Handspring Releases GPRS Update in Canada

Posted By: Ed Wednesday, September 11, 2002 10:40:23 AM

Handspring has released its GPRS upgrade for Rogers AT&T Wireless Treo 180 customers in Canada. This will allow this smartphone, which now uses GSM networks, to also use faster GPRS networks.

Handspring is rolling out this upgrade on a country-by-country basis. Earlier this month a version was released in Singapore and New Zealand. The company strongly recommends that Treo users not install this upgrade if they aren't in the country it was designed for. Handspring will give no support to people who have problems with this upgrade who aren't in the country it was intended for.

Of course, some people are ignoring this. TreoCentral has an unofficial guide for installing the GPRS upgrade in unsupported countries but warns that a few people who have tried it have had the install process fail and their Treos no longer work.

GPRS wireless networks offer 144 Kbps connections, though only under ideal conditions. One user of this update confirmed that GPRS connections stay active even when the device is turned off. In addition, the network connection stays active when the device ID off. This allows users to intermittently use their Treo without having to frequently go through the slow process of reconnecting to the network.

The GPRS patch has been in beta testing among Handspring employees for some time and was recently released to employees of Handspring's partner companies.

This patch has been eagerly awaited by Treo users, who want the faster connection speeds and always-on access. Handspring has been promising it would releases a GPRS update for the Treo models sometime this year since the first day these models were announced, almost a year ago.

Related Information:

PIC: Treo GPRS Software Patch Available Now
PIC: HandSpring Forum

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OMG! Canada gets it first!

big_raji @ 9/11/2002 10:55:25 AM #

Woo Hoo!

I haven't heard any news of a US carrier getting this patch, so I'm assuming that Canada is somehow first for this patch in North America.

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What's Wrong With This Picture?
http://raj.phangureh.com/picture.html

RE: OMG! Canada gets it first!

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/11/2002 11:20:16 AM #

And now Europe!

By the way: why is your outdated 'what is wrong ...' link back again?

RE: OMG! Canada gets it first!

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/11/2002 1:42:15 PM #

Because he's got pop up advertising on exit with it now... (to pay for the bandwidth used by 22,000 page views??)

RE: OMG! Canada gets it first!

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/11/2002 1:50:28 PM #

I'm not getting any popup on exit.

RE: OMG! Canada gets it first!

big_raji @ 9/11/2002 4:59:38 PM #

Actually, I've had the popup for awhile now. Not to pay for anything... It's a favor to a friend that thinks he may actually sell some of those things. :P :)

I just get a kick out of people freaking out.

Anyways....

Anyone in Canada actually try the GPRS patch yet? I know that GPRS coverage in my area (Winnipeg) is actually very spotty. I thought that a strong GSM signal also meant an equally strong GPRS signal. Apparently, that isn't so, and I need to reboot my Ericsson phone all the time just to reconnect via GPRS.

I wonder if the Treo's would automatically reconnect without rebooting...?

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What's Wrong With This Picture?
http://raj.phangureh.com/picture.html

RE: OMG! Canada gets it first!

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/12/2002 12:41:38 PM #

"I wonder if the Treo's would automatically reconnect without rebooting...?"

Having seen it demonstated a few weeks ago (in Canada), it would seem yes and no.

It can optionally be set to be active all the time, however in practice I'm told that connections can time out (perhaps due to periods of marginal signal). In that case, a manual reconnect is needed. This was demonstrated, and it took as long as a circuit switched connection to re-link.

Conspiracy Theory

Ravi @ 9/11/2002 11:38:25 PM #

I think Handspring is holding up US launch of GPRS to push as many Treo 300's out the door as possible first. Why would anyone buy the Treo 300 on Sprint's spotty network, at the exhorbitant prices they are asking for their data service? When instead, a free software patch will put your Treo 270 on the very stable and robust GSM networks offered by Cingular and T-Mobile? Is their any real advantage to Sprint?

It can also be used on the Fido system with patch

PIC mobile user @ 9/12/2002 12:52:00 AM #

it takes a bit of work to set up but my Treo with gprs is working great on the Fido network.

RE: It can also be used on the Fido system with patch

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2002 10:39:40 PM #

Can you provide some details regarding how you got it to work? I'm on Fido as well, and have been eagerly awaiting GPRS on the Treo since March.

Thanks for any help.

using treo as wireless modem for laptop?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/12/2002 7:10:16 PM #

does anyone know if it's possible to use the GPRS system on the treo connected with USB cable as a modem for a laptop?

RE: using treo as wireless modem for laptop?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/12/2002 11:12:06 PM #

At <http://www.notifymail.com/palm/> there's a program called Wireless Modem. I don't know whether it works with GPRS or not, but I've used it successfully with my Powerbook and a dial-up connection.

RE: using treo as wireless modem for laptop?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/2002 11:25:20 AM #

Unfortunately, the author of Wireless Modem has pulled it after getting frustrated with too many people complaing about not getting it to work (They didn't bother to read the instructions and expected the author to set it up for them). So there are currently no programs that allow you to use the Treo as a modem.