Talk about closing the gate after, long after, the cows come home, but yes, ’tis true, the Treo 700wx has finally gotten a Windows Mobile 6 update. The update delivers support for Microsoft Vista, HTML mail, Office 2007, Inbox search, grins, and lollipops for all. Of course, coming from Windows Mobile 5, this will be a serious day of celebrating for Palm users over at Verizon — and it’s actually surprising that this happened — as the usual response “please upgrade your device” has been passed over. The read link will get you to where you need to be friends, enjoy it, you deserve it if you’re still using this set.

We’d been hearing rumors about the Treo 800w for what seemed like ages. Between the clatter of “Zeppelin” talk, glimpses of a new model during Gates’ last CES keynote, and the ever-persistent idea that a fresh new Palm phone is just around the corner, it wasn’t exactly a mind-blowing surprise when the new model finally came to light (of course, Sprint selling it a day early didn’t help either). Now we’ve had a chance to spend some quality time with the company’s latest foray into the world of Windows Mobile, and we’d like to share our deepest thoughts and inner-most feelings on the device.

Hardware

If you’ve been keeping a close on eye on Palm lately (and we know you have), the appearance of this phone should be less than shocking to you. Like its spiritual predecessors, the Centro and 500v, the 800w shares the same soft, rounded edges, basic key layout, and smallish, sunken screen. Like the aforementioned phones, a stripe of silver divides the device around the edges, while its hard keys are delineated by the similar, somewhat garish coloring on the front of the device. Unlike the Centro, the 800w is coated in a soft-touch finish, which feels comfortable and safe when it’s in-hand.

Here iss an interesting factoid to chew on: the cycle between the first rumors that the Palm 755p was coming to Verizon and its launch was longer than the window of time between launch and sunset. Just think about that for a second. Seriously. Verizon has reported to Palm Infocenter that it’s officially decommissioning the Palm OS-based smartphone — the only in Verizon’s lineup with strong ties to Palm’s old-school industrial design — in favor of the Centro, a smaller, friendlier, more consumer-oriented device. It seems like Big Red might be at risk of alienating some Garnet-loving business customers who aren’t interested in carrying a device with a keyboard as small as the Centro’s, and honestly, doesn’t it feel like the 755p has at least a few more months of life yet? Or are we crazy?

Well, you knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. We’ve gotten our mitts on Palm’s latest entry to the AT&T lineup — a white, gray, and neon-green unicorn known as the Centro. We can’t say we’re surprised about anything that happened when we opened it up and turned it on, as this model is pretty much identical to the Sprint version we manhandled a few months ago (save for that pesky difference in networks). Of course, the proof is in the Garnet-flavored pudding, and we’re not seeing any big differences there, except that this model is sporting the Treo 680 phone tabbed phone interface. Check out the gallery below and experience the thrilling “you are there” feeling of getting a brand-spanking-new phone.

Yeah, it could be fake, but if you had to pick one handset to fake up in Photoshop, would this really be it? Seriously? Sprint’s exclusivity agreement on the Centro is just about to expire, undoubtedly opening a floodgate of carriers rushing to pick up the low-end Garnet phone, so if neither Sprint nor AT&T are your carrier, we’d recommend you just hang tight for a bit.

Palm Infocenter is reporting that the codename being thrown around internally in reference to its Linux based next-gen operating system is “Nova.” The phrase “no va” in Spanish literally translates to “not going,” but wait — it gets better: we’re also hearing that Nova is being tested on the Zeppelin device, a type of airship with a reputation for crashing and burning back in the day. Now look, we’d love to see Palm pull out of its tailspin just as much as the next guy and wow us with some hot, new software on top of hot, new hardware, but this naming convention isn’t doing it any favors, now is it?

With a red Centro already out the door, it’s certainly possible (even likely) that Palm has a pink one all lined up to follow suit, but we’ll still have to treat this latest pic with the usual grain of salt until we hear something official from the company itself. If SprintUsers forum member TheRobin is to be believed, however, the image above is in fact the real pink Centro, which has been rumored to be on track for a release on Sprint sometime in January of February. If that is indeed the case, we should be able to put all these rumors to rest soon enough.

You probably know the storied history of Palm Centro leaks, you might even be aware of our feelings on the subject, but we’ve finally got ourselves what looks to be an honest to goodness “official” photo of the device. It’s a big step up aesthetically from what we’ve been seeing, and even bears a passing resemblance to T-Mobile’s fan-fave Dash, but the keyboard still looks like a distinct step in the wrong direction for Palm. The teensy youth-friendly phone is expected to do the EV-DO thing, with Sprint exclusivity for 90 days and a $99 price tag.

[Source : Engadget]

Finally the Treo 750 gets its moment in the unofficial spotlight, viva la Windows Mobile 6 updates! Though, AT&T hasn’t released it officially — like the 8525 and the BlackJack — if you like living life on the edge, all you need to do is head to xda-developers and scare up the ROM for a little do-it-yourself flashing action. As with other updates not yet officially sanctioned by AT&T, if something goes awry, you’ll be out of luck for support. By our reckoning, the “Treo” of AT&T devices that were set to get updates now have dodgy versions floating around. So come now AT&T, where’s the official love?

That sound you’re hearing is the collective sigh from everyone patiently waiting for Palm to actually get its act together and unveil its depressingly overdue Linux mobile OS. Yet again, it seems we’ve been fooled into believing that Palm actually had its ducks in a proverbial row, as BrightHand is now reporting that Palm CEO Ed Colligan recently announced on a conference call that “products based on the new Linux-based platform won’t be available until some time next year.” Interestingly enough, Colligan also insinuated that the firm would “continue to use Windows Mobile and Garnet OS / Palm OS II for the foreseeable future.” Wait, they can actually see some light at the end of this perpetually growing tunnel? We sure as hell can’t.