Treo Pro Briefly Unveiled
Ultraslim New Black Windows Mobile GSM Treo Pro (aka Treo 850) Delivers Most Beautiful & Exciting Palm Smartphone in Years with 3G + WiFi + GPS + Flush Screen & More
Following the (sadly) unfounded excitement for the Palm Centro2 earlier this week we can at least now rejoice with real information about the forthcoming Treo Pro (aka Treo 850) which already has the web abuzz with the “slickest & coolest Palm smartphone in years”.
Palm yesterday temporarily offered a flash presentation of this Treo Pro online briefly giving us the opportunity to grab the screenshots below and gather some more information about its specifications.
While we already knew a few things from a hardware and design perspective such as the fact that the Treo Pro would be the first Palm smartphone to offer a flush touchscreen (no recess) as well as a new navigation key layout and the reuse of the Centro keyboard (which I find excellent).
Thanks to the image above we now also get to see that the new camera lens on the Treo Pro finally does away with the ugly mirror that all previous versions had and the speaker also gets a revamp now with a narrow band on the back side. We still get a memory card slot (under the battery though) and the addition of a dedicated side WiFi button. Two of the most interesting design changes include a stylus now positioned at the bottom of the device and the first 3.5mm stereo headset jack on a Palm smartphone!
Further exciting Treo Pro specifications include:
- Built-in assisted-GPS receiver
- Built-in 802.11 b/g WiFi
- 320x320 pixel resolution flush touchscreen
- GSM, EDGE radio
- High-speed UMTS HSDPA 3.6 data connectivity
- microSD slot under the battery
- 2 Megapixel Camera
- 1500 mAh battery (that should provide 5.5 hours+ of talk time)
- a micro-USB connector for both power and sync
- Bluetooth 2.0 EDR + A2DP (allowing you to use Stereo Bluetooth Headphones for wireless music)
- 256MB NAND-Flash (with over 175MB available to use) + 32 MB SDRAM
- Runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (possible upgrade to 7.0 in 2009)
Additionally, the Treo Pro promises to become one of the thinnest Touchscreen + Keyboard smartphones in the world (see below) when it is released (hopefully within a few weeks) thanks to being only 14mm thick – a full 25% slimmer (4.6mm less) than the already small Palm Centro.
The image comparison below shows the Treo Pro roughly to scale with the Centro. The first measuring D14mm x W60mm x H113mm compared to the D18.6mm x W53.5mm x H107.2mm of the Centro. Thus, aside from its slimness, the Treo 850 is 6.5mm (12.5%) wider and some 5mm (5%) longer than the Centro which guarantees both a larger screen and keyboard that business users will demand. I also expect the Treo Pro to weigh only between 100–120 grams (some 33% less than the existing Treo 750 that it replaces).
As I have mentioned before, the more I learn about the Treo Pro the more I like it. Its looks are very appealing with the slick black body – one that now happens to be ultrathin and ultralight – and there’s absolutely nothing to fault in its high-end specifications. I reckon that it may very well prove to become one of the most successful Windows Mobile Palm smartphones to date when it is released at the end of August/September (rumours are that Palm has already placed an order for 5.0 million new smartphones with a Taiwanese manufacturer).
Separately, the Treo Pro also represents the single largest and most significant design “jump” that Palm has made in quite a while and may finally be indicative of a completely new design culture at the company – one which will hopefully deliver a range of stunning devices running the new NOVA operating system in 2009. It’s certainly encouraging and refreshing to see Palm slowly but surely moving on the right track again.
Treo Pro Images via Gizmodo
Treonauts are always pros… 
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Comments
Love my Treo 750...now I am torn between the iphone and the Treo pro.
This will be a killer! So slick, so full featured! Even the fastest Windows Mobile phone around. Look at the Treo 800w
after seeing the treo pro with windwos mobile, i can really care less about the palm OS. NOVA i will give it a shot, but the Palm OS is starting to seem less and less appealing. Dont expect to see a Palm version of any new treo until NOVA comes out.
Personally, I loved the Palm OS until I gave the Treo 800w a chance. WM 6.1 is so much better than even the previous 6.0 iteration, IMHO. Palm also does their own tweaking to increase the performance and capabilities.
While I am quite happy with my new 800w, I must say I wish that this 850 was being released on Sprint, rather than AT&T. I most definitely like the appearance of this new device, appreciating the flat screen in particular. And the shiny black makes for a hot looking device.
Nevertheless, I'm loving what I have and have no regrets that I migrated from a Treo 700p to a Centro, and now to the Treo 800w. With this new device coming out, I too am happy to see that Palm seems to be turning the corner in product availability and features. As one who loves the Treo/Centro one handed style, I'm rooting for Palm.
SDRam - The specs repeated here are 32MB.
But the 800w has 128M.
Was this spec a copy of the earlier stuff, or was this explicitly stated in the newest data?
'Cause 32MB seems really abysmal.
-Greg
Hey Andrew,
I like the look of this phone, and the business doesn't bother me like it does other people. I just hope they make this phone's casing with quality. My wife has the centro and when gripping it you can feel the battery cover move around and squeak and when you're typing on the keypad you can feel the phone give and again hear the squeaking. It'd be awesome if they made this phone out of some better material and perfectly molded the case. Kind of like the new BB Bold. Of course I havent had my hands on the Bold so it might do the same thing, but I remember the way my 600 used to feel and it was just so tightly encased and nothing squeaked. This phone has potential, I think, if they can make it have a good quality casing.
AT&T coverage absolutely stinks around here, so I can't adequately emphasize my GIANT disappointment at all these great new phones coming out in GSM. If they want to sell to a US market, why must phone manufacturers INSIST on putting the best phones on that crappy GSM system?!?!?
Andrew, is there any chance that Palm will make an 850, or the like, for the better radio format in the US (aka CDMA)? Even if they would just redesign the 800W to be thinner and with the flush screen, that would suffice!
Running Microsoft is not "being on the right track" as far as I am concerned. Maybe I will wait for the PALM OS version, but probably I will go for Android. I have been a user since Handspring started, but lost any feeling of loyalty when Palm went "W".
Running Microsoft is not "being on the right track" as far as I am concerned. Maybe I will wait for the PALM OS version, but probably I will go for Android. I have been a user since Handspring started, but lost any feeling of loyalty when Palm went "W".
I really wish they'd drop the Windows Mobile only versions of the Treo and bring a new Palm OS version out.
Having sworn by the PalmOS for just about forever on my 650, and having recently moved to the 750 and WM6; I am def. won over.
WM just rocks for productivity, efficiency & multitasking; given it does lock up more than my PalmOS did but hands down still works better. VoiceDialing just about seals the deal for WM platform.
Can't wait for the TreoPro; buying it at full retail, bring it on ... I WANT IT NOW!
That looks like a nice device, esp with the 1500mAh battery, however the Centro-style keyboard is a huge turn off. That keyboard is not good for people with large hands.
Like some of you, I will wait for a Palm OS, even if it is the "long in the teeth" old(er) Palm OS. One of you said the Windows Mobile was better, slicker, more professional (my words, not theirs), but it does lock up more than the Palm OS. That is just the point for the intuitive OS by Palm. AND the reason that my wife went from Blackberry to Treo 755p. She still loves it after all these months.
For those who want who want voice dialing, Palm OS has it. (As do I on my 680.)
As to GSM, it is the international standard and it seems that more phones would be sold elsewhere and internationally than the US. My 680 is GSM and worked just fine in Scotland last year. Oh, and it works well here in the Southeast US, too.
As has been said, bring on the Palm OS version....also.
http://speakinginparentheses.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-i-dont-understand.html
Why don't engineers make a pda phone (panda) that looks roughly like the one in the link above?
Wow, this phone is definitely what I am talking about. I'll definitely wait for this one. I just hope this gets released as an unlocked version. Now I no longer crave for the Ipaq 910. :D
Please, send me some pictures taken by Treo Pro in best quality...
So what providers will be offering the Treo Pro? I have only heard Sprint is going to. Will AT&T have it too??
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