Wow!

We are excited to see the amount of comments. Thank you for your encouragement and support, and it's great to see such in-depth comments.

We are taking your feedback very seriously, so I want to take this opportunity to address a few of the comments:

-Will you be the only commentator or will others join you?

• Nope, I won't be the only person contributing to the Palm blog. Lots of people from Palm are eager to contribute; I just kicked it off and have the privilege of keeping it up and running.

-How often do you plan to post?

• We are planning to post a couple times a week - it will vary depending upon what's going on each week.

-Several people mentioned the topic of a Palm forum

• I don't have a specific answer at this time, but thank you for sharing your thoughts. Currently, there are a lot of great forums that are run by independent sites focusing on Palm products and Treo smartphones (which we read regularly). Here are a few:

           -1SRC

           -Brighthand.com

           -EverythingTreo 

           -MyTreo.net

           -PalmAddict

           -PalmInfoCenter

           -TreoCentral

           -Treonauts

• Also, there are the Palm Help Forums, and of course you can feel free to leave comments here on the palm blog.

-Several people have also brought up the Treo 700p maintenance release

• Look for an update on the Palm blog next week.

Keep watching this space for more Palm info and product updates. Until next time, keep the comments coming!

Paul Loeffler

Comments

[Edward Odell]

Count me as another frustrated 700p user. I have had had to give up the use of ANY BT headset (and I had been using the Palm BT headset) because the the pairing/unpairing issue.

I think it is wrong that a manufacturer puts a product out into the field which for whatever reason cannot even function as advertised.

Couple this with the obfuscation concerning the ROM update makes me a very unhappy customer. Palm, if you want me back, you are going t have to do better.

[sanjay]

So, what about the release of the update for WM5 --> WM6 for Treo phones? You know, the ones that have a decent amount of memory?

On that note, how come Palm first said about the 700w that they couldn't "possibly" put more memory in the Treo line and then released the 700wx only have vendors like Verizon say the only upgrade path was for users to buy a new phone JUST for a memory upgrade that should have been in the original phones in the first place.

hmm?

[intellidryad]

Congrats on the new blog! I really think this is a good way for Palm to communicate with the vast Palm community.

One suggestion: You should put a link to make this blog a Avantgo channel. That way, we can have an easy way to read this blog on our handhelds. (Subscribing to the RSS could do it, but you don't get the full article)

[Mark Earnest]

I think for many of us who valiantly stuck by for the last year with what is clearly a very broken Treo, a ROM update for the 700p is too little too late at this point.

No matter how long the announcement about the forthcoming announcement regarding the possibility of a 700p rom update is delayed no longer matters. What I (and imagine most of us) would like to know is how will Palm be making this right for us? A free upgrade to the 755 or at the very least a free upgrade to the next palm os would be most appreciated for the trouble of being unwitting beta testers.

An update released 6+ months too late for a phone that is about to be end of lifed before it ever actually had life is no longer really enough (although desperately needed, don't get me wrong).

This blog is also a very good idea because up until now the only interaction most of us had with Palm is secondhand accounts of emails (which often turn out to be inaccurate) posted on message boards. It does not take long for a lot of people who see a $650 purchase fail to live up to expectations whip themselves into a frenzy when it seems the company responsible does not care, pretends there is no problem, or seems to abandon them and focus on how to roll out another device. Communication from Palm is most appreciated.

[prk60091]

waiting on the 700p update/fix and where's wifi?????

[Rick Ingram]

I am very happy to see a means of communication taking form. I hope that it is used often.
I see that the 700P update has been discussed here. How about the fix for the 680? I know that Palm is aware of the gibberish/alt character and loss of connectivity problem on the Cingular network. But we haven't seen anything from Palm about a solution for this problem. PLEASE FIX THIS! I didn't spend this kind of money for a PDA/Smartphone that has to be soft reset to make is usable when this happens. Thanks.

[John]

What about those of us with new Treo 680s? I payed $399.00 for an unlocked phone that suffers from a buggy battery indicator and several other problems. I am already on my second Treo 680 since Palm declared the first one defective. Given the way Palm has treated the Treo 700P crowd, I have no faith that a ROM update for the unlocked version is coming anytime in the near future. I think this may have been my last Palm Treo. P.S. Why should I have to call your "Tech Support" line more than one time when I have already tried the solutions that they are suggesting just to get a repair/replacement.

[Noahas]

+1 for the "I bought the Treo 700p as soon as it came out, and I have been waiting 9 months for an update to get rid of the white sceen lag and bluetooth dropsies" crowd. Great phone when all is working properly, but ... It should always be working properly!

[Leathernuts]

I agree, pat them on the back for another postponement of 700p update?
700p upadate???????????
700p upadate????????
700p upadate????????
700p upadate?????????
700p upadate????????
700p upadate?????????
700p upadate?????????
700p upadate????????
700p upadate???????????
700p upadate?????????
700p upadate?????????

[SMEGGIE]

Please note: there are several forums out there where people are expressing their collective displeasure with the Treo 700P. Sprint has one however Verizon claims there is nothing wrong with it. (Can ya hear me now, Verizon?)

Here is a link to the Sprint-based 700P frustration thread:

http://forums.buzzaboutwireless.com/baw/board/message?board.id=SmartPhones&message.id=73

SMEGGIE :D

[Edward Doan]

First off - congrats on the blog! In contrast to all the complaints about the devices (I'm a 700p user), I'm actually happy to see a PalmOS device at all in 2007. One would think with all the buzz in the industry these days that the world was all MS Windows Mobile or Symbian. I'd like to see some discussion on what Palm is doing to innovate in the enterprise space. We're a hardcore Blackberry shop here, but a few of us have managed to sneak Palm Treos in. What is Palm's strategy to get more PalmOS penetration in the enterprise?

[SMEGGIE]

Please note: there are several forums out there where people are expressing their collective displeasure with the Treo 700P. Sprint has one however Verizon claims there is nothing wrong with it. (Can ya hear me now, Verizon?)

Here is a link to the Sprint-based 700P frustration thread:

http://forums.buzzaboutwireless.com/baw/board/message?board.id=SmartPhones&message.id=73

SMEGGIE :D

[e2mtt]

Look at all this criticism this way: Most of us are big Palm fans, going back years. (My first was the original Handspring Visor) We desperately want there to continue to be a Palm, that works like Palm.

What we really want this blog to do is tell us what you are working on.

We will be more then happy to give you feedback. You will end up with a whole market analysis here.

Most of your products lately have had certain "what were they thinking" drawbacks on each one. I LOVE my Treo, but we know it could be more.

Tell us honestly here on this blog; what is in development, why you have to leave certain items out, what is actually causing a delay, and release some good news and beta software now and then. You will have a new way to reach a loyal fanbase, and they will be happier. (Note this month's Wired cover story about company openness)

[SunGod]

Just another reminder about us PDA fans out there.
I grabed a couple of quotes from this thread from people that want PDA's
“I am just waiting for an excuse to spend money and upgrade from my Palm TX.” Imabug
“I'll gladly take a TX 2 with SDHC support, 4GB Flash memory, and the new Linux OS! “ e2mtt
“I really haven't seen anything coming out of Palm that makes me want to replace my T3. “ bob russell
This last one is the exact scenario that I was referring to in my last post.

SunGod Melb. Aus.

[Dee]

I, too, love the PalmOS. I upgraded my 650 to a 680. I am mostly happy with the 680, but the network lag is annoying and the lag in opening apps is also unacceptable. When I compared the speed of switching apps in the 650 vs. the 680, I was very envious of my olf 650. I look forward to an updated firmware, sooner rather than later.

[Eric]

Can you please tell me why I should not dump my Treo? I am a dedicated Treo customer. But I must admit, I am not actively looking for a new smartphone. It seems all the other new ones are much smaller and have a lot of the basic functions of the Treo. I just wonder why it has taken so long to significantly shrink down the size and width of the Treo. Please give me a reason to not go elsewhere. I was at the Sprint store just yesterday looking at alternatives that I can actually put in my pocket.
Thanks

[700p-MacOS-user]

MORE SUGGESTIONS:

It would be nice if Palm Employees who post here were in Red Color, so that it would be easier to find their Posts here, unless you can think of a better way to Identify their posts?

Or maybe switch to Forum Format?

How about THE OFFICIAL PALM TREO PODCAST? Better yet, not just Audio, but Video Podcast? That way, it's more from THE HORSES MOUTH vs. RUMORS etc...

Also, maybe borrow from Apple, and start OVERVIEW of 3rd Party Applications, so it's no longer a ZOO out there, with crashes and incompatibilities..., where Palm Tech Support keeps repeating the old mantra:

We don't support 3rd Party Applications:)!

So, what good is so-called Palm Economy, and thousands of 3rd party developers, if, according to Palm Tech Support, they ALL are SUSPECTS when Palm device starts having problems!!!!

While at it, I think Palm owes all of us a ROCK SOLID BACK UP to SD Card Application... BackupBuddyVFS Professional and such are nice, but they are still 3rd party, and thus, according to Palm Tech Support, they ALL are SUSPECTS when Palm device starts having problems!!!!

Backing up to Internet, as you are proposing -- INSANE!!! I would NEVER EVER EVER trust my PERSONAL DATA outside of my Palm Device or SD Card or my own Desktop... You can swear all you want about PRIVACY etc..., but my PERSONAL data is mine ONLY, and I'll never entrust it to ANYONE, including .Mac:)!

[pen]

You know what's happening here, Palm? You're losing your customers. I have owned at one point every Treo to ever be released, and now I'm telling people to buy anything but Palm. WiFi is a huge downfall, not fixing ANY of the above addressed issues and bugs is a huge downfall. Not releasing new and innovative technology is a huge downfall. I, quite literally, threw my 700p through a wall about 20 minutes prior to posting this comment. The sad part is I gave my 650 to my wife and bought a 700p for myself, and a 700wx for my father-in-law. They both love their phones. Microsoft can update their firmware and software as soon as there is an issue, yet you can't get out one firmware update in 9 months. We create humans out of tadpoles in 9 months, you can't release a single update. Yet at the same time you've managed to add how many new phones to the market since the original release of the 700p? It's as if this company has no plans to actually SUPPORT their product anymore, but as long as they can get people to buy them off the bat they're fine with that. I've heard the rumors of a 755p coming to the sprint market in May 2007, how many Palm/Sprint customers do you think are going to jump on the idea of forking out another $600+ after either having or hearing of the problems associated with Palm's previous hardware releases. I can tell you right now I'm not even going to think about buying another Palm product until the issues with my current one are resolved, and I am NOT alone. There are way too many other and better products on the market now for us to be wasting our time and getting frustrated over Palm's inability to take care of it's customers and their needs. This needs to be taken to heart, because all I'm doing here is expressing OUR feelings towards these new products. Whether everyone who owns a 700p pipes in our not, this is how they feel. I have sold over 400 Treo's THIS YEAR, and those sales are about two weeks away from switching to another device. Please redeem yourself Palm, for all of us. Keep this in mind, for every one disappointed customer of a company or product, on average, said company will loss 10 potential customers.

[AEK]

Hello

Good idea to have a blog

I had a TREO 600 and i have today a treo 650. My treos had a lot of bug. I see new treo have a lot of bug too.
I think i will never buy a new treo for this problem.

Another point, you spoke about pal m site but only american or english site. You know that we can buy a palm in france,Africa, belgium, canada. You could add palm site in french.
(www.palmattitude.fr, www.pdacool.com...)

[apple]

Palms talking when they should listen. Get the screen lag and bluetooth upgrade. As soon a a PDA phone comes out thats any good I will buy it and be gone from palm forever, you have very little time.....

[gene]

Stop delaying the truth and just say it. Do you have the 700p patch or not? When? You didn't live up to your promise when I bought my phone 10 months ago. You didn't live up to serving the customer by recognizing the issue 7 months ago. You didn't live up to your promise 2 weeks ago. Stop with the non-sense and spill the beans! Enough is enough.
From a long time palm/handspring/treo user.

[Garman]

I commend all you loyal straight talking Palm Users. At times bordering on belligerent in your honesty, you reflects the authenticity of someone who is personally and emotionally committed to Palm. Why else would you even bother to take the time to express your disappointment so eloquently or with precision sarcasm.

Democracy should not be limited to the political arenas alone. Palm customers vote with their money and should expect the promise of quality to be honored. Palm would have to agree that they owe a large amount of their success to not just consumers but the huge developer community. This Blog is a major step in public accountability and responsibility.

However, to produce a product that in some circles would warrant a recall is taking advantage of a users trust and hard earned money. To make promises about addressing them without keeping them or accounting for not keeping them is a travesty and adds injury to insult. You could not expect to walk out a store without full payment so why would it be okay to offer compromised quality in exchange for full payment and then abandon any acknowledgments. You might as well tell users "Talk to the Palm" if you catch my lingo.

[Jerry Giardina]

Hi Paul,

2nd post; I wish you could help us out with some more informtion on the 755p. Several questions;

1. Will the lag be fixed on the 755p?
2. What size memory card will it hold? (SD or mini SD)
3. Will it have more memory than our current 700p?
4. Will it have location support so we could use GPS without a Bluetooth receiver? That would be nice!
5. Will we be able to upgrade to the next OS with the 755P's and the 700p's?
6. If not, could not Palm give a substantial discount if we were upgrading to the new Treo's. That would give us a little more faith in Palm because in reality we have all been beta tester's with the new 700p. We have lived with a defective Treo since the start. I believed that Mr. Sinclair had said that it was inherent in the hardware design. That should not be, that means a defective phone! Paul, please present this to the higher ups at Palm and personally tell our story. I see most of the comment's represent loyal but frustrated users. I appreciate the forum. Thank you.

Jerry Giardina

[R. Gabriel]

I definitely appreciate everyone at Palm who took the initative to make this big move in order to develop this new channel of communication with its user base. It definitely shows interest and hopefully will help deliver better devices on par with what users are looking to buy.

I'd like to second the many requests concerning the 700p Firmware update. This $499+ phone has worse bluetooth than I have used on several other previous mobile phones including the 650 and various smart/regular phones.

This device will be discontinued next month and many of us still haven't been able to use the features we were promised. Many flaws were overlooked (the call log doesn't even show call duration) and this will definitely hinder me from purchasing another palm device in the future if it is not rectified. How am I, and others like me supposed to feel comfortable spending such a large amount of money on a device that doesn't perform as promised? I have used handspring visors up until the treo 650 and bought the 700p as soon as it was released. I have also recommended it to many until such flaws became apparent and the lack of updates resulted.

As mentioned, either an upgrade to the new OS, or SIGNIFICANT savings over the new 755 would be the only solutions to restore much of the lost faith that a majority of the users have lost with the lack of significant improvements and updates to these devices.

Thanks for your time,
R. Gabriel

[Carl W Brooks]

Keep looking for ways to improve the Palm experience. Here is some feedback on your new Palm Backup Beta app.

http://www.palmloyal.com/addons.php?name=News&file=article&sid=17924