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

[acjif98]

This is great - Although I switched to a Moto Q from my beloved Treo 650, I plan to watch for the next Palm OS and make the switch back. The 700p problems and price moved me to the Q....
Woops - there goes my battery.

[StayFlyer]

I've had the 600, 650, and now the 700p and I have to say i'm very disappointed, being that i use my phone for business and I can't use my bluetooth it resets buy itself and theres a serious lag problem not to mention ptunes jumps but thats besides the point I need my bluetooth it is very important so i need a fixs or a brand new phone for free because i paid $680 and I'm mad because my phone never worked properly. Tell Verizon I need a 755 fast.

[700p-MacOS-user]

Finally Palm Glasnost:)!

Now, I wonder if Palm will let this Post through it's censorship... Hey, no fowl language here, just NOTHING BUT THE FACTS...

-------------------------------
Here is my Setup:

Treo 700p, Palm Desktop 4.2.2, Mac OS 10.4.9 (all latest updates), Powerbook 17, Verizon, Dial Up Networking "Tethering" via Bluetooth...
-------------------------------

When I bought 700P in July 2006, Dial Up Networking "Tethering" [DUN] via Bluetooth was one of the biggest selling points for me, in addition to email on the go. This was my 1st "Smart?" phone:)!

Almost immediately, I realized that those few times when I was able to Connect via BT/DUN on my laptop were the exceptions to the rule. Usually it would take multiple attempts, Modem Errors, redoing Pairing of my Treo to Powerbook in Bluetooth Preferences..., Restarting my laptop.

Countless dialogs with nice Palm Tech Support folks in Philippines offered a few workaround, like un-checking some settings in my Network Preferences. Another trick, using Network Utility to Ping Google, was a trick to maintain Connection, that is if I was lucky to Connect.

As Palm Tech Support folks kept promising 700p Update, I found myself caught in Finger Pointing Monkey In The Middle Loop From Hell -- Verizon would send me to Palm, Palm would apologize and question Verizon, and Verizon would send me to Palm... Palm Techs were honest enough to admit that they have had many calls like mine from Mac users, regarding DUN, and that I should wait for 700p Update. Meanwhile, I spent countless hours trying to figure it out, reading numerous posts on this on various Forums etc.

After I started using Camcorder and SD Card, I noticed HotSync Issues... Eventually, after a many Hard Resets and Restores via BackupBuddyVFS Professional 4, as well as from my Mac, those HS issues went away... I still don't know what that was all about. Maybe corrupt email, or too many attached videos in Mail Sent Items Folder?

iPhone announcement came. No 3rd party applications, but promising STABILITY and WiFi..

So, if you were me, on Mac, would you stay with Treo 700p or get an iPhone?

If Palm doesn't make 700P ROCK SOLID, including DUN Tethering, and maybe even Skype and WiFi, you tell me WHY should I not switch to iPhone?

To me, no UNIVERSAL Palm Desktop for Mac means that Palm basically is giving up on Mac Users.... Then, just ADMIT it, and we'll wish each other good luck, as Mac Users leave for iPhone, before, or immediately as their Contracts with carriers expire....

UNIVERSAL Palm Desktop, that supports Mac OS Services, Apple Script etc, and thus is no longer ISOLATED from the rest of Mac is the LEAST Palm can do to show Mac Users good faith!!!

Implicitly sending Mac Users toward Entourage, MissingSync, or Now Contact has been been part of the Finger Pointing Monkey In The Middle Loop From Hell, where one has to rely on Forums, User Groups, and Hear Say, in lieu of REAL TECH SUPPORT, ala Apple Care, Apple Stores, Genius Bars at Apple Stores.

Finally Palm Glasnost:)! -- GREAT IDEA!!!! Better yet, PLEASE BE HONEST and OPEN with Mac Users, or and at least ALL 700p users!!!

iPhone is a BLESSING to Smartphones Universe, because, if it is half as good as promised, it will hold EVERY phone maker's feet to the fire, and that includes Palm....

From being a HUGE Palm Fan (IIIx, T3, 700p), now since 7/2007, I came to almost hate my Treo, because of its FAILED PROMISE!!!

I don't want to get all caught up, on a rebound, in iPhone FRENZY either. I just want Mac OS X-like STABILITY, and not having to play a DETECTIVE on my 700p, ala the old days of Mac OS 8-9 - Extension Manager, Conflict Catcher....

I don't want anymore spontaneous Resets... This is my 2nd BRAND NEW 700p, not a refurbished -- thank you my friends at Version, but my fellow 700p user is on his 3rd or 4th 700p replacement (refurbished probably, as per Verizon Policy). Almost the same issues as mine --- all of a sudden the Speaker stopped working, and we both had to use Earpiece Output ONLY!!! My friends feel the same way as I do about 700p...

Verizon doesn't seem to care much about Mac customers.... They seem to push Windows Mobile mostly... And, at their retail stores it's REALLY PATHETIC!!! Maybe cause Treo's are perceived as the Phones for the RICH FOLKS as compared to cheaper phones out there)!? And VZ retail appears to be more CLASSY compared to Sprint and T-Mobile, from what I've seen...

So..., if you were me, on Mac, would you stay with Treo 700p or get iPhone?

What are you promising to Mac Customers like me in the future? And I mean as OFFICIAL STATEMENTS from the CEO of Palm vs. Comments on this Blog that is not exactly FRONT PAGE NEWS?!

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

[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:)!

[700p-MacOS-user]

Comments are moderated, and will not appear on this weblog until the author has approved them.

-------
OOPS... Now I understand that it could take days before, and IF my Comments are allowed on this Blog...

Hopefully Palm or whomever is the Moderator is not looking for COMPLIMENTS only, otherwise is it's DENIAL:)!

[Chris Glick]

I carry my TX everywhere and rely heavily on it. For my teaching position, others occasionally come to me, knowing that my TX has data that they don't have (but need). I'm fairly happy with it.

However, I want:

1) Unicode support! I need to use Japanese input, which J-OS provides, but it causes trouble with other applications. With a new Linux OS, go multilingual, please!

2) A dongle or something that will let me connect to Ethernet. My university has no WiFi spots, no Bluetooth connection spots, and I don't have a BT-compatible phone. However, there are Ethernet cables everywhere. That I can't use. So sell something that I can use to connect my TX to an Ethernet cable.

3) An end to constant crashing. My TX probably crashes 8-10 times a day. I suspect J-OS is part of the reason, which is why I want multilingual support.

With these three things, I will continue buying Palm products. Otherwise, I'll probably shift to an iPhone, which isn't coming to Asia until 2008 (reportedly), and live without certain functions I've grown used to on my TX but enjoy (probably) far more stability and Unicode.

[SMEGGIE]

I see an awful lot of angry, disgruntled posters yet I don't see any reciprocal 'communication' from anyone at Palm. Is this just another place for all of us to voice our collective disappointment with the 700P(ieceOS)?

Palm? Are you listening? Did you have any idea that it was this bad?

SMEGGIE :D

[Emanuel Campos]

Hi, I´m a brasilian Palm user, and I going to have, in a couple of weeks, to receive my Treo680 by Claro, nowadays I have a T|X but before I had a LifeDrive, T|E, Sony SJ21 and M125. As you can see, I do am a Palm Lover and I very happy finding this blog, because it is a "truely confirmation" of the Palm Inc. is not dead! I´ll be waitting for news smartphones and, if possible a breakthrought new Palm PDA, without the phone. You guys were the first at PDA´s, please, don´t leave this technology behind, re-invented it! Regards and thanks for the space!

[stayflyer]

please put a flash on the new phones please!

[Andres Jabois]

Why don't you make a Developer Suite for Mac OS X?, the people on Mac also like Palm's, and most of the programs for mac are better than those on PC, the palm community could gain if they support Mac OS-> Palm Developers, come on, even an XCode plug in would work.

[David Foote]

I have had a Palm 600 then 650 and now the 700 P.

I love the 700 P but my Bluetooth works like dung and everytime I talk to someone about it they tell me what I have all ready done. All of the obvious things.

I have had my 700 P for 5 months. I am not Stupid! Something is truely worg with Bluetooh on the 700 P , I wish PALM would admit it and tell us all what the fix is going to be, and when.

Call me : I want my 650 back !!!

[David]

I'm in the market for a new phone. I was looking at the 750, especially since the WM6 update is coming. The tipping point will be the resolution. If it will support 320x320, then I'm sold. If not, then no go for me. I've seen forum posts that say the hardware can support that res and others that say it can't. Sure would be nice to know. Not sure if anyone can comment either way, especially a Palm rep.

[RockyCpa]

I have 4-5 owned several palm devices. I currently own a Tungsten C, a Treo 650 and a Treo 680. I am trying to figure out a good use for the "C". I just bought the 680 and gave my son the 650. My son "21" is thrilled with the 650.

I upgraded the phone to get the use of sdhc cards and more internal memory. (This works great)

Unfortunately, I want it my 650 back. I like a lot of things about my 680 except for the bluetooth. It is sooooo frustrating. My 650 bluetooth worked great. I own an Acura TL with bluetooth and I often showed off my treo 650 bluetooth with it. I would never show off the 680. It is completely irratic and undependable. I don't understand how you could come up with a new model that is worse than the old model. I finally resorted to searching blogs and it appears to be an issue across the board. I travel a lot. I purchased the phone through cingular with a 2 year contract.

From what I can tell, the issue has been around from inception, yet I see no software upgrades or workarounds.

I am now down to disabling the bluetooth and working wired. I feel like I am a techy guy and yet I can't get it to work.

Can you guys fix this? I have had the phone for about 3 weeks and i have given up on the bluetooth part which was once an awesome part of the phone.

[Darkknight]

How you also checked out Treobits.com? Also what dose the Treo 755p have that the Treo 700p don't? is there any info on this treo that you can give us?

[Esteban]

Ohhhh Yes. Finally Palm owns a blog. I'm a young Palm user. I bought my first PDA, a Palm Z22 one year ago. I love Palm OS. I'll probably buy a Palm TX in some months. What have about new Palm OS Linux-Based?. And, do you plan sell new Palms with new Palm OS?. When?. Is it possible upgrade for current handhelds?. Thank you.

[Andrew Greig]

Hi,
I am greatly encouraged by the news that your staff regularly read the posts, not only here but on other Palm Community sites as well. For me it is great news that Palm is moving to a Linux OS. Sharp did this with their Zaurus, which I roadtested for a while. Trouble with the Z was that it would not easily sync with a Linux Desktop. My LifeDrive (love it!) syncs with the Linux desktop but with limited functionality: just the big four apps. There are three things I would like to see with the new OS:
1 Full featured synching with Evolution or a Palm desktop based on J-Pilot which works very well.

2 Native support for the Open Document Standard. I would like to be able to load my native .odt and ods files and read and manipulate them on the handheld.

Considering that Microsoft is your major competitor, doesn't it make sense to bring out the big guns, like OpenOffice compatibility. Afterall when the world's biggest selling pda platform aligns with the world's best Office Suite, then surely it will be game over for Windows Mobile.

Oh, sorry, number 3 is support for the .ogg format of compressed audio files, out of the box. Can't be too hard as it's Open Source, and no royalty fees either.

By Loading Palm products with Windows Mobile, you fail to make the distinction between the best PDA/Smartphone, and the rest.

Did I say I love my LifeDrive?

[David]

Darkknight...who are you commenting to?

[Eric]

Its great to see this blog... I am looking forward to hearing "first hand" info on the workings inside Palm. The Palm community used to be full of so much excitement but the last couple of years have been pretty silent so its very encouraging to see some activity and enthusiasm again. I also look forward to users being able to comment and communicate to Palm officials directly... Palm users have a lot to say but it seems that for a while no one has been listening.

For Starters... I don't want a smartphone! Smartphones are phones first and PDA a distant second. The only way I would ever consider a Treo was if it was a PDA FIRST and the phone was an afterthought. I use my PDA as my laptop replacement... I want a decent size screen and a good way to enter text on the go (Grafitti 1)... I organize my life, manage projects, open Docs and Spreadsheets, listen to MP3's, use as a scientific calculator and read my Bible... all on my Palm T/X. I am interested in devices with the latest operating system that allow me to do these things better. The need for a phone comes in as a distant second.

Also, my T/X isn't nearly as sturdy as my Pilot 5000 was (yes I'm that old). In less than 6 months my T/X's digitizer drifts and has to be calibrated daily... the sound quit working... and now the power button doesn't work.

I am a long time and LOYAL palm user... I have personally purchased 8 different Palm devices and have a decade of information in the Palm Desktop. I really do LOVE Palm... BUT... I would really like to see a nice PDA specific offering... some good OS and Core Apps enhancements... and some improvements to quality.

Thanks for listening and I am really looking forward to your blog!

[Keith Walker]

I have only one comment, I won't be buying another Palm product unless it comes with a hi-res 480x320 screen.

kww

[Eric Nix]

Has Palm abandoned the PDA in favor of Treos, or is it possible we might see a successor to the Tungsten TX? As a physician that provides relief work to third world countries, I would prefer a PDA that is extremely compact with a long battery life. Even a flip PDA similar to the one Sony made many years ago would be favorable. Of course, I'm still partial to the Palm OS and do not want a PDA that runs on Windows Mobile operating system.

[Garman]

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT TRUE!

"This site will be shut down in a couple of days due to the unexpected response from Palm Users that make this effort a publicity nightmare."

I hope this does not become true. I feel a whole new sense of community with all you disgruntled palm users. Some of what you say has me doing belly laughs and you authenticity is priceless.

The fact that this is an official palm site brings out both the hope that concerns will actually be addressed and the "Finally, I get to speak to Palm Directly" feeling that can't be replicated on any other user forum.

Even though I think the format of the blog could be a little more updated considering the blogs possibilities maybe the hope was that people could read it on their Palms.

I wholeheartedly thank Palm for providing for most people serves as a catharsis and an almost spiritual experience of releasing deeply repressed emotional communications. Never mind the updates these communications are priceless.

P.S. Please don't take this site down. I come here everyday to check out the comments. Maybe set up an RSS just for the comments.

Thank you.

[verngator]

I've been a Palm OS user since 1997, currently with my tenth device (a Sprint Treo 700p, purchased last June). My 700p has me thinking of jumping the Palm ship for the first time in ten years. We 700p users are going crazy for an update due to Bluetooth issues, white screens, screen lags, etc...

I've stopped using my Treo as a phone and am using it primarily as an internet capable Palm. Perhaps this update will resolve the issues and restore my faith in Palm.

Thanks!

[Bob Crow]

I have owned a Handspring, 2 Sonys, a T3 and now a TX. The T3 was the best, only because the TX has problems with "lag" and crashes. Combine the stability of the T3 with the additional memory and WiFi of the TX, and you will have a winner. Forget Windows and Linux. Palm is superior. I hope all the negativity doesn't deter you from continuing this blog. I'm waiting patiently.

[Helix One]

I hope that we never see this fabled firmware update. Palm owes us more at this point.

What I hope is that Palm will just give us a Linux firmware for the 700p. They owe us that much for putting up with some serious usability issues.

(I can't remember how many times I have wanted to smash my Treo because of the lag.)

(Well, it probably wouldn't be laggy and buggy, if it were running a modern operating system).

Palm claims that only a small percentage of users see the lag. I would say that only a small percentage write in and complain.

Everyone sees it.

Giving us Linux on the 700p, would go a long way towards settling ruffled feathers in the Palm enthusiast community.

While we are on the subject of Linux, I would like to see a jffs2 root, with an overlaid /rom squashfs filesystem. The /bin/appname would link to the /rom partition. This way if we want to upgrade a built in application like busybox, we could just overwrite the symlink.

Keep in mind that 128MB of flash of storage and 32MB of RAM, when you are working with ucLinux. (+ SDcard). If there isn't a 700p Linux firmware update, and we are forced to buy a new unit to get Linux, we may just jump ship and buy an iPhone for our Unix/Linux fix. (Keep in mind that alot of PalmOS users are Mac users as well.)

(Embedded BSD/Mach is as useful to me as Linux)

It would be nice if you can cover this on the blog.

[deemota]

Why do T-Mobile customers get no love from Palm? We want a Windows Mobile Palm as well. What gives?