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by Eric Wong

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A short history:

Treo 90 (Handspring) 2000

For those who are not quite familiar with the history of Treo, Handspring, which is now part of Palm, first came out with the Treo 90 in 2000, the only Treo device NOT integrated with a mobile phone. It ran on Palm OS 4.1 and sported a 12 bit screen that could display 4,000 colours.

Treo 180 & Treo 180g (Handspring) 2002

The Treo 180 series is the first fully integrated PDA and mobile phone. Both devices were monochrome and the 180g did not have a built in keyboard. The 180g was quickly pulled off the market due to poor sales. It used the Palm OS 3.5.2H.

Treo 270 / 300 (Handspring) 2003

The 270 was a coloured GSM version while the 300 was a coloured CDMA version. Still runs the Palm OS 3.5.2H

At this point in time (2003), Handspring is acquired by Palm.

In 2003, having newly acquired Handspring, Palm launched the Treo 600, which was quite a departure from the previous Treos. Comparable to the size of Treos that we are now familiar with and runs on Palm OS 5.2.1H. It boasts a VGA camera, SD slot, built in battery ( meaning non removable!), 160 x 160 screen, which was quite sucky, in my opinion, cos my Clie TG50 at that time already had a 320x 320 screen. Despite certain shortcomings, it was definitely a step in the right direction and set the stage for an explosion in smartphones.

Treo 650 (2004)

Although quite similar to the 600, the 650 had a few upgrades, namely Bluetooth, a higher resolution screen at 320 x 320, a faster processor, removable battery. It still only has 32MB of internal memory (SD slot available) and VGA camera. It uses the Palm OS 5.4

Treo 700w (2005) Not available in Singapore

Departing from the Palm OS, the 700w has gone over to the dark side, using Windows Mobile 5.0. In this CDMA version, the screen resolution has been lowered to 240 x 240. It has a 1.3 Megapixal camera, 60MB memory, SD slot. Still has the antenna though.

Treo 700p (2006) Not available in Singapore

Only available in CDMA, the 700p returns to the Palm OS, using Palm OS 5.4.9, 60MB of memory, 1.3 Megapixel camera, SD slot, basically most of the features of the 700w. However, it still lacked Wi Fi capability, still has the antenna and lacks the multi tasking ability of the WM 5.

Treo 750 (2006)

Finally, Palm has taken away the antenna for the Treo series. The 750 uses the WM 5 (duh? can't they make up their minds?) Uses GSM/UMTS, 60MB memory, mini SD slot, screen is still 240 x 240 (16 bit, 65,000 colours).

Treo 680 (2006)

The latest offering from Palm, the 680 aims to attract more consumers by a lower pricing, mostly similar to the 650, except for the removed antenna, 64MB memory (yeah!), Palm OS 5.4.9, mini SD slot (now located at the side). An important included software is Pocket Tunes.

Learn more about this author, Eric Wong.

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