Engadget Says Verizon In November

[chris]

I'd be shocked if Verizon was shipping the 650 in November. It just doesn't make sense after they just released the 600. I wouldn't put too much faith in this rumor. Q1 and possibly Q2 sounds a bit more realistic.

[MizVivienne]

I was in the Verizon Store in Boise ID over the weekend and they genuinely had no clue about the 650. The Issaquah WA store was adamant that I wait to purchase the 600 until late Nov because they could give me a 'really great deal' on the device. I'm not sure what's up here, but I'm contemplating going to a provider other than Verizon if they don't get the 650 in a timely manner.

I travel a LOT, so can anyone suggest a carrier that will A) GET IT before the next ice age and B) have decent, National coverage?

Thanks!
Vivienne
:p

[kabeyun]

Just wondering why people (including site admins here) think the Verizon version of the 650 will lag as much as 2 quarters behind the Sprint version. Verizon is not the manufacturer, just a reseller. Why would they not want to offer customers the latest thing? Especially if discount upgrades are available.
Which begs a second question: Why was the Verizon version of the 600 delayed? I have an easier time crediting Palm/Handspring for not manufacturing a CDMA 800 device than Verizon for refusing to offer one of the hottest smartphones on the market (unless it was some business covenant that hamstrung Verizon).
I expect (i.e. hope, i.e. pray), now that whatever barriers are down and Treos are offered by these three carriers, that the 650 will be available to Verizon, Sprint, and Cingular around the same time, give or take a month. :rolleyes:

-K (obviously a Verizon customer with a separate hi-res PalmOS PDA and cell phone desperately awaiting a hi-res PalmOS smartphone and not wanting to pay the criminally high bail-out penalty for leaving Verizon before the contract lapses)

[chris]

Just wondering why people (including site admins here) think the Verizon version of the 650 will lag as much as 2 quarters behind the Sprint version. Verizon is not the manufacturer, just a reseller. Why would they not want to offer customers the latest thing?

Verizon has an extensive testing period before it offers a phone. This apparently caused the delay of Verizon releasing the Treo 600. Since they recently started offering the 600 to their customers, it would be surprising if they offered the 650 out of the gate. Not to mention, we don't know if Verizon has tested the 650 on their network.

expect (i.e. hope, i.e. pray), now that whatever barriers are down and Treos are offered by these three carriers, that the 650 will be available to Verizon, Sprint, and Cingular around the same time, give or take a month.

I think 2-3 months will be the lag time between the initial release of the 650 and the Verizon release. I could very easily be incorrect. That's just my opinion based upon what I've seen to date.

Either way, a new Treo 650 is on the horizon - hi-rez screen and all.

[palmer]

How hard would it be to change chips in the 650 to make it a CDMA phone that would work on the Verizon network? I heard that this worked with the 600.

[EarlyWizardUser]

I was on the phone with tech support at Verizon. She told me that she has a 650 on order and is expecting that I would be able to buy one in mid-December.

Here's hopin'...