Palm Treo 755p Preview
By: Ryan KairerMay 9, 2007
The Treo 755p is the latest Treo smartphone debuting on Sprint in the US. The 755p brings together the software and features of the Treo 700p to the refreshed 680/750 form-factor. From the outside the 755p appears almost identical to the Treo 680, however it has a number of distinctive characteristics that set it apart including high speed EVDO support, miniSD memory expansion, out of the box exchange push email support and a larger capacity battery.
Like the 680, the 755p will be available in a few different colors. Sprint will be carrying it in midnight blue and burgundy flavors, shown below. The midnight blue model is a slightly lighter shade of blue than the Treo 750's navy blue color. The outer casing is made of the smooth and grippy "soft touch finish" material. It gives it a much better fell in the hand and will stick to surfaces better than standard plastic found on earlier devices.
The keyboard and application buttons are identical to the 680/750 and are nice and sturdy. The power and notification LED has been cleverly blended in with the silver finish. It's still in the same spot above the Palm logo, however it can only be seen it when it is actively illuminated.
Other minor exterior changes include the IR window being moved to the right side and a covered miniSD slot. There is no reset button on the device, so you must take out and reseat the battery to perform a soft reset. The stylus included is mostly black plastic, with a metallic grip at the end.
Size wise, the Treo 755p has dimensions of 4.4" x 2.3" x 0.8" inches (111.7 x 58.4 x 20.3mm) and weighs in at 5.64 ounces (160g). It shares the exact same dimensions as the 658 & 750, and is only a negligible 0.2 ounces heavier.
755p Hardware
Inside, the Treo 755p is powered by a 312 MHz Intel XScale processor. This is the same chip found in the 650, 680 and 700p. It also features the same amount of internal memory as its predecessor with a 128 MB non-volitile (NVFS) chip for program memory of which 60 MB is user-available for storage. The miniSD memory expansion slot can accommodate regular and minSD SDHC cards up to 4 GB in size.
The display is the standard Palm OS Treo 1.74" x 1.74" inch, 320 x 320 pixel TFT screen that supporting up to 65,000 colors. The 755p includes a 1.3 megapixel digital camera built into the rear of the device next to the speaker grill. It can take photos at a max resolution of 1280 x 1024 and has 2x digital zoom. It can also record video clips with audio at a 352 x 288 resolution.
The 755p also has Bluetooth v1.2. This allows for wireless accessories such as GPS navigation kits and wireless Bluetooth headsets. Palm says users can expect increased compatibility with Bluetooth devices over previous models. A2DP support is still missing, but there is always Softick Audio Gateway.
The phone uses a (850/1900 MHz) CDMA radio. The 755p can access high speed EVDO wireless data networks and can fall back on a 1xRTT connection when out of range of an EVDO signal. Current EVDO speeds average around 300-600 kbps for general web surfing, and you can get bursts of up to 2 mbps when downloading larger files. Of course speed will vary and depends on a number of conditions and signal strength. You can also use the Treo 755p as a wireless modem for your laptop or desktop computer via Bluetooth or USB cable.
Battery
One unique feature the 755p brings is a larger capacity battery. It packs in a 1600mAh battery. Though this is larger than the 680 & 750's capacity, it is 200mAh less than the original 700p battery. The battery resides in a slightly deeper battery cavity than its sister models. This new size is unique to the 755p as batteries designed for previous Treo models are not physically compatible. Palm claims a continuous 4.2 hours talk time. Stay tuned for the full review for our take on battery life, as I've only had the unit for a few days and can't comment on real world performance just yet.
755p Software
The Treo 755p runs the Palm OS Garnet operating system v5.4.9. It basically includes the same set of software as the 700p with a few updated apps and added third party extras. One of the nicer features of the Treo 680 was its improved dialing and calling interface. One odd aspect of the 755p is that it includes the same phone dialer and call management software as the 700p and not the new and improved suite from the 680.
The Sprint version I'm currently testing contains a few extra apps bundled in the device ROM. These include a copy of Bejeweled, Google Maps, Sprint TV and On Demand (Handmark's Pocket Express). Sprint also includes built-in launcher icons that point to downloads of a Sprint IM application, GoodLink and a trial of Mobile Voice Command software. The Sprint IM program supports AIM, MSN and Yahoo accounts and requires a 15 cents per message usage charge. The trial version of Mobile Voice Command supports voice dialing (not from Bluetooth) and some common system commands and shortcuts.
Documents to Go v8 is also in the ROM for Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) file support and PDF Files. A basic version of Pocket Tunes is included on the device for MP3 digital audio and music playback. It also features the same streaming audio and video support that debuted on the 700p.
The latest version of Versamail (v3.5.4) is included for email. This version supports Microsoft's Direct Push Technology with Exchange Server 2003 with SP2 or Exchange Server 2007. This provides automatic wireless updates of email, calendar and contact information. Blazer v4.5 is included for browsing the web. No changes here as is the same version included the 700p and 680.
Availability
The Treo 755p will be available beginning mid-May from Palm stores and online at Palm.com It also will be available at Sprint stores for as low as $279.99 after available discounts and promotions.
Stay tuned for more in-depth, full PalmInfocenter review soon. In the meantime if you have any questions about the Treo 755p, feel free to post a comment below and I'll do my best to answer.
UPDATE: You can read our in-depth Treo 755p review, or check out the 755p at Palm.
Treo 755p Photos
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RE: Since I'm first...
I highlight parts of the preview here to pull out how little this device means on my blog..
http://comments.deasil.com/2007/05/09/palm-releases-755p-no-one-cares/
RE: Since I'm first...
and replaced by this one.
[I use 20001 zipcode for these pages]
Loving the burgundy
http://www.gx-5.com/specials/winatreo755p.htm
RE: Loving the burgundy
RE: Loving the burgundy
They've screwed the pooch on the Treo so many times in so many ways I think I'll open a site for dedicated Palm users called "treo_sadomasochism.com."
Will the 755p battery fit in the 680?
This new bigger battery compartment may offer an explanation for the mini-SD slot.
RE: Will the 755p battery fit in the 680?
The battery cavity of the 755p is a little larger, mostly due to the freed up space from not having a sim card tray and the smaller miniSD slot.
RE: Will the 755p battery fit in the 680?
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P
RE: Will the 755p battery fit in the 680?
umm.... size and space concerns are likely the reason, rather than blatant disregard for customers.
RE: Will the 755p battery fit in the 680?
Pat Horne
how 'bout voice quality?
The 700p has copped a lot of flak for poor voice quality. (waves at hkk ;) ) Is the 755p any better in this regard?
RE: Will the 755p battery fit in the 680?
Hey, what can I say? I've been going on damm near a decade of tri-mode Motorola CDMA handsets on Bell Atlantic/Verizon. I'm USED to good RF, great coverage and at least passable sound quality. The 700p was a lame duck in all of those categories.
"Large and in charge"? More like "The 755p. It's like a caboose. It's large, available in red, and it brings up the rear"
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P
Could it be more disipointing? I doubt it!
Palm: Do you realize that customers are not happy to see that you are not keeping up with the others in terms of features on handhelds?
Basically this is a 700p, only worse! The 700p has 60 megs of accessible ram. Adding some more would really help by making it so users would not be forced to store applications in the card if they have more than a few. But NO! As cheap as flash memeory is now, it would have killed Palm to make that change.
They could have added a higher resolution camera, a2dp audio, more storage, integrated gps. But no. They added no new feature no matter how small. Now we can be sure that this phone won't do anything new or interesting.
It's a bit smaller though.... and it doesn't have an antenna. That's the ONE AND ONLY improvement. And it's not a very useful one... more just a style thing.
And Bluetooth is supposed to work ok... something they should have fixed in the 700p long long ago.
Oh yeah one thing though: It only takes SD mini instead of SD. Yes, that's right. In order to shave a tiny amount of weight off of the phone, Palm has gone ahead and cut down to mini SD, thus effectively cutting in half the avaliable memory expansion and limiting the possibilities of transferring data from another deice, such as a camera or adding any kind of SDIO option.
And one more thing... You hear that collective groan that keeps getting louder every time you release a new phone? That's everyone who was hoping that it might support wifi!
I was really holding out, hoping for something innovative, exciting or just better about the 755p. Any faith I had left in Palm is now gone completely. I have no idea how a company could be so steadfast in their commitment not to improve their products!
RE: Could it be more disipointing? I doubt it!
This is another boring and disapointing Palm device.
RE: Could it be more disipointing? I doubt it!
E.g. The TX has wifi, but slows the processor and lacks vibrating alarm, voicememo, and LED vs. the T|T3. The T5 had that useless USB-storage mode, but the same disadvantages as the TX. The Lifedrive had some potential, but was bulkier and slow. The Treo 755p lacks the antenna and has some vaguely interesting software, but lowers battery life and changes the memory card.
The 700p was underwhelming: It did address the severe memory issue of the 650, but was only minor incremental improvement hardware-wise and others seem to find fault with the sofware, I don't have one, so I don't know).
It seems like Palm is always releasing last year's model. Even the T|T3, was what the original T|T SHOULD have been....
-alanh
(PPP->III->Vx->m505->T|T->T3->TX)
-alan
RE: Could it be more disipointing? I doubt it!
Why not express the same sentiment about the 700wx - a perfectly analogous recent release out of PALM - release a minorly-fixed device, discontinue the prior broken device.
Seems like a reasonable thing for a company to do.
Plus the 755p got rid of the antenna, something Marketing has been saying to do for quite some time.
===========
Anyone check out the FCC yet to compare the guts of the 700p and 755p? I'm still curious to see if the 700w and 700wx are in reality based off different hardware or are simply software-different.
RE: Could it be more disipointing? I doubt it!
-- http://www.forbes.com/video/?video=fvn/tech/df_de_download050907_ms&partner=yahootix
They're for SURE taking this device the absolute wrong way, IMHO.
Yes, the blame for that CAN be placed right at PALM's foot (?). PALM had better put out THIS particular fire SOON or those geeks that the CEO foolishly said "are theirs forever" won't be.
Cost of IM
15 cents an instant message? Charging for data really irks me as it costs them nothing. I pay $8 for unlimited text and data a month. I hate the idea that you'd pay 15 cents. It REALLLLY pisses me off. You can call someone for a fraction of that.
I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. We're in space.
RE: Cost of IM
I guess there are plenty of other IM clients out there that don't charge per message...
-James.
RE: Cost of IM
AOL, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Gtalk, Jabber
$11 lifetime license, only your normal data traffic charges apply
Disclosure: I work for the company that produces Mundu IM
Atul Chitnis
http://atulchitnis.net
RE: Cost of IM
University of Miami
2001 National Champions
RE: Cost of IM
RE: Cost of IM
Because normally a IM consersation will contain lots of instant messages within a short period of time. A few minutes conversation may have involve 20 messages already! One certainly wouldn't want to pay US$3 for that, otherwise it's more expensive than an international call.
Don't tell me a "hi!" message will cost 15 cents. :)
For IM on Palm, try Chatopus, http://www.chatopus.com
--
With great power comes great responsiblity.
Looks good to me...
I only upgraded to a 680 a few months ago (love the extra memory, seems massive to me, and I've got 10 years of Palm data in my device, the better radio is a huge improvement too), but I'd upgrade to this spec if it were available on GSM. Lucky Sprint users...
-James.
RE: Looks good to me...
No wonder Palm couldn't even fix the 700p's problems within a year... they had their crack design team of 3 monkeys and a unicorn working overtime on making battery life shorter and all of our SD cards useless. So sad.
RE: Looks good to me...
3G Data is a massive upgrade, and the extra memory is extremely useful. Try it. I didn't realise how much of a pleasure it would be going from my 650 to the 680. No memory worries, Blazer loads any size image I've tried, I'm not going to crash the unit by taking one too many camera pictures.
If I need to go a whole weekend without charging, I use my Seidio 2400mAh battery.
With 3G data, I see very little need for WiFi at all.
This really is evolving into the perfect platform. Beautiful apps like Googlemaps reall help, Chatter, and Pockettunes is not bad. I wish they could get some of the usability niggles in the phone / contacts apps worked out.
-James.
RE: Looks good to me...
RE: Looks good to me...
When Handera was producing an SD/CF combo device, Palm chose the SD format - it was beginning to take root and an ideal size for both easy handling and PDA-sized slots. They are about as big as a thumb, hard to lose, and big enough to have room to grow.
Now, Palm does this dumb move to MiniSD. Here's what we lost:
1) All SDIO cards are useless in the 755
2) The cards are more fragile and unreasonably small and unwieldy
3) MiniSD is more expensive, smaller capacity, fewer choices, and difficult to find.
4) The way Palm implemented the slot, it's nearly impossible to get in and out without poking a key or other dangerous implement in to beat the springloading.
Exactly how is any of this worth switching horses midstream? If Palm had just perfected the SDIO slot, we'd be rid of the antenna and could finally use a wider variety of accessories, easily swap cards, and save a bumload of cash by not tossing out perfectly good SD cards.
Relieved but leery
755p SD slot
Since I have 2-8GB SD cards as well as coup 4GB and many smaller ones, I am wondering if 755p uses both Mini-SD and regular SD cards, some mini sd cards have the adapter which is the size of the regular SD cards?
If I can not use the regular SD cards I have in my 700p there is no way I will upgrade.
Mike
700p
RE: 755p SD slot
Mike
700p
RE: 755p SD slot
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Since I'm first...
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