Verizon Confirms Treo 650 Coming Soon

Posted By: Ryan Monday, April 4, 2005 12:34:08 PM

Verizon Wireless has finally acknowledged that they will soon offer the palmOne Treo 650 smartphone. The company has just put up a new teaser page with a few details, but no time frame.

Verizon Confirms Treo 650 Coming Soon As of this morning for some zip codes, Verizon Wireless' web page includes a banner ad for a "Coming Soon" page for the Treo 650. It states "the Treo 650 will soon be certified on the Verizon Wireless network." Customers can sign up to recieve an email once the device is available.

Pricing or a firm launch date is not listed, but it is not unreasonable to anticipate that Verizon Wireless will drop prices on the Treo 600 (and perhaps even the Kyocera 7135), both of which have been available on their system for some time.

The teaser page does confirm that some Bluetooth services will be deliberately disabled including OBEX file transfer and Dial Up Networking (DUN). A Disclaimer states: "The Treo 650 supports the following Bluetooth Profiles: wireless headset, hands-free accessories, file transfer and synchronization with compatible PC’s. It does not support all profiles, for object exchange (Obex)."

Thanks to Harold Goldner for the tip!

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EV-DO?

treo007 @ 4/4/2005 4:09:11 PM #

Doesn't mention it one way or another, but this better be EV-DO compatible.

RE: EV-DO?

hkklife @ 4/4/2005 5:25:19 PM #

All indicators are pointing to the fact that it will be EVDO-capable. A pity about DUN & the continued BT crippling but it's still the best smartphone out there and certainly the best thing Verizon has to offer.

I'd wager that VZW are going to release a handful of new phones in the late May/early June timeframe, Treo 650 & Moto E815 among them.

I wonder if:

A. It'll support EV-DO out of the box or if it'll need patching
B. The 128mb SD card offer will be extended
C. The NVFS issue will be pre-patched ala Sprint on the VZW Treos.

RE: EV-DO?

treo007 @ 4/4/2005 5:53:02 PM #

I'd say it's a certainty the NVFS patch will be there. That will probably also mean the 128mb card offer will be a thing of the past.

RE: EV-DO?

twizza @ 4/4/2005 10:00:11 PM #

They have been testing in the DC Metro for a good while, since at least Thanksgiving when I moved down here. And EVDO is here so I am sure they may try something.

I imagine that palmOne will have something to say about all this customizing though. This costs them a ton of dev dollars that could probably go towards system patches or other features.

antoinerjwright.com

RE: EV-DO?

pascanu @ 4/5/2005 2:37:30 AM #

As far as I know Treo 650 does not support EV-DO. EV-DO is a much different story than GPRS/EDGE for GSM, and it will be some while until we see the first phone supporting it (I have seen EV-DO only on devices designed for data transfer only, not voice enabled; correct me if I am wrong).

Handspring Visor -> m505 -> Zire71 -> Zire72

RE: EV-DO?

voice of chaos @ 4/5/2005 7:25:50 AM #

The carriers (Verizon, Sprint, etc.) demand that they can properly brand their equipment. Hey, as long as we demand that the carriers subsidize even a small part of the cost of a phone then they are within their rights - we ask for it. Besides, if the palmOne/Handspring folks do not understand how to make it cheap/easy to brand a device then they do not deserve to survive.

(Speaking as a person who used to build voice applications/systems for deployment in carrier central offices - they make a big deal about being able to brand stuff.)

RE: EV-DO?

WireLess_OneDer @ 4/6/2005 1:16:06 PM #

[pascanu @ 4/5/2005 2:37:30 AM

The current version of the 650 does not support EVDO. A major radio upgrade would be needed for EVDO functionality. VZW does offer the Audiovox XV6600 that does support EVDO. VZW's phones that offer VCast like the LG8000 utilize the EVDO network.

I'm posting from within the bowels of a VZW site currently being upgraded for EVDO. (via 1xRTT since EVDO not functional here yet.)

interesting policy

oneself @ 4/4/2005 5:53:28 PM #

Why should they forbid DialUp Networking? Sounds stupid for me.

RE: interesting policy

tfftruoa @ 4/5/2005 1:19:30 AM #

Because you use more data on a laptop or desktop than on a cellphone, so by decreasing your data usage, this saves them money. It also discourages people from using their treo as their home broadband connection which would rack up even more bandwidth usage.

Sharp Wizard-->Handspring Visor "Deluxe"-->Sony Clie SJ30-->Palm Tungsten T3 w/ SE T68i

Bluetooth Carrier Issue

pdangel @ 4/6/2005 12:52:12 PM #

"....dial-up networking will be disabled, so Verizon can shuttle to users their services. Sprint and Cingular do the same thing, but does that make it right? I don't think so, and it's just flat out bad marketing since we know Bluetooth is built to be capable of completing this function."
http://tinyurl.com/68t9r
http://tinyurl.com/4x3ua

I've been talking about this issue for some time now.....but US Carriers are still going there own way. Bluetooth is finally kicking in in the US. But carriers are still holding about so they block BT and offer there own services. Customers should complain about there carrier who do this

I've read many articles about Devices with limited BT profiles but this and the carrier issue above are both company and/or carrier issues. Not the technology itself....

In Europe this issue doesn't even exist!!!!!!

"There are 2 kind of people my friend....those with wires and those without"

RE: interesting policy

twizza @ 4/7/2005 12:57:37 PM #

You know that you have made it as a writer when people start quoting you :)
Thanks pdsangel :)

antoinerjwright.com

RE: interesting policy

twizza @ 4/7/2005 12:58:39 PM #

The link came up dead, here it is again:
http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2475

antoinerjwright.com

NVFS 32MB?

Gekko @ 4/4/2005 7:19:06 PM #

My prediction? MORE PAIN.

Hey Foo - weren't you crying for a VZW Treo?? Now's your chance - be careful what you wish for...

http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?s=f0b45e2195065f8211af44f83aa009cb&t=80231

RE: NVFS 32MB?

DarthRepublican @ 4/7/2005 1:54:34 AM #

PalmOne posted a update to fix (among other things) the file system on the Sprint Treo 650's a couple of weeks ago.
http://www.palmone.com/us/support/downloads/treo650updater/sprint.html

Many denizens at Treocentral reported that their free space increased (more than doubling in some cases) after applying the patch.
http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=78915
http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=78758

I wouldn't be surprised if the Verizon model came with the fixed file system.