Sprint Treo 800W: 7/22 + 2 Pics

[Malatesta]

Update 5/15 + 5/16

Pics are leaked of prototype device (story here)

• IR port
• MSM-6800 chipset (reported here earlier)
• ~100mb of Program Memory (after OS)/ ~170mb of Storage Memory (after OS)
• WM 6.1 (5.2.1944)
• ARM1136 processor
• WiFi confirmed
• Rubberized feel to device (new)
• Dedicated Wifi button on top (new)
• Palm Threaded SMS

Update 5/6/08

From our source, we're calling the release date for the Sprint Palm Treo 800w (read more here):

Tues, July 22nd

Also, we can confirm the following:

- Charcoal Black color for launch
- No MMS as of now
- No QChat (on any Sprint smartphone this year)
- Threaded SMS (looks to the Palm version)
- WM 6.1
- It's very fast with no lag
- Larger than the Centro, slightly smaller than the 750
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Update 3/27/08

- New Sprint Roadmap
- Release date (tenative): July 2008
- Same features: Wifi, GPS, WM 6.x, Rev A

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Update 1/7/08

- New pic
- Wifi noted on 2nd plugin in pic

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Update 9/10

- New Picture
- More details
- Launch = Q1 2008, not Q4

Also, due to the launch of the Treo 500, I would think this will have BT 2.0 and a 2+mp Camera.
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This will probably come around October/November, my guess, as that is Palm's release schedule and will coincide with the full Rev A launch.

Details are from http://morningpaper.typepad.com

Windows OS 6.0
2+ (?) MP integrated Camera
AGPS
WIFI

I'd also guarantee 320x320 resolution, as WM6 does that now specifically for Palm WM devices...

If true...eat it Mogul!

[shivers]

but I just got my 700wx a couple weeks ago...

[Malatesta]

Originally Posted by shivers

but I just got my 700wx a couple weeks ago...

lol, sorry?

For some of us, we've had the Treo nearly a year come October, so that's long enough for an upgrade

[shivers]

I'm late to the Treo party, what can I say. I love it though and don't see myself ever going back to a regular phone. Maybe I will upgrade to the 800 in '08.

[budney]

Nice to see some info start bubbling up on this device. If the memory, screen, & A2DP are improved/added. This device will replace my 700wx & Q.

[Mustang46L]

Does this seem to not be all that much of an *UPGRADE* to anyone else? For the Treo fanboys still hanging on I think they were hoping for a whole lot more.

[Malatesta]

Originally Posted by Mustang46L

Does this seem to not be all that much of an *UPGRADE* to anyone else? For the Treo fanboys still hanging on I think they were hoping for a whole lot more.

I'll be perfectly honest, I think this argument is completely bogus.

What else can be done?

GPS & Wifi are technically both up to the carrier, not Palm. If Sprint wants those, then they will be implemented.

It's a front-keyboard device. That is a Treo. Not sure how else to make it much different.

It runs WM6, Rev A, internal antenna 320x320 resolution (higher than most Wm5/WM6 devices, including the Mogul) and they have excellent battery life and high build quality. It'll also probably have A2DP like the 750.

Finally, what makes Palm WM devices better is how the optimize the OS and tweak it. If you never used a 700wx, you'd never know, but it kicks the snot out of anything HTC offers. Look at how fast a beta WM6 runs on the 750...it has 312mhz processor for god's sake. Video. The 700wx has 47mb of available RAM--how much does any other device on the U.S. market offer?

Not that you endorsed the Mogul, but that is hardly an *UPGRADE* either--in fact it's the least they could have done while still calling it a 6800.

In the end though, Palm is an OEM and they build devices for Carriers, not the people. So any real blame goes to Sprint/Verizon for not wanting more features.

But go ahead...build your dream Treo device and tell me what it'll have it (keep it realistic and with current available technology)

I think 700wx owners, who are relatively happy already with their devices, will welcome these changes (including probably a thinner, better looking device).

[Big D5]

Sweet prospect I'll want to play with one of these, but if there is one thing I have learned from all my phone jumping its that I am a HTC guy. By the way, Mogul screen is 2.8" QVGA TFT LCD, 240x320 64k-color touch screen, resolution isn't everything, for my old eyes its text size.

[Mustang46L]

Originally Posted by Malatesta

I'll be perfectly honest, I think this argument is completely bogus.

What else can be done?

GPS & Wifi are technically both up to the carrier, not Palm. If Sprint wants those, then they will be implemented.

It's a front-keyboard device. That is a Treo. Not sure how else to make it much different.

It runs WM6, Rev A, internal antenna 320x320 resolution (higher than most Wm5/WM6 devices, including the Mogul) and they have excellent battery life and high build quality. It'll also probably have A2DP like the 750.

Finally, what makes Palm WM devices better is how the optimize the OS and tweak it. If you never used a 700wx, you'd never know, but it kicks the snot out of anything HTC offers. Look at how fast a beta WM6 runs on the 750...it has 312mhz processor for god's sake. Video. The 700wx has 47mb of available RAM--how much does any other device on the U.S. market offer?

Not that you endorsed the Mogul, but that is hardly an *UPGRADE* either--in fact it's the least they could have done while still calling it a 6800.

In the end though, Palm is an OEM and they build devices for Carriers, not the people. So any real blame goes to Sprint/Verizon for not wanting more features.

But go ahead...build your dream Treo device and tell me what it'll have it (keep it realistic and with current available technology)

I think 700wx owners, who are relatively happy already with their devices, will welcome these changes (including probably a thinner, better looking device).

I feel what you are saying, but it just doesn't fly. So we have made it the whole way to a 1.3MP camera, way to go. It wouldn't be hard or expensive to upgrade that. WiFi is a welcome addition that should have been included with the 650, not the 800. The memory is great to have more of sure and I'm sure the processor is more than adequate but it isn't even an upgrade from the 650. The screen has much to be desired just like every other device out, but I mean we were doing 320x320 on the 650 as well.

Sorry if I keep comparing to the 650, but that was almost 3 years ago and many specs haven't moved. I just think the innovation that got Treo where they are is gone and they have their loyal customers but they don't seem to be working to get those new customers.

I would love to see a bigger screen. Give me 848x480 (you could even give me a slide over-top keyboard like the LG 325 did -- 480x480 resolution when closed, 848x480 when slid open). The memory is a great addition but with how cheap flash memory is today, where is the 4gb or 8gb built in? We have become a very media-centric society so where is the "lifedrive-like" feel to the OS and the video output for projectors and monitors? The 312MHz processor is fine, but how is it going to handle EV-DO Rev. A and media streaming simultaneously I wonder?

I'm not trying to bash Palm, I think there products are fine, but in a world of iPhones and Moguls it is hard to stand out. Is the 800w really the phone that is going to get Palm out of the red and back into the game?


**On a side note I don't endorse the iPhone in any way, I think it is a joke. Also the Mogul is a great device, with its limitations. You can't throw a top end processor in a device that isn't ready for primetime. Just like dual core processors of the desktops it is going to take time to adapt your programming styles. By the time we have adapted to programming for the Qualcomm 7500 chipset, the Mogul will only be a memory.**

[Malatesta]

Originally Posted by Mustang46L

I feel what you are saying, but it just doesn't fly. So we have made it the whole way to a 1.3MP camera, way to go. It wouldn't be hard or expensive to upgrade that. WiFi is a welcome addition that should have been included with the 650, not the 800. The memory is great to have more of sure and I'm sure the processor is more than adequate but it isn't even an upgrade from the 650. The screen has much to be desired just like every other device out, but I mean we were doing 320x320 on the 650 as well.

Sorry if I keep comparing to the 650, but that was almost 3 years ago and many specs haven't moved. I just think the innovation that got Treo where they are is gone and they have their loyal customers but they don't seem to be working to get those new customers.

I would love to see a bigger screen. Give me 848x480 (you could even give me a slide over-top keyboard like the LG 325 did -- 480x480 resolution when closed, 848x480 when slid open). The memory is a great addition but with how cheap flash memory is today, where is the 4gb or 8gb built in? We have become a very media-centric society so where is the "lifedrive-like" feel to the OS and the video output for projectors and monitors? The 312MHz processor is fine, but how is it going to handle EV-DO Rev. A and media streaming simultaneously I wonder?

I'm not trying to bash Palm, I think there products are fine, but in a world of iPhones and Moguls it is hard to stand out. Is the 800w really the phone that is going to get Palm out of the red and back into the game?

Well, those specs have yet to be confirmed.

I'll be honest, I doubt the 1.3mp camera thing, but if true then I would hope they improved the lens. After all, MP is completely over-rated if the lens is poor and that is the case with most HTC devices (exception being the Kaiser, which has a fantastic lens w/auto focus).

The processor and memory increases leave out one important factor: battery life.

A strong argument can be made that WM devices in general do not get great battery life. Both a faster processor and more memory will both consume more battery--so there is design ethic to keep those limited e.g. the 6800 could certainly use more RAM, but with a 1500mah battery...can they really sacrifice any more? Plus, they obviously want a thinner device than the current 700wx, which always means less battery.

That's what made the 700wx a standout WM device: lower processor, yet faster performance (than a 416mhz) = more battery. That's Palm engineering.

Same with high-res screens--they generally require more power b/c of more pixels. People have run the WM emulators and showed how 480x480 looks much worse than 320x320 (text becomes blurred in some areas, too tiny in others)--so VGA is only really good on screens 3" or higher (hence why you rarely see them--the fonts are very tiny). Now you slap a front keyboard on a device with a 3" screen and you just (1) killed the size factor and (2) decreased battery life.

An actually, the screen resolution is unconfirmed on this--for all we know it could be 480x480 as that is supported in WM6 now too. I just guessed at 320x320 as MS did that for Palm and it would make sense.

Everything is a trade-off.

Video output for a projector? That really just spells niche marketing, not to mention interesting engineering feats. A wireless solution would be much easier to implement.

And about Wifi, like I said that is up to Sprint, not Palm. There is a reason why only the BB has GPS enabled, it was no accident. It's also the reason why only the 6700/6800 has Wifi.