Palm Treo 680: Swansong to the Palm OS
Tags: palm, linux, palm os, windows mobile
Today Palm announced the Palm Treo 680, which comes in blue, orange, white and red (as pictured). It looks very similar to the Palm Treo 750v, which was announced last month, but it doesn't run on Windows Mobile. Instead, the 680 runs on the Palm OS version 5.4.9 and will be one of the last Palm phones to run on the original Palm OS, as the handsets are moving to a Linux-based OS next year.
According to our sister site ZDNet UK, "Palm sold its PalmSource OS division to Japanese firm Access last year -- it is now called Access Linux Platform (ALP). PalmSource will be no more and instead Palm Inc who make the Treo range among other devices will use the ALP platform. The Palm emulation environment within ALP is set to stay for at least a while, so old Palm applications will continue to work, but analysts say the new OS will still have a lot to prove."
The 680 is powered by an Intel PXA270 312MHz processor and features a large colour touchscreen, full Qwerty keypad and VGA camera for basic snapshots. There's quad-band connectivity, so you can use it anywhere in the world that has a GSM network, and Bluetooth and infrared connectivity for transferring data to another device.
It has 64MB on-board memory and there's an expandable memory slot so you can add extra storage space if you need it. Other features include a speakerphone mode, polyphonic ring tones and a 2.5mm headset port.
The 680 comes into its own on the business side of things, giving corporate users access to email on the go. The Treo series has developed a reputation as an alternative to the BlackBerry, but the question remains whether the change to a Linux OS will affect users and application compatibility. According to Palm, the 680 will be available before Christmas. Expect a full review soon. -AL
Update: We now have a full review of the Palm Treo 680 live in our Reviews channel.
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AnonymousSat 14 October, 2006 6:57pm
I agree with the previous commenter. I also own a Treo 650 and am not tempted to get this, but if I didn't own one, I would be very tempted. The lower price and the colors are very appealing. I hope that this could be the beginning of a new way of marketing for Palm and that it will turn things around.
kyungheiSat 4 November, 2006 5:25am
I own a treo 600 and I wanted a 700p until I saw this phone! The size and weight isn't an issue for me. Any thinner or smaller and the screen size would be too small. Most of the thinner phones don't have the touch screen, which I couldn't possibly live without. I love the fact that it is GSM and that it has google maps! I recently downloaded a version into my 600 but this version much better! The 750 doesn't take full size SD cards, so I'm not interested. I'm also excited about the fact that this one is supposed to be a lot cheaper!
KhaledFri 24 November, 2006 7:22pm
Palm is working on a new deivice in the Mobil computing space, if you are familier with Palm news you will know that it will available next year.
regarding size, it is the touchscreen that matters, too thin is not confertable to hold as you think. the Treo 680 got more than 650 in sound tech, other.
I beleive the Treo 750v is great for a proffesional on the move, Treo 680 for a new smartphone user (procnsumer)
AnonymousFri 29 February, 2008 2:50am
Too thick isnt an issue for me either, this is the best phone I've had and I've gone through alot of phones
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Juerg HoelzleSat 14 October, 2006 7:11am
The new Treo 680 looks good – but I won’t replace my 650 because the improvements are too small. It is still too heavy and too thick. The Samsung i-320 is a good example how thin you can build a QWERTY smartphone!
I wish, Palm would develop more different Treo models:
1) “classic” but slim Treo like mentioned above
2) a small, more phone-like model, like the SonyEricsson M600i
3) a PDA with phone capabilities as a laptop replacement