Verizon's Treo 700wx gets a Windows Mobile 6 bump

Posts with tag 700wx


Responding to an apparent groundswell of customer complaints, Palm has pulled recent software updates for its Treo 700p, 700w, and 700wx smartphones operating on the Verizon network. Palm calls the problems "network connectivity issues," frequently accompanied by an Error 3000 that prevents the device from consuming data. For what it's worth, Palm says that the error "does not affect your device or personal data in any other way," though we imagine that's little consolation for folks finding themselves without email access following an update. The company promises to repost the patches once the problems are worked out; no ETA has been given at this point.
We like unofficial Treo 700w updates just like anyone, but it brings bigger smiles to our faces when official updates come down the beaten path via manufacturer downloads.That's right -- Palm has released an update to the Verizon Wireless 700w that includes some nifty additions. WM5 gets upgraded to version 1.22 as well as new support for DUN tethering over USB and Bluetooth. Laptop tetherers will feast on that one. Anyhoo, official A2DP stereo Bluetooth is in there too, as well as single-touch speakerphone and mute buttons sitting right on the home screen. Usability enhancements get us giddy, and this update from Palm serves it up nicely. Sadly, the 700wx upgrade for Sprint customers also available just gets A2DP and DUN support over Bluetooth but nothing else of real substance. Pity.
Are you tired of seeking out third-party nav applications for your Palm 700wx or Motorola Q? We hear you on that -- and it turns out Verizon does, too. Word has it that The Network is testing navigation service for PDA devices (a la VZW Navigator for dumbphones) and it should be available some time in the third quarter of this year. For everyone's sake, let's just hope it's made to support new and old devices alike.
Depending on the model and the manufacturer, getting A2DP enabled on your Windows Mobile 5 device has been tricky at best, nigh impossible at worst -- despite the fact that the platform itself fully supports it. Thankfully, dedicated hacker communities have rallied around most of the devices out there, and the Treo 700w and 700wx are the latest devices to have their iron curtains of stereo Bluetooth discrimination fall. A simple install, a few lines of instructions, and bam, that old Treo's taken on a whole new (and very musical) life. Let us know how it goes, folks!
Okay, we'll spare you the pictures, videos, launch materials, and Sprint's bragging rights -- the Palm Treo 700wx is coming to Alltel. Aside from knocking the Sprint logo off the top right corner, and upping the Windows Mobile version from 5.0 to 5.2, everything else remains the same on this sucka. Per usual, this one plays nice with CDMA, touts 1xRTT / EV-DO connectivity, and rocks a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 1.2, QWERTY keyboard, MMC / SD / SDIO expansion slot, 128MB of built-in memory, speakerphone, IR, and support for DUN. Alltel also throws in ActiveSync 4.2, Microsoft's Office suite, and Picsel's PDF viewer as well. Interestingly, Alltel's saving new customers an extra $150 right off the bat, as it only charges $349.99 (compared to Sprint's $499.99) with a two-year agreement, but those looking to pick this up at retail will be forced to throw down $669.99.
Much to our delight -- and probably to the delight of a 700wx user or three, we're guessing -- it looks like Palm has now rolled out a patch fixing the problems its 700wx handsets were having on Sprint's network. According to Palm's site, the patch simply "improves the performance and reliability" of the device's SMS application, but let's be honest: a complete inability to send texts to T-Mobile and Verzion requires more than a generic improvement in performance and reliability. Anyhoo, go get your patch on, folks, and let us know how it goes, y'hear?
Is there trouble in paradise? In a story that's been developing for a few weeks now, it seems that at least some of Sprint's Treo 700wx user base has been stripped of its ability to send SMS messages to Verizon and T-Mobile customers. Now, we would never take the conspiracy theorist route (that's not true, by the way) and accuse Sprint of purposefully hosing outbound text messages to its bigger CDMA rival Verizon, but it does seem like a huge, inexplicable, and unacceptable screwup of epic proportions. For its part, Sprint is promising a fix by the end of November (feel free to take your time, fellas) but in the meantime, rumor has it that affected customers can call up Sprint and get some sort of compensation for their troubles.





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