JP
Palm finally came clean on the Treo Pro smartphone this week, after a variety of leaks and PR blunders tipped customers and media alike to the handset’s existence. Running Windows Mobile 6.1, Palm describe the Treo Pro as “innovative and elegant” and are quick to cash in on the company heritage. Strip away the PR hyperbole, however, and it’s questionable what you’re left with. Far from innovative and 133g of cheap-looking plastic away from elegant, lined up against rivals this “new” Treo looks shabby before its even out of the gate.
For the Treo Pro, Treo-Pro.com Accessories online store offer an entire list of accessories; everything from Treo Pro backup batteries to car accessories, chargers, cables, headphones, cradles, bluetooth accessories, and much more. The list goes on and on, but basically, the primary purposes of Treo Pro accessories are to add functionality, such as where you can use it and what you can use it with, make some features easier to use, and extend the use of the Treo Pro.
Take a look at the competition. If a QWERTY keyboard is a priority, the BlackBerry Bold delivers a more spacious one together with more WiFi support (a/b/g compared to the Treo Pro’s b/g), a higher resolution screen (480 x 320 versus the Treo Pro’s 320 x 320) and nifty trackball navigation. If you’re looking for a combination of simplicity and features, Apple’s iPhone 3G literally roasts the Treo Pro. With a slick, capacitive touchscreen, already legendary user-friendliness and fresh enterprise support, the iPhone 3G makes the Treo Pro look like an anachronism.
The Windows Mobile smartphone market has accelerated over the past few months. HTC, always a strong player, has delivered two knock-out touchscreen handsets in the shape of the Touch Diamond and the QWERTY-blessed Touch Pro. Not only do they deliver on functionality, they also have HTC’s brilliant TouchFLO 3D that banishes clunky WM6.1 underneath a gesture and finger-friendly GUI. Samsung’s Omnia, when it reaches the US with official 3G support, will be a popular seller among both the business and home users Palm is so desperate to court: however the Omnia’s metal casing, haptic feedback and TouchWiz GUI put the Treo Pro into the shade. Finally, lets not forget Android Platform – it’s going to eat Palm’s lunch hands down.
Palm had a chance after the Treo 800w. They could have read the reviews, listened to the feedback, and recognized that its users were no longer satisfied with a slight case redesign around the same old sad Treo. What they’ve delivered with the Treo Pro is a laughable mixture of predictable hardware, little attempt to commercialize Windows Mobile and an almost arrogant assumption that the Palm name will blind users to the fact that they lost their mojo three generations of smartphone ago.
Right now, customers are rightly expecting revolution, not evolution. The iPhone shook up the market, and the iPhone 3G shook it a bit harder: HTC, Samsung, RIM and the others have stepped up and delivered their own twist on what makes a smartphone. In comparison, the Treo Pro is a smartphone by numbers, and the most insulting number is the price: $549 unlocked. The one lesson we thought the company had learned – from its pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap Centro – it squandered.
Wake up and smell the smartphones, Palm. Software delays, mediocre hardware… perhaps it’s time you put the Treo out to pasture. That being said, this concludes my final article pertaining to Palm and any future related products by the company.
11 Responses to “Palm and the Treo Pro: my farewell to you”
ByteRat August 20, 2008
Good lordy, are you an a$$hole, or what?!? When I first saw this phone I realized it had EVERYTHING I wanted, with nothing missing, including a simple, elegant, industrial look I like. NO OTHER phone has all I want! Can the reviewer (sic) consider that the needs and wants of some might not be the needs and wants of others? ALL the phones you mention are missing something that I need or want. What an egotistical, self-absorbed, short-sighted jerk. I’m sure Palm will miss you now that you’ve “gone away”.
+2BP August 20, 2008
Yeah, I don’t agree with a word you said. You must not have any experience at the enterprise level. You mainly compare the phone to other phones that dont even run Windows Mobile. RIM and Apple might get email, but thats all they do. Its not fully compatible with the enerprise. The HTC touch is crap unless you have small child like fingers. This review should be pulled. You really come off as a myspace kiddie…this phone was built for buisness and not updating your blog.
NeutralSKM August 20, 2008
GOOD LORDY?? ^^^^^ You must work for palm with that outdated ass lingo. What this writer stated is poignant and states the frustrations that former Palm fans like myself have felt. He actually was more lenient on them than I was.
IF you are really comfortable with outdated looks and technology.. then grandpa.. go pick up this JITTERBUG like smartphone when it comes out.
It doesn’t make any sense to whine about an informed heckler.
PS.. you should admit that you work for Palm also… no hard feelings
+4Mark Wayne August 21, 2008
It looks like this author isn’t alone, CNET news isn’t too far off. http://tinyurl.com/6jug5a
“Underwhelming. That’s the word that comes to mind when I look at the new Palm Treo Pro. Yes, nicer looking for sure, with a strong influence from the lower-cost Centro model (and looking rather like the upcoming Blackberry Bold). And it has 3G and WiFi, which is great, and the newest version of Windows Mobile, and GPS, though these can also be found on existing competitors. So it’s got a decent package of features, but what’s so compelling about it that isn’t being offered elsewhere?” -Adam Richardson
“In the video they also talk about how they wanted to take care of all the little details. It looks like they’ve done that, but by focusing on the small things Palm’s come up with a device that treads water in the market. There are no big things that really push the boat out further compared to other smartphones, no marquee features that really stand out from the increasingly large and diverse crowd. With the current state of the smartphone market, that’s just not good enough to move the needle on their dwindling market share and attract new customers to the Palm brand.” -Adam Richardson
+1Karl Fife August 21, 2008
I think the only hope for Palm is as a platform, not a device. I would suspect that Palm the device company will not be able to compete against the Samsungs and Nokia’s of the world as a ‘me too’ Windows Mobile device maker.
RIM has a software platform, iPhone has a platform, Microsoft has a Platform, Palm has an antiquated platform. I believe these major platforms are going to battle on some level for developers and software now that every man, woman and child is carrying a smart device. The reason I’ve held on so long with the palm platform is the simple reason that palm is what my software runs on. Sure I could switch to a new platform, but the process would be slow and painful, and may not be able to do what I want in the end. It’s the same reason I’ve stuck with Microsoft on the desktop so far. IF IN THE FUTURE all of the good software is written for iPhone, which platform would the rational person choose as their next device?
What I would give for a fast, crash-free Wi-Fi enabled, PalmOS device with a REAL multi-threaded browser, 3G wireless, and a Wi-SIP client and NOT have to move to a new platform! Palm’s rumored at their “next generation software in early 09″ but Palm has announced ‘next generation’ platforms on several occasions in the past, and they have always remained a few months off until they were cancelled. May Cobalt rest in peace. May ALP rest in peace.
Hopefully there will not be another false start in 09. If they screw up again, I’m going to go platform shopping.
+2KM August 21, 2008
Hey guys, do you need a phone to show off or something to work with? If you are in the former category please go on, get your iPhone (which can’t even cut and paste yet), and forget Treos. I need a device I can use with one hand only, no sliding parts, integrated with my company network and without sending company mails through another company service. This device looks to deliver all that, who cares if it is not sexy or tendy? Thanks to god I have a life beyond my phone, if I need something sexy and trendy, well, that’s not a phone
+1Nic August 21, 2008
If Palm wants to survive as a company they need to bring back the Palm OS. That was the reason to buy a Palm Treo, to avoid Windows Mobile. The Palm OS, while outdated, works pretty well…much better then WM. They need to upgrade the OS and come out with a new line of Treos that uses the new OS. Then a Treo would be worth buying. I currently have a 700p, and it’s a great phone. It’s getting a little long in the tooth though and I’m looking at something else. When I first heard about the Treo 800W last year I was excited. Now looking at what others have to offer, I’m not nearly as excited. Palm should have released this phone at the same time they released the Centro…they would have probably sold a ton of them. To KM – Integration with company network and company email is something that all smartphones with Windows Mobile 6.1 will be able to do. I do understand your need for 1 handed operation, and not all phones have this. There are some nice phones though that can accomplish this, but they have only as many features as the Treo. It’s not a terrible phone, it’s just outdated in comparison with what else is coming out, and it’s a bit overpriced for what you’re getting.
+1Pierre August 22, 2008
I love this Palm Treo Pro. I had a HTC Diamond and an iPhone and it was unusable for a pro usage. These engine are gadgets for professional use. The Treo has all the features available on the market in a thin and stylish design. I’m happy to see they didn’t put a touch interface wich is a gadget. All that is essential is in the Treo Pro. All that is gadget is in the iPhone, the Diamond and the i900. These machines are not pro machines, onle the Treo Pro is the right engine. The only default of the Treo Pro is to have the same black plastic back as the Diamond and the iPhone.
NeutralDTM August 22, 2008
I am still using a 650. It’s a brick but extremely functional and has been bullet-proof for business. I was looking at the 800W but have experienced all sorts of problems with W based that I keep going back to my Palm. The look is of no importance, the functionality of the device is essential.
I am glad I stumbled onto the Treo Pro. Addition of WiFi and GPS should make this the perfect one-handed device for a travelin’ guy. I want it!!
NeutralLC August 27, 2008
You guys are full of it. All you palm detractors will have to eat your words. Palm is making improvements, and this new treo pro is an example of that.
All Palm needs to do is bring out their new PALM OS II and put it on a sleek new treo like this and people will respond. Consider the alternatives. APPLE IPHONE? a black
box.
Blackberry? Crappy UI compared to PALM. Blackberry OS always feels like its not finished, like theirs something missing.
Please dont even bring up windows mobile. that’s crap. We need linux based PALM OS II.
Yours truly -
NeutralPalms’ biggest fan.
Syvee in CT December 9, 2008
I have been a Treo guy from 600. Reluctantly, I went from Palm OS to WinMo when the 750 hit. I could not believe how much slower it was – but I eventually adapted to it because I really needed the 3G. Some other things were nice – and eventually I got used to the slowness and some of the other nicities of WinMo grew on me. However – it was always buggy and slow – and for this I dreaded it. I drooled at the Pro when it leaked and chomped at the bit through to pre-order. Was very happy to get it and for the wifi and gps. But OMG – you really have to admit this is not well made. They keyboard is the worst ever on a palm and my back cover has already lost a tab because I have to open it so many times to reset the device. One of the final straws though was the sms interface. Not for nothing – but this was truly one of palms greatest hits. This thing now is horrible. And, well, if you rack up a few days worth of messages – I hope you have a free half hour to delete them if you need to clean up the device a little. I am HORRIBLY disappointed with palm. I too am leaving the platform. They will have to woo me back. I have already moved to a Nokia E71. If you are convinced the palm is well made – put it next to that and you will see. I miss my touch screen and some other things – but Nokia really knows how to make a phone – and the bluetooth is a dream compared to the Treo. Good luck to you. My Pro will be on Ebay shortly.
Neutral