Comments on: Treo 755p Pictures Leaked?

I'm ready to upgrade from my 650, but I need more memory and 3G support. Wifi would be a nice to have.

My words exactly! My Treo 650 is getting old, but I can't see any decent replacement for it. Need 3G Palm!

Handspring Visor -> m505 -> Zire71 -> Zire72 -> Treo650

Trecentral same it's the EXACT same as the 700p. A shame if this is so. Palm was on the right track with the GUI updates on the 700p and the new phone app on the 680. EVDO aside, the 755p is going to make the 680 look like an even better unit.

2. Same version of Blazer/VersaMail?

Treocentral says it's the EXACT same.

3. Improved 1.3mp camera

I am assuming this is how the 600's VGA camera was improved on by the 650's VGA camera. Still, i'd rather have a decent 1.3mp camera w/ flash than a lousy 2.0mp camera. Knowing Palm, we'll just get another bad 1.3mp camera.

4. miniSD or fullsize SD?

TC says miniSD. Will it be miniSDHC-compliant? If it's not then there's no way I would even consider this thing. 4gb miniSDHC cards are out *now* and affordable. Palm simply MUST move forward and support the new generation of high capacity cards. I refuse to take a step backwards to 2gb after having 4gb SD cards in my TX and 8gb SDHC in my 700p. Typical Palm to retreat to memory card format that is inferior in EVERY way just to nickel & dime their customers to death. And, of course, to save $ so they don't have to support the rapidly emerging SDHC standard. SDHC is going to hit 32gb probably by this time next year. Palm is content to leave us with a handful of 2gb miniSD cards.

5. Is battery the same pitiful 1200mAh as the 750/680?

Also, WHEN will Seidio get a 1600mAh or better slimline battery out?

CDMA is already a battery hog. This thing might be nearly unusable if the battery issues are not addressed ASAP.

6. Any "tweaks" to the voice quality/reception/download speeds ala 680?

Recall the news about the 680's improved GSM/EDGE chipset resulting in noticable improvements over the 650. I doubt Palm has done anything to the 755p so it's possible that it might perform WORSE than the already horrible 700p as a voice phone. Meanwhile, '07 has already brought a ton of fantastic dumb phones that make the Treo look positively sick (A2DP, 2mp camera w/ autofocus & flash, 3.5mm headphone jacks etc).

7.With these new 2-in-1 rocket hard buttons, will Palm again break the hard button mapping and cripple even more games? At least the new d-pad is an improvement!

8. Software bundle?

I predict Google Maps and DTG 9 in ROM (finally). The big question is if voice dialing is standard and if it's the same lame $20 app that Palm sells from their online software store.

All of the above concerns aside, here are what I expect the 755p to clearly improve on from the 700p:

1. Formfactor. Slimmer is always better and the lack of an antenna makes this thing more suitable as a "wireless PDA" instead of a second phone. Hopefully build quality will be as good or better than the 700p. Who is the OEM on this one? HTC or Inventec?

2. Lag. It simply cannot get any worse than the 700p. I assume Palm has at least got the 755 on par with the 680 speed-wise.

3. Engadget mentions concave side contours. Does the 750 have this? Either way it's bound to be less slippery and easier to hold onto than the 700p is.

4. Pricing. The day of the $600 700p retail price is (hopefully) long gone. $250-$300 with 2-year contract is about right for this thing.

Since Palm is unlikely to do any sort of trade in program for the tragically flawed 700p, I expect there to be MANY users (myself included) making a HUGE fuss at their local CDMA corporate store and trying to work the manager for some kind of trade in for the 755p. In essence, the 755p IS the 700p's firmware upgrade.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

Oh c'mon. People were complaining about the protruding-antenna and bulky form factor a lot more than they were about the battery life. We now have an adequate battery instead of a good one, in exchange for a more pocketable, lightweight, better-looking device. I can live with that.

They could make it the size of Razr (that would be "kewl"), people would just have to recharge it every couple hours. And frankly, I'd prefer my phone work an *entire* average day rather than having to plug it in over lunch to charge. I guess for those who prefer the Treo for it's "better-looking" feature.. the smaller one is better. And for those that put the things in their pocket and flash them around for show, the battery life won't matter much because it's not going to get much real use anyway...

No need to make the battery smaller to remove the antenna - but we don't get a choice, do we? The saving grace to the battery problem might be something like this: http://mytreo.net/archives/2007/02/treo-680-extended-battery-from-seidio-2400mah.html
and I could give a rat's bum how good looking it is.... I just want it to WORK.

Sure. The question is, how much power do you finish the day with? My 680 normally finishes the day (meaning, when I put on the cradle before I go to bed) at about 40-50%. I use it as a media player on the train w/ Softick Audio Gateway for at least two hours of that, send a lot of SMS and get a few phone calls. Is the battery not as good as it was before? Yes. Is it inadequate for a full day's use? No.

Forget to charge it overnight and you may run into problems. But Palm couldn't have been expected to keep the Treo the same size, shape and weight forever; that way lies product death.

Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650 ---> Crimson Treo 680

Either way, I have not heard much good news from Verizon in the way of the 700p. Sprint's version of the 700p is generally more affordably priced, has a better software bundle, and has more affordable data plans (SERO etc). The only real reason to go with a Verizon Treo is their substantial coverage...but given the 700p's utterly poor capability as a voice cell phone, that's basically a moot point.

I am honestly expecting the 755p to be a Sprint-exclsuive phone; hence the relatively unchanged specs from the 700p. I am sure Alltel or some of the smaller regional CDMA carriers will pick it up eventually.

Right now the smartest thing for Palm to do would be to work with Verizon & Sprint (assuming they both end up stocking the 755) and offer a no-questions-asked trade-in program (available at RETAIL so or with advance shipping so no one is Treo-less for any period of time) of the 700p + $100 in exchange for a new 755p.

I really expect the 755p to be the final "clasic" Palm OS Treo (or POS device for that matter) as we know it. If Palm hangs around as an independent entity long enough, 2008 will bring something with a Palm OS emulation layer.

I also think the 700p firmware update will come out in April but it'll basically just update the BT and not address the lag/crashes etc. Remember, the Alltel version of the 700p has a more recent ROM version and appears to use the BT stack from the newer 680. That, in my opinion, is what Palm will offer up for existing 700p owners with the update.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

From the reports I hear about Verizon, the only thing they might "do for you" is tell you not to let the door hit you on the way out. Head over to Sprint and save yourself some serious $$$$

There was some sort of inductive pad that claimed to do something similar. I'd wager this would be at least a little safer.

Either way the 755p is the last of the "classic" Palm OS devices IMO.

Palm will then have a fairly uniform lineup going into the fall:

Palm OS
680 (GSM)
755p (CDMA)

WinMob
750 (WM5/6 GSM)
755w (WM6 CDMA, 320x320)--announced in June/July ala the T|T2.

Plus whatever legacy PDAs are still in production (TX, E2, Z22).

Then in October I expect them to announce something along the lines of a 480x480 WM6 device (the "Mercedes" Treo hinted at previously) plus whatever Hawkins' "big thing" is.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

========

Looked at from a SLIGHTLY different perspective, the =STANDARD= comeback to TREO owners who are having problems with resets is:

== "Do you have any third-party applications installed?"

That's not quite correct. There will be third party apps but they must go through apple. Kind of like the games that are made for the ipod. Not all the games are made by Apple, example Bejeweled. That will put a limit on how much software there is for it as not every Tom and Harry developer will want to deal with this.

PDA's Past and Present:
Palm - IIIxe, Vx, M500, M505, Tungsten T, TX
Handspring - Edge, Platinum, Deluxe
Sony - SJ22
Apple - MP2000, MP2100

You're right, of course, but I see that as being essentially the same as no third-party apps. If devs have to go through the Apple orifice to get their software onto the iPhone, then it's highly unlikely we'll see a wide range of independent, useful iPhone software as we do on a Palm.

jfme:

You may be right. But as I said, Palm have made big strides in overcoming stability issues on the Treo 680 and I've only ever had one dreaded "reset loop" in my Treo-owning history, which came when I was tinkering around with FAT32 drivers on my 650. So I don't really think that third-party applications are a turn-off.

In short: anyone who believes or tries to put forward the view that the wide range of third-party apps available for Palms is a hindrance is nuts. There's nothing forcing people to install them, after all.

Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650 ---> Crimson Treo 680

The Palm Pilots offered newer OSes, a backlit screen & more RAM from the original Pilots.

The Palm Vx had a newer OS & 4x the RAM over the Palm V.

The Zire went to the Zire 22 and, while appearing identical, the 22 had a new-generation OS5, a 100mhz+ faster CPU, and 4x the memory.

The T2 had a much better screen, 2x the RAM, and a newer OS over the T|T.

Even the suspicious 700w--->700wx transition gave a doubling of available RAM.

In fact (assuming the 755p's specs so far are all accurate), there are no actual "improvements" aside from the better formfactor, improved camera, and extra bundled software. I personally consider the drastically reduced battery capacity and the "addition" of a miniSD slot huge drawbacks.

Probably the most similar situation in Palm's past was when the Palm V was launched with nearly identical specs to the Palm III...but then again, the V still had an improved screen and a newer OS over the III. And the V's styling was a HUGE leap forward from the III series. I do not consider the tiny reduction in size and the lopping off of the aerial on the 755p anywhere close to the revolutionary Palm V styling.

P.S. Where is Ideo when Palm really needs 'em!?!

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

Also, look at the news items from the last few weeks I posted re: the new Palm GPS kits (the GPS Navigator 3 kit & the GPS car cradle kit). Both of them ship with TomTom 6 on a Palm-branded miniSD card but a fullsize SD adapter is included within the box.

Sounds to me like Palm is going to move full speed ahead to transition the whole Treo line (save the 680) to miniSD.

Why?

Several factors:

1. It'll be easier to kill off the PDA line, citing their "low tech" fullsize SD 1.1 slots.

2. Greed, greed, greed. Palm wants to sell more of their self-branded, overpriced miniSD memory cards

3. Palm can save a few precious R&D bucks by retreating to miniSD (capped at 2gb) and sidestep having to deal with SDHC 4gb+ file volumes a few months longer (this is in regards to FrankenGarnet, not WinMob). While miniSDHC cards are indeed on the market, they are very scarce. Plus, I am not even certain the SD Consortium has officially ratified the SDHC spec in a mini-sized card yet.

4. Going with "regular" miniSD now before making the move to miniSDHC this fall lets them hold out with one more "upgrade" in the next generation of models.

5. I would not rule out the usual kickbacks, under the table payments etc. from Sandisk et al. to Palm for trying to push a new format onto the market so that they can sell more cards.

6. With A2DP and a stereo 3.5mm headphone jack still AWOL, Palm would get even more b***hing from folks wanting to listen to 8gb+ of movies/music on their Treos (see the 680 for a perfect example of this) if they went with fullsize SDHC.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

So, if JUST go by the facts presented above, Palm has two versions of the TomTom software they are shipping on miniSD cards: one that is dual-OS and one that is just Palm OS.

So by that reasoning, the new SKU for the GPS Car Kit says it's just 680 and 700p compatible for the time being...but my guess is that Palm is probably readying a Palm OS-based Treo (755p) for imminent release and they can easily update the GPS kit's compatibility listing.

Why Palm chose not to make the handsfree GPS car kit WinMob-compatible is strange...unless they are prepping a high-end WM6 Treo with integrated GPS capabilities for release this fall (ie the "Mercedes" model hinted at previously).

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Board=news&Number=27233

Is it just me or does this thing look like it's taken more than a few design (and hardware spec!) cues from the Treo line? Makes you think that Palm/Moto/Symbol might make a worthwhile team in the long run, huh?

I'm a bit surprised to see this thing at all on at&t--I'd expect "flashier" consumer oriented devices from them. Neverthelss, this just goes to show HOW easily Palm could shoehorn a (smaller than TX of course) 320x480 screen on top of the Treo's QWERTY keyboard and still have it be reasonably svelte.

EDA? Gotta love that new term for a data-centri, PDA-oriented smartphone!
And GPS, barcode scanner, and ruggedized hardware to boot? Palm should have been ALL over a design like this two years ago!

I'd even argue that Palm would have been better off killing the LifeDrive & 700w before they came to market and pursuing a multi-faceted device like this one for WM while continuing to tweak & refine FrankenGarnet for their lower end devices.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P