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

Either that, or wait for Palm's new Garnet license to bear fruit. Colligan says they are working on 3G. This is from the recent earnings call:

Jonathan Goldberg - Deutsche Bank

Let me put it a different way; in terms of the operating system, I think we all know that Access did not upgrade it, did not invest in it enough for your needs. Now that it is more under your control, is it progressing as quickly as you had expected? Is it ahead of schedule? How would you characterize it that way?

Edward T. Colligan

I would say it is progressing as quickly as we expected. One of the issues obviously was getting to a point where we had some certainty around its future, and so that happened reasonably recently, as you know, when we signed that deal.

I think there is only so much we could have done before then. If you look at a Treo today, I like to say it is like a house -- all the rooms and the places you live in it, those are all Palm software. The foundation was what was Access, and so people who continue to enjoy Palm software from a user experience standpoint, but you are right; if we want to run that software on 3G networks or do simultaneous voice and data, we will have to do something with the foundation and we are focused on that and we will roll that out at the appropriate time.

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

Since you feel so strogly about your peripherals, then dont upgrade. End of story.

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.

>Since you feel so strogly about your peripherals, then dont upgrade. End of story.

End of *YOUR* story, perhaps. I know I'm not the only one that is disgusted at the level of waste accessories that Palm generates with each "new" model. And a business model built around re-selling $200 in peripherals just to get some bugfixes for your phone seems very anti-customer to boot.

Maybe you are one of those people that just throws away your soap after you've used it once, or drives an empty SUV to your desk job every day... some of us have a little more respect for the planet whether or not we have the money to destroy it faster...

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.

I just reread your comment... The reason people WEREN'T complaining about the 700p battery life was because it was usually sufficient for an average day's use. The 680 battery is 2/3rd the size. I'm no electrical engineer, but taking away 1/3rd of a battery's capacity has gotta have *some* affect - possibly removing 20-30+% of the Treo's runtime during the day.

Maybe the 755's efficiency has been radically improved over the 700p, but if you haven't been hearing about lousy battery life.... trust me, it'll raise to the "top 5" complaints of the 755 if they haven't addressed that. Charging and carrying 2 batteries to make it through every day totally sucks.

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

Agreed. But to release an already expensive phone with an already buggy reputation with a battery that is much less able to provide solid available power for a full day is not necessarily going to prevent "product death" either.

For the most part, my 700p makes it through the day with *30-40%* charge remaining (though I occasionally "top it off" while driving or at my desk). I check email quite often, browse and use other IP-enabled apps occasionally, and average about 1/2-1 hour on the phone. Take away that (theoretical) 33% capacity cushion, and I'm either permanently carrying an extra battery in my pocket (so much for the "size, weight and shape" argument), charging it an extra 2-3 times a day, or living with the phone shutting off during unscheduled calls or other needs to have a phone available.

Maybe a survey of Treo users would be useful: how low does your battery-level go on an average day of use without any charging? I don't think my reported 30-40% is untypical, so I hope Palm has either invented a new kind of battery chemistry and/or somehow made the same circuitry and software much more efficient. 40% minus 33% = 7% (within the "shutdown zone" on the Treo).

I am a bit bummed about these newer Treos. They are so thin that you can't get a decent factory battery capacity, and aftermarket ones are limited by space. Also, with no antenna, it appears that you are talking into a calculator when using the phone in public.

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

That might affect margins somewhat...

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

It's also possible that by October pda's will be dropped.

--------------------------
Hey Admin: Why do we have to keep two profiles?

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

Disregarding 's's, "Hawking" is a genuine scientist, a physicist in fact.

"Hawkin" pretends to be doing well-traveled AI, but he's not labeling it that.

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

big thing is going to be the rumored wimax device

Wimax?! Give me a break! The Palm OS Treos can't do current generation Wi-fi, nevermind next generation Wimax!

The wi-fi Palm OS Treo is desperately overdue and Palm's running out of excuses.

========

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?"

I think that once you've tasted the freedom that a well-designed mobile computer like the Treo brings, it's hard to go back to a closed system. Sure, there's been stability issues with the earlier models (although my 650 rarely skipped a beat) but Palm really have nailed the problems down with the 680. Hopefully the 755 will continue that trend.

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

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