News

WiFi card drivers for Treo 650

An enterprising Treo 650 user named Shadowmite has used the PalmOne WiFi drivers for the Tungsten T5 as a basis to create a set of preliminary--but functional--WiFi card drivers for the Treo 650. The drivers support the PalmOne WiFi card only.

There is, unfortunately, a catch. Installing the WiFi card driver disables internet access through the cellular network. This is the case on the Sprint Treo 650s the drivers have been tested on so far, and presumably will be the case with the GSM Treos when they show up early next year. At this moment, the only way to restore access through the cell network is to hard reset the device and restore a backup from prior to the installation of the WiFi driver.

Directions and download link

TreoCentral development thread

Verizon announces XV6600 EVDO PocketPC phone

Verizon has finally made the long anticipated official announcement of their XV6600 PocketPC Phone. The XV6600 is based on the HTC Harrier, and features 128 MB of RAM, a 400 MHz processor, Bluetooth, a slide-out keyboard, and a CDMA radio. The XV6600 also supports Verizon's next-generation EVDO network, which promises wireless internet at average speeds of 300-500 Kbits per second. Corporate sales can get the device now; individuals won't be able to officially order it until January, however some customer service representatives are placing orders early.

http://news.vzw.com/news/2004/12/pr2004-12-16.html

PalmOne reports earnings; stock drops heavily

PalmOne has issued their quarterly report for the period ending November 26th. The company earned $24 million in the last quarter, which comes to 48 cents per share, falling below analyst expectations of 53 cents per share.

The real bad news began when the company started talking about the current outlook. They revealed that the company expects to miss third-quarter sales and profit estimates, projecting earnings of 21 cents per share compared to average estimates of 34 cents per share.

PalmOne also vouchsafed the revelation that it has an extensive backlog of Treos--a 21 week supply already sitting in the sales channel. Generally speaking, this is a Very Bad Thing. It means that either sales of the existing Treo have dropped off dramatically, or else PalmOne drastically overestimated the market and bought more Treos than they can ever hope to sell.

Following the earnings report, PLMO stock slid heavily, down about 21% at the time of this writing. In addition to to the revised estimates, two analysts downgraded PalmOne's stock rating, and several others issued pessimistic reports.

What's all this mean? For one thing, it means that PalmOne's newest models, particularly the Tungsten T5, aren't selling well. Big shock there. It also means that PalmOne probably doesn't expect as many sales of the Treo 650 as the analysts do, hence the decreased projection for the current quarter. None of this bodes particularly well for PalmOne, though a strong showing by the Treo 650 could compensate for the thud of the T5.

Reuters.com

TheStreet.com

Forbes.com

New cases from Innopocket

Two new metal cases from Innopocket, for the iPaq hx2000 and the Treo 650. It beats me how and why you would sell a metal case for an iPaq model not yet released, but they're doing it.

The Treo case is custom-cut to allow access to most features without having to open the case. This includes access to the five-way directional pad, translucent screen cover, application and send/hang up buttons, and earpiece.

http://www.innopocket.com/