• pro,  rumors,  sprint,  treo

    BGR: Sprint Treo Pro Appears, Then Vanishes

    January 22, 2009 /

    The Boy Genius Report is reporting today that the Palm Treo Pro make a brief cameo appearance on the Sprint online store today and then just as quickly disappeared.

    There have been a lot of rumors around the Internet about Palm’s next Windows Mobile device on the Sprint network, including photos of the retail packaging of the Sprint Treo Pro edition. Earlier this week, PalmInfoCenter was reporting that the new CDMA edition of the Treo Pro will get a bit of a boost from the rumored hardware tweaks over it’s unlocked GSM cousin.

    The good news is that the Pro is coming to Sprint and the cost of the device with a qualifying 2-year contract agreement will be $249 after rebates are applied.

    [Via BoyGeniusReport.com…]

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  • blackberry,  rumors

    Rumor: BlackBerry Compatible Palm Products?

    January 5, 2009 /

    I was just reading an article on the New York Post’s website titled, “A Peek At This Year’s Hottest New ‘Toys'” and they mention Palm. Author Damon Brown writes:

    “And there is so much more: portable digital TVs, wireless headphones, new BlackBerry-compatible products from Palm, more iPod accessories and even a waterproof TV.”

    I’m not sure what “BlackBerry compatible products” means, except maybe a new version of the BlackBerry Connect software that was used to connect some older Palm OS Treo smartphones to a corporate BlackBerry Enterprise server. We’ll have to wait and see what becomes of this. Personally, I’m not sold on this one, so I’ll file it under “rumors” for now.

    [Thanks to James for the tip.]

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  • blackberry,  rumors

    Where Have I Seen This Idea Before?

    December 26, 2008 /

    BoyGeniusReport.com has a picture of a Research In Motion BlackBerry keyboard patent that shows a drawing of a BlackBerry Pearl-like device with a fold out keyboard.

    Interesting that this photo surfaced. Didn’t we see an “unidentified” smartphone that transforms to allow you to use a hidden keyboard? I wonder if these transforming phones are all the rage in smartphone OEM developer circles?

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  • apple,  iphone,  rumors

    Rumor: 4GB iPhone Headed to Wal-Mart

    December 9, 2008 /

    I just saw this over on Barron’s Tech Trader Daily website.

    “Remember last week’s rumor that Wal-Mart (WMT) is about to start selling Apple (AAPL) iPhones?

    Apparently, it’s true. Both Bloomberg and the San Jose Mercury News quote employees at various Wal-Mart stores saying they expect to start selling the phone before the end of the month, likely between Christmas and New Year’s Day – maybe sooner.

    According to the Merc, Kim Nguyen, manager of the cell phone department at the Milpitas Wal-Mart, said she was told by an AT&T representative that her store would be getting a 4 GB model. She also said the store was supposed to get some iPhones two days before Christmas.”

    Via Tech Trader Daily…

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  • rumors

    Rumor: Is This the Next Palm Device

    December 8, 2008 /

    Two weeks ago, in my 1SRC editorial, “It’s Time for Something ‘Nova’,” I suggested that it might be time for Palm OS fans to get some love by way of unofficial info about Palm OS II/Nova and the hardware that it might run on. While this photo is far from evidence, scuttlebutt around the Internet seems to be that no one knows what this device is. According to Jenn K. Lee of Pocketables.com, the photo had a born on date of June 3.

    With the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (January) and Mobile World Congress (February) just around the corner, it is anyone guess as to whether this is just one of the many prototype devices that gets built and never makes it to market or a vendor’s next big device.

    What has gotten attentive web heads, myself included, all worked up, is the stylistic design of the device. The jelly looking keys of this device just screams “Palm”. Whether or not this is a Palm prototype device remains to be seen. If we stay focused on the keyboard for just a few minutes. If you zoom in on the keyboard, you can sort of make out the keys. Consider this: how often do keyboard formats differ from model to model? I don’t think this is a RIM BlackBerry, nor is it Motorola, a Samsung, or HTC Touch.

    What do you think this device might be? Is this a new Palm prototype device? Will it run Palm OS II/Nova? Or is this just another pipe dream that has been discarded in the wake of the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm? Let us know in the comments.

    [Via pocketables.com…]
    Thanks to the anonymous tipster who sent this in.

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  • microsoft,  rumors,  windows mobile

    Rumor: Pocket IE 6 Update

    November 11, 2008 /

    WMExperts has an interesting little article posted today about the next version of Pocket IE 6 for devices powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Professional.

    “An anonymous tipster has sent in some screen shots and impressions of the upcoming Internet Explorer 6 browser that’s coming to Windows Mobile in the very near future, the vaunted ‘6 on 6.’ The bad news — it’s not at all clear that Microsoft will make this an independently-available download. We do know for sure that it will be baked-into the ROMs of many future smartphones. That leads us to the good news — the screenshots we have here are from an upcoming WinMo device. Square Screen, 320×320 resolution, and the black theme are your clues as to what we’re looking at.”

    While I’d like to see Microsoft release the next version of Pocket IE 6 as a stand-alone update to existing Windows Mobile 6.0 devices, I’m not at all sure they will. Palm has had a “no-upgrades” policy for a long time. On the desktop side, Microsoft would release a new version of the browser outside of a major OS release, so I’m still hopeful that Microsoft will release the upgrade as a free download from their Windows Mobile software site.

    [Via WMExperts…]

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  • microsoft,  rumors,  windows mobile

    Rumor: Microsoft Working on Windows Mobile 6.5

    October 31, 2008 /

    Brighthand’s Adama Brown has an interesting article posted on the mobile computing website. Mr. Brown’s article reads, in part:

    “The interview focused on the news that Motorola would be dropping both Symbian and its in-house Linux/Java platform in order to focus on devices running Android and Windows Mobile (read more). While commenting on the user experience aspect of smartphones, Jha noted that:

    “Windows Mobile 6 has not delivered the experience that I think Apple has been able to deliver, but as you look at the plan that is Windows Mobile 7 and even 6.5, I think there are significant new added features which will help the platform.”

    This reference to an upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 is the first such information about its existence made available to the public. Previously the next known upgrade to Microsoft’s mobile platform was Windows Mobile 7, a major overhaul which was has been repeatedly delayed, most recently until the second half of 2009.”

    Read the full article on Brighthand.com…

    Potential Upgrades

    Unlike desktop operating system upgrades from Microsoft, or even Apple, smartphone operating systems need to be tweaked for the hardware it will run on. Because of that fact, we won’t be able to obtain any upgrade directly from Microsoft. Rather, mobile device manufacturers like Motorola and Palm will need to obtain the software, modify the code, and then have the new software stack certified by each wireless carrier who will carry the upgraded phone.

    Long story short, don’t expect every Windows Mobile 6.0 or 6.1 device to get an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5.

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  • rumors

    End of the Palm PDA Era?

    October 10, 2008 /

    Kris Keilhack over at PalmInfoCenter.com has an interesting article posted called “New Palm Accessory EOL Notifications.”

    “After several quiet weeks following the launch of the new Treo Pro, Palm’s Channel Source ResellerPro portal has posted a few tidbits of information regarding product EOL status as well as Palm’s new Education Purchase program.

    After being announced barely five weeks ago, Palm has unsurprisingly decided to EOL one of the Treo 800w’s Palm-branded peripherals. The 3291WW Vehicle Power Adapter with micro USB plug has received its EOL notification. We covered this item’s release back in late August and discussed the unnecessarily overlapping SKUs . Presumably, Palm will be updating their remaining micro USB car charger, 3437WW, to reflect its compatibility with the new Treo Pro as well as the older 800w.”

    Read the full PalmInfoCenter article…

    Interesting. So Palm is going to be refreshing some accessories as we head into the holiday shopping season. In and of itself, that information is not surprising.

    However, I have to wonder about the graphic (above) and the announcement that the educational purchase program is changing. In the past, the education purchase program favored Palm’s traditional handheld devices like the Palm Tungsten E2 and TX. Is the changing of the educational purchase program the early warning sign that Palm’s PDA business will finally be coming to an end at the end of this year?

    During the most recent conference call, Palm CFO Andy Brown reported that “[Palm] saw handheld sell-though fall to 166,000 units representing a 49% decline year over year and as we
    look ahead, [Palm] expect[s] this trend to continue. Inventory held by our channel partners was 7.5 weeks at the end of the quarter. “

    About a year ago, on a similar quarterly conference call, Palm referred to their PDA business as a jet liner coming in for a soft landing. From last months sales and inventory figures, and this months EOL activity, it would seem like it is just about time to turn off the fasten seat belts sign.

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