Palm as just released their much anticipated – and leaked – Treo Pro, a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device with a touchscreen and UMTS/HSDPA GSM networking. The phone also includes G.P.S. and improved WiFi handling for better and easier WiFi hand-off.
The new Treo is thinner than devices like the 800w and is targeted at the mobile professional market and is not an “iPhone-killer.” Instead it is part of a conscious strategy by Palm to release a series of “great” products in order to bring themselves back out of the doldrums.
I love Palm OS – WinMo not so much – and each iteration of the Treo seems to be a step in the right direction. Can these WinMo phones save the company? I’m not quite sure. HTC, Samsung, and even LG are all releasing low-end, powerful smartphones for the casual to high-use business user. The Palm Centro has the casual set sewn up right now but not for long – contracts run out and the iPhone is quite tempting to the folks who once loved the Motorola RAZR. Motorola and Palm both have a big problem on their hands and we can only watch and wait to see how this pans out.
The phone is available on Vodafone and O2 in Europe and will be available unlocked for $549 in the U.S.
$549? Wow.
That’s really pricey!
It’s either iPhone or Crackberry for me
They hope you can get your mom/grandma/boss to pay for it.
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Actually if you understood it, those loyal to palm will not mine a bit of an extra price. I think it is competitively priced, but I would be willing to pay ten bucks more to get my company a boast back into the industry.
Those who are loyal and love Palms will support them regardless on other devices!
Actually, if you understood it, those loyal to palm will not mine a bit of an extra price. I think it is competitively priced and a good deal, but I would be willing to pay ten bucks more to get my company a boast back into the industry.
Those who are loyal and love Palms will support them regardless on other devices! Those who understand and are attached to the innovation of Palm will be there for them.
They just need that uniqueness that got them started to begin with, which is hard, if you don’t have the financial support to be ‘innovative’.
I faithfully bought all the early Treo’s – from the very first Palm (pre-Treo period) to the Treo 650. But those times are gone… I simply can’t find any justification of buying a me-too device from a has-been company.
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I thought Palm was dead until my wife needed a new phone. She is adverse to change and knew the Palm OS, so we bought the Palm Centro.
Surprisingly, it is a great phone. It isn’t cutting-edge or have any WOW factor, it just works. No issues, lockups or other problems.
For those looking for a simple smartphone that works (no bells and whistles), the Palm products may be a good choice.
I know, my recommendation surprises me too.
Well the new Palm OS is certainly taking some time to appear on their smartphones.
At the rate of their own evolution, they should just stop.
is that a typo that you like the Palm OS and winmo not so much?
This is obviously a stopgap an attempt to use Centro’s success to provide a corporate version, although I have heard of the inability of the Centro (which is Palm OS based) to open digitally signed emails. Hopefully WinMo does not have that issue.
The next version/generation of Palm OS better be kickass in looks and usability, touch based and offer backward compatibility. These three would be key to keeping Palm in the race.
The question is whether Palm can keep investing in writing a new OS (>$500m by some estimates), design new hardware and still be viable at its volume. With Symbian out of the picture now, WinMo is the only other option and the release date of WinMo 7 is unknown (atleast to the general public).
If they hit $299 I’d consider switching, otherwise I’ll stick with the blackberry for business.
… From the picture, it appears to hover about an inch off the ground, so that’s a cool feature.
I think they should dump WinMo and go with Android. It is probably their only hope if hope at all.
Palm, like Chrysler and James Brown, followed the path of a dropped superball, bouncing back impressively on each contact with the ground, just a little lower each time. Mr. Brown finally ran out of bounces. Palm and Chrysler shouldn’t be too far behind.
My god, TechCrunch is just a ball of advertising for itself, isn’t it.
I owned a bunch of PalmOS products (handhelds and phones). It’s a great OS that wasn’t developed further to support the latest tricks.
PalmOS beats the crap out of WinMo in terms of usability, it’s a shame Palm is using WinMo. I hope they can get their act together and provide the awesome user experience of the early products.
(i’m using a Motorola Q9h WinMo phone right now – bad phone, bad os. switching to Nokia e71 as soon as i get rid of the awful Q)
As much as people love to hate on Palm you have to give it to them for putting out some better designed focused handsets.
Their new platform will be turning some heads next year once its out and will become an instant hit amongst developers.
Why is this post on Techcrunch?
I agree with Jingho we have CNET for that… well iPhone was sensational and exceptional but not every other product
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Palm without PALM OS is not Palm
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Im a Palm OS lover… (http://treobuzz.blogspot.com) Treo Pro is not even a progress, so sad…
Palm is the only company to make Win Mobile dance ! I hate Windows but the fact that Palm are pulling there socks up and slowly getting back in the race is quite a relief…..I heard that a Treo Pro with Palm Os is on the way which is very exciting, the spec of the Pro is finaly up to date with the rest of whats out there….funny how Nokia have copied the Treo layout….funny how all windows users slate Palm and right it off , when its the most stable mobile OS….if you want to play go get an i Phone etc etc….big boys with the big pants use Palm its a no brainer what all buisness professionals use and why !
Have fun ….long live PALM OS
Ericsson Psion>SE M600i>Treo 680>Palm Centro> ???????? can’t wait !
Does anyone know if or when a Treo Pro will be available with Palm OS ?
there is a need for palm to learn the value of identity. a product is unique to the rest of the field because of some distinguishing feature. it is its stamp of individuality. palm should have been proud of its legacy that has been defined by its os. by using windows, it seems to be casting this legacy aside and becomes like a truant ancestor, leaving nothing but an empty name.