read the documentation before you attempt to install Palm Desktop v6.2 on your Windows Vista computer. You should also backup your Palm with an application like NVBackup before attempting the upgrade. Windows XP users should not install this update, and should continue to use Palm Desktop v4.2 or v4.1.4/4.1.4e.

Download Palm Desktop v6.2 for Windows Vista...

Foleo Hands On Review

I've posted a hands on review of the Palm Foleo Mobile Companion over on Foleo Fanatics.

Palm hosted four Foleo Sneak Peek events last week. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Manhattan event held at the Rockefeller Center retail store in New York City. What follows are my first impressions of my hands on time with Palm’s latest product offering.

The first Foleo Mobile Companion has clearly been designed with the mobile business professional in mind. From my brief time with the Foleo I was impressed by what I saw. The Foleo is a light-weight sturdy device that can easily be integrated into my regular business day.

Keep reading...

iambic Tipper Promotion

iambic is running a special 99-cent promotion on their Tipper application for Palm OS, Windows Mobile/Pocket PC, and Windows Mobile Smartphone platforms. At that price, I'll probably buy one copy of each just so I have my bases covered.

Promotion information...

Chapura Updates Key Suite to 3.6

Chapura has updated KeySuite to versioin 3.6. Key Suite is a total PIM application manager for Palm OS handheld PDAs and Treo smartphones. With Key Suite, Microsoft Outlook users can bring the look and feel of Outlook to their Palm devices.

KeySuite 3.6 now allows you to push the data that is synchronized with Outlook into the standard Palm PIM applications. This is a great feature to have if you use an application that does look ups into the standard PIM application databases which was not previously updated in earlier versions.

Chapura KeySuite is Microsoft Windows Vista compatible (all versions) starting with the previous release, 3.5.4. (Palm is still working on a fully Vista compatible version of Palm Desktop and the HotSync Manager.)

Chapura KeySuite is available now for 69.95 (full retail purchase) and upgrade options are available for PocketMirror customers. Existing customers can download the update by logging in to the Chapura customer care portal.

For more details, visit the Chapura website.

Palm Reposts the Sprint Treo 700p Update

Yesterday afternoon, Palm posted an update to their company blog stating that the Treo 700p maintenance release (MR) update had been made available again on the Palm website.

Paul Loeffler writes for Palm:

The SD card updater has been reposted to the Palm site - installation details can be found here. We are working to resolve the installation issue with the desktop updater and will make it available as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Verizon Wireless users, we will make the 700p MR available as soon as we can.

It would seem that the problem is with the HotSync update method and not with the SD card install method. I've used the SD card method on a few Treo 700p devices now and all upgraded without a problem.

Verizon customers are still waiting for their update. This may not be a bad thing as I have experienced some annoying issues with my Treo since applying the MR update. While these issues, which include a dial tone bug, do not out weight the number of things that Palm has fixed with this update. I only hope that Verizon customers get the additional bug fixes that Sprint customers didn't get.

Palm to Cut Jobs

Web site C|Net News.com is reporting that Palm is cutting an unspecified number of jobs starting this week. Palm spokesperson Jim Christensen was quoted by C|Net as saying,

"It's a small percentage of our work force," Christensen told News.com, adding that Palm still has openings in some areas. The bulk of the jobs being eliminated are in the U.S. and in Palm's development ranks, though there are some cuts across the company, he said.

Christensen said the move was "not about cost-cutting" but rather about "eliminating some of the hierarchy" at the company.

I'm not surprised by this move, actually. When listening to the press conference announcing that Elevation Partners was taking a 25% stake in Palm, officials from Elevation talked about having small teams of talented people working on specific projects. The current round of lay offs at Palm would seem to indicate that the partnership with Elevation is already having an impact on the company.

1SRC Editorial: "Do You Believe In Magic?"

This week's 1SRC editorial has been posted and I discuss the rumors swirling around the internet about the rumored new Palm Treo, the "Gandolf."

No, I’m not talking about the song; I’m talking about the rumors of Palm’s latest smartphone, the “Gandolf.” Gandalf (slightly different spelling), as you may recall, is also the popular white wizard from J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. I have to wonder if Palm is trying to conjure up some magic with this rumored new device.

What we think we know

The news of the supposed existence of Gandolf started appearing late last week on Palm enthusiast websites. As near as I can tell, the blog Morning Paper broke the story. The first thing to hit you is that the Gandolf looks different from any of the past Treo smartphones. The screen appears more rectangular than square, there is a button bar with a LifeDrive-like D-ring navigator, and the standard Treo keyboard. The Gandolf looks like a mash-up of the Treo and the Z22.

Read more...

1SRC Editorial: Editorial Potpourri

Editorial Potpourri the latest 1SRC Editorial has been posted. This week I discuss the Palm/Elevation partnership and the Treo 700p maintenance release.

Palm’s Strategic Recapitalization

Earlier this week Palm and Elevation Partners announced that would bring an additional $325 million dollars to Palm. Elevation will have three associates named to Palm’s Board of Directors. Palm shareholders will receive a $9 per share dividend. The board room shuffle will see the departure of former Palm CEO Eric Benhamou, and the addition of former Apple VP in charge of hardware engineering and head of the iPod division, Jon Rubinstein.

The Elevation recapitalization should be seen as a good thing as it is the best of both worlds. First off, Palm wasn’t sold. The $325 million did get Elevation a 25% stake in Palm, and the senior Palm management team will remain in place. Shareholders should be happy because they are getting a payout. And Palm enthusiasts and customers should be happy because Elevation has the ability to attract new talent to Palm.

Treo 700p MR

This has been an incredibly frustrating experience for Palm and their customers. Palm has been listening the Treo 700p customer base, of which I’m a member, and have tried to put together a solid maintenance release. I did download the 700p MR before it was pulled. I installed it via the SD card method. (You can read my upgrade notes here.) I only had minor issues after the update had been installed. Since the update has been installed, my Treo 700p no longer spontaneously resets and the time to launch Blazer has gone from 20+ seconds down to 3-4 seconds. Lastly, Bluetooth connectivity to my headset is good.

Read the full editorial...

Palm Pulls the Sprint Treo 700p ROM Upgrade

From the Palm website:

We're sorry, but it's temporarily unavailable: We have received isolated reports of an installation issue, so we've removed the Sprint Treo 700p updater from our site. We're investigating the issue and will make the Sprint Treo 700p updater available again as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you have experienced an issue with the maintenance release installation, please contact us: 1-866-750-7256

Read the full explanation on the Palm company blog.

I have posted my upgrade experience here.

The following is from the Palm company blog:

Updated Post

This is an installation issue and it is evident immediately during the installation of the MR to your device. If you have already loaded the MR successfully to your device, you are good to go.

This "all clear" notice from Palm should answer the questions that I have been receiving from customers who have been asking about the stability of their Sprint edition Treo 700p smartphones after having applied the MR update prior to Palm taking it down.

Palm Releases Treo 700p MR for Sprint Customers

Earlier today, Palm released the long awaited Sprint edition Treo 700p maintenance release (MR).

Palm has posted a detailed list of fixes and software enhancements that this MR addresses here. Palm customers using Sprint branded Treo 700p smartphones can download the update for free from the Palm website. This update is not intended for any other Treo smartphones. The Treo 700p MR for Sprint edition devices is a ROM upgrade and can not be undone. Please be sure to read the documentation before attempting to install the upgrade. You will need to a lot about 3o minutes to complete this upgrade.

Treo 700p MR upgrade site...

Treo 700p MR Held Up

Palm has posted a new update regarding the Treo 700p maintenance release, or MR, on their company blog. According to this latest update, the 700p MR for Sprint customers will be posted on Monday, June 4th.

It seems however, that at least some of the Treo 700p customers will be in for an extended stay in the waiting room. Palm also disclosed that there is no specific date for the Verizon Wireless Treo 700p MR.

The Treo 700p maintenance release has turned into a high-tech soap opera of sorts due to the many delays and detours on the road to release. It is becoming clear that the carriers have played some part in holding up the 700p MR's release. Unfortunately, Palm will continue to get the brunt of customer dissatisfaction.

Read Palm's update notice...

Calling all Foleo Fanatics

Call me crazy. Call me a wingnut. Call me a fanboy. Or maybe just call me a Fanatic. I've just started a new blog, called Foleo Fanatics, which is dedicated to covering the development of the new Palm Mobile Companion, the Palm Foleo.

The Foleo won't be released until later this summer, but that is no reason to not start the party! To learn more about this exciting new product, check out

http://foleofanatics.blogspot.com

Palm Foleo Announcement Due Later Today

Palm, Inc accidentally released some of the details of the device the Palm community has been referring to as the "Hawk" yesterday when a press release was sent out over Palm's new Social Media News Release service.

The new device, called the Palm Foleo, will be officially announced later today by company co-founder, Jeff Hawkins at D: All Things Digital conference.

For all the latest details, visit the Gadgets on the Go website.

Palm "Hawk" to be Announced On May 30th

Earlier today, Palm, Inc. issued a press release stating that company founder Jeff Hawkins will be hosting a live web conference from the upcoming D: All Things Digital conference on May 30th. During this live video webcast, Mr. Hawkins will "describe a new category of mobile device."

More details will be posted when they become available.

Read the Palm press release...

AT&T Treo 680 ROM Update

Palm has been on a role quietly releasing a number of important software patches and maintenance releases. Last week, Palm released a security update for the Treo 650, 680, and 700p. And Palm has committed to releasing a maintenance release ROM upgrade for the Treo 700p next week. Yesterday, Palm rolled out a maintenance ROM update for AT&T/Cingular branded Treo 680 smartphones.

According to the Palm website, this latest update includes the following goodies:

• Improved power management for better battery life
• Camera software update (previously released)
• Helps correct distorted characters in the title bar of Phone application
• Helps fix device "freezing" under certain conditions
• Increased security in the System Lockout feature
• Daylight Savings Time rules updates (previously released)
• Improved support for unique wireless networks in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia
• Replaces "Cingular" branding with the new "AT&T" branding

The Treo 680 AT&T/Cingular update provides a fair amount of enhancements and updates to the Treo 680. The Palm website goes on to deal how to check to see if your Treo 680 needs the update and how to go about installing the update on your smart device if you do need it.

An interesting item of interest with this update is the ability to apply the maintenance release from a SD card as an alternative to installing the upgrade utility to the Treo via a HotSync operation. (miniSD and microSD cards are specifically mentioned as having reliability issues. A full sized SD card should be used for the update if you chose to utilize that installation method.)

Download the update...

Treo 755p vs the Treo 700p

Gadgets On The Go has a new article posted today called "Treo 755p vs the Treo 700p" in which Jimmie Geddes compares a stock (ie: no 700p MR applied) Treo 700p with Palm's latest Palm OS Treo, the 755p.

The Treo 700p is running Palm OS 5 Garnet, the same OS as the Treo 755p. You would expect the Treo 700p and Treo 755p user experience to be the similar, but I can tell you it’s not.

The Treo 700p and Treo 755p are like night and day. The Treo 755p is completely stable, suffers no lag/white screen, plays skip-free music, stays connected to my Bluetooth headset, and has not spontaneously reset once while I've had it.

What I will tell you is if you're happy with your Treo 700p I see no reason to upgrade. The Treo 755p is not enough of an update to justify the expense. If you have an earlier Treo and want to upgrade to what is hands down the best Palm Treo I highly recommend it. The Treo 755p is in my opinion the best Treo available, Palm OS or Windows Mobile.

Full review...

Resco Explorer 2007 for Palm OS Released

Bratislava, Slovakia | May 21, 2007 -- Resco (www.resco.net), the leading provider of end-user mobile applications, announced today a major upgrade of its best-selling application - Resco Explorer 2007 for Palm OS®.

Explorer 2007 features fully transparent FTP integration, bookmarking of the favorites and the RAM Analyzer - the tool that helps to understand RAM and to identify old unneeded data files. Explorer 2007 contains also http downloader and live updater of the Resco products.

Resco also announces that its latest developments - WorldCup coverage, Resco Neeews!, Explorer 2007 - are part of a deeper strategy, where the focus is put on the network services. Explorer users will see Windows network connectivity in the close future.


About Explorer 2007
The original idea behind Resco Explorer was to bring an efficient data manager to the Palm OS® platform. Over time the Resco Explorer - being developed in close cooperation with the user community - matured into atool that excels as a file manager, zipper, backup, viewer, FTP explorer, RAM analyzer and as a collection of many other tools for the PDA management.

Attractive interface and techniques known from the desktop world (drag, context menu, etc.) make the application handling powerful and intuitive. Special optimizations for the popular Treo series are incorporated.

Pricing and Availability
14-days trial can be found at: http://www.resco.net/palm/explorer/. The cost is $29.95 USD, temporarily decreased to $19.95. Application is provided in English language, German and French versions are distributed via pdassi.


About Resco s.r.o.
Founded in 1999, Resco, s.r.o. (www.resco.net) is the leading developer of a wide range of mobile software products for multiple handheld software platforms. Besides the best selling end-user mobile applications, Resco also offers developer tools as well as enterprise mobile solutions. Today the company has a lot more than 100,000 satisfied customers worldwide. All Resco products are available for immediate download from www.resco.net.

* Palm OS® is a registered trademark of Palm Trademark Holding Company,
LLC

Treo 700p and 680 Security Patch Released

Palm has released a security update for the Treo 700p and Treo 680 that closes a hole in the Palm OS 5 operating system that could allow limited information to be obtained from a Treo that has been locked with the Palm OS Security application.

According to Palm website,

"When the Treo [700p|680] smartphone password protection is enabled, the password protection can be partially circumvented by running the Find feature while on the "Make Emergency Call" screen. This would allow a malicious user to view a list of search results from the Treo [700p's|680's] built-in applications such as Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos and Email. The malicious user cannot access or display anything beyond the search results list. An update is now available to address this."

Update for Treo 700p users...

Update for Treo 680 users...

Palm Treo 755p Promotions

As a subscriber to Palm's Treo Newsletter, I received notification of the following promotions on purchases of a new Treo 755p on the Sprint network.


If you pre-order the Treo 755p for Sprint from Palm's online store you will:

• Receive a free car charger ($29.99)
• Free overnight shipping
  

Get the full details here...

1SRC Podcast Mentioned on the Palm Blog

The 1SRC.com Palm Powered podcast was mentioned this past weekend on the official Palm company blog. I think that host of the 1SRC podcast is really good, but then again, I'm slightly biased.

Read more...

12 Days of Treo - Day 12

[Editor's Note: Sorry gang. The weekend got away from me. Here is the last installment of the 12 Days of Treo - Day 12 that should have been posted this past Saturday. -AG]

Day 12: Just Have Fun With It

The best way to learn more about your Palm Treo smartphone is to play with it. Go explore! If you backup your data to your computer or SD card regularly (read: daily) then there really isn’t much you can do to the Treo to damage the operating system or installed software.

I think that you will agree that Palm’s products are particularly easy to use. This is especially true of devices that use the Palm OS.

Regardless of what you do, there is software for your Treo that will help you get it done. Popular destinations for new Treo software include:

• Handango.com
• PalmGear.com
• PocketGear.com

If you are looking to participate in the diverse group of your fellow Palm device owners, be sure to check out the thriving communities at the following websites:

• 1SRC.com
• Brighthand.com
• GadgetsOnTheGo.net
• PalmAddicts.typepad.com
• TreoCentral.com

Lastly, don’t forget to check out Palm’s latest customer care services: MyPalm and the Self-Paced Learning Guides. The folks at MyPalm will help you configure or troubleshoot your Treo. You can download software from the MyTreo portal. And you can track your accessories and get in on special member-only promotional offerings.

12 Days of Treo - Day 11

Day 11: Treo Shortcuts

When you first start using the Treo there is a natural tendency to want to use the stylus. I feel that reaching for the stylus can be a slow way to get something don on the Treo. Using the touch screen, keyboard shortcuts, and the navigator system can be much faster.

Use the touch screen

All of Palm's Treo smartphones (including the Windows Mobile phones) include a touch screen. Sometimes the fastest way to get to a button on the screen is to reach up and tap it with your finger. If the screen becomes soiled, clean it off when a soft cloth. (T-shirts can be really helpful here.) If you are really worried about soiling the touch screen, then you can purchase a pre-cut screen protector from a thrid-party accessories vendor, like BoxWave.

Use keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are quick ways to issue commands that can be found in application menus. Using shortcuts are quick because they are only two key presses.

For example, if you wanted to see how much free space is left on your Treo, return to the application launcher by pressing the Home button. Then press the Menu button on the keyboard (to the right of the Alt key) and then press "I" for info. With just 2 key presses you can quickly access the information you are looking for. To learn which keyboard shortcuts are available for a give application, look for a letter listed along the right side of drop down menu. To issue that command, press the Menu button (to the right of the Alt button) and then the corresponding letter.

Use the 5-way navigation

Ever notice how some buttons have a light blue "halo" around them? That blue ring signifies that object is selected. To activate that object, press the center button on the navigator. If the object you want to activate isn't selected, you can move the halo around the screen using the navigator.

Bonus tip!

Did you know that you can access the Treo alerts screen by pressing and holding down the center button for 2 - 3 seconds?

12 Days of Treo - Day 10

Day 10: VersaMail Tips

VersaMail is Palm