1SRC Editorial: The Evolving Treo

This week's 1SRC Editorial, The Evolving Treo, has been posted for your reading pleasure.

Sales of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are slowing and the total annual sales numbers have been in decline for years now. Is it time for the rest of us to transition to “smart” devices?

The slowdown in sales can be illustrated by the sales numbers presented at the June 28 Q4FY07 earnings report. During the last quarter, Palm’s sales figures for their handheld PDA business were 298,000 units shipped, which generated $57.1 million dollars. Contrast that with the sell through numbers for Treo smartphones during the same quarter which totaled 750,000 units, generating $344.2 million dollars for Palm. (That is a difference of 452,000 devices totaling $287.1 million dollars.)

Enter the Treo 690

Rumors have been circulating on the Internet for a few months now that Palm is preparing a new Treo with a new form factor. These rumors refer to a device known as “Gandolf.” I believe that Gandolf, whose production name is likely the Treo 690, is important to Palm and their customers as I expect it to bring a new low-cost price point for the Treo line up. Think of Gandolf as the Z22 for the Treo line.

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