650 -- Engadget Mobile

650 posts

Blast from the past: come get your Treo 600 / 650 settlement!

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 24th 2008 @ 5:15PM

For most, the Treo 600 and 650 are old enough so that we don't really remember if we had troubles with 'em or not -- but apparently we did, and some owners are now entitled to a little chunk of cash to show for it. A class action lawsuit filed against Palm "claimed that the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones had certain defects, failed at unacceptable rates, and that Palm made misrepresentations concerning the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones," and Palm just decided to settle the whole tiff rather than take it to trial. This means that if you owned a Treo 600 or 650 that required two or more repairs and ended up purchasing a new device within a certain period, you get a little spending money -- or you're entitled to some free repair work, even if your Treo didn't require two or more trips to the shop. Naturally, there are some rules and regs involved -- this is a legal matter, after all -- so head on over to the site to figure out whether you're affected and how you can cash in.

[Thanks, Michael G.]

Palm issues security fix for Treos

by Sean Cooper posted May 26th 2007 @ 11:38AM

Palm has patched a bug for several Palm OS-based Treo devices, including the 650, 680, and 700p. Apparently, when password protection is enabled on your device, somebody else could still pick it up and use the "find" feature from the Make Emergency Call screen. The find will reveal details from your contacts, calendar, tasks and the like -- though we can't help thinkin' that when somebody has permanently borrowed your handset, this may be the least of your worries -- so while this wouldn't hurt your handset, security-conscious users may appreciate the fix. Hit the read link for links to the patches form Palm's support site.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Palm outs Backup beta for Palm OS Treos

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 12th 2007 @ 4:19PM

We've gotta admit, this is pretty cool. Palm has started offering a beta of its "Backup" utility which wirelessly backs up the contents of your Palm OS-based Treo (the 650, 680, and 700p, to be exact). Into the password-protected ether, as far as we can tell; it appears that carriers are involved in the action, since it currently only works for AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon customers. The software and service are free (though an unlimited data plan is, obviously, highly recommended) and can be kicked off from anywhere you have a signal. It can also be set to automatically kick off on a schedule, and it only chews up 2MB of storage space on your beloved Treo. As with any beta, be wary -- but at least it's free, right?

[Via Wirelessinfo, thanks Emily]

Unofficial patch for Treo vulnerability loosed

by Darren Murph posted Feb 18th 2007 @ 4:11PM

If you've been a bit paranoid of late after hearing that a blatant security hole was found in the now-deceased Palm OS, help has unofficially arrived. Reportedly discovered by Symantec, the vulnerability entailed a hole that allowed the operating system's Find functionality to be accessed even when the device was set to Locked, allowing ill-willed hackers to sift through text message history, calendar entries, tasks, etc. The hole had been confirmed on the Treo 650, 680, and 700p, but now users of the handsets can rest a bit easier after applying this patch. As expected, the update simply disables the Find feature, which essentially closes off the last remaining security loophole and protects prying eyes from seeing that backlog of steamy Valentine's Day texts. So if you're looking to unofficially patch things up with your Palm, be sure to hit the read link and get that install completed, but we're not the ones to come crying to if something goes awry.

[Via PalmInfoCenter]

Palm Treo hack enables SDHC support on the 700p

by Darren Murph posted Dec 25th 2006 @ 3:03PM

Just in case you haven't already told us what shiny new toys you unwrapped this morning, a few clever hackers are giving you one more gift to top things off. While those of you toting the recently-unveiled Palm (sorry, WinMo users) Treo 680 can boast about your "exclusive" SDHC support, we folks using the 700p simply don't have that luxury. If you've been clamoring about getting SDHC support on the 700p, and were let down that the "big patch" didn't include even a whisper about such support coming your way, take heart. Apparently, copying the slot driver from the 680 onto the 700p allows it to use SDHC cards, and while it hasn't been confirmed quite yet, it looks the ole 650 may get a bit of that high capacity lovin' as well. So if Santa wasn't quite as good to you as you thought he'd be, be sure to hit the read link to make even better use of that (presumably costly) SDHC card you (hopefully) just received.

[Via Phone News]

Palm rolls out BlackBerry Connect for Cingular Treo 650s

by Ryan Block posted Aug 30th 2006 @ 4:34PM

Oh, by the way, have you heard? Moto isn't the only one releasing push email for their QWERTY candybar handheld; Palm's announced BlackBerry Connect support for the Cingular Treo 650, albeit a bit (ok, a lot) late.. Seems kind of silly that it would be the case, but when it comes to push email support, the carriers have to get involved as well, so it's not just as simple as having an Exchange server and MSFP or BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Connect, you know? In other words, be thankful Palm's helping y'all out at all, we were kind of thinking after ALP and everything they'd just go scorched-earth on us and let the 650 die slowly.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Treo 650 succumbs to RoHS, European shipments done

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 3rd 2006 @ 9:13PM

We're guessing Treo 650s aren't exactly a hot ticket item anywhere these days -- let alone in smartphone-heavy Europe -- but for what it's worth, Palm's old standby has been mercifully put down across the pond. It seems the 650 wasn't up to snuff on the EU's RoHS regulations, and rather than incrementally update the 650 to satisfy the requirements, Palm announced during their most recent quarterly earnings call that they're going to leave Europe out to dry until they're ready to ship their next model -- allegedly Europe-specific -- in Q4. With Lennon and Nitro in the pipeline, we think it's likely a variant of one of those devices will play the role of RoHS-compliant hero here, but in the meantime, snap up those Black Tie 650s while you still can.

[Thanks, Rich]