Palm releases Treo 680 with Palm OS
by Volker Weber
Same body as the 750v, 320x320 screen as the Treo 650, a VGA camera (where do they buy these antiques?), quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE, but no UMTS modem, no WiFi, Bluetooth 1.2.
This would have been one killer device two years ago.
Comments
Sounds like a great toy *räusper* tool. I'd be interested in the price and when it'll be available in Europe/Germany.
Pretty underwhelming. At least I don't regret having bought a Treo 650 6 months ago.
I still use a Palm m100 :-p
I can't believe it - no real innovations for more than 2,5 years. What's the difference to a Treo 650? EDGE, maybe 32 MB more RAM?
What does a state of the art offer? HP has GPS implemented, a much better camera & UMTS.
I really love the Palm OS since the Palm II. But since Sony left the competition Palm's innovation speed has fallen back far behind the other players/innovators.
How long will it take til they have GPS and can they than deliver this in quantities?
>>Where do they buy these antics?
You probably meant antiques, but perhaps it was a Freudian slip ;-)
I imagine a huge warehouse filled with stuff some brilliant planner at Palm bought years ago - when they believed there was no competition and the MBAs were running the place (into the ground.)
I guess they are still running the place.
The idea seems to be to sell an "entry level" device. Since I do not see any carrier (at least here) offering the device, I am pretty sure it will be more expensive than anything else on the market.
Here is what I observe: Most of the people who wanted a Treo badly two years ago, now want a Pearl. Not Stefan though. :-)
>>Where do they buy these antics?
VGA Camera => 1€ Shop or Monster Shop or however they are called today
The difference is that they are offering it for $199
Are they?
There are some saying so: Forbes' article
that's what it says in the wall street journal.
Martijn, the WSJ writes:
Unlike other Treos, which typically were priced at more than $399 at the time of their launch, some analysts expect the new Treo 680 to start at around $199.
Do you remember what the price point for the 650 was in Germany when it was launched? This 199 is only possible with carriers subsidiaries. And frankly, I don't expect a carrier to sell this device in Germany.
You're right but in the register they say:
Exactly what the Treo 680 will cost, Palm hasn't yet confirmed. Today's Wall Street Journal pegs it at $199. Rather than relying entirely on carriers, Palm will sell the 680 direct off its website.
