Wireless News

An image purporting to be a prototype Palm Treo 800w in the wild has turned up, together with the news that the handset is also going under the moniker “Zeppelin”.  While little of the hardware has been confirmed, bar the fact that it’s CDMA and that there’s a microUSB plug (rather than miniUSB), earlier rumors suggest a 320 x 320 touchscreen and, in prototype form at least, EV-DO Rev.0.  As far as I’m aware, this is the first time the handset has been seen “in the plastic”.

The journey of the 800w has been a long one.  Known to be a Windows Mobile 6.1 handset, it’s also meant to have Rev.A EV-DO and WiFi.  Some estimates have put the eventual release date at June 22nd.  Appearance-wise, it seems to be a blend of the Treo 750’s thumb-keyboard with Centro-like main controls.

Although many expected it back in April, Palm confirmed near the end of March that their Windows Mobile range would be delayed “until the Summer”.

The Treo line of smartphone is in serious need of an overhaul. Do I get excited as the next dude about a new phone? Probably, and maybe even more. However, with the Treo 800w leaving it’s so called mark over at DLS Reports really doesn’t do it for me. Shhh, don’t tell my buddy Dieter since he’ll get pretty upset at me.

Anyways, WMExpert spotted a trail that was left behind by Palm’s Treo 800w showing that it’s got a 320×320 pixel resolution running on Sprint network at 475 kbps. Whoopee! Don’t break out the Champaign yet because that’s not Sprint’s Rev A. network which means this pre-production model is still on Rev 0. Other findings suggest Mobile Internet Explorer 7.11 is present and most likely sporting Windows Mobile 6.1. If you haven’t seen the new Mobile Internet Explorer 7.x, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Some more details about the long awaited Palm Treo 800w for Sprint are popping up on the internet. The details on the device are not really new, but it is always worth mentioning them. The device has a ton of competition this summer, with hotly anticipated 3G devices coming out of the wood work.

Now we did see the leaked PDA road map some time ago, and this device, along with the BlackBerry Curve, was on it. We knew this device was coming, but not when. According to the rumor, the date is June 22nd. At launch, the official color will be ‘charcoal black’. The fact that the rumor specifies an ‘official color’ suggests there may be more colors to follow.

The Treo 800w will bring a number of functionalities the Treo line has never seen before. The device keeps you connected with Sprint’s speedy EV-DO Rev. A network, and also WiFi. The device is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1. It has a touch screen at 320×320 resolution. Though the keyboard looks like the Centro’s, it is rumored to be larger than that of the Centro. Also, the keyboard is rumored to be back lit.

The Palm Centro has been a very successful handset for Palm. As a budget smart phone, it is very popular among first time smart phone owners, or people just looking for a more casual smart phone offering. Palm is looking to bring a little Centro love to Verizon now, and maybe squeeze a few more sales out of it.

The Palm Centro will launch in a darkish blue color apparently. This is the same color that Telcel in Mexico will have exclusively when it’s Centro launches. There will likely be more than one color eventually, just as on Sprint and AT&T, but this is a sweet color to start with.

There is not expected launch date yet, but it probably will be soon, considering press shots of the device have been released. There is no price mentioned either, but it would be very surprising if it did not fall in line with Sprint’s offering of $99.99, after all applicable rebates of course.

While HTC may have the champagne out, Palm is likely looking a little more sheepish when it comes to their recent financial performance.  Despite impressive Centro sales figures – with one million of the entry-level smartphones sold since September 2007 – the company has been forced to re-examine their sales figures for the quarter ending February 28th and reduce them by $25m.  Considering estimated losses had already been quoted as $31.5m for that quarter, that puts total losses at almost $57m in a three-month period.  Year on year comparisons are woeful, with the same quarter last year seeing an $11.8m profit.

Palm is blaming the extra losses on the precarious state of the US debt market, which has seen the value of auction-rate securities the company holds drop by $25m.  It’s also possible that, despite relatively high sales of the Centro, the fact that the handset is at the budget end of Palm’s range – generally being sold for $99 with contract – means that its profit on each device is less than if, say, a higher-spec Treo smartphone were in the same sales position.

The fact that Palm recently announced it was delaying its new range of Windows Mobile handsets until the Summer will not impress investors, and the company looks to fare worse before there’s any chance of its prospects improving.