Treo 680 Software Update

Attention AT&T/Cingular Treo 680 smartphone customers - we have developed a software update, which is available for download here: http://www.palm.com/680CriticalUpdate. The software update includes these features:

• Improved power management for better battery life;
• Camera update for better battery life;
• Help to correct distorted characters that can occur in the title bar of the Phone application;
• Help to fix device freezing that may occur under certain conditions;
• System Lockout improvement for increased security;
• Support for the new Daylight Saving Time legislation;
• Provides better support for networks unique to some Caribbean, Latin American, and Asian countries; and
• Updates Cingular branding, replacing it with the new AT&T branding.

For those who have unlocked Treo 680 smartphones, the following updates are available:

• Treo 680 security update:   http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/treo/680securityupdate.html
• Daylight Saving Time Update for Palm OS Devices: http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/dst.html
• Treo 680 Camera Updates:  http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/treo/680cameraupdate.html
• Outlook 2007 Update: http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/outlook2007/outlook2007update.html
• Exchange ActiveSync Update for Palm OS Devices: http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/treo/easupdate.html

Updates for other Treo smartphones are available here: http://www.palm.com/us/support/smartphones.html 

Thanks,

Phil McClendon - Product Manager

Comments

[Tim Howe]

Very disappointed. Trying to update a friend's Cingular 680 via an expansion card. No dice. Formatted the card (on the Palm no less), unzipped all the files onto it, put it in the Palm, it sees nothing. The files are there... I can see them with Filez. But no autolaunch.

What's with this autoplay. A bit of a vulnerability, no? And why on earth not have a launcher for the update like every other one I've ever seen.

[Humberto Temporini]

I recently updated my TREO680 with the new software patch. Since then I have been unable to use any of the JAVA applications, such as gmail. Is there any solution available?

[Java for Treo 680]

Is Java a standard in handheld devies? Yes, it really is.
So why don't we have a Java for our Treo680?

[Steve]

Can someone please address the over-riding question here on this forum - when will a battery / stability / Bluetooth patch be out for the unlocked 680?

The lockups and batteries lasting under a day's moderate use makes this thing virtually unusable 8 months after its release, and nobody's going to believe that we're "not forgotten" when its so far been meaningless lip service.

[Peter Roth]

I have a BT issue that the support line is not ale to understand. When I connect to a HF car kit or Treo BT earpiece, everything works. If I do not make or receive a call and turnoff the BT device, the 680 indicates that BT is disconnected and not present. Yet when the phone answers a call or makes a call, it answers in BT mode. But there is no BT device present.

However, if I make a call while the BT device is connected, everything works correctly. That is when I turn the BT device off, the display indicates the the BT dvice is and disconnected and the phone answers or makes a call in normal non BT mode. Does Palm own up to this bug? Has anyone else seem this bug?

[Dick Helliwell]

I have seen similar problems with my new Treo 680. It even came with the latest updates (TREO680-1.09-ATT) already installed. It has trouble switching properly between the Bluetooth Handsfree in my car and the phone. Sometimes I'm in my car with the Bluetooth connected. A call comes in, rings in the car, I push the button on the car to accept the call and then it stays on the phone in the pouch on my belt. I have also dialed a call from my car's handsfree, and it promptly disconnects from the phone, which is still dialing the call (I can pull out my phone and finish the call). Finally, when I leave the car and later receive a call, I must manually disconnect from the Handsfree to talk on the phone. This happens when dialing from the phone as well. Note, I do not have the "Always route call to Hands-Free" checked in the "Hands-Free" preferences. Other than this quirk, this is an excellent phone. I would really like to see Palm or AT&T fix this problem.

[Dick Helliwell]

I have seen similar problems with my new Treo 680. It even came with the latest updates (TREO680-1.09-ATT) already installed. It has trouble switching properly between the Bluetooth Handsfree in my car and the phone. Sometimes I'm in my car with the Bluetooth connected. A call comes in, rings in the car, I push the button on the car to accept the call and then it stays on the phone in the pouch on my belt. I have also dialed a call from my car's handsfree, and it promptly disconnects from the phone, which is still dialing the call (I can pull out my phone and finish the call). Finally, when I leave the car and later receive a call, I must manually disconnect from the Handsfree to talk on the phone. This happens when dialing from the phone as well. Note, I do not have the "Always route call to Hands-Free" checked in the "Hands-Free" preferences. Other than this quirk, this is an excellent phone. I would really like to see Palm or AT&T fix this problem.

[Mario Müller]

It has been nearly 3 month now since the AT&T update has been released. Why is it taking so much time to release a similar update for all unlocked 680s in order to satisfy your customers?

[Tony Lee]

I second this. Being in the UK, I don't have an AT&T contract. But I did however pay Palm a lot of money for a phone with seemingly no battery life.

You claim the battery problem has a fix in the AT&T ROM. Yet no fix comes to us in three months.

You claim that there is a fix to keep us going until all your 'research' is done - yet it links us to a '404 not found'.

Stop treating us like annoying children going 'are we there yet?'

Treat us like grown ups and give us the truth as to what the hell is going on with battery fixes for the obviously bug ridden 680.

[Remco]

After countless freezes of my Palm Treo 680 and Palm not releasing the unlocked update to rectify things my 680 now RIP on my balcony after throwing it against my wall. Such a pity of a good concept but poor delivery...

[Russ T]

I'm very disappointed with the Palm implementation of the phone portion on the Treo 680. I bought the phone to eliminate having to carry both a cell phone and PDA. In my state the law requires that a hands-free device be used while driving. I've experienced the same Bluetooth problems with my Motorola ear- piece as those described in the previous messages. This is totally unacceptable and now I'm stuck with a two-year contract with AT&T.

Does anybody know if Windows users of the 680 experience the same problems?

[Filip Daelman]

Some feedback to Palm...
We are using about 20 Palm Treo 680's as corporate smartphone solution agains an Exchange 2003 platform.

In general everything works fine, the phone is excellent apart from some small issues. List of possible improvements:

- Battery life
- Louder speakers
- Camera is not necessary for business use
- Bigger alert flashing button to facilitate access with stylus/finger
- link contact to task
- resolve contacts in any application
- have more than 15 categories
- bigger note button (difficult to access with finger)
- poss. to set alarm without due date
- disable English dictionary
- poss. to put a label in the phone fields + display in list
(for contacts with many phone numbers)
- sync Outlook tasks over GPRS
- More font sizes
- Faster search
- Lookup of phone number in remote global address list (like in Versamail for the email addresses)
- Attach office docs to tasks
- Better SSL support for Versamail
- possibility to calculate expression anywhere with a shotkey

[willis]

We have a Treo680 (unlocked) that has a camer freeze. We have taken very few photos and can no longer do so as the last photo taken stays displayed and no access to taking another one. Does anyone have a solution?

[Paul]

My 680 often freezes, and when it does, my alerts list (list of appointments that I have purposefully ignored) goes away. Do you know if there's a setting to get that alerts list to go to a memory that won't get erased? Maybe to an SD card?

[Adrian]

It's almost the end of the year and still no sign of a ROM update for the Unlocked Treo 680. Palm lets us down once again. When will you release the ROM update? The moment the Treo 680 becomes EOL as you did with the Tungsten T5? There are a couple of things that need to be fixed for us Unlocked users:

- Alfanumeric SMS doesn't work (the treo 680 is not able to receive any alfanumeric sms at all). The Singapore SMS update works, but was never presented as a European update.

- The preferred network service is lost after a soft reset. Palm fix it, this functionality worked perfectly fine on the 650

- Bluetooth is timing out after 35 - 40 minutes continuous use. There are also a lot of incompatibilities with different Car Kit manufacturers.

When will Palm start listening again to the needs of its customers instead of dictating what Palm thinks the needs of its customers should be.

[Renato]

So here we are into a new year and still no fix for the 680 unlocked device. I've had mine almost a year now and waited patiently all this time. I'm very disappointed because I've always loved Palm products. I'm looking into alternative devices that can do what I expected my 680 to do. I was asked by someone just yesterday how I liked my Palm 680 and I had to tell them the truth and I would not recommend the device. I'm very, very disappointed and I'm afraid that Palm will be losing a long time loyal customer.

[Sam McCormick]

I have just purchased a Treo 680 to replace my 650. In general, I like it a lot. The only thing I miss is the ability to do a contact search by typing a few letters of the name anywhere in the phone application. That was a feature that I used a lot on the 650. Am I missing where you set that option?
Thanks
Sam

[Ed]

I feel the same way as you Renato. I too have just replaced my Treo 650 w/ Treo 680. I guess were a little behind the times. I haven't yet found that button. But It did take me a while to figure out that the options button is now bottom right hand button.

Did you get the internet access? I did thinking how useful it would be, but instead I find it sluggish, and unuser friendly. I had heard theres other browsers that can make a diff. Last month on w/e today, am pretty sure thye said you can get a browser that allows you to view most web sites sort of like the apple, w/ a stretch screen. Do you know which browser that is?

[Treo 680 y Treo 750]

hey, thanks for the links, pretty good. Keep up the good job and excellent blog. Congrats!

[ABDUL KALIK]

Hi,I m having problem with my treo 850,its in chinese but, I wish to change it to english...any help please

[chiriku05ster6@gmail.com]

hi
now that X press mail are out .. what options do we have to push mail apart from the one we have currently

[eldon]

i can`t acess any application that uses java on my palm treo 680

[troy Casis]

I bought i palm treo 680, it was already hardlocked so I can no longer used those unlocked codes being sold at ebay, is there anyway this phone can be unlocked? thru software unlocked?