Treo 800w May Be Coming July 22

[Ed Hardy]

There's strong evidence that Sprint is going to release the Treo 800w this summer, and a new report even names the date.

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This upcoming smartphone is expected to bring a some features to the Treo line for the first time, including Wi-Fi, GPS, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.

WMExperts cites an anonymous source when it says the release date for this model will be Tuesday, July 22.

Palm Zeppelin and Skywriter

Palm has sent software developers an email that refers to two upcoming smartphones by their code names: Zeppelin and Skywriter.

According to this information, which was revealed by TamsPPC, these devices will run Windows Mobile and have the same hardware design, which also matches the images of the Treo 800w that have leaked out. This makes it likely these are the code-names for the GSM and CDMA versions of the 800w.

The Palm email tells developers the launch of these device will be sometime after May 30.

An Overview of the Treo 800w

The Treo 800w is expected to have the same general shape as current Palm smartphones, but include a number of firsts. It will be the first Windows Mobile Treo with a 320-by-320-pixel display, and first Treo with Wi-Fi, and the first device from this company of any type with a GPS receiver.

Sprint's version will have EV-DO Revision A, while the GSM version will reportedly have the 3G standard HSDPA. 

As it will be primarily targeted at business users, will supposedly be available in versions with and without a camera.  

Related Articles:

• Palm Treo 800w Coming to Sprint this Summer?

[holvoetn]

WiFi included AND GPS included ?
I am afraid it will have a reduced battery then ...

[NetBrakr]

Unless it include a 2000mah battery or more, I don't bother it.

JC

[Ed Hardy]

WiFi included AND GPS included ?
I am afraid it will have a reduced battery then ...

These features are quickly becoming standard on high-end business-oriented phones. If Palm wants to stay competitive it needs to offer a model that has them.

And while it's true they are both heavy drains on power, you can turn them both off when you aren't using them.
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[holvoetn]

But I was thinking in the line of 'same form factor + added features => less space for battery'

[Ed Hardy]

Microsoft is promising that WM 6.1 uses less power than its predecessor, so maybe it will all balance out. And the hardware for GPS and Wi-Fi are shrinking all the time.

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[Adama D. Brown]

Microsoft is promising that WM 6.1 uses less power than its predecessor, so maybe it will all balance out.

I can't speak for WM Pro at the moment, but having tried it out on my Blackjack, I have to say that this seems to be the case. I've been getting noticibly improved battery life since I upgraded.

[speedsterdm]

Adama when did you upgrade? Is there something I just don't know about or do you just have connections. I want to try it on my Blackjack as well. Just wondering if it is out yet. I realize it probably isn't but it never hurts to check. Haha.

Thanks.

[Adama D. Brown]

Adama when did you upgrade? Is there something I just don't know about or do you just have connections. I want to try it on my Blackjack as well. Just wondering if it is out yet. I realize it probably isn't but it never hurts to check. Haha.

The WM6.1 ROM I'm using on my Blackjack is an entirely unofficial one, compiled by people not affiliated with either Microsoft or Samsung. So it's really unsupported software. Still, for all that it works perfectly and is surprisingly polished. I wrote a review of WM6.1 based on it and another device, found here:

http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13979

[Fixup]

If it is still not one-hand operatable, then it is still junk. The P versions cannot run Opera Mini, also junk. Regardless, the days of Palm are over. If anyone is going to waste $$$ on these POS, I have my sincere sorry for them.