You know how much we love an ugly Photoshop job around here, and this grainy, pixelated image of a rumored Palm "Gandolf" certainly brings the ugly. We have no idea where this pic came from or if it's real, but if it is, it'll represent a pretty big design departure for Palm -- it actually looks pretty HTC-ish to us. The source says this EV-DO unit is actually the much-rumored "Hollywood," and will debut on Sprint for under $200, but we'll believe it when we see it.

As manufacturers gear up to ship second- and third-generation handsets with mobile TV support, it seems the lines between phones, televisions, and the TiVo in your family room will be doing a bit of blurring. Texas Instruments is demoing new functionality in its DTV1000 "Hollywood" (no, not that Hollywood) digital TV chipset this week that, when paired up with their OMAP2430 core, offers users DVR and picture-in-picture functionality -- both features usually reserved for more traditional tee vees. Also notable is that TI's solution requires far less buffer memory to get DVR working than other solutions, resulting (hopefully) in cheaper handsets. The software and hardware are available immediately to manufacturers for integration, setting the stage for retail devices some time in 2007; with any luck, that'll line up nicely for US entrants in the DVB game to get rolling.

This is the first shot we've ever seen of a Treo without an external antenna. And when we say "first," we mean seventh this month.

One might argue we've collected enough intelligence at this point to make an official announcement ourselves, but according to a Reuters report, Palm has committed to unveiling at least one of its next-gen Treos for reals (without our help) next month. From the way Palm is talking, it sounds like this debut will be for the Windows Mobile-based UMTS model first mentioned for Vodafone in July, though we're guessing Cingular's Treo 750 isn't far behind (right, Palm?). Other than that tidbit, Palm's asking us all to patiently wait for the September 12 when the press releases start flying -- but one thing we can say with near certainty is that there won't be a stub antenna anywhere in sight.

[Thanks, Dave]

Just in case you haven't seen a picture of the backside of our stubless friend against red carpeting, well, here ya are. Sure, none of our illicit shots so far have the spit and polish of a meticulously-prepared press kit -- but then again, said press kit doesn't exist yet.

[Thanks, Jojo]

What week would be complete without the obligatory cameraphone shots of a Treo without an external antenna? Seriously, between this and the 700p, it seems like Palm either doesn't collect NDAs, doesn't care when they're violated, or is guilty of perpetrating some of the most well-publicized viral campaigns in history. Anyhoo, here ya go. What's notable here is that we can see the SD slot has moved to the handset's right side. Follow the break for more shots, though if you're not convinced by now that the device is stone-cold real, we're not sure what will.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Vodafone UK's gone live with a site promising a WM5-based Treo "coming soon" -- we know very little here, but let's put the pieces of the puzzle together. First, we know that Palm's done with the 650 in Europe. Second, we know that it won't be a CDMA 700w, it'll have to be GSM. Third, they're saying the device will be "using Vodafone's high-speed network." We'll let you draw your own conclusions, but we're thinking antenna-free UMTS version of the 700w.

[Via CoolSmartPhone]

So Palm has officially announced one of those three Treos we were promised at the end of last year, and just as we expected, this Windows Mobile 5 AKU2-powered model will be sold exclusively overseas. Unfortunately the company neglected to include a detailed spec sheet in its press release -- more information will be available closer to the as-yet-unspecified launch date -- so all we really know at this point is that it's destined for Vodafone's 3G UMTS network in several European countries. Also unclear is how this model relates to other upcoming Treos we've seen under such codenames as Hollywood, Lowrider, Nitro, and Lennon -- we sure wish Palm would be a little more forthcoming with its product roadmaps. As usual, though, you can always count on us to bring you every little bit of Treo news we get our hands on, even if Palm and friends don't give us much help putting it in context.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Palm's sieve-like reputation for keeping a lid on unreleased devices continues to the current round of Treos in the pipeline, and we're happy to feed the fire today with possible specs of the upcoming "Hollywood" accompanied by the obligatory hastily-snapped shot (blurred here to protect our valiant tipster). Though we still don't fully understand the relationship between this bad boy and Cingular's upcoming "Nitro" and "Lennon," it's said that we're looking at an antenna-less GSM Treo rocking Windows Mobile 5, 128MB of internal storage, and a 412MHz XScale core, all gussied up in a package "considerably lighter" than its 700w stablemate. If our source is accurate, all this goodness will drop sometime this September -- not a moment too soon for Treo fans on GSM carriers getting a little jealous of their CDMA brethren. Naturally, skepticism is in order here, but the engraving on the device lends some validity to the thought that it's a prototype, and this all lines up pretty nicely with Cingular's roadmap, no?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

As much as studios and talent unions like go at it about royalties and such, the truth of the matter is that those addicted to ABC's "Lost" must be teased with tiny morsels of Internet and mobile content -- there's no escaping it. To that end, Hollywood labor types have just finalised contracts with ABC to define payments for actors, writers and directors to be featured in two-minute "mobisodes." Sounds to us like talent will be reimbursed and protected in much the same way they are for traditional episodes, just on a smaller scale. This keeps with the show's producers' aims of keeping the quality up to snuff for the "mobisodes," and is being lauded by both sides as a groundbreaking agreement that should set a good precedent for royalties related to micro content. Now, for the real question: did they consult Locke about this?

Brighthand, a site we happen put a good deal of credence in, is reporting that "very reliable sources" have informed them that there is no such creature as the Treo Hollywood. The Hollywood, which first appeared in a Saigo Investments report last year along with another model known as the Lowrider, was said to be a more stylish 3G-enabled Treo for the antenna-hating European market. Even more intriguing were pictures that have been steadily leaking out of an antenna-free Treo with blue highlights that were said to be Hollywood, but which Brighthand is now discounting as possibly just a restyled GSM version of the 700w. Stay tuned to this station folks, because Palm's plans for this year just got a lot more open-ended.

Enough with that sketchwardo, sparkle blue, antenna-free Treo we've been seeing around, these new pics seem to be more like the real "Hollywood" deal. Just as rumored, the phone is slimmer than the 700 and 650, and antenna free as well. The profile actually looks a bit BlackBerry-esque, but the front is all Treo. Palm OS loyalists among us won't be so excited to see Windows Mobile 5.0 running on this thing, but just keep in mind Ed Colligan's word that Palm OS isn't going anywhere, we're sure a Palm OS version of this unit will follow soon. There's no carrier branding on this unit, but the tipster reported 67KB/s speeds on Cingular's UMTS 1900 network, along with a 300MHz processor, 1.3 megapixel camera, and that fairly tired 240 x 240 display. Of course, these pics are a bit blurry, and we shouldn't expect the gospel truth on this device until Palm trots it out at a press conference (if then), but it's looking good so far.