Palm Announces Palm OS GSM Treo 680 & Surprises! – Treo and PalmOS news:
I’m quite excited about the potentials here. Bringing the cost of these phones down is the next key step to expand their usage. Ok, there’s a somewhat selfish piece, too, in that I want to be able to get my hands on a decent device without going bankrupt.
When Palm brought out the III series, it helped expand the market for handhelds, and cemented Palm’s place. Even though things have slipped some with the plethora of PocketPC devices, Palm still holds a strong place. Part of that is the lack of a sub $100 device in PocketPC world. Getting people onboard with a platform is the hardest step. As they grow in sophistication (for their usage, if not tastes) they still gravitate towards the known. Toyota and Honda have executed this exceptionally well. When you start to present the notion of migrating their “data”, people are even more inclined to just stay put.
The 680 is an exceptional step by Palm to cement their place in the handheld communicator market. I have some key concerns, though. When are they going to release the blasted thing? Cost? Sub $200 will be great. Sub-$300 will be ok.
This all started with quite a bit of a buzz, but it’s gone pretty quiet fast. We’ll see what kind of energy Palm can create. Personally, I think this is a key step to maintaining their place as a market leader.
