Sprint Centro 1.07 Software Update

Palm has released a software update for the Sprint edition of the Palm Centro smartphone. This update is designed only for the Sprint device.














According to the Palm website, the 1.07 software includes several enhancements:

• Improved Gmail IMAP compatibility
  
• Updated compatibility for Google Mobile Maps My Location feature
  
• Improved ongoing delivery of email sent to VersaMail accounts viaExchange ActiveSync
• Bluetooth usability enhancements and updates
• Sprint TV performance enhancements
• Enhanced AOL Instant Messenger performance
• Improved performance when adding a contact using Mobile Voice Control
• Improved email attachment handling
• Changed default camera shutter sound to “ON.” Audible shutter “click” will be heard
  
• Allows Preferred Roaming List updates over the air
  

Before applying this update, I recommend that you back up your device either by performing a HotSync operation with your computer or by using a backup application, like Alex Pruss' free NVBackup application.

This software update can not be undone, even by means of a hard reset. Make sure that you are ready to commit to the update before applying it.

For more information and the download link, visit the Palm website...

Palm Officially Launches the Treo 800w

Earlier today, Palm has launched the Treo 800w smartphone for the Sprint wireless network with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, 802.11g Wi-Fi, and GPS capabilities.

"Palm is adding a unique stamp to the Windows Mobile experience with the Treo 800w," said Stephane Maes, vice president, product marketing, Palm, Inc. "It's an easy-to-use feature-packed smartphone that will keep users happy, empowered and productive."

The complete list of Treo 800w product specs can be found on the Palm Treo 800w website.
A downloadable PDF datasheet for the Treo 800w is also available.

The Treo 800w can be purchased for as little as $249.99 with a qualifying service plan and after instant and mail in rebates. Without a service agreement, the Treo 800w sells for $599.

You can purchase the Treo 800w from Palm's online store or Sprint's retail outlets and online store.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend, Palm made three important moves, not that anyone noticed with iPhonemania 2.0 in full swing.

Electric Blue Centro, Temporary Price Cut

On Friday, Palm introduced a new electric blue Centro on the AT&T wireless network. If you are following along on your scorecards, AT&T now has three colors to choose from: obsidian black, glacier white, and now electric blue. To entice even more people to chose Centro, AT&T has lowered the price to $69.99 when you sign up for a qualifying two-year service agreement. That is great news for anyone looking to jump on the smartphone bandwagon!

You can purchase an AT&T Centro either online from the Palm or AT&T website, or from any AT&T retail outlet. For more details, visit the Palm Centro website.


Sprint Begins Selling the Palm Treo 800w

At long last the new Palm Treo 800w is available! It has a great looking case and offers several new built-in features previously unavailable on any previous Palm smartphone.

Just some of the new features include Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1; a 320x320 touch screen display, a 2.0MP camera, and built-in Wi-Fi and GPS radios. The new Treo retails for $599, however, when you sign up for a qualifying service plan, after instant and mail-in rebates, the 800w sells for $249.99. A handsome price for what could be a very nice phone.

On Sunday night, Palm has yet to issue a press release or update their website and online store. Look for more details come Monday morning.


Oh Palm, sigh…

Working with AT&T to bring out a new Centro, if only in color, and putting a price cut in place was the right thing to do. And launching the much-anticipated Treo 800w on Sprint was another positive step forward.

Yet, once again, Palm’s marketing department show how inept they are. Launching two new phones and introducing a price cut during the same weekend that Apple was rolling out their new iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 software was just poor planning.

John Paczkowski from the D: All Things Digital website, has the perfect quote from Charlie Wolf who is an analyst at Needham & Company. The quote reads:

“They took the wrong day to do it,” said Charlie Wolf, a wireless analyst at Needham & Co. “It’s going to be drowned out by the hoopla around the iPhone.”

I truly hope that Palm learns from this mistake, and doesn’t start talking publicly about their Palm OS II/Nova plans and/or devices during the same week that Apple is rolling out new products at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco come January 2009. Palm needs to get out in front of Apple, or get behind them. Just don’t go toe-to-toe with them.

Palm Launches the Treo 800w on Sprint

Starting today, Sprint has begun selling the Palm Treo 800w smartphone. According to the Sprint website, the Treo 800w has the following product specifications:

• Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1
• Autonomous and simultaneous GPS using Sprint Navigation for turn by turn directions, and points of interest searches
• Stereo Bluetooth lets you listen to your music on the go
• Embedded Wi-Fi
• 2.0 Megapixel camera/camcorder
• MicroSD card support
• 320x320 TFT display capable of displaying 65K colors
• 256MB of user memory, 128MB of program memory
• Incoming call alerts when a data session is in progress, avoid sending callers directly to voicemail
• Phone as a modem support

The Treo 800w sells for $599 without a service plan and can be had for as little as $249.99 when purchased with a monthly $25 or more data plan (in addition to a voice plan) or the Sprint Simply Everything plan ($250 instant savings, $100 mail-in rebate).

Palm has yet to issue a press release officially announcing the Treo 800w. Additionally, the Palm website and online store have yet to be updated. I expect Palm's official launch of the Treo 800w to come on Monday morning.

Make sure you tune into this week's 1SRC.com Podcast for more details on the Treo 800w.

For more details, or to purchase the Treo 800w now, visit the Sprint website.

Palm, Sprint Beta Test Project

A Foleo Fanatics reader has tipped me off to a beta test opportunity from Palm and Sprint to test a new device/service of some kind. A TreoCentral form member posted the email they received. The email, in part, reads:

Palm is seeking people to test an innovative new product. This product is focused on seasoned business professionals. People who commute and spend a ton of time working on email and on the phone. This test is for people looking for cutting edge technology and demand constant communication.

Qualified candidates should work in an enterprise level business and have a lot of experience with varied technologies. These people should invest a significant amount of money in their technology and use it daily.


Required Qualifications
Sprint Subscriber
Bluetooth headphones or car kits
WiFi Router access

Optional Qualifications
Existing Smartphone Users
Heavy to Medium e-mail users
Heavy phone users
Travel for work with their phone

This appears to be an invitation only beta test. I do not know what the selection criteria is for the test, nor is there a link the Sprint website for signing up to participate in the test.

What is interesting to me is what could be under development. We know that Palm and Sprint are working on delivering the much rumored Treo 800w to enterprise customers later this year. We also know that Palm is still working on Palm OS II/Nova. We also know that Sprint is working to implement a Wi-Max solution. And lastly, some of these requirments sound very similar to the beta tester requirements from the Foleo private beta test. Now I'm not saying that Palm is secretly working on a Foleo-like device, so it is important to not read too much into that one.

[Thanks to the anonymous tipster who sent this in.]