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

Leaked?

[dr_dank]

Handspring Treo 270 Leaked
Maybe someone should have taken it to the restroom beforehand.

When will the promise be fulfilled?

[ghoul]

Companies have been promising a all-in-one product for a long time but we still see people carrying an organizer, a laptop, a cellphone , a MP3 player and a pager !

Sometimes it makes me think the EM radiation combined from all the devices must be going over the safe threshold!

Also ever notice how the all in one product is never the first on the market? Just look at portable Music players. First they sold us cdmans; then they sold us MP3 players ; now they are trying to sell us the combined product and for cheaper than both the original products?

Re:When will the promise be fulfilled?

[mirko]

now they are trying to sell us the combined product and for cheaper than both the original products?

Exactly : they make more money forcing all their consummers tobuy the same product than developping fewer specific product with less features...
But in the final you not only get something too much featured compared to what you primarily shopped for but also you pay a lot:

a phone with subscription with an organizer with mp3 playing abilities is more expensive than only one of the above...

let's take the nokia 9xx0 : it costs 1500CHF here.
the previous treo was also 1000CHF expensive!

if you supposedly want 2 of these features only, you can buy a 300CHF palm (or a psion revo) + a 300CHF philips mp3 expanium.

you may even add a cheapphone to this equipment while keeping the costs lower than this all-in-one.

why would you ask ?

because you don't want your organizer to require a daily battery load.

my palm can work 2 months on batteries.

my mp3 disman can play non stop during 12 hours.

my phone, well... it will support a one hour conversation.

so, no way, buying too much will first reduce your mobility, especially on the battery-life point of view.

Its on Handspring's site

[zerofoo]

http://www.handspring.com/products/communicators/i ndex.jhtml?prod_cat_name=Communicators

-ted

Re:Its on Handspring's site

[Anonymous Coward]

link is mistyped, the correct one is: http://www.handspring.com/products/communicators/i ndex.jhtml?prod_cat_name=Communicators

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

Samsung I300

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought a Samsung I300 about 6 months ago and wouldn't trade it in for one of these things if my life depended on it. Here are a few reasons why:

• The I300 has awesome color (yeah the new Treo does too ...)
  
• The I300 looks/feels like a PDA, secondary it's a phone
  
• The I300 looks professional, not like a toy
  
• The I300 is smoothly integrated with the PalmOS, from playing with the Treo I can see they have a LOT of work to do in this area
  
• The I300 has a speaker phone! This is an AWESOME feature, just tap the speaker icon while on a phone call and switch over to other Palm apps to take down phone numbers, dates, etc.
  
• The I300 isn't wide at all - it's actuall skinnier (width wise) than these Treo's. It's kinda long, but is actually skinnier THICKNESS wise than my old Samsung
  

I'd highly recommend checking out the I300 before purchasing a Treo.

Re:Samsung I300

[Brento]

The I300 has a speaker phone!

Yep, so does the Treo. How's the email on that I300? That was my problem with it, the inability to sync to my company's Exchange server without hooking up the cables. TreoMail will sync over the airwaves. Plus, there's the fact that the I300 doesn't have a keyboard, that was a problem for me.

Re:Samsung I300

[SerpentMage]

Well I do not know if that is a good recommendation. The Treo and Samsung are two different products. The Treo is a WORLD phone and the Samsung is a local phone that only works on CDMA networks.

Therefore if you are looking at the Treo you are looking at GSM and hence the Samsung would not even be worth the look.

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.

Re:Samsung I300

[arindar]

I also have an i300 and spent some time comparing with a freinds treo. The treo is wider but not as long as the i300 and they weigh about the same. I think the treo is nicer for talking since it elongates when you flip it open. Additionally the holster for the treo is a bit nicer than anything I have seen for the Samsung.

In favor of the samsung though is that the battery is removable and this is a big plus. With the treo you cannot swap out the battery when it gets low you need to plug it in. The talk time for both units seemed to be about the same for a full charge.

Since I normally use my phone most in the car and with a headset I am fine not have the flip up earpiece and the holster I am getting used to but hope someone will come up with a better one soon.

To address one of the other concerns brought up. Sprint does have a solution for getting your exchange mail but it is a bit clunky. Additionally I thought the mail synching feature of the treo was not available yet? at least it was not when the phone first came out.

FCC has more info

[dmccarty]

There is a PDF on the FCC's website with lots of pretty pictures.

Leaked... Question

[WetCat]

Is it water-proof? How much is the coldest operating temperature?
There is some need for handhelds that can work under -30 Celsius
(normal temperature in some parts in Russia in winter) and be waterproof.
What can you suggest?

A bundle of paradoxes...

[supercytro]

It's too ugly to be left out in the open and too big to fit in your pocket...
Too expensive to be a PDA and too limited to be a laptop replacement...

I think in the short-medium term, it will still be multiple devices that take off i.e. having PDA, ,mobiles, laptops, protable music-players rather than all-in-one units. However, there will be more connectivity between devices.
Bluetooth seemed to be a part of the solution but problems (i.e. cost, compatibility, power consumption,availability) have limited its impact.

I always wondered...

[keep_it_simple_stupi]

Does anybody other than me have semi-oily skin? When I use my cell phone for an extended period of time, that oil gets onto the screen of the cell phone since it rests against my face. Now what happens when you use one of these PDA phones? Are they designed for this not to happen? I would hate to have to wipe the touchscreen after using the phone... "No! I don't want to call China!"

Anyway, if anyone has experience with these phones please clue me in. Thanks.

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!

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.

They're calling it Atlanta

[colmore]

They're calling it Atlanta.

So I'm guessing it will be big, slow, and poorly designed. It will contain few notable features, and will be generally unaesthetic. While the device will be able to withstand blistering heat, the moment the tempeture gets a degree below freezing, the whole thing will shut down until help can arrive from a more northern device. While it will be connected to the information superhighway, it will be unable to handle traffic of any volume, and will utterly lack alternative methods of connectivity. While it will claim to have a better display, most users will still find that it choses to view things in black and white.

Be aware of 3G networks coming soon

[Krelnik]

I had been shopping for a PDA/phone a few months ago, and looked at the Samsung I300 and Kyocera QCP-6035, both of which are nice phones available for CDMA networks (I'm on Sprint and don't really see a new handset as a compelling reason to switch).

However I decided to wait for now for two reasons. One is that Handspring recently announced that they will be supporting CDMA (logical considering Qualcomm just invested $10 Million in them). Thus I expect a CDMA Treo will come out some time this year.

The other reason I am waiting is that Sprint PCS is about to roll out their new 3G Network this summer. Among other things, this will offer data speeds up to 10 times faster than the current network can. In fact, Wired is running a story today on the demo roadshow that Sprint is running right now to show off applications of their new network.

Sprint isn't showing any new handsets for it yet, but one will presume they are forthcoming. In fact, I'm guessing thats why the price on the QCP-6035 has dropped so preciptously (from like $300 to $100 or so) in the last couple of months---I'm guessing Kyocera has a successor model waiting in the wings.

Hence I wait.

Re:Darn modern technology

[Junta]

So what you are syaing is, that 64kb ought to be enough for anyone?