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Cingular Treo 680: Pricing & Release Date Leaks + Treo 750w Possibly Coming to Cingular Soon

I have to admit that at this particular moment I feel as if Santa had arrived early this year thanks to the latest leak of a Cingular “Government Sales Team” PowerPoint presentation for the “Palm Treo 680 Pre-Launch Briefing” which has a ton of information about the forthcoming Treo 680 – now expected to be released on or within days of November 5th…

(Slide 6) Palm Treo 680 Value Proposition

  • Cingular-exclusive device
  • PDA capability at a Smartphone price: debuts at $174.99 best price (tentative)
  • Palm Ease of Use: Palm OS is still recognized as the easiest device OS to use.  Palm further enhances the simplicity of Palm OS with the enhanced user interface on Treo 680 which gives quick access to all phone features and major applications (Calendar/Web/Email, etc.).
  • Business/Personal email applications: Customers can choose from a variety of email and messaging options to access their corporate and personal email, including Good Mobile Messaging, XpressMail, Blackberry Connect (expected Q1, 2007) and Microsoft Direct Push (expected Q1, 2007)
  • LOB applications platform:  Support for TeleNav and a broad portfolio of horizontal and vertical applications
  • Push to Talk Capability:  PTT software upgrade expected in Q1, 2007
  • Rich multimedia experience:  With MEdia Net, personal email, chat-style SMS/MMS, pending IM capabilities (Thumbspeed), and an integrated multimedia suite with PocketTunes to play music, stereo headset jack, and VGA camera with video capture/playback

From the above information it therefore looks like Cingular may not after all offer the rumoured FREE Treo 680 with a new 2 year voice and data plan but the best price of $174.99 can nonetheless still be considered a bargain for the features and functionality that this smartphone delivers – it also happens to be the single best value Treo ever released.

Additionally the expected availability of Blackberry Connect and Microsoft Direct Push by early 2007 combined with the terrific pricing should also greatly help to push the Treo 680 deeper into businesses which have thus far limited deployments to more senior personnel because of costs.

(Slide 7) Cingular’s Palm Portfolio – Device Comparion (Please click on thumbnail for full size image)

Although the rest of the PowerPoint presentation makes absolutely no mention of a Palm Treo 750w, the above image nonetheless presents it as one that will become part of Cingular’s Palm portfolio at some point in the future…  (Also see my previous post Treo 750w Coming To Sprint... Maybe...)

(Slide 8) Palm Treo 680 – Competitive Comparison

Treo 700 Advantages
– 3G speeds
– Higher-resolution cameras
– Slight advantage in talk time

Treo 680 Advantages
– Price -- $50 to $100 cheaper
– Lighter, Slimmer, Antenna-Less Form-Factor (added by me)
– International GSM Roaming
– Enhanced phone UI
– Slight advantage in user-available memory
– PTT Capability (Q1, 2007)
– BBC and MSFP (Q1, 2007)
– Non-camera version (Business Customers Only)

In much the same vein as my own Treo Family Comparison Chart (which I have now again updated with all this latest information) the above image helps to more clearly visualize the main differences between the Treo 680 and other Treo smartphones currently available.  As previously noted one of the advantages is also that pretty much all Treo accessories will work for all smartphone models.

(Slide 10) Palm Treo 680 – Pricing & Eligible Data Plans

Palm Holiday Rebate
– Palm will fund an additional $50 off the Treo 680 during Holiday promotional period (11/5/06 – 1/6/07)
– Palm rebate will add to Cingular $50 rebate to create a single $100 rebate
– $100 rebate will require activation of an unlimited data plan and a $39.99 or higher voice plan

Pricing (tentative)
$424.99, no commitment
$349.99, 1 yr. commitment
$249.99, 1 yr. with UNL data plan ($100 rebate)
$274.99, 2 year commitment
BEST price: $174.99 2 year with UNL data plan ($100 rebate)

Data Plans
PDA Connect Plans
PDA Connect for Good Plans
Blackberry Connect Plans – BBC available Q1, 2007
Microsoft Direct Push -- client available Q1, 2007
Tethering Plans (Dial-Up Networking): Tethers via Bluetooth at launch; will add USB tethering in mid-life upgrade

Treo 680 & Cingular 8525 info [via Life’s last 60 days]

UPDATE:  Thanks to Christopher for pointing me in the direction of the picture below left already showing a Treo 680 demo unit at a Fry’s in Houston.  Also one of the very first images of a Cingular-branded Windows Mobile Treo 750w which I estimate may be released as early as the end of November…

  

Treonauts are always looking for the leaks


Posted by Andrew on October 28, 2006 at 04:17 PM

Treo 680

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Comments

1
by Amanda | Oct 28, 2006 6:30:34 PM

It's like xmas early!!!

2
by J. | Oct 28, 2006 6:50:57 PM

Wait...did I miss something?

Will the Treo 680 allow for sync over USB? From the image it looks like it's Bluetooth-only.

3
by christopher | Oct 28, 2006 9:41:09 PM

found a demo at fry's in houston, the attendant told me that within a week after receiving demos, they receive the working versions for sale...
http://www.aww-kittah-aww.com/up/pupload/view/1138

4
by John | Oct 28, 2006 9:54:34 PM

if anyone would know, will it be in stores on nov. 5th, or available online on nov. 5th?

5
by morrie | Oct 28, 2006 10:11:40 PM

i have had for years the $19.99 unlimited media works plan. i wonder if this would still be acceptable to get the lower price. having to get the $40 pda connect plan would not be economically feasible.

6
by Andrew | Oct 28, 2006 10:13:47 PM

J. - the 'Tethering' reference is not to HotSync but to DUN... DUN will be enabled via USB first and later via cable.

Christopher - thanks for the images!

Cheers, A.

7
by Judy | Oct 28, 2006 11:38:27 PM

Morrie,

My thoughts exactly. Just a few days ago, the Cingular website showed several tiers of PDA Connect plans, starting at $20/month for 5 MB going up to $45/month for unlimited. But now, those ones are called Data Connect Plans and now they are offering two SmartPhone plans - that unlimited plan is $20. Is that just your media works plan rebranded?

I'm getting itchy... I can't wait much longer before I bust.

8
by David | Oct 28, 2006 11:42:04 PM

Does anyone know what this could mean for a eelease datw for the unlockesd 680 from Palm?

9
by David | Oct 28, 2006 11:59:24 PM

Ooops. That was "release" "date" and "unlocked." Obviously I NEED to get my hands on that 680 keyboard post haste.

10
by Muniruddeen | Oct 29, 2006 12:49:20 AM

For users of Treo & Palm in the South East Asia regions, we may be the last to receive the latest handset. Palm would certainly require a huge marketing effort to promote 680 in the region. One of the best marketig strategy is a competitive introductory offer, (given that regional suppliers always like to retain the big piece of the profit in Asia). Palm SHOULD leverage on its after sale service, it has been the BEST support & service of any PDA/Samrtphone in the region.

In fact, my query (or curiousity) which I may have missed in early discussion is; why are Palm Handhelds e.g. TX, T-E2 support Wifi, while Treo 650/700p use the OS?

Supporter of Palm for past 10 years...

11
by robogeek | Oct 29, 2006 2:18:51 AM

Andrew - What about the unlocked 680 from Palm.com? Please tell me that "exclusively at Cingular" just means they're the only U.S. carrier getting the 680, _not_ that Palm's unlocked 680 will be delayed. (I'd dearly love to see/order the unlocked 680 this week, as my T-Mobile 600 is hanging on by a fraying thread.)

Also, given that we've surmised the unlocked Treo 680 will be around $399... what's the deal with Cingular's tentative $425 "no commitment" 680, which I presume won't be unlocked?

Thanks. (I'd be lost in the darkness without this site.)

12
by nobody | Oct 29, 2006 9:21:57 AM

I have a question for you experts- I can't decide btwn the 680 and 700p. I like the 680 form factor but the 3G speed of the 700p is a real plus for me. My question - is the extra data speed noticeable on these devices through DUN?

13
by Andrew | Oct 29, 2006 9:40:34 AM

robogeek - Palm's plan is to release the Unlocked Treo 680 as soon as Cingular launches its own model - so hopefully on Nov. 5 or 6.

nobody - DUN speed differences between the Treo 700p and Treo 680 _will_ be noticeable (with the 700p being about three or four times faster). If you absolutely need the 3G speed then you'll want the Treo 700p.

Cheers, A.

14
by morrie | Oct 29, 2006 10:09:15 AM

my reply to judy (post #7)
the unlimited smartphone plan for $20 does not appear to have text messaging. they do have a media max 200 plan for $20 which is similiar to my $20 media works plan. the whole thing is very confusing to me.

15
by Ryan | Oct 29, 2006 10:27:45 AM

I was at a Cingular store yesterday asking about the release of the 750. The sales rep pulled up the Cingular internal warehouse release dates for new products. The 680 was 11/6 and the 750 was 11/14. I saw the screen and the internal URL address. The reps said the date is not locked to that, but it is usually very close. Thank God! I am tired of waiting for the 750.

16
by Joe | Oct 29, 2006 1:36:20 PM

So does this mean it is unlikely there will be a Cingular/GSM 750p?

17
by Howjdoin | Oct 29, 2006 9:18:11 PM

Did anyone notice that they do not have other colors in their poster?

18
by T/Xer | Oct 29, 2006 10:40:38 PM

The clincher for me is that the Treo 680 will support Microsoft's direct push (according to the power point in 1Q07).
I was possibly considering waiting for the 750v for the built-in direct push support, but with the mention of this direct push add-in, it guarantees support from my IT group who are not too keen about loading additional apps (good, blackberry, etc.) to support e-mail on their servers. Since the direct push features are built into server 2003, this just tipped the scales for me and a few other folks I know to the 680! ...now let's just see if this intel is accurate!

19
by Michelle | Oct 29, 2006 10:54:03 PM

Ryan-Thanks for the info. Did the rep by chance mention anything about a 750p???

20
by Ryan | Oct 29, 2006 10:58:19 PM

No - He only said it has almost the exact same specs as the 750v. Sorry - forgot to ask about the 750p. It was a perfect chance to ask about it.

21
by Michelle | Oct 29, 2006 11:04:39 PM

Ryan-Thanks. I'm so torn. I would love to have a brand new 680, but I think I should put my money towards the more advanced 750. A Cingular Treo 750p would be perfect! I am crossing my fingers!!!

22
by beamtest | Oct 30, 2006 12:33:00 AM

Hey, with that 680 demo pic, is that saying that they're out already???

23
by c k | Oct 30, 2006 12:59:08 AM

Anyone know what colors of Treo 680 is Cingular going to offer? Is it really only Silver & Black?

24
by SimplePleasure | Oct 30, 2006 10:37:55 AM

will treo 680 be available in asia?

25
by benjy | Oct 30, 2006 10:50:33 AM

There is no black. There is only silver (graphite) which is shown throughout the powerpoint presentation.

The comments to this entry are closed.

 
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