Palm, Sony Hint at New Models

Posted By: Ed Saturday, January 12, 2002 1:11:55 PM

Palm Inc. and Sony are expected to be releasing new handhelds soon. Both are releasing hints about these, some deliberate, some accidental.

According to an anonymous source inside the company, Palm will be sending out an email on Monday to its list of customers that seems designed to create some buzz. It says simply, "All we can say is that the newest Palm handheld is coming. Very soon. Stay tuned for more details."

Earlier this month, Palm's temporary CEO Eric Benhamou said that his company would be releasing a wireless replacement for the VIIx within two months. This is expected to be the i705, which Palm got approval from the FCC to release last Fall.

Sony Support page has jumped the gun a bit by listing two models that are expected to soon be released in the U.S., the S360 and the T615C.

To see the listings on their Support page, click on "Clié Handheld" in step one, then on "PEG-S Series". The PEG-S360 appears on the list that comes up.

Click on "PEG-T Series" to see listings for the PEG-T615C/L and the PEG-T615C/S. It's not yet known what /L and /S stand for.

The links don't lead to any more information on these products.

Though not officially announced, some online retailers are taking pre-orders for the S360, which is the replacement for the S320 and has 16 MB of RAM.

The T615C was recently announced in Hong Kong and Singapore. It has a 320 by 320 color screen, 16 MB of RAM, and the same look as the T415, though it is a bit larger.

Thanks to Aaron, nXt, and Rod for the Sony tips. -Ed

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16MB... a trend or a peek of things to come?

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 1:25:02 PM #
With Sony releasing many new models with 16MB and Handspring Pro with also 16MB, makes me wonder if this is the beginning of new Palm Powered PDAs that will sport 16MB from now on...

It's also rumoured that the new Palm models with OS5 will sport either 16 or 32 MB. Quite possible since the ARM processors can address up to quite a large amount of RAM (was it 64 or 128MB? I can't remember).

RE: 16MB... a trend or a peek of things to come?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 1:48:58 PM #
It surely is a trend, hope it becomes a standard too. Now that many apps like avantgo, plucker, adobe reader, a few games, etc. need quite some space compared to apps in the past, more memory is a must!PDANature - http://pdan.has.it - Hourly refreshed pda news, reviews, commentarys, software, software update notices, features, etc. http://pdan.has.it



RE: 16MB... a trend or a peek of things to come?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 5:57:04 PM #
ARM processors can address well in excess of 32MB... I'm doing development work on an SA-1110 based system which has 512MB RAM (it's a wearable computer). Sitting next to me on my desk in fact.

RE: 16MB... a trend or a peek of things to come?
Hed @ 1/13/2002 1:20:10 AM #
Please stop advertising your PDA Nature site. Or at least have the courtesy to register. Thank you.

RE: 16MB... a trend or a peek of things to come?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/13/2002 3:07:37 PM #
Instead of inviting surfers to visit your site, you are turning them off with those excessive advertising.

RE: 16MB... a trend or a peek of things to come?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/13/2002 3:31:25 PM #
And it's such a HORRIBLE site. Especially when compared to the first-class PalmInfocenter. Please spare us and give it up.


Nothing really new....

SaxonMan @ 1/12/2002 1:27:50 PM #
well didnt we know that already?

RE: Nothing really new....
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 1:32:07 PM #
No. We didn't know that Palm would send a letter Monday and we didn't know that Sony has "officially" acknowledged these two devices for US sale.

If you don't think it is news...fine. Just don't give Ed a hard time as he tries to keep the rest of us in the loop.

RE: Nothing really new....
SaxonMan @ 1/12/2002 1:41:15 PM #
No offense aginst Ed he's doing an outstanding job. i'm just saying that there were some rumors...

regards

SaxonMan

T615C/L & T615C/S

dhchung @ 1/12/2002 2:08:36 PM #
Probably the difference in color?

RE: T615C/L & T615C/S
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 11:28:42 PM #
Based on the part numbers for T600C/L and T600C/S in Japan, they are for blue and silver respectively.

RE: T615C/L & T615C/S
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/13/2002 3:09:31 PM #
In Singapore, only 2 color - Blue and Silver are being sold. No news of any other color will be available as at now.

T615C/S vs. T615C/L

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 2:14:34 PM #
/S and /L probably indicate case color. Silver and Lavender?

The real question. When will these hit the stores? I hope Sony is not waiting for the Palm release. I would have thought that CES would be the perfect venue for the announcements.


Can't understand why T615c in Hong Kong is only in Silver...
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 2:30:54 PM #
If they come up with a lavender in U.S. I will ask someone to get it for me. Silver is just too dull and probably will look more dull when color cases come out.

BTW I don't really care about the i700 whatever because only people in states can use it. Not really global I suppose...

RE: T615C/S vs. T615C/L
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/15/2002 6:01:43 AM #
I saw Blue ones in HK.

/L + /S

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 3:01:55 PM #
I would guess that...
/L = Limited Black
/S = Satin Silver

RE: /L + /S
mikecane @ 1/12/2002 3:43:00 PM #
Or limited Royal Blue. Whatever! As long as there's an alternative to Everyone-Else-Has-Silver!

RE: /L + /S
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 4:13:19 PM #
/L may be Limited Red or Limited Green or Limited brown...

RE: /L + /S
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 4:20:05 PM #
I say Limited Black because there is a /L in the Japanese version of the T400 and it stands for Limited Black. Anyhow, yes, any colors are welcome though Silver is a classic.

RE: /L + /S
pontif @ 1/13/2002 1:06:04 AM #
L is for Blue, S for silver. They already use those letters with the T600 for blue and silver respectively in Japan.

Also in the past Sony has used B for black, S for silver, V for Violet, and L for blue.

There was a rumor of a black version at some point. I've seen photos of a black T series from Japan, so it could happen I suppose, but HK and SG sites don't list a black. Also the US support site only lists two colors. Also, the black unit was monochrome, I think.


RE: /L + /S
mikecane @ 1/14/2002 8:35:58 AM #
I must agree it will most likely be blue. The T415B is B for Black. L for bLue. They could've used R for Royal blue, but then everyone would think it was Red. Or Ruby.

No m525?

sandbuck @ 1/12/2002 3:23:50 PM #

Nothing about this rumored device? I guess the T615 is my next stop.

Where is my m525?

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 5:40:21 PM #
I like my m505 but I want 16MB and Hi-Res screen.

RE: Where is my m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 6:29:12 PM #
I rather have a soft graffiti area than a high resolution screen

RE: Where is my m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 8:50:39 PM #
What do you mean by "soft graffitti area"? Is the Sony surface hard?

RE: Where is my m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 9:27:22 PM #
"Soft" Graf area meaning it collapses like on Handera. Get more usable screen for viewing etc.

RE: Where is my m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/13/2002 7:39:29 AM #
I think when things going on like before we have to build our own device ... do you really think palm is planning to develop/release a device we wish?

RE: Where is my m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/15/2002 4:34:34 AM #
"Soft" Grafiti = means software Grafiti, it is displayed on your screen, but you could go without it, or you could change it. It's somehow like the "soft" keyboard which appear when you touch the left bottom corner of the "hard" grafiti area

"Hard" Grafiti = means hardware, it's always there, like on all Palm

Dan.

i705 needs to be 16MB

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 6:09:47 PM #
Let's just hope that we don't see another lackluster device announcement from Palm, and that this i705 comes with all the things we'd expect: Universal connector, SD/MMC card slot and 16MB of RAM(which all the other licensees are going to)!!!

Anything less will be a disappointment...

C-

RE: i705 needs to be 16MB
digilaw @ 1/12/2002 6:15:35 PM #
We'll see how much they charge for the i705 but if its over $250, its already disapointing if its not a color model.

RE: i705 needs to be 16MB
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 6:52:08 PM #
I think the i705 will be $449 and GREYSCALE.

RE: i705 needs to be 16MB
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/13/2002 3:11:53 PM #
Palm is lacking behind far away by many of its hardware manufacturers, many with better and innovative value added features that surpassed it within a short period of time.

Just look at Sony, so many PDA penetrating different market segments meeting different needs.



RE: i705 needs to be 16MB
Foo @ 1/14/2002 10:10:34 AM #
Quote: "Let's just hope that we don't see another lackluster device announcement from Palm, and that this i705 comes with all the things we'd expect: Universal connector, SD/MMC card slot and 16MB of RAM"

Wow! You've got pretty low expectations. Palm will have to do much better than these specs to satisfy me. I want a higher resolution display (ala Clie) and a virtual Graffiti area.

505 SOLD OUT

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 7:27:57 PM #
Well I have been looking for a m505 the last few days. Every where I went they were out. Today at my 7th store I got one. So maybe that is an indication that a unit will replace the m505. Just wait and find out.

RE: 505 SOLD OUT
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 9:16:13 PM #
Office Depot had 5 of them in stock today so I'm not too sure about your theory. Where do you live, Skunkhill, Arkanas?

RE: 505 SOLD OUT
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/14/2002 11:39:09 AM #
I've noticed plenty of m505s. I suspect it's the i705, but I'd be intrigued if it was an m525.

I saw a T615C/S display tag

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 7:33:13 PM #
The model number was T615C/S (Silver)
S is definitely silver.
The L is a special order item, and probably bLue
The price was US$399.
The salesguy said they had a huge number on order that would be available on Feb. 10.


RE: I saw a T615C/S display tag
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 8:49:18 PM #
where?

RE: I saw a T615C/S display tag
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/12/2002 9:27:04 PM #
Ultimate Electronics in Murray Utah.

RE: I saw a T615C/S display tag
sandbuck @ 1/13/2002 12:07:53 AM #
Do you have a ph# for that store?

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