During the spring of 2007, when I was still a 700wx user and a Sprint customer, I was more excited by the rumors of a possible “Palm 800″ than I was about any other upcoming Windows Mobile device. Some of the reasons for my anticipation included that the Palm Treo candybar with front keyboard has always been one of my favorite form factors; Palm seems to be the single most adept OEM at utilizing the WM OS without speed sacrifices; the 800w was supposed to be the first Treo with WiFi; it would have a better (2 megapixel, anyway) camera; it would include A2DP Bluetooth (for wireless stereo listening); it would have an updated form factor without sacrificing a tried and true design; and the 800w would finally have the (long denied to WM users) 320 x 320 high resolution touchscreen.

If all of these features actually made it into a Windows Mobile Treo, then I would have been the first to deem that particular Treo as a WM device too delicious to miss.

But fall 2007 came and went, and there was no new Treo; winter 2007 and Spring 2008 came and went, and there was still no new Treo. We did see the introduction of the Palm OS Centro in the US and the WM Standard OS Palm 500 overseas.

Finally the news came that the Treo 800w was coming soon, but by then I was no longer a Sprint customer (too many dropped calls), and I had long moved on from the Treo to other PDA phones and finally to a Vertu Constellation. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t still get excited at the prospect of trying out the new 800w, and so when it was offered I was quick to say yes please!

If you missed my unboxing post where I gave a description of the 800w’s hardware and mentioned my initial thoughts, then click here to read it and then come back; as always, I’ll be waiting patiently.

In this portion of the review we’ll cover my user experience, the 800w’s camera, and I’ll give a rundown of some of the included software. Let’s get started…

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Users in both the SprintUsers and TreoCentral forums have pointed out that Best Buy has the new Sprint Treo 800W for an out-the-door price of $189.99 ($60 cheaper than Sprint’s after rebate price). According to those who have visited the store, this pricing is good for 22 month upgrades and 2 year new contract purchases. Best Buy is fast becoming the best (no pun intended) retail place to purchase a new cell phone due to their policy of honoring rebates at point of purchase. Some users have reported taking the Best Buy pricing to a local Sprint store and receiving a price match.

Best Buy

The more I look at the Treo 800W, the more I kind of like it. The slimmer design and lack of an antenna are improvements over the prior Treo model. There’s also a ton of Windows Mobile applications available for it and Sprint’s EVDO service is very fast and stable in my neck of the woods. To sweeten the pot even more, the “supposed to be referred but one of our executives will blog the login info for you - wink wink - nudge nudge” Sprint Simply Everything Plus program is apparently also wide open for enrollments (saving at least $10 per month over a standard Sprint plan). Now there’s word of another improvement coming via a promised software download. Pretty soon you’ll be able to download an enhancement that adds Bluetooth based voice dialing to the Sprint Treo 800W.

Palm via Mobility Site

I had a telephone call scheduled with representatives from Palm earlier this week; leading up to it I was hoping that it would concern one of the worst-kept secrets in the Windows Mobile world: the Palm Treo 800w. Sure enough, the day of the call I received advance press materials letting me know that not only would the call concern the Sprint Treo 800w, but that I would soon be receiving a review loaner. True to Palm’s word, I received the 800w on Friday; unfortunately I was at the ranch all weekend and wasn’t able to open it until tonight.

In the meantime, the embargo I am under was broken by Sprint themselves over the weekend when they posted all the details on this device as well as the option to order it. Ah well, I haven’t breathed a word about my loaner until now.

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The TREO 800W is up for sale on the Sprint site right on schedule. The cost is $349.99 on a new plan with a mail-in-rebate of $100 for a net of $249.99. The Treo 800W is a WM 6.1 device with Wi-Fi and EVDO Rev A. Apparently there’s no headphone jack - instead Palm relies on one of those annoying mini-usb slots (BOO HISS - capitals on purpose). Treocentral has the mother of all pre-release threads going on right now that is a must read for anyone contemplating buying this 1/2 a brick (check out the video and tell me if my size description isn’t accurate).

First look video - Treo 800W
TreoCentral - Treo 800W mega discussion thread (lots of pictures)
Sprint Treo 800W official site

Users in the WMEXPERTS discussion forum have been successful at wrangling their own Treo 800W in advance of the official on-sale date of July 13. Early reports from WMEXPERTS forum members skfny and Darth Pooh:

Both skfny and Darth Pooh note how thin the 800w is (practically Sprint Touch Thin!), that the keyboard is superb and that we’re looking at “72MB RAM free after soft reset, 150-160MB ROM.”

What’s left to say about the Treo except - how far behind can a red, white or black one be?

More Treo 800W chat at WMEXPERTS

image via: Brighthand

Not interested in all the iPhone hype? The ongoing chatter at Sprintusers is that the new Sprint Treo 800W is being shipped to people calling into the business line (866-866-7509). The official on sale date was previously posted as July 13. It’s possible some stores already have the phone in the back. Hint: The last time around the easiest place to score the Samsung Instinct early were non-corporate owned stores.

SU via Brighthand

The Treo 800W still seems on track for a July 13 debut on Sprint as we first reported on June 19. This looks to be a Windows Mobile 6.1 device with a 333MHZ processor. Sadly MMS is not supported only Picture Mail.Engadget has a few more specifics from a leaked product sheet:

-Windows Mobile 6. 1 Professional
-Wi-Fi
-Threaded SMS text messaging
-2 MP camera
-No MMS
-$249

If all goes as scheduled, look for this in stores on July 13 along with a Red Blackberry Curve.

Link: Engadget

If information posted in Howardforums is accurate (and it seems to jive with previous leaked dates), you may see a red Blackberry Curve and the Treo 800W appear in Sprint stores beginning July 13, 2008. The Blackberry Curve will be just another fancy color for Sprint to add to their inventory, however the Treo 800 W is a new model that is rumored to sport WM 6, Wi-Fi and EVDO Rev A. Look on the bright side, all the Samsung Instinct buyers will still be within their 30 day remorse period. Let the returns begin!

Link: HOFO