Telstra, Austrilia's largest mobile phone carrier, has awarded their coveted "blue tick" of approval to the Palm Treo Pro. The Palm Treo Pro is the first smartphone to receive the "blue tick", which is awarded to phones that are tested and recommended for use in rural areas on Telstra's NextG network.
Hobbyist Software today announced the release of Butler 5.0 . Butler has been a best selling app for both the Treo and Centro and the new version introduces a host of new features.
New 'flash screen' function for alarms
New interface for accessing the growing number of features
Added auto-off options page to let you control how/when your device turns off
Added Speedy keys options page to let you navigate and even type faster!
Option to select apps which will disable the keyguard.
Added sliding keyguard option.
Keyguard completely rebuilt to offer transparrent drawing over the main screen (It looks beautiful!).
Loads of status icons for the keyguard.
Added Lefty preference page to set the global 'Lefty' setting and a Lefty slider for the keyguard.
Support for 4Cast weather in keyguard.
Butler 5.0 is available at both the Everything Treo Software Store and the Everything Centro Software Store. Register for our forums to receive a coupon code valid for 20% off your software purchases.
The Treo 800w USB and battery charging software update is designed to address the following:
USB
If your device fails to detect any of the in-box USB accessories such as the power adapter, headset or sync cable, this update will resolve most of the detection issues.
Battery charging
When plugged into the charger, the device may not charge a completely discharged battery. This scenario is most likely to happen if you leave a dead battery for a few days before trying to charge it in the device.
If the device will not turn on to install the update, you should "trickle charge" the battery by connecting your device to a PC via the USB sync cable. The device will charge slowly by using the PC's power. When the device's battery indicator shows 25% charged, you can proceed to install the update.
Palm "highly recommends" installing this update. You download the free update directly from Palm .
There are rumors that Rogers will pick up the Palm Treo Pro in Canada, with a release coming on September 17th. Rogers has been picking up steam of late releasing the iPhone 3G and just last week the BlackBerry Bold . When Palm introduced the Treo Pro last week, they confirmed availability through European carriers O2 and Vodafone, with unlocked versions being available in the US. No word yet on pricing, but Rogers has had a history of being heavy handed with their plans.
As we predicted this morning, a flurry of Treo Pro reviews hit the wire this afternoon. Here's a breakdown of what's being said about Palm's latest Treo.
"In terms of design, performance and non-OS features, this is the best hardware Palm has ever made." Gizmodo found the battery impressive offering "days of moderate usage between charges".
"If you're looking for a Windows Mobile phone, I'd strongly consider the Treo Pro, as it has a good balance of design, features and performance for the user."
Crunchgear finds the Treo Pro "the best in Windows Mobile", but cautioned that the hefty price tag could deter adoption. "The Treo for you if you are a business professional forced to use Windows Mobile and you travel quite a bit and hardware price is no object."
The screen on the Treo Pro is flush, but evidently it's the digitizer which is flush and the screen is still recessed. Antoine Wright of Brighthand found "this arrangement can be disorienting some times." Wright found the Treo Pro to offer the best call quality of any phones he has used. He concludes that while the Treo Pro is "a fairly solid device", it lacks "the specialness that makes Palm devices is missing here and it feels more like a re-brand than a true Palm product."
WMExperts Dieter Bohn takes issue with the Centro inspired keyboard on the Treo Pro saying, "It pains me to say it, though, the Treo Pro's keyboard is the least 'Pro' part of the device", rating it behind the Treo 800w , Motorola Q 9h and BlackBerry Bold . Bohn also found the Treo 800w to outpace the Treo Pro in every day use speed comparisons. Despite the drawbacks, he concludes, "The Treo Pro is easily Palm's best Treo yet. It finally hits all of the feature checkmarks that users have been clamoring for and does it in a way that's well-integrated with the hardware."
Palm has yet to provide a release date for the Treo Pro, but it's expected to be priced at $550 unlocked.
When a host of sites received the Treo Pro last week, the various outlets were limited to unboxing ceremonies. It's expected that a flurry of Treo Pro reviews will hit this week, with Wired getting the jump on the festitivities
The reviewer starts of by referencing the Treo 800w as "upcoming", a phone that's been available through Sprint for weeks. The reviewer took issue with the screen of the Treo Pro and found a lack of precision when using the touch screen. On the plus side, Wired found battery life to be excellent and the styling of the device to be "trim, light and pocketable".
Dumas went on to call the casing of the Treo Pro "slippery" and "retains more fingerprints than the NSA."
Several technology blogs received the Treo Pro over the past few days and for the most part the consensus appears to be overwhelmingly positive. Engadget Mobile was first to receive their Treo Pro and have put together an extensive gallery .
Dave from Mobility Today says the Treo Pro is, "A new leader in the enterprise stands up tall."
"Palm puts a lot of thought into the little pieces of every Treo they product, but none more so than the Treo Pro ", says Dieter Bohn of WMExperts . Bohn, who has perfected the art of unboxing, takes you on a virtual tour inside the Apple-esque packing of the Pro.
Andrew over at Treonauts says, "The Treo Pro looks a bit like a high-tech polished black pebble – a Zen of tranquility on the outside but one that also happens to be bursting with energy inside (thanks to a fast processor, 3G data, WiFi, GPS and a whole lot more)."
There appears to be an embargo date on full reviews, as most sources point to next week for complete reviews. Everything Treo has yet to receive the Treo Pro, but expect a comprehensive review as soon as a review unit is made available.
There are rumors that Rogers will pick up the Palm Treo Pro in Canada, with a release coming on September 17th. Rogers has been picking up steam of late releasing the 