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Handspring Shows Treo 600 Smartphone at CeBIT
securitas writes "Handspring unveiled its final product before being acquired by Palm: the Treo 600. It runs Palm OS 5.2 on a Texas Instruments ARM processor with 32MB of RAM, has a 160 x 160 color display, comes in GSM and CDMA versions, includes a digital camera plus various camera applications and supports Good Technology's Goodlink e-mail software, competition to RIM's BlackBerry. Of course it also comes with a keyboard, SMS capability, MP3 player, Web browser and Secure Digital/MMC memory-card expansion slot. Measuring 4.41 inches x 2.26 inches x 0.87 (LxWxD) and weighing about 6 ounces, analysts say that the Treo 600 is what clinched Palm's takeover of Handspring. The only problem that they forsee is a seriously crowded market for PDA/mobile phone combinations. Availability for the Treo 600 is this fall. Images at eWeek, SFGate or Reuters. Streaming movies from Handspring (QuickTime dial-up 56k| QuickTime dsl/cable 300k)." Reader Michael Ducker points out this longer article at TreoCentral as well.
I do like the idea of a threaded SMS client (IM style). Looks interesting ... a step in the right direction however, what about Bluetooth? Wi-Fi?
KARMA TAG! You're it.
I guess I can abandon my Commodore 64 in a lunchbox now.
I Geek
End of story.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
"Handspring unveiled its final product before being acquired by Palm"
/.! Not only did you not read the articles, but you didn't even read the first line. You are like the god of Lazy! I bow before you.
Wow, a new record on
YOU SUCK BALLS!
the video may have to cut and paste it, I had to.
Well, according to Brighthand.com, "Handspring says it was successful at creating a keyboard for the Treo 600 that makes dialing the phone and sending messages and email easier than before, even with the significantly reduced size of the product. Each key on the Treo 600 has a dome shape that gives it more surface area than those on existing Treos, and letters and numbers have been enlarged for better readability. In user testing for speed and accuracy, the Treo 600 performed on par with RIM's Blackberry keyboard and significantly faster than Graffiti and T-9, the text input method found in most mobile phones. "
I think I'll give them a try before I say they're too small.
-- derby
This device has a physical keyboard as well as the 160 by 160 display in a friendly form-factor. A 320 by 320 display would have upped the cost and completely changed the form-factor from a phone-like one to a traditional PDA-like one.
Clearly, this Treo 600 has been designed to woe consumers looking for a phone/PDA/MP3 convergence device that isn't any bigger than a traditional mobile phone.
Close but no cigar? Hardly - you might not like it, but I'm willing to bet that the market will.
This is the shape of the future. Watch everyone else jump on the bandwagon and watch these babies fly off the shelves as soon as they ship.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Crips, did anyone look at how stinking tiny those buttons are?
I can hear it now...
The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with the palm of your hand.. now.
Do not read this sig.
The caveats:
Display: 160x160 is not only "old school", it's will eventually disappear, as more and more palm apps are writting to the 320x320 that's the standard for newer units.
Memory: 32Mb. Why manufacturers are still shipping these tiny amounts of memory ( and then taking even some of that away for "scratch space" or "auxiliary application space" in some cases ), is beyond me. The prices of RAM have dropped incredibly, and why on a unit that's listing for $500, 32Mb sounds kinda chincy.
Processor: Since the article didn't specify WHICH TI ARM processor, I'll make this tentative statement. Shipping a next-gen system with the OMAP processor at 144Mhz is ridiculous. The Samsung will come with a 300Mhz XScale.
About the one thing that sets it apart feature-wise, is the built-in keyboard. Then again, the keys are so small, that they look like chiclet keys.
I sure hope that if Palm is going to get into the SmartPhone business directly ( or indirectly through HandSpring ), that they SERIOUSLY look to compete.
Switch to GSM. You can buy unlocked phones, or, after a few months wait, get your provider to unlock your network-locked phone. You can then switch providers as much as you want -- and keep the same phone. All US GSM is on the same frequency band and use the same technologies. Just pop in a SIM from your new provider and go. Currently, the GSM providers that I know of in the US are T-Mobile (formerly VoiceStream), AT&T and Cingular. I use T-Mobile in the US and in Europe (same phone) and am very happy with the service.
The real fun begins when number portability goes into affect.
I would put AMPS on my wish list as well, but it falls well below other requirements, such as battery life, size, international use, etc.
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
Am I the only one who likes this thing?
I have a hand-me-down Samsung I300, which I really like. The only thing I would change would be to add a keyboard (and do something about the insanely short battery life). I really like having an integrated phone/PDA- I really don't need yet another thingy that needs synching.
So the Treo looks great to me. Yeah, it doesn't have a lot of memory, and the 160x160 is a little weak, but it looks like a well-balanced compromise between size and functionality (and yes, I have smallish fingers).
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