Sprint PCS Starts Shipping the Treo 600

Sprint is now taking orders over the phone for the Treo 600. Orders places through Sprint's business center are being placed and shipping the same day.

update You can now order the Treo 600 directly from Handspring.com. More details here.

To order you have to call the Sprint Business center at 1-888-703-9514 then option #3. An operator will assist you in placing a order.

The cost without a contract is $599 USD. With a new one year service agreement, the prices goes down to $499, with a two year commitment it sells for $449. The operators are reporting that it will ship within 2-3 business days, there is no overnight shipping available.

PalmInfocenter attended the Treo 600 launch party in New York City a short while ago, and have our report of the kickoff here.

About the Treo 600
The Treo 600 runs Palm OS 5.2.1 with a 144 MHz Texas Instruments OMAP processor. It will have a 160x160 pixel CSTN color screen, 32MB of RAM and a SD/MMC/SDIO expansion slot. There is also a five-way navigation dial for one handed operation. The Treo 600 has a built-in digital camera (640 x 480 VGA), so you can take and send pictures or connect a face to a phone number with picture caller ID. It will also feature a dual speaker architecture for high-quality phone and system audio. It will have a large capacity 1800 mAh rechargeable Lithium Ion battery for up to six hours talk time (GSM); or up to five hours talk time (CDMA); and about two weeks organizer use for both versions.

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Go ahead blow your $ 500 on a 160x160 display

lechter @ 10/8/2003 8:03:07 PM #
Instead I went with a Palm T3 with a 320x480 display and a T608 Bluetooth phone from Sprint. I hope the T608 comes out soon, I understand next week.

RE: Go ahead blow your $ 500 on a 160x160 display
treo007 @ 10/8/2003 8:19:34 PM #
>>"Instead I went with a Palm T3 with a 320x480 display and a T608 Bluetooth phone from Sprint. I hope the T608 comes out soon, I understand next week."

Not that I wouldn't necessarily make the same choice, but to play devils advocate: The T3 costs you $400 (yes, I know you can probably find it SLIGHTLY cheaper elsewhere). The T608 costs at least $200 (maybe more knowing Sprint). You're $100 bucks over the Treo price and you're juggling two devices.

Also, a Sprint bluetooth handset has been on the verge of coming out for going on a year now. I'm not saying you're wrong, but you never know if it's vapor or not.

RE: Go ahead blow your $ 500 on a 160x160 display
tthiel @ 10/8/2003 10:02:52 PM #
Yeah really, I would rather have two devices than have such a crappy screen.

RE: Go ahead blow your $ 500 on a 160x160 display
kidA @ 10/9/2003 12:49:25 AM #
not to mention that sony ericsson doesn't (AFAIK) make CDMA phones anymore (only GSM). so good luck getting a T608 to work on Sprint's network.

______________________________________
i'm not living, i'm just killing time.
RE: Go ahead blow your $ 500 on a 160x160 display
The Ugly Truth @ 10/9/2003 2:52:49 AM #
Instead I went with a Palm T3 with a 320x480 display and a T608 Bluetooth phone from Sprint.

Translation: Instead I went with a Palm that may turn my SD cards into coasters for my Barbie® Dreamhouse Tea Set and a phone that Sprint has officially denied being prepared to release.

Good choice.


Sometimes the truth just isn't pretty™

RE: Go ahead blow your $ 500 on a 160x160 display
Strider_mt2k @ 10/9/2003 6:34:34 AM #
That's not true.

They make much better place mats.

Why so much hate around here?
RAMd®d @ 10/9/2003 10:53:55 AM #
The Treo 600 is a great combo for those who need a phone but want some PDA functionality. My guess is that anyone who gets a 600 won't care that they can't see a spreadsheet, yadda yadda. They don't want a clunky device. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

If one needs a PDA, but wants to make a phone call now and then, they likely wouldn't be looking at the 600.

There is a lot to be said for not having to juggle two devices. That works well for some people. One day there may be a svelt combo that does everything very well, but there will *always* be compromises. Maybe when we get neurotronic cortical implants that allow us to interface with the device eliminating buttons, we can have that 480x640 display giving us Word, Excel, and TV.

Until then, the kids can play My PDA can beat up your PDA to compensate.

My only gripe is that as Microsoft does with software, Sprint sucks up some of the most innovative hardware.



______________________________
An armed society is a polite society.

RE: Go ahead blow your $ 500 on a 160x160 display
GregGaub @ 10/9/2003 11:50:00 AM #
"If one needs a PDA, but wants to make a phone call now and then, they likely wouldn't be looking at the 600."

I need a PDA and only make calls now and then, and I'm dying for the 600, knowing of all its 'limitations' and features. Not everyone defines "PDA use" as spreadsheets and document editing. Even so, those will still be *possible* on the 600, just not as pleasant. For PIM and the vast majority of other PDA uses (HandyShopper, baby!), the Treo 600 will kick much booty.

-- SeaPUG: http://www.seapug.com --

Why so much hate around here? Group hug + Kumbaya time...
The Ugly Truth @ 10/10/2003 8:12:42 AM #
If one needs a PDA, but wants to make a phone call now and then, they likely wouldn't be looking at the 600.

I think you're completely wrong. I've used PDAs from the beginning and the Treo 600 will do 99+ % of the things I want my PDA to do without any compromise. I believe a relatively small number of users really need the extra screen size of stand alone PDAs for reading text, spreadsheets, etc. It's all about having access to information in as small a package as possible. Address, APCalc, CryptoPad, DateBk3, DiddleBug, HandyShopper, iSilo, Open, TealAuto, ToDo PLUS, Ultrasoft Money, Wassup, YAUC and Zagat on a relatively small cell phone = impressive convergence. Add wireless personal + office email access, wireless web browsing, digital camera and alarm clock and you get a device that should forever change how people actually work.

Handspring should be congratulated for the brilliance of their engineering. The Treo 600 deserves to be a huge success.


Sometimes the truth just isn't pretty™

Keeping my Compaq PPC while using the Treo 600
PatrickB @ 10/16/2003 12:20:26 AM #
I'm a Pocket PC user; have always enjoyed my Compaq. My Samsung A460 (most recent phone) is a good phone, but doesn't have a very good address book. My Outlook has over 300 names and numbers which requires me to delete some to get into my Samsung to download in a manual transfer (not syncing process.) very painful and time consuming process to get a limit number of names and numbers in my phone, where they need to be. Sometimes I get tired of taking two devices with me. My Pocket PC with the Outlook numbers and my phone.
Solution:
Get a phone that can handle a person's complete name(my samsung can't handle more than 12 charaters per name) and a unlimited number database. And one that sync's automatically with my Outlook. The Pocket PC market has oversized (OK) PDA/phone combos. But they are PDA's first & phone second. I need to keep my phone with me all the time, but not my PDA.
The Treo 600 is a phone first & PDA second. True you can find better Palms out there, but you can't find a Palm with a better phone. And I need a phone first that I can keep with me all the time. I have decided that I should probably try the Treo 600. It has what I need. A good phone with basic Palm capabilities that can sync with my Outlook. Granted I am moving from a compact phone to a larger mid-size phone, but that's the trade off.
I still will keep my Compaq, I love it.
I am surprise about the bad mouthing of the Treo 600 from Palm advocates:
"It's screen is pixelated & small!" So what, I have listened to my bias Palm friends tell me for years how they didn't need my advance resolution like on my Windows PocketPC. Now that Palm's resolution is getting better, they (Palmies) make the argument for better resolution & larger screens is needed.
I'm buying the Treo for the phone first. If you took the phone away, this PDA probably would not make it to the market. But as a phone with PDA cababilities, this is the one to beat. This the device for people who use their phone every day and need their PDA basic functions readily at hand; Contacts, Calendar, Task's & notes.
And this is coming from a guy who has always owned a Pocket PC & never a Palm. Palm users are lucky to have such a phone. The PPCs combos are still too large for phones, like all the previous Palms combos.
Comparing Combos with phones and PDAs doesn't make since. Combos need to be compared next to other Combos, and phone against phones and PDAs against PDAs.
This Combo beats the rest (Palm & PocketPC) in phone first.



From Handspring

KRamsauer @ 10/8/2003 8:33:41 PM #
Existing Treo users can get the 600 for $400 from Handspring without signing a new contract.

RE: From Handspring
GregGaub @ 10/9/2003 11:47:47 AM #
The way I read it, that's WITH a 2 year contract. The Handspring upgrade is only knocking off an extra $50 from the 2 year contract price. That's why you can only get it through Sprint right now, otherwise they'd just sell unlocked devices at that price. If you can find where it says "without contract" please let us know.

-- SeaPUG: http://www.seapug.com --
RE: From Handspring
Scott R @ 10/9/2003 12:32:01 PM #
The $399 price that KRamsauer is referring to is for existing Treo users. You order it through Handspring and give them the serial number of your Treo. You get the new Treo 600 for $399 with no contract at all. You can then transfer your existing Treo's number to the new Treo 600 and sell your old Treo on eBay. Based on what I'm reading, you do not need to commit to a new contract. More text from the Handspring site:

"If you're a Treo 180, 270 or 300 owner, we'd like to thank you for being a loyal customer by offering you a special discount on our hot new Treo 600. For a limited time, you'll get the coolest new smartphone on the market for only $399—even if you want to keep your existing phone number and plan."

Scott

http://TapLand.com
- Tapwave Zodiac News, Reviews, & Discussion -

Sprint Don't Ship

obperryo @ 10/8/2003 10:11:40 PM #
Be careful, Sprint will tell you they have the phone and not ship because it's on backorder!
Then bill you and take forever to credit you.

Went through this twice with the i500 and I'm still waiting for my $660 from the second time I canceled my order because they were on backorder.

Make sure you call and check that it ships!

RE: Sprint Don't Ship
Gameboy70 @ 10/9/2003 1:25:26 AM #
I ordered mine on the 6th, and it has shipped--although I don't have it yet. UPS tracking showed that they shipped it to my home address, so I called UPS this afternoon and had them change the destination to my work address. I should have it tomorrow, knock on wood.

RE: Sprint Don't Ship
mykul @ 10/9/2003 4:43:00 AM #
I called Sprint yesterday at 1:15pm cst and ordered a Treo 600. He said that it would ship UPS second day. Much to my surprise today at 12:30pm the UPS delivery man showed up and delivered the phone! I can't believe it. The salesman said no overnight deliveries...I love it when Sprint is wrong in my favor :) .

<><
mykul

P.S. Audible doesn't work on the Treo 600. :( I am sending mine back in order to take advantage of the T3 with Audible support and a bluetooth phone.



In His Grip, <><

mykul

God Rocks!!!

Treo 600 - Universal Connector?

mopcodes @ 10/9/2003 2:01:03 PM #
Does the Treo 600 have a universal connector?
Or did Handspring roll their own connector?

D. Martin
Former Amiga/Commodore Author/Writer/Reviewer
RE: Treo 600 - Universal Connector?
Marshall Flinkman @ 10/9/2003 2:31:42 PM #
Everything I've read says it's the same connector as previous Treo models. Remember, it's still branded as a Handspring product; the merger hasn't been made completely official yet. What we'll see in future Treo models (from PalmOne) is TBA, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them with the UC. Fortunately, there aren't that many Treo peripherals that use the base connector.

RE: Treo 600 - Universal Connector?
mopcodes @ 10/10/2003 8:52:19 AM #
Thanks. I've seen no mention of the connector on this device. As far as I'm concerned I have no intention of buying the Treo 600 for these reasons:

1) it's way over priced $600.00 even after the rebates of $100-$150 it's still over priced at $500 and $450. I have a T2 for $399 and a Sanyo 4900 for $50. So there is no incentive for me to upgrade. Plus I cannot hook the Treo to my Powerbook to check my email when I'm on the road or when I demo something on the web that I've made to folks at a meeting.

2) it's not a palm standard device with out the universal connector. I think that was poor judgement for Handspring to release the device without that connector. I'm tired of having a junk drawer full of cables, adapters, etc. HELLO VENDORS are you listening more standards please!!! :-)

Oh for you current Sprint customers - Sprint told me that the rebate offers are for new and existing customers that upgrade. Wow...I asked them twice are you sure? Because that's freaky. Normally in the past Sprint has told loyal customers to beat it! This is a new twist. Of course in the past if you moaned enough you got it anyway now they let us skip that step. Surprise.

Anyhow those are my reasons for passing on the Treo 600. I'll wait for the next version of the phone. BUT if anyone wants to give me one I'll take it. (Huge Grin)

One last thought I've seen comments about the screen and I agree that's another area that could be improved. But I'm not sure how. Gotta keep this device a reasonable size.

D. Martin
Former Amiga/Commodore Author/Writer/Reviewer

RE: Treo 600 - Universal Connector?
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 11:50:25 AM #
Complaining about the 160x160 screen is a farce.

1) It's the best damned 160x160 screen I've ever seen.

2) It'll run all PalmOS programs (well, You Know...)

3) It is far easier to look at than that damned MS Smurfphone screen.

4) And it is a TOUCHSCREEN. MS Smurfphone is not.

And spare me the cries of Symbian. Come back when it has the number of 3rd-party apps PalmOS has.

And spare me MS Smurfphone. Yet Another MS OS than requires you to buy all new versions of programs.

Be Afraid, Bill Gates!

mikecane @ 10/9/2003 2:59:22 PM #
And so the first step has been taken in what will eventually come to be seen as the Inevitable Death of Microsoft.

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Gekko @ 10/9/2003 3:52:44 PM #
Don't count on it.


RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/10/2003 10:58:03 AM #
Better dump that MS stock, bunky. It'll be *true* wallpaper in ten years time...

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Foo Fighter @ 10/10/2003 11:55:02 AM #
Pffft! Yeah, Microsoft will be dead....in fifty years! If I had a dime for every one of these "Microsoft is doomed!" posts, I could buy quite a few Zodiacs and T3s. A company with over 40 billion in cash reserves isn't going away anytime soon, especially considering they are still growing! The latest figures from IDC shows that Windows is still gaining market share, what little there is left for it to take. Linux is beginning to grow on the desktop as well, but that's coming at a cost to Macintosh which continues to fall further and further off the map.

Now, in the long term, I do believe Windows might become irrelevant. Linux could actually become the defacto standard, once it matures into a real desktop client OS, rather than a hodge podge collection of mismatched software that it is now. Standards need to be set...one of the two competing GUI environments (KDE and Gnome) needs to die...commercial software developers need to jump onboard, which won't be easy given the propensity of the open-source community to copy and steal intellectual property. Then it has a real chance. As it is now, desktop Linux is nothing more than a great experiment. And why on Earth would you want such a vital and prosperous American company to die? We're already losing our bread and butter auto industry to foreign competition (Chrysler is now owned by Germany's Daimler-Benz). More companies our out-sourcing jobs to other countries where labor costs are cheaper. Now you hope we lose the software industry as well? Where will that leave us? I happen to like Microsoft. They are a great company, despite what Mac and Linux jihaad fighters may say.

-------------------------------
My blog: www.pocketfactory.com

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 11:41:40 AM #
>>>And why on Earth would you want such a vital and prosperous American company to die?

They are a g-dammed cancer. They have done more harm than good to the world and to the industry. Gates and Ballmer are a pair of sociopaths who should be stopped.

Must I go on?

It's obvious you know squat about the history of MS. I'll keep that in the forefront of my mind from now on as I read your comments and blog in the future.

And forget Linux. If all you can see is Linux as threatening MS, then your mind is even narrower than you've revealed it to be.

And, no, dammit, I will not spell it out for you. Do you own damned thinking.

And, Foo, not only does MS outsource coding, they also use that damned H1B program to bring in people. So while the country commits suicide by not educating in science and math, MS is there to help it along to its doom.

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
abosco @ 10/11/2003 12:28:17 PM #
Let me make a quick point before I have to run out of here like a beheaded chicken.. Microsoft has failed, is failing, and will fail in every market they try to claim besides XP and Office. Everything else is a FAILURE. They're betting a whole wad of cash on .NET, and IMO it's going nowhere.

But Microsoft has a general problem. Though we all sheepishly buy (or steal.. most likely steal) copies of Windows and Office, these products have long-since stagnated. Thus, Microsoft is trying a backup plan in case they do run into serious competition on their main products, of which, there is none ATM. It'll be another 5 years until Apple can get past 5% marketshare, 10 years until Linux becomes anything more than a hacker's wet dream with a bunch of cyber-hippies backing it, and 20 years until Microsoft gets any sort of competition from either of them. And Office.. don't get me started. I've discovered a whole five features from Word 2000 to Word XP. That justifies a $200 program, right?

Bottom line, Microsoft and its products blow, but there is little to no competition from its core products. They will be around for a long, long, long time because of this.

-Bosco

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 12:39:14 PM #
>>>It'll be another 5 years until Apple can get past 5% marketshare

Apple still has marketshare? Aren't the Moonies a larger cult now?

OK, OK... enough anti-Apple knifing from a former Mac adherent.

Seriously, though, if Apple really *does* have a Tablet Mac (aka iSlate) ready to intro for Xmas, you can kiss TabPC bye-bye.

OTOH, if Sony really *does* have a Tablet CLIE ready to intro for Xmas, you can kiss *both* TabMac and TabPC bye-bye.

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Foo Fighter @ 10/11/2003 4:17:43 PM #
Blah blah blah blah. Yes, Mike you are truly the Oracle at Delphi when it comes to knowledge of Microsoft's diabolical business dealings. I am humbled to be in your presence. Your also one hell of a drama queen. If you claim to know the evils Microsoft has committed...you should also know full well that most of Microsoft's competitors did as much (if not more) to put themselves in the grave than Microsoft. Remember Lotus Development? Oh yes..they were once a powerful name in the Office/productivity market. While Microsoft did play a fast one on them by switching from OLE to ActiveX, it was Lotus's arrogance and complacency that killed the product. Jeff Papows was a dick, and he caused the downfall of Smartsuite. IBM picked the company up for mere pocket change.It can't be said that MS Office won because it was commingled with new PCs, because Lotus Smartsuite was as well. WordPerfect? We all know how that story ended, and it wasn't Microsoft that killed them. They held onto DOS and moved too late in porting their product to Windows. Case closed. Sun? Pulleeeeez! Scott McNealy and his geriatric board of directors drove their own company into the grown, not Microsoft. Solaris is a dying platform. Linux is where the market is heading. Is that Bill Gates fault? And what about Netscape? Are you going to say that Microsoft alone is to blame for its downfall? Netscape came preinstalled on new PCs for years, right alongside IE...and yet everyone chose IE.

Wake up. Stop spreading this same tired rehashed bull**** that gets spewed up in every MS vs. the world discussion. You have not been harmed by Microsoft, so stop playing the role of battered victim. Microsoft doesn't t have superior products...they have a superior business strategy (for now). And if you weren't so blinded by your over-zealous hatred, you would see that there are many alternatives available. Perhaps if you were more open minded and unbiased, which you obviously are not, you might find that is not at all that hard to walk away from the big W.. If you don't like Windows, try Linux...or better yet buy Macintosh. That's what I did, and it works pretty damn good. I use Mozilla as my primary browser on Windows, it's great. But you don't see me bitching and moaning that IE owns the browser market. Screw the lemmings, let them use Internet Exploder with its security vulnerabilities...I use what I like. Same with handhelds. Pocket PC is nice, but I still prefer PalmOS, which I use every day as my main mobile tool. Nobody is holding a gun to my head. Competition is growing every year. And every year Microsoft becomes less relevant as a result. Microsoft will eventually die from the natural progression of technological evolution, not from bitter dissenters like you.

Stop bashing Microsoft just because that's the "Politically correct" thing to do. I thought you of all people were smarter than that. Guess I was wrong.

-------------------------------
My blog: www.pocketfactory.com

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 5:11:13 PM #
Poor wee child, resorting to boldface because his arguments are such tired crap. And because he is still fekkin ignorant.

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Foo Fighter @ 10/11/2003 5:15:36 PM #
No. Actually that was an errant HTML bold tag that I didn't close. Ryan needs to upgrade his posting software.

-------------------------------
My blog: www.pocketfactory.com
RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Foo Fighter @ 10/11/2003 5:18:25 PM #
Another example I forgot them mention is Real Networks. Anyone here going to claim that Real's buggy as all get out RealOne "marketware" is superior to Microsoft's Windows Media 9 streaming technolog? Unless of course Microsoft has their own plants inside Real, coding their crappy software.

-------------------------------
My blog: www.pocketfactory.com
RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Gekko @ 10/11/2003 5:20:20 PM #
"Câinii latră, caravana trece."

"Let the dogs bark as they will, the MICROSOFT caravan rolls on."


RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 5:27:44 PM #
Ah, I withdraw my last comment. I never saw you resort to BF before. Thought you were bursting a blood vessel somewhere!

Real?! After seeing the RealOne player for PalmOS? Ha! After seeing how Real forces upgrades to their damned player and makes it so friggin difficult that you'd rather slash your wrists than discover you need to upgrade? Real? Double hah! And a Ptui! for good measure.

http://users.aol.com/machcu/theft.html

-- I have an even *better* URL somewhere, but can't recall where...

... and, yeah, dammit, Ryan needs to upgrade this damned Comment software. These ain't the "What's that Internet thing?" days of the early 90s, Ryan! PIC needs to enter the 21st Century!

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 5:32:17 PM #
Hey, watch you you call a dog there! We cat people take offense!

Anyway to cut this tiresome thread short (we will see in ten years who is correct...if still alive!), better than *any* damned URL is:

http://tinyurl.com/ql86

And let's not forget: Can you DIE using MS Smartphone? Hell yes!!

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Gekko @ 10/11/2003 5:39:35 PM #
RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 5:43:32 PM #
You know that question eejits trot out? "Well, if you're so smart, why ain't you rich?"

In MS's case, it's, "If you're so damned rich, how come you're not *smart*?"

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
mikecane @ 10/11/2003 5:44:54 PM #
Oh! And I have to double-post. Sorry. (Ryan, upgrade the Comment software!)

All those BILLions and BILLions they've got? That's Charles Simonyi's doing. Ba'al Gates and Steve Ba'almer would have been content to trot out OS upgrades and dev tools. It was Simonyi who showed the kids that *apps* is where the money is.

RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Foo Fighter @ 10/11/2003 5:44:54 PM #
Ha! No, you would know if I was busting a blood vessel.

-------------------------------
My blog: www.pocketfactory.com
RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
abosco @ 10/11/2003 6:12:44 PM #
Like when a new PDA comes out and it doesn't have a flipcover? Seems you have a pretty major aneurism then.

-Bosco
RE: Be Afraid, Bill Gates!
Foo Fighter @ 10/11/2003 6:36:49 PM #
Yes! I have my local hospital on standby with Defibrillator just in case.

-------------------------------
My blog: www.pocketfactory.com
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