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Talkin' Treo - v051906
Week ending 19 May 2006
Welcome to the Family! The New Palm OS Treo Arrives
This was a great week for lovers of the Palm OS with the announcement of the Treo 700p smartphone. Now the countdown begins -- to its arrival at Verizon AND Sprint (supposedly sometime towards the end of this month).
Talkin' Speed
The world of Treo has been "talkin'" all week about the 700p. One of the hot topics is how the 700p was designed to take advantage of the speedy EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized) networks offered by Verizon and Sprint. And for those of you still traveling with a notebook computer, you'll be glad to know that this "broadband-like" speed can be accessed using the 700p, thanks to both carriers support of "dial-up networking." Of course, that access comes at a price (see each carrier for details), but it sure beats having to track down a WiFi hotspot when you're on the road. Speaking of road, we've got lots of ground to cover this week, so let's talk Treo.
Palm NewsIt's all 700p-Related
 In case you missed is, here's the announcement from Palm.
What you may not have seen was the "Q & A" (subscription required) with Palm's president and CEO, Ed Colligan that appeared inThe Wall Street Journal on Monday.WSJ: Can you tell us something about the new Treo?
Mr. Colligan: We've added green and red send/end buttons because millions of cellphone customers expect that. We added an EvDO radio which delivers DSL-like speeds to your pocket so people who try Web browsing will be blown away with the ease and speed. You can actually use the real Web on this phone, not just some selected sites or sites "dumbed-down" for slow phones. We also put the user manual right on the phone with easy navigation so you can learn more about the capabilities when you're on the move. The Q&A also covers Palm's culture of innovation and how consumers are using their mobile devices.
 Over atThe New York Times, columnist David Pogue wrote a column ("May's Treo Leapfrog's Past January's") with some notable comments:
"All-in-one gadgets rarely do any single job as well as a dedicated one (think scanner-printer-fax machines or camera-music players). But the Treo has always come deliciously close
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the new Treo itself is a joy a communicator with immense power and potential whose software is a help instead of a hindrance. If you've held off on a smartphone until now, congratulations; you've played this game of high-tech leapfrog like a pro."
Others Talkin' 700p
Boston Herald:
"It's the best Palm yet, based on a test and briefing your friendly gadget columnist received a few weeks ago."-- Eric Convey/ Inspecting Gadgets
MSNBC:
"What also makes sense is that at the same time you're using your Treo as a PC modem, your 700p's battery is recharging itself through the USB connection. Very cool." -- Gary Krakow/columnist
 PowerPage:
"As a Mac owner I was a little nonplussed when palmOne announced the Treo 700w four months ago. Gone was one of the best reasons to buy a Treo - native syncing with Mac OS X. Well fear not Mac faithful, palmOne today announced the Treo 700p smartphone (the "p" means that it runs the Palm OS)." -- Jason O'Grady
PC World:
"I found the Treo 700p was dramatically faster than my Treo 650, at everything from loading and viewing media to scrolling through files on a 1GB SD card, and switching among applications. Even scrolling around within applications--including Documents to Go 8, preloaded on the unit, and the Blazer Web browser--was noticeably faster than on a Treo 650." -- Melissa Perenson
Treonauts:
"Palm is clearly emphasizing SPEED with this latest release and I can unequivocally say that broadband-like connectivity on your Treo does make a huge difference (I have had the benefit of this on my Treo 700w for a few months now)." -- Andrew
Other links worth checking out:
eWeek Labs Walk-thru
Treo 700p review by eWeek's Anne Chen
Comparison pieces by
Technology Evangelist and Digital Lifestyle.
Elsewhere in the World of Treo
There were quite a few announcements from vendors with products supporting the Treo 700p.
Avvenu Remote Access Service Included with the New Palm Treo 700p
Avvenu, Inc. announced that its unique remote access service is conveniently included with the Palm Treo 700p smartphone.
"The Avvenu service is an extraordinarily useful addition to the Treo 700p smartphone experience, providing seamless connectivity to content on the user's office or home computer," said Mark Bercow, senior vice president, business development, Palm, Inc. "Avvenu can transform a Palm Treo 700p smartphone into a portal that can access the user's files -- anywhere in the world they have a wireless connection."
Good Technology Supports the Palm Treo 700p
Good Technology, Inc., the trusted standard for enterprise mobile-computing software and service, announced that its suite of mobility products will be optimized to run on the new Palm OS-based Treo smartphone.
"We have had remarkable success combining Good's wireless mobility solutions with Palm's Treo family of smartphones and believe the latest offering represents an important milestone in the evolution of mobile computing," said Rick Osterloh, vice president, Products, Good Technology. "The combination of the Palm Treo 700p smartphone and Good's award-winning software offers consistent usability, end-to-end security and management features that drive down total cost of ownership -- all critical elements for a successful mobile enterprise."
Bejeweled included with the new Palm 700p
Astraware and PopCap Games announced that their flagship game, Bejeweled, has been selected to be bundled with the new Palm Treo 700p smartphone, Palm, Inc.'s first Palm OS based Treo smartphone on EvDO. Bejeweled for Palm OS is the official handheld version of PopCap's classic puzzle game, which has consumed more than 1 billion hours of leisure time since its introduction in 2001.
scanR Announces Support for Treo Smartphones on Palm OS
scanR, Inc. announced scanR Whiteboards will support Palm Treo smartphones running on Palm OS. The new application from scanR will utilize the enhanced capabilities of the new Palm Treo 700p smartphone, including the 1.3-megapixel camera and high-speed EvDO connection, to deliver a fast, easy solution for capturing notes written on whiteboards and turning them into useful digital files. scanR Whiteboards uses advanced image processing technology to overcome frequent challenges such as low lighting, shadows, blurring, and skewed orientation to provide consistently high-quality results. People simply take a picture, upload it to scanR, and receive an exact scan of the whiteboard notes via email. Users can also choose to send the scanned image of the whiteboard to another email address, making it more efficient to share ideas and information.
Handmark® Pocket Express Wireless Services Bundled With Palm® Treo 700p Smartphone
 Handmark, a global leader in mobile media, announced that its award winning Pocket Express wireless services will be included with the new Palm Treo 700p. With totally free News, Sports, and Weather, plus 2-week free access to 14 additional subscription services, Pocket Express leverages the power of the Treo 700p to deliver essential information for both business and individual users.
Blue Nomad, LLC Releases BackupBuddy.Net Basic for Palm Treo Smartphones
Blue Nomad announced the immediate availability of BackupBuddy.Net Basic for Palm Treo smartphones, including the just-announced Treo 700p. BackupBuddy.Net Basic allows users of Palm OS-based Treos to wirelessly backup their critical Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Memo data over the Internet. With its support for Trickle Backup, BackupBuddy.Net is able to work even when a user's Treo is in "asleep." Trickle Backup allows BackupBuddy.Net to transparently and continuously backup a user's files when the Treo is inactive. Trickle Backup does not interfere with the day-to-day use of the Treo and has an insignificant impact on battery life.
Recent TreoCentral Guides & Reviews
PDAapps VeriChat - By Harv Laser
"If you're addicted to the IM services and don't want to leave them at home when you're out and about with your Treo, you owe it to yourself to visit PDAapps' Web site, and check out the tour link to see dozens of screen shots that beautifully describe and display VeriChat's features. Sometimes, when auditioning a program you can get a good sense of the level of care and professionalism a company puts into its products. VeriChat reeks of quality and falls into the category of programs I like to label a thing of joy.'"
mr Handsfree Blue Vision Speakerphone - By Jay Gross
"mr Handsfree's Blue Vision works best in a conferencing situation, but it also does its job okay in a car. The company went to a lot of trouble to make the Blue Vision sturdy (possible exception being the visor clip), pumping out admirable audio performance and plenty of volume. Its buttons' peculiarities don't ruin it, but they do make an otherwise enjoyable product less lovable."
Reviews & Guides from Elsewhere in the Treo Community
Palm Wireless Headset Oldie but Goodie - MyTreo.net took a look at Palm's wireless Bluetooth headset."In summary, the Palm Bluetooth Headset is a great product at a great price for people who want the hands free experience. The headset is lightweight and comfortable, gives you plenty of talk and standby time, and works at acceptable distances." By the way, the Palm headset uses the same charger as your Treo.
Treonauts Talks Seidio Shield Holster 2
From day one I have considered the Shield Holster as one of the most practical and comfortable cases for my Treo and the Shield Holster2 now delivers the same convenience with the additional enhancement of a scratch proof latch.
Endnotes & Ponderables
Follow-up Winners of Palm Film Festival
 In this column back in March, I mentioned that Palm Canada was looking for extremely short films (maximum running time is 60 seconds) for their Mobifest. The winners were recently announced.
"The Trio" directed by Luciano Ieraci, won in the "Caught on Treo" category. According to the synopsis, three misunderstood artists try to make "The Date": a short film about two people on a date with only a piece of fruit to share between them.
If you're into Fellini, then you'll probably enjoy this.
Going. Going, Gone!
Reminder. Time is running out for runner-up winners of TreoCentral's "Hooked on Palm" essay contest to claim their prizes. Deadline is 31 May, 2006.
That's a wrap!
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