Treo Pro Now Official

I have a Treo 650 with Cingular AT&T and it runs on the Edge network, slowwwww.
I have been holding off getting a new one until they re-do the Treo OS rather than Windows. Do you feel this is a wise decision, as I have learned most commands under this system??
Your thoughts please.
Paul Miller

Its so close that clove.co.uk, have it listed as pre-order even though the actual launch has not been confirmed yet....

GOOD LOOKING HARDWARE...but - Windows Mobile....yawn.... next.

Paul - like you, I and millions of Treonauts will soon need to decide which new OS to choose. The NOVA OS (when released in 2009) or Windows Mobile.

There isn't an easy answer. I absolutely love the Palm OS but there is no doubt that Windows Mobile has improved significantly over the last couple of years and it should get even better in 2009.

I know that I will have a difficult choice to make when I get my Treo Pro and decide whether I stick to my Centro or make it my daily smartphone. I wont' know for sure until I get one in my hands.

For now at least I think that the Treo Pro will be a dream come true for those Treonauts who have already made the decision to switch to Windows Mobile or for those who have been using this OS from other manufacturers.

Having said this, the choice of Treo Pro will now be particularly appealing for the enterprise market wishing to reduce their dependance (and costs) with RIM.

Cheers, A.

Ibid. I fondly remember my first Palm V. I've been milking the last mile out of my 650. Its been a solid companion, but if this phone is as good as it looks, I'm gonna make the switch. I cannot believe that 6.1 is going to be worse than my 3 year old Palm OS.

Windows sucks.

Hi Andrew,
Thank you for the write up. The Treo Pro looks great. I am a US T-mobile customer and was wondering if the Treo Pro will be compatible with the US T-Mo 3G network which runs on a 1700/2100 Mhz frequency? I know the specs for the Treo-Pro says it is a tri-band 850/1900/2100Mhz but do you need the 1700Mhz spectrum also to run on T-mobile's 3G network?

Thank you,
Rick

Also something else that was not mentioned here yet, there is no CD that comes in the device packaging, everything is on the Treo itself, so when you plug the USB Sync cable into your PC, it literally shows up as a virtual CDROM and begins to search for and load the software you need, if you already have ActiveSync installed it notices that as well.

Also, dont expect AT&T to pickup this phone.

My 2 cents

"Windows Sucks"? That's it? have you tried the new Windows 6.1? OS' improve. I don't own one but have two friends who do. I play with the 5 and 6.1 There is a HUGE difference in performance and stability.

Rick - you will be able to use the Treo Pro with T-Mobile and any other GSM network (over 600) worldwide.

Trevor - for now there certainly isn't any indication about AT&T but it just would make a lot of sense for them to carry this terrific new smartphone. We'll just have to wait and see.

comiken - agreed, WinMo may not (yet) be my favourite OS but it continues to get much better.

Cheers, A.

Any potential word on when this beast may come to Sprint?

I too am waiting for the next gen Palm OS Nova to come out (even a glimpse!) to make a solid decision on my next phone. I currently have the Centro, and besides its atrociously low battery life, it's a pretty solid phone and perhaps the last of the line of oldskool Palm OS devices.

I very much like this Treo Pro look and functionality set, and just from that I'm pretty much ready to purchase...with the last decision whether to convert to Windows Mobile or be wowed by Palm Nova.

It would seem this is the popular opinion (at least for those who might even consider Windows).

Charles

@comiken

I agree with you, 100%. A year ago I too would have said "Windows sucks". I hated the Mogul and its awful laggy slowness. However, I decided to give the Treo 800w a try due to the specs on the device, and all I can say is "wow". WM 6.1 is such a huge improvement, and with Palm's personal tweaks and beefy hardware (along with the real hardware 3d accelerator) the 800w is a snappy device. And WinMo has become so powerful, I am a happy convert now, and those who know me will tell you that is a big change in attitude indeed.

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the response. I was actually wondering if the Treo-Pro will be able to access T-mobile USA's new 3G network (not just EDGE)?

Thank you,
Rick

nice phone - finally, I feel proud to have stood by my treo 600 and 680 in the face of iphone releases and blackberry releases. But the price is outrageous at $549!!! Once again I am continually disappointed by Palm. For this price I can buy both an iphone and a bold. The Pro doesn't have that much more functionality over the Bold to demand such a high price. I'm so angry!

This would be very hot if Palm hadn't just given Sprint an ugly one (800). At this point, I don't think I like Palm much at all.

I'll be sticking with my 755p till they come out with something new that is both on Verizon Wireless and able to run my legacy Palm OS apps. Or until someone comes out with an Android phone that has a PalmOS emulator... :)

What about the people that got sucked into the Treo 700w/wx nightmare. First and under powered phone (w) and then stuck with WM5 on the wx still riddled with problems that neither the phone vendor nor palm seem to want to fix.

I will admit that the new Pro looks nice but the keyboard is too Centro like. Instead of improving the keyboard like the blackberry, they keep getting smaller. I am sorry but that small keyboard is not suitable for business use where a person may need to type replies to text and email messages fast.

The best keyboard for small devices was on the old Blackberry 600/650. It was the ease of use and the tactile feel that earned them the name crackberry.

I don't know about the rest of you but I don't like spending $400.00 every couple of years for a phone. I am almost ready to go back to a phone a laptop and a PDA or just make the move to the IPhone 3G. At least is appears to be going in an upward direction and not rewarming the same old crap.

Eunix

PiggyGirl is spot on!!! Why would Palm insult Sprint users so much with the 800, when the Pro was SO close to ready? And Verizon is right behind them in the insult line.

A different question for Andrew. Is the US (plus S Korea) the largest market for Palm, or does the rest of the world overshadow us? If, like I suspect, we ARE their largest market, then WHY the H#LL do they fall into the trap of making the hottest phone for the inferior standard (GSM)?!?!?!?

AT&T service absolutely SUCKS in the southeast, unless you live in a MAJOR metropolitan area (ATL, Miami, Nashville, Dallas, that's probably it!)! ...and don't even MENTION TMobile. What a joke they are as far as reception goes! D@mnit Palm! make the better devices for CDMA!!!! That's the standard in THIS country that works the best!

I like the device and I hope that comes to ATT. Not had a problem with drops on ATT and I have worked in remote areas that couldn't even get analog...

Palm is teasing us and a shame on Plam. I wonder why Treo 800w and now Pro? I have been waiting years for my T650 replacement. Plam is yet to give me one. Win Mobile is now better but I don't wanna go in that direction, neither with Apple yet.

If you hear me Palm, I like the Treo 800w keyboard and the non glossy finish combined with the Treo Pro design in the next Palm OS Treo. Still Treo Pro is good if came in Palm OS. Palm may better say that whether you are getting us the new Palm OS or not. Most didn't waited this far and went with HTC, Apple and BB. I will do the same at the end of this year if Palm doesn't deliver. Period.

This is off topic but may be relevant to George only,

No offense but, it is absolutely wrong you say that GSM is a inferior standard. When you guys in US started SMS for sure?

We've been doing it for over a decade now in Asia and Europe. Initially SMS was the first mobile revolution for mobile data consumption. Push news, banking, polls all that was possible in the pre-smartphone era because of the GSM standard!

Other than the lack of my tech know how, all GSM users experience far superior battery life, higher data rate and smaller sized devices because of GSM. US had a hard time adopting all that and CDMA is copying all that a DECADE LATER!:-)

If your point is valid, then, why on earth Apple made iPhone GSM only? Is that Apple will go with a technology which is inferior?

For the record here we've been using CDMA to replace centuries old land phone line connection. You see, finally cutting the Alex Graham Bell's wire. Those just getting SMS and data links on far with US CDMA advances! Not mobiles, our land lines networks are comparable to US mobile networks!

Actually those guys do their (side) business of setting up their land line replacement phone networks using the cheap CDMA network switches available which are either pulling off from few US like CDMA users or from the ones who go out of business CDMA mobile switch makers due to the GSM dominance:-)

For GSM other than initial voice, GPRS we had
1. SMS form the beginning
2. 7.2 Mbps HSDPA datalinks for over three years now

US users are just experiencing those. Therefore the above mention network problems since US network providers are just rolling out it and new to the technology.

Cheers!

Best Regards,
Chan
Colombo, Sri Lanka.

I love the Palm OS, I have had phone with the Window OS but I am a solid believer in the Palm. Will the new Pro come out with a Palm OS option, and also a unlocked version

I have a Treo 650p with Sprint. I resisted the urge to trade up to a 755p because the benefits weren't worth the extra cost, plus I was waiting for Wi-Fi.

I eagerly awaited the 800w debut and was sorely disappointed. I wasn't a Palm OS snob, but I simply HATED Windows Mobile. It took longer to do everything. The 800 also didn't feel as good in my hand. The demo model was "tore up". I know that they get a lot of rough handling, but it shouldn't be that bad after just two days in the store.

I've got an incredibly good plan with Sprint - so good that they've been trying to offer me other plans to abandon it. The new packages are so damned expensive (all carriers), I'm beginning to wonder why ANYONE has a cell phone. $200 for a two-line family plan with 800 minutes? I'm paying less than half that and I still think I'm paying too much.

My internet speeds seem to be slowing down. Anyone think that Sprint is deliberately slowing down internet access on older phones or plans in order to sell new products and plans?

I hate to rain on this parade, but other tech media reports that the Treo Pro is only going to be available unlocked, at $549. Apparently AT&T doesn't think it is "hot" enough to subsidize, and neither does T-Mobile. At a $549 price point the Treo Pro is going nowhere.

Thanks for the reality check on the phone Brian, but please cancel your membership in the club of people who use the word "price point" when they really mean "price"

A "price point" is a price at which there is a high price elasticity of demand just above that price and a low price elasticity of demand just below that price. A demand curve has many price points, and changes in supply settle at price points because they are stable equillibria.

If you don't understand what I just said, then it's best never to use the term "price point" ever again.

When I hear a salesman ask, "What's your price point?" I want to strangle them. What they're really asking is, "What's the maximum amount you are willing to pay so I can extract that much from you?"

I'm in the group that isn't doesn't care for WindowsMobile OS. After numerous frustrations with my Treo 650, I tried Windows, and tried to like it, but stayed with palm for a 755p.

Because I use it primarily for business, email, scheduler, phone book, and business notes, the iphone just doesn't cut it.

I've also tried and tried to like the blackberry, but I need my touch screen. Now it does have it, and it's become more attractive lately. If I'm going to be forced to change OS, and dump all the software applications I've had, it will probably be to a Blackberry.

Looking forward to a more powerful, more reliable, for business, Palm OS phone.

A business tool that justifies it's return on investment, is a good investment. Whether it's a $600 phone for you, x10+ for your employees, or a $60k IT hardware purchase. It's all relative. I think Palm made a good move in selling the phone unlocked. It's a more global economy now and having the flexability of an unlocked phone saves you money from buying an additional $400+ phone in a foreign country.