Handspring Treo 270 Leaked

Brian writes "Details of Treo 270 codenamed Atlanta, handspring's next communicator which incorporates a color display is leaked. PDA LIVE.com has the scoop and the photos!" I think this one's uglier than its predecessor, but it's got color and claims similar battery life, so if you're looking for a very wide phone, this could be it.

Comments

Why a PDA?

[MikeOttawa]

I think the days for these kind of limited handhelds are numbered. With Sony pumping out full-fledged computers that weigh something like 1kg who would want something a limited as a PDA. I would rather carry around a mini-cell phone and a lite-laptop that lets me browse the web in something like 640x480 instead of like 240xwhatever, and then be able to leave it in the car and just carry my cellphone with me.

Sony should come out with a laptop with a pop-out cell phone that allows web access on the laptop, and a regular cell phone that you can carry with you. Heck - you could even sync the information with the phone when you re-dock it, or place video calls with the laptop (since Sony seems to like putting digital cameras on their laptops).

VisorCentral has it too

[Matias]

VisorCentral has also picked up the story (complete with pictures):

http://visorcentral.com/content/Stories/1448-1.htm

FCC also has info including the users manual

Why a PDA? Because it's a short-life peripheral

[eschasi]

I think the days for these kind of limited handhelds are numbered. . . I would rather carry around a mini-cell phone and a lite-laptop . . .

I submit that you're a minority. Ultimately I think we'll have voice-recognition technologies in our handhelds and some sort of on-demand backwards connection to our `laptops'. Both laptop and PDA/phone/etc will be `mere' peripherals to whatever our central processing and storgage system is. Yes, laptops will get smaller and smaller, but they're forever going to be constrained by screen size and (to a lesser extent) power. I don't think we'll ever see a laptop with a 17" screen that fits in your pocket. Unless you've got hellacious pockets, of course.

Peripherals, unlike central systems, map well to to specialized uses. My PP just died, and I'm seriously considering the Treo. It means that I'd carry one peripheral rather than three (pager, phone, PDA). For me (and many others) that's a big win.

With any luck, the Treo will last three years, which is all I expect from a computer anyway. Even if you happen to be right and fully integrated laptops take over, it isn't gonna happen in the next three years. Thus again, the Treo is the right answer even for the mid-term.

In the short term, it means better integration between phone lists, email, notes, etc. And to me, that's more than worth the three year cost per year. At the end of three years . . . well, we'll see what's out there.

Step back, boys, eschasi's goin' shopping!

Re:Samsung I300

[disappear]

I can see that you've actually never played with the Treo, despite your comments. Walk into any CompUSA and try it...

* The I300 has a speaker phone!

So does Treo.

* The I300 looks professional, not like a toy

This is a matter of taste. To me, the Samsung (while a wonderful device that many of my friends own) looks like a big ugly block, and the Treo looks more professional.

* The I300 isn't wide at all - it's actuall skinnier (width wise) than these Treo's.

Go to CompUSA or wherever and hold them up against each other. I think you're wrong on this.

* The I300 looks/feels like a PDA, secondary it's a phone

And the Treo looks and feels something like both, but not 'primarily' like either one. For those of us who use cell phones for more than ten minutes a week, and who use PDAs primarily as organizers rather than portable computers, this is a better trade-off.

Kyocera QCP6035 rocks my world

[justin_w_hall]

I picked up a Kyocera QCP6035 phone for CHEAP ($100 at Best Buy) a month ago. They're discontinued now, I think, but CompUSA still has em for $150, and they're practically free with a new account with all the rebates they throw at you. It's an 8MB PalmOS 3.5 PDA and SprintPCS phone combo, and it's BEAUTIFUL. Great battery life (for now), great reception over my older Samsung and Sanyo Sprint phones, and the best part: the built in net connection.

The phone comes with Sprint's dialup service built in, and doesn't cost any more than normal airtime. For a poor college kid like me the cost is silly low and I can do AIM, SSH, VNC, web/email, IRC, and never have to go into the office ever again :)

The IRsync capability as well as being able to use it as a modem is nice. Biggest downside is the serial cradle it comes with, but I think they have a USB one you can buy now.