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Talkin Treo -- v091506
Week ending 15 September 2006
Well, the "V" is out of the bag, so to speak. Palm announced the Treo 750v on Tuesday and, sure enough, the buzz is continuing. Buzz about its "antenna-less" form factor, favored by Europeans. Buzz about when it'll finally be available Stateside. And more buzz about how it and its other sibling, the new Treo 700wx, will impact Palm's revenue in the coming quarters.
There's a lot to cover this week, so let's talk Treo!
Palm News
 I'd say that this was a "down and up" week for Palm. Red Herring ran a story "Treo Taking a Tumble?", and so did others, harping on revenue problems at Palm. That made folks kind of antsy. No worries—Palm had this one under control.
V is for Visibility
Staying out in front of the business community, Palm's CEO, Ed Colligan spoke to BusinessWeek about Europe and the new Treo 750v. Here are a few excerpts:"BW: What's your goal for the European market?
EC: To date, we really focused our efforts in the U.S. for the smartphone business and we've built relationships with every major carrier there. We have a 35% market share in that area. In Europe, what we have is a handheld computing biz. We've sold more than 7 million devices of various PDAs in Europe and have a great presence relative to that, but people don't know us as well in relation to the phone or handset business. So this is a big launch for us.
BW: What is the growth potential for the smartphone market?
EC: It's got huge growth opportunities. Firms like IDC and Canalys figure anywhere from 35% to 65% compound annual growth rate. I think it's probably in the middle to the lower end of that range, but it's still major growth. Personally I think the biggest driver is people's understanding and access to these devices and what they can really do for them. That's why I'm really focused on education of the consumer."  Humm… In the words of James Brown, "I feel good!" So good, that I actually can't wait to hear what Palm talks about on their earnings call. Palm will be announcing its first quarter fiscal year 2007 financial results on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Pacific), followed by a conference call for the public at 4:30 p.m. Eastern (1:30 p.m. Pacific). Participants can simultaneously view the slides during the call. If you can't make it, a replay of the conference call will be available at Palm's Investor Relations website through Oct. 5, 2006.
I'm also feeling pretty good about Palm reaffirming its commitment to the developer community. The Palm Developer Network (PDN) is designed for mobile hardware and software developers targeting Palm products and is the first formal developer program to include both Palm OS and Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PC developers.
Talkin' Treo 750v
 Then there were all the "first looks" of the Treo 750v that started to appear online:
Video: Bonnie Cha/CNET
Reviews by Brighthand,
TreoCentral, Treonauts, the Mobile Gadgeteer and Mr. Mobile in his blog .
V is for Very exciting!
Talkin' Treo 700wx
As far as the Treo 700wx goes, it's the extra memory that's got folks excited:
128MB (60MB user-accessible)—which is nearly a 3-fold increase.
The Treo 700wx was talked about at eWeek and Mobile Tech Review.
V is for Very cool!
Recent TreoCentral Guides, Reviews & More
Though you'll find a lot of great information on the Treo 750v and the Treo 700wx at TreoCentral, you'll also find some Very interesting stories.
Harv "I am not a developer" Laser talks about how this CASL makes him feel at home when it comes to programming. So at home, that he created a program with it that you can download and try out! You get the source code too.
CASL- By Harv Laser
 "CASL has made it possible for me to create programs for my Treo, something I didn't know could be done this easily. The ability to test applications under Windows before synchronizing to the Treo is a tremendous time-saver. The language is flexible and you can use it to create commercial-grade and shareware applications. I would like to see the ability to navigate menus on the Treo using the five-way's middle button selector.
Given all the features available to you with CASL, it's clear that it is a tool worth serious consideration. Without the ball-and-chain of costly run-time fees, this may be the ideal solution for hobbyist programmers, shareware developers, and corporations interested in deploying PalmOS or PocketPC/Windows Mobile-based applications." Palm Leather Side Case - By Jay Gross
 Jay takes a look at the Very luxurious, leather case by Palm:"Palm's Leather Side Case puts luxurious, padded leather around reinforcing metal plates and hangs it all – horizontally – on your belt with a spring clip. It's attractive, has a wonderful feel, and offers good protection for your Treo."
News & Reviews from Elsewhere in the Treo Community
V is for Voice Dialing
Mobility Today pointed out
that Treo Voice Dialing by VoiceSignal is the number one selling Palm OS application, per VoiceSignal's press release. And that press release points out that number one slot is over on Palm's Software Connection site. BTW, they've held that position since June of this year. I'd be curious to hear what our Treo community thinks about this voice dialing package. Click my name at the top of this story to email me your thoughts.
V is for Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset
 Mobile Burn's Brendan Cartledge just posted his review of the Plantronics Voyager 510:"The Plantronics Voyager 510 is a very good headset. It is comfortable, offers good audio quality, and is very easy on the eyes. The base version of the Voyager 510 starts at US$50, while the more advanced versions can cost up to US$200. For around the US$50 mark, this is a very good headset. Most competitors in this price range lack noise reduction, comfort, or both. The Voyager 510, however, excels in these areas. The rating of Recommended is duly deserved for an excellent headset that is only flawed by its buttons." Dude Views MobiTV
 Over at MyTreo.net, Bob Perez posted his thoughts on using MobiTV on his CDMA Treo 700p. He writes, "All in all I am stoked with the product. Wow factor is way up there with non-Treo users."
I can't say I was "stoked" back in February when I was checking out the Winter Olympics. But then again, I was using a Treo 650.
Bob sums up his experience, "My take on MobiTV? AWESOME!"
For sure, dude!
Warning: Before using MobiTV, get yourself on an unlimited data plan.
V is for Viewing Habits
Speaking of mobile TV, according to a recent report
from Telephia, mobile TV revenue grew 67 percent quarter-over-quarter to $86 million. Other interesting stats from the report: Last quarter, there were 3.7 million mobile TV subscribers and that number has grown 45 percent since the beginning of the year. The report also includes some Nielsen-like ratings of viewership for top mobile channels (duplicated numbers mean they tied):
- ABC News--40 percent
- The Weather Channel--32 percent
- Fox Sports--31 percent
- ESPN--29 percent
- Fox News--22 percent
- NBC Mobile News--20 percent
- Comedy Central--16 percent
- AccuWeather--15 percent
- Discovery Kids--15 percent
- Discovery Channel--13 percent
- CNN--12 percent
- E!--12 percent
Endnotes & Ponderables
And speaking of TV, I thought I'd wrap with this fine story.
Alvin & the Chipmunks and Rocky & Bullwinkle Go Mobile!
 This week, InfoSpace announced a partnership deal with Classic Media and Bagdasarian Productions to bring some of the world's most famous classic movie and TV stars to mobile, including Alvin & the Chipmunks, Rocky & Bullwinkle and a host of others.
Through the new licensing agreements, InfoSpace may develop ringtones, ringback tones and wallpaper based on the iconic graphic images and voices of these popular entertainment franchises. The content will enhance InfoSpace's already robust offering of mobile music, movie and pop-culture related entertainment for a rapidly growing audience on the go.
Enough with the "V-ness" of this column. This last piece garners a resounding "Woo Hoo!"
That's a wrap!
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