Palm Treo Pro (aka Treo 850) Uncovered
A number of images of a new Palm Treo Pro have been dug up and posted online. Forum member scottymomo at WMExperts poked around Palm's Learning site and found a unposed flash tutorial of the unannounced new Treo.
The Treo Pro appears to be the official name of the previously leaked Treo 850. The earlier blurrycam pics match up with this new set and also fits the description of the code-named Palm Drucker, which was leaked back in January. The last set of rumors on this device pegged it as a Windows Mobile 6.1 powered Quad-band 3G GSM phone with Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, a 400 MHz processor and an approximate thickness of around ~.55 inches (14mm), a noticeable reduction from Treo's past.
Aside from the black and sleek refreshed, Centro inspired design, new details revealed from this set of pics include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a dedicated Wi-Fi button, an unspecified but presumably a microSD expansion slot and a microUSB connector. Also present is a "flush" touchscreen, the usual ringer switch and a new button arrangement.
Thanks to WMExperts for the tip.
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RE: Interesting
RE: Interesting
RE: Interesting
1. evaluating a company/stock performance by picking selective past time periods in an attempt to validate your conclusions is called data mining and it really shows your bias and you lose all credibility when you do so.
2. no, palm stock has not almost doubled in the last 55 days.
try to be honest, objective, and critical for once.
RE: Interesting
RE: Interesting
i have no bias. i just bought a centro.
7-2-08 = $5.18 (60 day low from today)
8-14-08 = $7.93
hardly even close to a double, despite selective data mining.
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=palm
RE: Interesting
My point is not about stock fishing but that investors see Palm turning around too. And during a time when many other stocks have been struggling. Palm stock is growing during a down cycle in the market overall.
Long standing Palm stockholders are certainly in a world of hurt still. However, people who saw Palm stock as a good risk buy following the transitions last year are happy with 60% or higher profits.
RE: Interesting
Also, if this name stands, then it seems that WM truly will become the Treo (enterprise focused?) line, and Nova devices (if ever) will come at another niche'.
Thirdly, Looks like the soft keys and 4 app keys are now flush mounted into the body
Finally, and echoing the same broken record story since 2001 ... why all the wated real frontal estate around the screen? When will these folks ever learn that display real estate is at a premium on handhelds / smartfones? Gosh, I just played around with the iPhone 3G again today @ ATT, and not only marveled at the interface, but THAT screen!!! In a ultra-thin device no less! Will somebody over there wake up and design something that stretches the viewing area to the absolute borders of the frontal area already?!? Let's see now, iPhone has been on market for > year and Palm's 850 Pro is yet to show, and they still don't get it. Somebody get a clue over there and folks will camp out waiting for the release!!!
Pat Horne
RE: Interesting
Your #s keep changing with every post. Yes, in a perfectly defined gap of time a tanking stock actually has rebounded. They always do whether recovering or spiraling to zero.
Unfortunately for stockholders, perfectly defined gaps of time only work in the past. The only two difficult things about stock investing is when to buy and when to sell. They don't let you trade based on last months charts, but only on the fly.
I'm happy for anyone who has gotten a bounce recently including you. I hope it's a trend even greater than your projections. I hope against hope that Palm turns things around. That being said Gekko is absolutely positively correct in his definitions and comments. IMHO, you should just chalk it up as a learning experience and enjoy going forward.
People who have been investing as long as you have been living know better than to give a seconds attention to this kind of thing.
Pat Horne
3.5MM Masterpiece
Pat Horne
RE: 3.5MM Masterpiece
Pat Horne
RE: 3.5MM Masterpiece
High points:
1. Best looking Palm device EVER (well, since the IBM Workpad c500 which was just an m500 in black)
2. If the 3.5mm stereo headphone jack spec is NOT a typo and it's really NOT a conventional 2.5mm jack designed to keep the legacy wired headset crowd happy, then that's a HUGE IMPROVEMENT! If it's REALLY there then MAD PROPS & thunbs-up to the Podfather for ramming that one past Palm's beancounters!
3. I'm stunned to see the reset button back. I wonder if the carriers complained about it (ie some customers didn't like having to take their battery out to reset their device)?
4. IR is kind of surprising but a welcome inclusion. I guess Palm wants to keep their realtor customer base happy!
5. 400mhz CPU is nice. Not going to set the market on fire but it should be enough for a slim 320x320 device. It's 67mhz of a bump up from the 800w's CPU (plus the usual software optimizations from being a new WM build) that it should drastically lessen the performance hiccups that Adama & Ryan commented on.
Potential Problems:
1. The downward-pointing stylus worries me tremendously. I can just see this thing coming loose over time ( a problem on the older 6xx/7xx series Treos) and sliding out if one doesn't wrap a piece of masking tape around the stylus barrel. I'd rather see the stylus in its conventional spot up top and the wi-fi button/power button/IR port moved to the bottom if necessary.
2. I'm worried about battery life. I a guessing the standard 1150mAh Centro/800w battery makes a triumphant return here. This thing really needs no less than 1500/1600mAh, especially with the faster CPU and wi-fi. GSM vs. CDMA isn't gonna help that much.
3. That d-pad looks atrocious. It looks mildly uncomfortable for basic navigation and nigh unusable for any kind of gaming. Once Apple starts getting "real" game developers onboard, I wouldn't be surprised to see phone/smartphone manufacturers paying attention to their devices' gaming capabilities to try and remain competitive.
4. I'm worried we're gonna have a real "slick" device here (ie hard to hold securely). Where's the soft-touch rubberized paint!?!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: 3.5MM Masterpiece
I'm wondering if the battery is removable. TooMuch might be right @ the back coming off, but Palm may be slicing all the thickness it can?
I'm like you and fear an anemic battery tho. Paint looks similar to Centro which is OK, but not as good as the 755 etc. This really is an attractive design tho.
Pat Horne
RE: 3.5MM Masterpiece
Pat Horne
RE: 3.5MM Masterpiece
I think this device is ahead of most other keyboarded WM phones, and is finally competitive with the Blackberry Bold.
It will hopefully do well.
Surur
RE: 3.5MM Masterpiece
Excuse me, I think I've got something in my eye. Sniff. (runs off)
RE: 3.5MM Masterpiece
Colligan: Sure. Can haz!
Rubinstein: WTF? NO can haz!!!
just another winmob clone
a "nothing special" device lost in a highly competitive sea of commoditized winmob clones.
too little, too late. hardly a game-changer.
RE: just another winmob clone
Well, I wouldn't be quite so harsh as Gekko but for the most part I do agree. A year ago, this would've set the industry on its ear (heck, even the 800w would've been phenomenal HAD it been when it SHOULD have (supposed to?) been released in summer '07).
6 months ago, this "Pro" would've been a very strong entry (even with WM 6.0). But now it's just a slightly better-than-average WinMob handset. For a TREO, it's superb. Definiitely the best looking & best spec'd Treo ever. But what is a strong entry relative to Palm's other feeble offerings still doesn't offer enough to stand out from the pack of WM clones and RIM's increasingly strong designs.
Now, Palm, bring this thing out with a "smile" keyboard, some kind of POS (either a highly tweaked/optimized Garnet or NOva) & in CDMA flavor and you'll have perfected the SSS (small square screen) QWERTY candybar phone. Then please proceed with all possible haste to large-screened phones!
P.S. This is defintely the first smidgen of the Rubinstein influence. Who wants to be that Palm had a mediocre 800w-style GSM successor in the works for the 750 and Rubinstein said "make it music-friendly), thinner, more stylish, and juice up the CPU"
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: just another winmob clone
1. do you see this thing taking business away from the iphone? i say no.
2. do you see thing thing taking business away from BB? i say no.
so who is going to run out and buy this thing? i say a small niche.
love it or hate it, BB and now iphone have completely changed the game.
RE: just another winmob clone
2. See above
Don't forget a 3rd potential category:
3. The usual batch of Palm OS converts may want to jump ship to this one from ,say, a Treo 650/680/Centro if they simply love Palm "stuff" and the formfactor.
Remember, Palm doesn't care if you stick with FrankenGarnet or Nova or WinMob. They just want you to buy Palm as in "Palm Inc.", not "Palm OS".
Basically, if this Pro/850 is attractively priced (ie undercuts iPhone & BB Bold in every market) then I can see it picking up some Centro users.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: just another winmob clone
cannibalizing palm's current customers doesn't help "too much". i doubt that this device will stops the bleeding/defectors but either way, palm needs to GROW the business and STEAL market share from competitors.
my prediction is that palm will continue to clunk around and languish as an "also-ran" in low margin commodity hell for a few more years with their centro/winmob me-too options. they'll stay in business as an independent until someone decides to buy them for strategic reasons - not for the cash flow or enterprise value or technology or brand. and then the company/brand will be slowly and quietly assimilated before it disappears forever.
RE: just another winmob clone
Meanwhile, guess who, after blasting the Foleo, is considering the Dead, um, Redfly:
http://www.jeffkirvin.net/2008/08/10/leaning-to-the-redfly/
And if you can make sense of this, I think you need brain surgery:
http://www.jeffkirvin.net/2008/08/14/redfly-foleo/
RE: just another winmob clone
Might lose them money like the Centro apparently is, but they'd have a winner!
No, I certainly don't expect them to price it right.
RE: just another winmob clone
RE: just another winmob clone
Good grief.
The predictions are that Palm is going to the moon, Alice!
No, instead we're observing Palm's descent into oblivion.
RE: just another winmob clone
Why? You must be real bitter and have alot of time on your hands.
RE: just another winmob clone
RE: just another winmob clone
Is Palm perfect, no way. But I do think they are trying to turn it around and we will see what happens next year as far as new OS/phones.
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I luv them 'leaks'
Now someone has to "accidently find" the manual for Nova, right?