Treo 700p: Palm Finally Makes It Official!
At long last Palm today announced the new Treo 700p that will shortly become commercially available from both Sprint and Verizon Wireless. The Treo 700p is the first PalmOS smartphone to benefit from high-speed wireless data connectivity using both carriers’ EvDO networks.
Palm is clearly emphasizing SPEED with this latest release and I can unequivocally say that broadband-like connectivity on your Treo does make a huge difference (I have had the benefit of this on my Treo 700w for a few months now).
Top Three Features Existing Treonauts Will Love Most About The New Treo 700p
First all-in-one Treo smartphone with EvDO and Palm OS
128MB memory and 2GB or greater SD card support
New multimedia features, including 1.3-megapixel digital camera and streaming video
Also, For New Treonauts
Wireless access to Outlook email and popular email accounts like Yahoo!, AOL, and Gmail
Supports native Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents and PDF files on the go
Let’s then look at everything that the Treo 700p will offer us in more detail below…
FAST -Broadband-like speeds with EvDO
- NEW! Make the most of EvDO –one of of the fastest wireless data networks available in the US
- NEW! Enables streaming of audio/video
- YES! Automatically suspends an EvDO data session when you get an incoming voice call and then automatically resumes it afterwards.
- BETTER! Access the web on the go with the speedy, award-winning Blazer web browser
- BETTER!Download large attachments and access corporate data on the spot
- FINALLY! Take advantage of EvDO speeds on your laptop by using the smartphone as a wireless modem (Dial-Up Networking) – no other hardware is necessary
The chart below highlights the dramatic speed improvement of the Treo 700p compared with the current Treo 650. Please note that 1) not all areas have full EvDO coverage and 2) these speeds are the ‘theoretical maximum’ rated and actual speeds will likely be much lower (for example EvDO is rated at 400–700kbps and likely delivers 300–500kbps).
Extend EvDO speeds to your laptop using DUN
First Treo to offer out-of-the-box Dial-Up Networking (DUN) functionality so that you can use your Treo 700p as a modem for your laptop- Fast broadband wireless data without Wi-Fi
- Easy to use and set up via Bluetooth or USB
- TYPICAL! Carrier-specific desktop applications required for DUN (available for download from the CD)
- TYPICAL! Carriers may require additional DUN data plan
Palm OS®5.4.9
STILL LOVING IT! Fast, Friendly and Familiar Palm OS Platform- No tapping or flipping through a menu maze to find what you need
- Dial by name from your contacts list, or address an email instantly
- Launch a URL from a text message
- Take a picture and send it to a friend from within a single application
- Think fast with the built-in organizer –calendar, contacts, tasks, memos and more, right at your fingertips
- Keep all your data synchronized wirelessly at the touch of a button
- Customize by adding any of the thousands of Palm OS applications available
- Macintosh compatibility -Mac OS 10.2.4 to 10.4
YES! 128MB memory (60MB user available)
YES! 2GB, 4GB + future 8GB SD card support
Even More Innovative Phone Features
NEW! “Ignore with text” feature- Add new information to existing contact
- Preset dial prefixes in Dial Preferences
- Dedicated Send/End keys
- Ringer switch vibrates when sound switched off
- The Treo screen dims on an active call rather than turning off (without compromising talk time)
- Personalized ring tones for categories of callers (individual contacts, unknown, voicemail)
- Add anniversary or birthday within a contact and it appears in your calendar
- Voice memo –quickly record and send
New Speedy, award-winning Blazer®4.5 web browser
YES! Faster due to smarter caching rules- Improved java script support (increased number of sites viewable on the device)
- Better compatibility with non-mobile sites
- Fast -EvDO!
- Content-heavy sites are now easily viewable
- Fast and normal modes for viewing content
- Great for streaming audio and video
YES! 1.3-megapixel digital camera
YES! Built-in Bluetooth 1.2 wireless technology (no A2DP though…)
Rich multimedia capabilities for streaming music, video and more
Use the 1.3-megapixel camera with increased FPS on camcorder- Intuitive UI and icons make it easy to show off your favorite shots in a slideshow or digital photo album
- Send photos on the fly–no need to switch from the camera to the MMS or email application
- Save a photo to a contact directly from an album
- Add music or voice recording and transitions to slideshow
- New Pocket Tunes UI; upgrade to Pocket Tunes Deluxe version for WMA/PlaysForSure support
- NEW! Streaming Audio and Video
- No third-party applications required!
- Windows Media player-type content
- Great solution to view mobile specific content
- Easy on-screen navigation
Enhanced email -wireless access to Outlook, Yahoo!, AOL, and Gmail
- UI improvements to MMS – simplified for a better user experience
- Improved addressing for SMS and MMS
- Exchange ActiveSync now INCLUDES contact sync
- Connects to Exchange Server 2003
- Out-of-the-box support for Yahoo!, AOL, and Gmail
- VersaMail 3.5 with improved functionality
–Improved Smart Addressing (remembers recently used email address)
–Sort button on main inbox page (from display preferences)
–AutoSync can be scheduled for any combination of mail, calendar, contacts
–Improved Scrolling (press and hold down button to page-scroll)
Supports native Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, and PDF viewing on the go
- Take files “to go” and work anywhere
- 60MB of dedicated user storage and SD card support gives users plenty of room to download and carry important documents
- Documents To Go Version 8.0 offers native Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatibility
- Download, view and edit Word and Excel compatible files, then send them back fast
- Rehearse PowerPoint presentations anywhere
- Consult important PDF files using the new PDF viewer
Conclusion
Even without yet having had the benefit of testing the Treo 700p there is no doubt that this is a terrific upgrade to the Treo 650. Personally, the high-speed EvDO, huge increase in memory, possibility of using 4GB SD cards and significantly enhanced multimedia capabilities are all improvements that have me salivating in anticipation to get my hands on my very own Treo 700p in a couple of weeks time…
Treo 700p Overview [Palm.com] [Many thanks to all the Treonauts who emailed me about sharing the wonderful news.]
Treonauts always improve very fast… 
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Comments
All the features are great but the major thing I want to know is if the I can recieve a phone call during a data call.
Um...I think that was answered on the 3rd bullet point:
"YES! Automatically suspends an EvDO data session when you get an incoming voice call and then automatically resumes it afterwards."
Andrew, do you know if the 650 updaters are still scheduled to come this month in conjunction, or was that a myth?
It's disapointing that the Direct-Push capability that's built into Exchange Active Sync... is still not being utilized. Does Palm want to continue to give customers to RIM? The functionality is there. Why don't they take advantage of it?
People in Russia want to know when it will be the GSM version of this masterpiece ???
I heard a nasty rumour that Sprint was going to charge a nasty fee of $39.95 (alluded to in your article) for using this phone as a modem for your laptop.. such a premium may not be worth it for most. Interesting to see how the other carries will deal with this.
Anyone know if the new OS will be available for the 650? It has some excellent features that used to require 3rd party programs.
No Wifi supported on the SD card slot? Common! Seriously? 700W has it, ...is it that hard to add it to the Palm base? ugh. Otherwise... its a nice step up, but in reality, it will probably be another year before this phone has "everything" people usually want. (Including Wifi) You just cant surf internal networks using EVDO, and thats something they still dont seem to understand. I read that Palm said "EVDO gives you access like wifi" but, ummm, no... EVDO isn't a direct connect to my intranet LAN. *sigh*
Well, I'm completely disappointed. Mainly because I'm a Cingular user have no intention of switching carriers so I have nothing to gain. Well I'll probably take this time to jump to upgrade from my 600 to a 650 although I don't see a reason why.
The big item I was waiting for was the Blackberry function which was announced last year. Without the Blackberry function what's the point of upgrading?
I've been using the 700p for over a week now. It's been very solid...improving on the 650 in numerous areas. One huge improvement for me is Bluetooth. My headset connects faster (almost instantly) and the range is better. I can actually carry this phone in my pocket and carry on a conversation via Bluetooth. I'm quite pleased so far!
I noted Activesynch on this for email and contacts - this is even on the 700p (not just the 700w)?
> Supports 2GB SD cards.
Well, so does the 650. Can someone come out and say for sure that it supports 4GB cards? How about 8GB cards? (I can dream) At least the Palm site lists the wifi SDIO card as an option for the 700p.
Will we be able to upgrade the 4.0 Blazer browser on the 650 to the new 4.5 version?
WOW! I'm sorry but the 700P is not worth me switching to another carrier like i was hoping for. The only real upgrade that i see here is the EVDO and the camera. Still no WIFI....WTF...Palm and sprint almost had my $500 for this phone($500 after rebates for signing a new contract,i think)
Shaun D.
"EVDO isn't a direct connect to my intranet LAN. *sigh*"
"You just cant surf internal networks using EVDO, and thats something they still dont seem to understand."
Looks like i might be jumping ship to that Micro$oft os with the cingular 8125. Which has WIFI
It mentions streaming video capabiltities:
Any idea if this is limited to the carrier services, such as SprintTV/Verizion VCast?
Or will it work with other formats? And if so, which ones?
Any chance of ORB support???? :-)
I'm excited about the possibilities!!!
For the person that said WIFI SDIO was listed on the PALM site as supported by Treo 700p. Uh.... no. Dont see it. I see 700w, I dont see 700p. I dont think they plan to support wifi in the 700p period. I can wish, and hope, and pray, but if they wanted wifi, i think they would have done it out of the box on the 700. ugh.
It doesn't look like they made any changes to the non-Treo geek. All I need is a datebook, calendar phone and way to check my e-mail and do some webbrowsing. I don't need a 1.3 megapixel camera, what I need the easiest way possible to communicate with my office. I need the Blackberry upgrade which was suppossed to be out by now.
Bummer about no Wi-Fi. Is it just no software drivers or is there a mechanical difference between the 700w and 700p? It was suggested that on the 600 the SDIO slot had insufficient voltage. Don't understand why electronics would be different between these two models!
I have to say, that i am a little bit disappointed with what palms brings up here!
No WIFI, no RSS Feed support built in...
No Multitasking (after taking a call you have to reload that last program)
I don't see that much of improvements it's just a small step.
Also BT implementation is horrible on Treo compared to others phones/smartphones - the latency for picking the call or even making the headset ring is more than one second!
I am going to pick a SE p990i as soon as available.
I will then post a comparison on my blog site.
But until p990i is released Treo is probably still the best smartphone - but the OS needs a new foundation!
How can you have Bluetooth 1.2 and not have A2DP? I thought the A2DP was a feature of Bluetooth 1.2. I was hoping I'd be able to use a bluetooth stereo headset with a 700P. And, the DUN had better work with Macs...or Palm just lost a truckload of Macusers!
I looked through the article but didn't see it. Do we know anything yet about the screen size?
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