PalmOS revived with Treo 700p release

PALM INC will surely please its core users base and newcomers alike with the release of its Treo 700p smartphone, announced today, and which we reported about back in February.

It marks the company's return to the familiar Palm OS operating system, after a brief love affair with the Microsoft Vole which disappointed many of its core users - many of which use a Treo 650 and saw the 700w as a "downgrade" due to its lower screen resolution and "alien" OS.

The 700p announced today sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, bluetooth, and software allowing it to act as a modem -via bluetooth or USB- to Windows and Mac PCs. Forbes magazine says "some analysts say Palm OS-based products, such as the 700p, may appeal more to consumers" and quotes Jack Gold, analyst at J. Gold Associates saying the 700p "is a logical upgrade for Treo 650 users". Among the new features in the 700p is the long awaited EV-DO (evolution, data optimized) network support, allowing this smartphone to get broadband like data speeds "between 400Kbps and 700Kbps".

The Palm web site is currently showing Sprint and Verizon logos in its product page, hinting about the future availability of this new smartphone on these US mobile providers. There's still no word on a GSM version of the 700p, albeit the rumour mill on the interweb has been saying for months that a GSM version will follow a couple months after the CDMA version. Also present on the web page is a new logo reading "Palm OS - powered by Access" which we never saw before, probably hinting about a mending of relations between the two companies after the 700w infidelity.

With a weight of 180 grams, it runs on a 312 MHz Intel XScale processor and features a high-res, 320x320 TFT colour screen like the Treo 650 - up from the 700w's limited 240x240, 128MB of memory -60MB free for PalmOS apps and data-. The 700p runs PalmOS Garnet v5.4.9., and supports Bluetooth v1.2 and dual CDMA digital (800/1900Mhz) plus CDMA2000 EvDO to complete the feature set. As usual, compatibility with Office, Excel and Powerpoint files is provided via the bundled software. MultiMediaCard, SD & SDIO cards are supported, up to two gigabytes, according to Palm. The digital camera sports 1280x1024 resolution and automatic light balance, capturing video at 352 x 288.

PalmSource, now owned by Access Co. celebrated the release in a separate press release with the headline "New Smartphone From Palm, Inc. Showcases Palm OS Advantage", which also mentions the 700p "ships with Palm's first built-in multimedia streaming application".

If they ever get around to releasing a GSM version for the non-CDMA market -including Asia, most of Latin America and also Europe, this scribbler thinks they'll have a not only a local winner, but an international one. µ

See Also
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