[rupertjhc]

I’m a seriously disillusioned Sprint customer in the US and unable to use my Treo 650 (voice and data) anywhere outside the US (unless I find myself in S. Korea and then only voice!!) but committed to a great platform with tons of upside for consumers and business users.

I seek choices from Palm beyond their CDMA visions that they have focused on to-date. I recognize that there are GSM versions but they come later which suggests a lesser priority for the company and its innovators.

If there are two new platforms still to be released in 2006, I can only hope that they will have 3G/GSM technology, unlocked for use around the world, and be available in the US and not just foreign markets. GSM is a global technology prevalent in the US too and Palm does itself a huge disservice by under serving this market. Offering Blackberry connect in the US through Versamail, would also be a huge plus.

If the business user is an important customer too these next generation characteristics are essential for capturing a wider customer base.

Any thoughts on the above would be welcome.

[heterodoxos]

I share your frustration although mine stems from being in the UK and having to wait months for new models. There are certainly alternatives with more features, as a former SE P series user the P990 looks interesting and to a lesser degree the Nokia E61, however the Treo despite all it's initial problems and quirks still offers the best user experience for me both in terms of usability and syncing with my Mac. I keep reading that Palm wants to strengthen its position in Europe and so I'm hoping that one of the remaining Palm devices due to be released this year will be GSM and 3G, not only catering to European customers but American customers such as yourself who genuinely need a GSM device My only fear is that in the process we will lose the Palm OS....

[Gaurav]

The two remaining Treos to be released this year will most certianly be GSM/UMTS version. One will be a WM Treo and the other will be a PalmOS version. Current rumors indicate probably an end of summer release...

The reason Palm released CDMA versions of the Treo first is b/c of the investments made by carriers like Verizon directly with Palm to develop the handsets. In addition, there appear to be inidcations that developing UMTS versions of the Treo for the FrankenGarnet are difficult due to the limitations of the OS relating to dual voice+data connectivity...