Palm Says 3 New Treo Smartphones in 2006

Palm CEO Ed Colligan stated in todays Palm's earnings conference call that Palm will announce three new smartphones next year, in addition to the Treo 700w. Read on for more details.

"We'll roll out the Palm Treo 700w smartphone based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile, and we'll announce three additional new smartphones during calendar year 2006." said said Ed Colligan. During the conference call he further stated that these new models will debut with new industrial designs and at different price points. They will also implement next-generation radio technologies.

Colligan also stated that one of these models was designed specifically for a large international carrier and may not ever see a US release.

This announcement confirms earlier rumors about new Treo products in 2006. That report stated Palm plans a Treo 700p (similar model as the 700w running Palm OS Garnet) as well as two new designs code-named "Hollywood" and "Lowrider".

Other highlights from the conference call:

  • Palm shipped 602,000 Treos to carriers this quarter (vs. 332,000 last year's quarter)
  • Palm now has 78% of the US handheld marketshare
  • 8 of the 10 best selling handhelds in the US are made by Palm
  • This was Palm's 8th consecutive quarter of year over year growth
  • Palm has a 36% share of the US converged device market
  • the Treo 700w will ship on time in early January
  • BlackBerry Connect for the Treo will be delivered in early 2006

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Next Year

chinchorrero @ 12/20/2005 5:21:17 PM # Q
three new smartphones.
I can wait.
cheers

"Life is Too Short"
4 new phones, 2 WM
Surur @ 12/20/2005 5:40:15 PM # Q
POS
Treo 700p
Lowrider

WM
Treo 700w
Hollywood

Surur

They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...

RE: Next Year
hkklife @ 12/20/2005 5:41:13 PM # Q
Don't be surprised if that's nearly ALL of the new releases they have in '06 (other than a few final FrankenGarnet rehases/repackagings).

Anyone care to speculate what is going to be released?

My guess:

1. 700p. Basically the 700w with Garnet & 320*320. No other major updates other than EVDO and the improved camera. It'll debut on Sprint, never be on Verizon and take a while to trickle out to the GSM markets.

2. Low-end ~$200 Treo. Think Treo 600 (160*160) but with NVFS and a small/nifty/hip formfactor and colors. This one might omit the keyboard entirely.

3. "Hollywood" Treo. Essentially the 700p in a slimmer formfactor. Think of it as what the Palm Vx hardware was to the IIIxe -slimmer & stylish but no more oomph under the hood. Perhaps a return of the metal-clad Palm?

4. Treo 750w (minor updates for non-Verizon carriers) OR a home-brewed Linux solution. I'll let the true prognosticators here take a crack at what the 4th release might be.

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

RE: Next Year
JarJar @ 12/20/2005 6:39:05 PM # Q
Good guesses, I agree except not "nifty/hip". My guess: the Low end model will be about m130 quality with a phone glued on.
RE: Next Year
LiveFaith @ 12/20/2005 7:49:55 PM # Q
700w = yawn.

700p = 700w except Garnet. Sadly the massive antenna will probably still be there. I wish it were not the uglier 700w form, but I assume it will be due to dev costs.

Hollywood = Hipper trim and no antenna, hi-rez screen etc. TE2 specs, Palm OS

Lowrider = Z22 specs converged with keyboard and radio. Palm OS & no cam. Free or close to it from US subsidizers.


Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

RE: Next Year
Surur @ 12/20/2005 7:58:41 PM # Q
Hollywood = WM5, aimed at Europe.



  • International markets hold the greatest growth potential
    One of the new Treo models will be designed for the International market and may not see a US release
  • The Treo 650 continues to sell well and will remain in the market for the foreseeable future

http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2754

So.. In USA you will have Treo 650 (POS), Treo 700w and Treo 700p (all looking identical more or less) and the Lowrider (160x160?) while I will have a crack at the slim, stylish 3G VGA WM5 Treo in Europe ;)

Surur

They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...

RE: Next Year and Palm on a Roll!?
ChiA @ 12/20/2005 8:09:53 PM # Q
Wow! Palm hopes to introduce more smartphones in one year than it has in the past two years?!

Seeing the relationship between the Tungsten E, T5 and Tx, I've a cynical feeling that one of these "new" smartphones will look suspiciously like a Treo600 but come with NVFS memory.

By the way, what happened to all those Cobalt smartphones and devices Palmsource/David Nagel said we were going to see in 2005?
I wonder, have they disappeared with Jeff Kirvin, Dr Opinion, Lord Lucan, Glen Miller and Bigfoot?

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog" - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Better Luck Next Year
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 12/20/2005 8:50:01 PM # Q
By the way, what happened to all those Cobalt smartphones and devices Palmsource/David Nagel said we were going to see in 2005?
I wonder, have they disappeared with Jeff Kirvin, Dr Opinion, Lord Lucan, Glen Miller and Bigfoot?

Ask the Loch Ness Monster or Waldo (Have You Seen Waldo?)

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Next Year
PenguinPowered @ 12/20/2005 10:14:38 PM # Q
Did Nagel actually claim Cobalt would ship in '05? I know
GSPDA claimed they'd ship a Cobalt phone in '05, but I don't think PalmSource ever made a claim for '05 shipping.


Marty Fouts

I survived PalmSource '05

RE: Next Year
HiWire @ 12/20/2005 10:33:20 PM # Q
So is Cobalt dead? I'm curious about the "Hollywood" and 700p products. A guy on the streetcar told me his TX gets about 5 hours of life, tops. I wasn't exactly moved to upgrade from my 5-year old Palm.

Palm m505 User
Devices running Cobalt are "coming, compelling, and many."
Gekko @ 12/20/2005 10:38:11 PM # Q

The primary focus of this week's PalmSource Developer Conference is to unveil Palm OS Cobalt to the world. Mr. Nagel called it "the most important piece of technology that we've ever created."

PalmSource re-wrote 80% of the Palm OS to create Cobalt. It brings to the operating system features it needs to remain competitive, including full multitasking ability, native ARM applications, and other high-end features.

An overview of the features of Palm OS Cobalt is available in this article, and one showing PalmSource's future plans for it is in this one.

The question on everyone's lips at the PalmSource Conference is when the first devices running Cobalt will be available. Mr. Nagel and the rest of the PalmSource executives who have spoken have declined to say anything about this, pointing out that this is really up to the licensees. Larry Slotnick, the company's Chief Product Officer, would only say that devices running Palm OS Cobalt are "coming, compelling, and many."

Mr. Nagel said he expects to see Cobalt running on a wide variety of devices, including ones with large, high-resolution screens like tablets and e-readers. He also mentioned the possibility of Cobalt-powered digital video players.

http://www.brighthand.com/article/PS04_Nagel_Keynote



RE: Next Year
Gekko @ 12/20/2005 10:40:32 PM # Q

p.s. those statements by Nagel/Slotnick are from Feb 11, 2004 - almost 2 years ago.



RE: Next Year
AdamaDBrown @ 12/20/2005 10:58:47 PM # Q
Yes, Nagel/PalmSource did claim that Cobalt devices were going to ship in 2004/2005. In fact, PalmSource people specifically said to the press that they had 11 (I'm pretty sure it was 11) Cobalt devices that they were expecting to launch in the first quarter of 2005. Didn't really happen, did it?

The TX gets more like 7 hours of battery life as a maximum, depending on how you adjust the backlight.

Or should you blame Michael Mace? Or just wishful thinking?
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 12/20/2005 11:29:40 PM # Q
Those phones were NOT all supposed to be Cobalt

http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7166#97636

(despite what people hoped:

http://news.com.com/PalmSource+to+unveil+smart-phone+software/2100-1041_3-5384294.html

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1651873,00.asp

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5719142.html)

This thread is a surreal read:

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=7166


------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Next Year
PenguinPowered @ 12/21/2005 12:01:04 AM # Q
Nagel said a bunch of dumb stuff at '04 devcon, but I don't see any promises of an '05 delivery to end customers of Cobalt devices.

Like I said, to date, only GSPDA has ever claimed that a Cobalt device would ship in '05. And they've still got a few days...


Marty Fouts

I survived PalmSource '05

RE: Next Year
ChiA @ 12/21/2005 8:58:13 AM # Q
Marty said only GSPDA has ever claimed that a Cobalt device would ship in '05. And they've still got a few days...

Yea, Santa's got them all wrapped up in his sleigh alongside the treasure of El Dorado and the Holy Grail.

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog" - Dwight D. Eisenhower

RE: Next Year
LiveFaith @ 12/21/2005 9:09:06 AM # Q
Dec. 21, 2005 ... It aint over until the FAT32 sings!

BTW, Nagel's been fired ... with $3M severence no doubt. NEXT.

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

3 reasons why PalmLinux will fail:
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 12/22/2005 12:30:00 AM # Q
1) Remember all those problems Cobalt had? (Speed, stability, etc.) Well, changing the kernel doesn't magically make them disappear.

2) Remember how easy Dianne Hackborn said it would be to swap out the Nasty Proprietary PalmSource kernel and slip in the Lovely Linux Messiah™ kernel, saving all those perfect pieces of Creamy Cobalt Goodness? Well it was all B.S.

3) Remember how PalmSource said Cobalt (6.0) was ready in December, 2003? It wasn't. Remember how PalmSource said Cobalt (6.1) was ready in August, 2004? It wasn't. Remember how PalmSource said Cobalt (6.x) would be ready in Summer, 2006? It won't be.




You have been deceived™. Sorry.


Carl "Bluetooth" Y.

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Next Year
PenguinPowered @ 12/22/2005 1:54:12 AM # Q
Now "Carl", be fair. That was OldPalmSource. This is NewAccess. Mike Kelley is telling the trade press that PalmLinux will be in the hands of NewAccess customers in '06, and I believe him.

You're wrong about number 1, by the way. Switching from one kernel to another does change stability and performance problems. (Ask anyone who tried to use BSD on top of Mach.)

I can't say anything about 2, because that would violate an NDA.

I can't say anything about 3, because I wasn't around then, so I don't know.

I will say that 6.1 was running on real hardware in December '04. (I guess it is OK to say that, since it was already said that it was ready in August '04.)

But when it comes to embedded Linux, late is better, because it gives the hardware more time to catch up.

Marty Fouts

I survived PalmSource '05

RE: Next Year
AdamaDBrown @ 12/22/2005 3:43:20 AM # Q
But when it comes to embedded Linux, late is better, because it gives the hardware more time to catch up.

And downtime gives the servers a chance to rest, right?

RE: Next Year
PenguinPowered @ 12/22/2005 4:37:06 AM # Q
Why yes it does. That's why CPUs turn off during the idle loop ;)

But seriously, Moore's law applies to hardware, but software gets slower as it gets older, not faster. Fortunately for us users, it gets slower at a much slower rate than hardware gets faster.

More than a few times in my career I've seen people struggle for years with a performance problem in software merely to have it solved by the hardware outgrowing the issue.


Marty Fouts

I survived PalmSource '05

Reply to this comment

Ha ha ha! I guess that's why wince division was folded? :)

Dr Opinion @ 12/20/2005 11:06:08 PM # Q
> "...Palm now has 78% of the US handheld marketshare..."
> "...8 of the 10 best selling handhelds in the US are made by Palm..."

So I guess that's why wince division was folded into the "entertainment" group? :)

I *love* being right. :D

------
"People who like M$ products tend to be insecure crowd-following newbies lacking in experience and imagination."

;-O
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 12/20/2005 11:24:50 PM # Q
Welcome back, Doc Op. I see your new medications have had no effect. How sad.

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Ha ha ha! I guess that's why wince division was folded?
fierywater @ 12/20/2005 11:36:53 PM # Q
78% of the handheld market, excluding anything made by HTC or Dell. Maybe.

RE: Ha ha ha! I guess that's why wince division was folded? :)
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 12/20/2005 11:41:44 PM # Q
Handheld market as defined as portable PDA devices sporting an orange logo?

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Ha ha ha! I guess that's why wince division was folded? :)
ginsberg @ 12/21/2005 12:12:09 AM # Q
Palm is using IDC's terminology and NPD's data. In this case handhelds = PDAs. Converged devices = smartphones.

The data from NPD are primarily retail sales. So you are correct that RIM BlackBerries, Dell Axims and about half of HP iPAQ sales (sold direct to large accounts) are excluded, greatly inflating Palm's US PDA market share.

Gartner data show Palm with only 21% of the US PDA market in 3Q05, but they also show the Palm Treo with a majority of the US smartphone market.

RE:
AdamaDBrown @ 12/21/2005 12:38:09 AM # Q
Gartner data seperates data oriented handhelds and anything designed like a phone. To get a better picture, you need to add together the phone and handheld sales, both retail and online. That will probably add up to something like 60% Palm, 15-20% HP, and ~10% Dell, with the remaining 10-20% being various PPC phones and misc manufacturers. This is obviously not figuring in the Blackberries, or whatever else.

Reply to this comment

Palm's "Anti-Truth Squad"

Gekko @ 12/21/2005 7:35:31 AM # Q

beersie, fouts, dr. opinion, et al.

and they do it for FREE.



RE: Palm's Anti-Truth Squad
cervezas @ 12/21/2005 7:38:50 AM # Q
All present. All lies. All the time! :)

Gotta hand it to you, Gekko. It takes a subtle mind to conflate Marty Fouts' "Palm OS is dying" message with Dr. Opinion's "Palm OS is obliterating all competition" message and come up with a coherent lie that our "squad" is delivering. Perhaps coherence isn't the Anti-Truth Squad's goal but coverage. Since my lies lie somewhere in the middle between Marty's lies and Dr O's lies PIC readers have the full spectrum of lies available to them. Choose your lie: Palm OS is dying, Palm OS is in limbo, Palm OS is unstoppable.

Just remember: it's all a lie.

David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog

RE: Palm's
KultiVator @ 12/21/2005 7:51:26 AM # Q
Not this crap again.

I think everyone agress that the Palm statistics are questionable due to the way they fence off certain segments of the market.

But lets not get into all that stone throwing again.

Just hope Palm have enough room with OS5.xxx to leverage some new functionality & features in the new models. Palm loyalists need some progress to be evident whilst we endure the long wait for the new platform. And hopefully, a new PDA model or two will make an entrance in the spring.

The model destined for international sales (outside US) will be the first product heavily influenced by Palm's Treo Centre in Ireland. This is an opportunity for Palm to gain some ground through incorporating the influences of the more cosmopolitan European cellular and tech markets. A failure to produce a trendier Treo would be a great missed opportunity in a region of the World where McDonald's now promote salads and healthy meals as much as their burgers!



RE: Palm's
Gekko @ 12/21/2005 8:59:11 AM # Q

beersie - just remember, it's not a life if *YOU* believe it.



RE: Palm's
cervezas @ 12/21/2005 9:07:19 AM # Q
Uh, yeah. Whatever that means.

David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog
RE: Palm's
LiveFaith @ 12/21/2005 9:12:57 AM # Q
I say ... BELIEVE and ye shall have LIFE ... Lizard Boy! :-D

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com
RE: Palm's
Gekko @ 12/21/2005 9:34:46 AM # Q

"These people (Church leaders) honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are rules taught by men." - Jesus, Matthew 15:8-9


RE: Palm's
freakout @ 12/21/2005 10:38:43 PM # Q
Cervezas wrote"

"Since my lies lie somewhere in the middle between Marty's lies and Dr O's lies PIC readers have the full spectrum of lies available to them. Choose your lie: Palm OS is dying, Palm OS is in limbo, Palm OS is unstoppable.

Just remember: it's all a lie."

ROFL, David. Nice one!

Tim Carroll
Your friendly customer service robot
(and big Treo fan)

Reply to this comment

"Four" new phones?

Tuckermaclain @ 12/21/2005 8:22:55 AM # Q
What a sobering thought.. only two new phones (2 will be 750p/w)
and two will be a p and w version of something else. Could really be ONE truly new Palm OS phone. Something like the older Treos would be sweet. Even a 320x480 Treo 90 type would work.


ATTENTION PALM: PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ME DO BETA TESTING ON THIS NEXT GROUP OF PHONES!!! I AM NO LONGER FLATTERED THAT YOU INCLUDE ME IN THE PROCESS!! JUST GIVE ME ONE THAT WORKS RIGHT AT THE START WITHOUT 6 MONTHS OF FRUSTRATION AND A TRICKLE OF UPDATES THAT ADDRESS 1/2 THE PROBLEMS. TRY DOING IT RIGHT. I WANT TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. YOUR REPUTATION IS CURRENTLY POOP. IF HONDA RELEASED THE 650 LIKE YOU DID THERE WOULD BE AN UPROAR LIKE YOU NEVER SAW BEFORE. WITH PALM PEOPLE HAVE COME TO EXPECT NOTHING MORE THAN "BETA-AT-BEST." STOP TRYING TO PUSH AWAY REPEAT SALES. IMPRESS US ALL SO WE CAN TELL THE WORLD.

RE:
Simony @ 12/22/2005 11:18:32 PM # Q
Well said.

Reply to this comment

All 3G?

cervezas @ 12/21/2005 8:49:36 AM # Q
"They will also implement next-generation radio technologies."

All of them? Did he really say that all four would be 3G? Earlier information was that Lowrider would not be 3G, IIRC.


David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog

RE: All 3G?
LiveFaith @ 12/21/2005 9:14:24 AM # Q
I don't know about 3G, but I do know they will be high-speed data access through the Scottish countryside.

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com
RE: All 3G?
KultiVator @ 12/21/2005 11:39:27 AM # Q
Hi Pat,

High speed data in the Scottish countryside? Is that the new satellite data service that was talked about many moons ago in the UK media?

Regards,

KultiVator

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