Palm Officially Announces the Treo Pro

Palm has announced the highly rumored Treo Pro Windows Mobile 6.1 super sexy smartphone earlier today.

In their press release, Palm writes:

"Palm, today introduced Treo(TM) Pro, an effortlessly usable smartphone for businesses that want to simplify their IT infrastructures and lower costs, and for users who want to stay on top of their professional and personal lives. With its streamlined design and Palm(R) shortcuts layered on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Treo Pro is a unique combination of sleek simplicity and robust productivity -- including email, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities(1) -- that meets the needs of businesses and end users alike. Treo Pro, which will be available from Vodafone and O2 in Europe(2) and from Telstra in Australia, also will be available in an unlocked version in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific."

"Businesses want the control and savings that Windows Mobile affords, in an innovative and elegant package that keeps their users happy. That's where Palm comes in," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer, Palm, Inc. "Everything about Treo Pro -- from the hardware design to the packaging and accessories -- embodies the elegant and simplified end-to-end experience that our customers expect from Palm."

"I'm really happy with Treo Pro -- it's a technology leap from a device design and capability standpoint, enhancing Palm's presence in the Windows Mobile realm," said Wasif Malik, senior systems consultant, Student Educational Services & Mobile Solutions, Ohio State University Medical Center. "It's cleverly designed for Windows Mobile, with a large touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and all the productivity applications for Windows Mobile 6 in a much thinner design."

Read the full Palm press release...

The Palm Treo Pro, in what I consider a surprise move, is being announced with out a launch wireless carrier partner and is being released in the coming days as an unlocked phone.

The specs page on the Palm website also confirmes the leaked information that has flooded the Internet over the past few days.

For full details, and the registration page to be notified when the Treo Pro begins shipping, visit the Palm website.

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.

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.

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.

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...

CallsToJournal Released for Windows Mobile

Earlier today Chapura released CallsToJournal a call log management tool for customers using Windows Mobile devices like the Palm Treo 700wx and 750. (Chapura Call Log + adds similar functionality for Palm OS Treo users.)
CallsToJournal allows Windows Mobile device users to synchronize their phone's call log to the Journal application inside Microsoft Outlook. More information can be found on 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.

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...

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...

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...

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's email client that comes bundled with all new Palm OS Treo smartphones. VersaMail is easy to setup and even easier to use.

Easy account setup

Palm has taken the pain out of configuring VersaMail for use with your existing email account(s). For example, when you create a new account in VersaMail, Palm has preprogrammed the server settings for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, AOL, Apple .Mac, Bell South, Cablevision, and many other services.

How easy is it to set up a new email account in VersaMail? If your service provider is among those which have been predefined, you only need to enter three pieces of information:

• your user name
• your password
• the first part of your email address (the part that comes before the @ symbol)

And that it! You can literally be up and running in minutes.


Be more productive

VersaMail version 3.5.x has some undocumented time saving features. Normally if you wanted to select multiple email messages to operate on, you would have to pull out the stylus and select each message one-at-a-time. If you are like me, you hate pulling out the stylus. Did you know that you can select multiple messages without the use of the stylus?

To select a block of contiguous messages, position the dark blue selection bar on the first message in the block. Then hold down the Option key (just below the 'A' key on the keyboard), and then press down on the navigator. As you move down a check mark will appear in the far left column indicating that the message has been selected. When all the messages have been selected, release the Option key, and then press right on the navigator. Select the function you wish to take on the selected messages. You can do things like mark the messages read, delete them, or even file them.

If you want to delete a message without having to open it, you can select the header in the inbox view, press right on the navigator, and then select Delete from the menu. Or you can select the message, and then press the Backspace key while holding down the Option key.

Upgrade to VersaMail 3.5

If your Palm OS Treo is running Palm OS 5.4.x then you can upgrade to VersaMail 3.5 for only $10 at PalmGear. When you perform the upgrade, install the new version of VersaMail on top of the existing version to upgrade from the old to the new version.

12 Days of Treo - Day 9

Day 9: Astraware Games

I love pointing out that the Treo is a business tool. While true, the Treo can be also viewed as a fun business toy when you look at some of the great games that Astraware has to offer. Regardless of what kinds of games you like, puzzle, word, or something with a little more action, Astraware has games for you.

Personally, I like action games, so it isn't surprising to fine games like My Little Tank, Hellfire: Apache vs. Hind, GTS Racing Challenge, Hammer Heads, or Insaniquarium on my Treo at any given time.

If word games are your thing, make sure you check out Bookworm, Text Twist, and my favorite, Word Monaco.

Becareful! Astraware sells three of the most addictive games I've ever played on a mobile computer: Bejeweled and its modernized sibling Bejeweled 2, and Sudoku.

Many of the software titles found on the Astraware website come in both Palm OS and Windows Mobile versions meaning that you will always be able to join in on all the mobile fun.

If your Treo is all work and no play, I strongly suggest that you download and install any off the free demos from the Astraware site. If you are ready to buy, be sure to join Club Astraware to earn points for each of your purchases towards future discounts and club exclusives.

Just remember, I warned you about Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2!

Where Am I? - A Google Maps Mobile Add-on

Where Am I? is a free companion product to Google Maps Mobile running on a Palm OS Treo or PDA. Written by Marcin Orlowski, Where Am I? interfaces with a third-party Bluetooth GPS receiver (purchased separately) to determine your current location. You can then take those coordinates and pass them to Google Maps Mobile which will return with a map (street map or satellite photo) showing your present location.

This is just the sort of thing that would have helped me last week while I was driving to the venue for a presentation I was supporting. Treo customers that have a Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition or other GPS solution should find this application a must have for their mobile software tool kit.

More information...

Palm Introduces the Treo 755p

First Palm OS Based Treo Device with Built-in Microsoft Direct Push Technology for Email and Integrated Google Maps for Mobile

SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 09, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Evolving the Treo(TM) product line to keep mobile professionals connected, productive and entertained, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) today introduced the Treo 755p smart device, a new Palm OS(R) Treo for Sprint (NYSE:S). The CDMA Treo 755p is the first Treo device to offer built-in Microsoft Direct Push Technology email support; Google Maps for mobile; and the latest Treo design, with integrated antenna, slimmer form factor and mini-SD slot.(1) Sprint is the first carrier selling the next-generation Treo 755p, which is available for as low as $279.99 with a two-year service agreement and a $100 mail-in rebate, and is available starting mid-May in two fashionable colors - midnight blue and burgundy.

The new Treo 755p brings customers quick, wireless access to web, email, business, multimedia applications and instant messaging (IM) for Sprint customers nationwide (standard text and Vision charges apply where applicable).(2) The Treo 755p runs on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the nation's largest mobile broadband network - reaching more than 206 million people across the country in more than 11,000 cities and 1,000 airports.

"The Treo 755p is a stylish and powerful device ideal for business professionals looking for the power to do more while on the go," said Danny Bowman, vice president of customer equipment for Sprint. "Building upon the success of the Treo 700p, we've added enhancements such as Mobile Voice Control, a new IM application and Sprint TV(SM) in the ROM for mobile entertainment and news."

As the newest member of the Treo family, the Treo 755p smart device combines the sleek, internal antenna hardware design of devices such as the Treo 680 and Treo 750 with Palm's latest Palm OS software, shipped on millions of Palm OS based Treo devices worldwide. Currently, there are more than 29,000 Palm OS applications commercially available, from healthcare and sales force automation to games and travel. Palm differentiates this smart device from others in the Treo line by offering the following features along with many additional enhancements.

Keep reading the Palm Treo 755p press release...

12 Days of Treo - Day 8

Day 8: Treo Resets

Every now and again you may need to reset your Treo. Depending upon which Treo you have (Palm OS or Windows Mobile) there are a few different ways to do this. Treos have three basic types of resets you should know about. They are:

• Soft reset (similar to rebooting your computer)
• Battery reset
• Hard reset (erases everything and reloads factory defaults)

Soft reset

You can soft reset your Palm OS or Windows Mobile Treo by either pressing the reset button or removing the battery. On older Treos, the reset button is found on the back of the device. On newer Treos, devices that have removable batteries, the reset button can be found in the battery compartment. (The Treo 680 has no reset button. To reset the device, remove the battery, wait 10 seconds, and then put the battery back in.)


Battery reset

When you find that your Treo is not holding a charge like it used to it might be time to try a battery reset. Connect the Treo to it's charger and then soft reset your Treo. When the Treo is done restarting, leave it connected to the charger over night. If that doesn't help put the spring back in your battery, it might be time to think about getting a new battery...or a new Treo!


Hard reset

The hard reset is a destructive reset. When you perform the hard reset all of the data and applications on your Treo will be erased, the pre-installed applications will be reloaded, and the device will be returned to it's factory default settings. There is no way to undo or roll back a hard reset. Please be sure that you have a backup of your data stored someplace else prior to performing the hard reset. (Palm OS Treo users, a backup of your Treo is performed at the end of each HotSync operation automatically.) In most cases, you can restore your data to the Treo after a hard reset by performing a HotSync (Palm OS) or ActiveSync (Windows Mobile) operation.

To perform the hard reset, press and hold the Power button, and then soft reset the device. When the Palm logo screen appears, release the Power button. A message will appear prompting you to erase the data. Press Up on the navigation pad to erase the Treo. Press Down to abort the hard reset and continue to restart normally.


Additional information

For more detailed directions, you can refer to Chapter 1 of GrassNet's Palm Powered Desk Reference, and Palm's own Palm OS or Windows Mobile reset guides.

12 Days of Treo - Day 7

Day 7: vCardManager

vCardManager is a new application for the Treo that allows you to send and receive vCards (think digital business cards) from devices other than a Treo smartphone. Best of all, vCardManager is free!

vCardManager comes in handy because the way vCards are handled is slightly different from device to device. vCardManager allows you to format outgoing and incoming vCards so that your card can be read on the target device and incoming cards are formatted for the Treo.

vCardManager works on the Treo 600, 650, 680, and 700p.

12 Days of Treo - Day 6

Day 6 - DataViz Passwords Plus

Passwords Plus is a password and personal identification number (PIN) management tool for Palm OS Treo smartphones. (The Windows Mobile edition has been discontinued.)

Passwords Plus is capable of storing all sorts of personal information. Some of the predefined templates you can choose from include:

• Bank and credit card accounts
• Product and software information (here is a secure place to store your serial numbers)
• Website logins and email accounts
• Contact information, birthdays, and anniversaries

If you don't like any of those templates, you can customize your own and change field names to fit your needs. To make data entry easy, Passwords Plus also includes a desktop application (Mac OS X, Windows) and a HotSync conduit.

I have been using Passwords Plus for years and use it almost every day to help me remember passwords for all sorts of things. The data in the database is protected with 128-bit encryption. You can also backup your database for easy recovery in case of a hard disk crash. And Passwords Plus will lock itself when the Treo is idle for two minutes.

Passwords Plus can be ordered directly from the DataViz online store for $29.99.

12 Days of Treo - Day 5

Day 5 - eReader

eReader is an electronic book (ebook) reader for the Treo (Palm OS and Windows Mobile). The cool thing about ebooks is that you can read them at anytime at any place. Nothing can be handier when trying to read a book while feeding a baby. (Thanks for Matt P. for that suggestion.) eReader is free, however, there is a "pro" version that costs $9.95.

If you opt for the Pro edition, you can:

• Look up works in the ebook you are reading in the included Marriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary
• Auto-scroll the text on the screen
• Customize the color themes
• Install the Agfa Monotype and ITC eBook font packs ($14.95 each)

You can get ebooks from a variety of sources. The eReader site sells ebooks that work specifically with the eReader software (titles are encrypted with Digital Rights Management software). The eReader site also has a large selection of new and old titles in many categories. Fictionwise is another great source for commercial ebooks. I've used both and I am happy with the service both offer.

There are also a large selection of free public domain ebooks that can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg. MemoWare is another great source for free ebooks with many interesting categories.

12 Days of Treo - Day 4

Day 4: Dial by Name

One of the coolest features of the Treo has been the ability to dial a telephone number by using someone's name. (This is at least true for the Treo 600 an later.) No longer will Treo owners need to remember someone's telephone number. They only need to remember their name.

You see, on the Treo, once you have populated your Contacts database, all you need to do is type a name to call up all of the matching telephone numbers. If I wanted to call John Doe and I can't recall his phone number, from the Phone screen, select the Contacts button, and then start typing "Doe"and your contacts are filtered based on the information you type.

As the database is filtered, you will see names from your contacts database on the left, and below the name, and to the right, you see all of the phone numbers for that person. To make the call, use the navigator to select a number and then press the center button. BOOM! Your call is made.

If you don't want to keep typing out "John Doe" to see his phone numbers, another easy way to access the information is to simply type "jd". All of the contacts in the database that match the first initial, last initial or last initial, first initial of "jd" will be displayed. Select the number you want and press the center button. Now you're off and running.

But wait! There is yet one more way to access frequently accessed phone numbers. Let's say that you want to have someone's phone information at the ready all the time and with minimal typing. When you are in the Phone application (press the Phone button), you can define a favorite. A favorite can be just about anything: an application, a web page, and application, or even a contact.

On Treo smartphones running the Palm OS, there will be four blue rectangles just about the navigator. Press down twice to expand the list of favorites. Scroll around the favorites tabs until you find and select an empty slot. Press the Menu button, and then select "Edit Favorite Button..." from the Record menu.

Now, enter the specifics of the favorite by setting the Type to be "Speed Dial". Tap or select the "Lookup" button and find the phone number you want to link the speed dial to. Optionally, you can select a key on the keyboard to be the "Quick Key", a key you can press and hold to automatically dial the number with out further keystrokes. When you are done, tap or select the OK button. Now, when I need to call John Doe, I can select his speed dial button, or I can press and hold his quick key to dial the number which was selected from my contacts database.

But what if John has two or three numbers? Do I need to create a speed dial entry for his office phone and his cell phone? The answer is no. If you select John's favorite button and press the space bar rather than the center button, a window pops open and show you all of John's phone numbers. Just highlight the number you need to call (W=work, H=home, M=mobile) and then press the center button.

12 Days of Treo - Day 3

Day 3: MyTreo (Bluefish Wireless AddIt) + Getsportz

Another handy set of applications that I use all the time on my Treo smartphone is MyTreo and Getsportz. Both applications are developed by Bluefish Wireless.

MyTreo is a customized and rebranded version of AddIt. (The full version of AddIt can be used on Palm's handheld devices.) The MyTreo application has three functions, they are:

• Electronic Treo user guide
• Technical support and troubleshooting assistance
• Reuters news service

The first two features are nice, sepecially if you are still getting to know your Treo. But when the chips are down, chances are you will call the resident computer nerd in the family when your Treo stops working. It is the last feature, the Reuters news service that I enjoy using.

The news is provided free of charge and covers such categories as:

• Top News
• Entertainment
• Business
• Politics

Getsportz

Getsportz is another free application from Bluefish Wireless. If you like sports then t