Treo 650 Updater 1.15 for Cingular was released last Monday. I needed to perform this upgrade because I was running Treo650-1.04-CNG which is an old revision of the Treo 650 firmware for Cingular.
According to the Palm website, the features included in this update are:
- Optimizes memory handling and frees up more memory with non-volatile file system improvements (info). [Important to me.]
- Includes VersaMail 3.0c, the latest version for Cingular Wireless Treo 650. [Not important to me, I use Chatter Email.]
- Adds voice quality enhancements. [I want to see if I notice these.]
- Includes “Get Good” application which facilitates faster, wireless installation of Good Technology�s GoodLink email software for business customers. [Not important to me.]
- Improves battery life by automatically turning off screen after 30 seconds of a call. Most users will not notice while the handset is next to the ear, but this power-saving feature lets you continue your conversation with the display off. The power savings will vary depending on usage patterns. To turn the display back on at any time, tap the screen. Do not press the red Power/End button, unless you want to end the call. The screen-off feature applies to handset mode only, not speakerphone or headset modes. [Want to see how this works and whether I think it’s an improvement.]
- Incorporates two software patches previously released on Palm’s website:
- Carkit Update for Treo 650 (Bluetooth carkit drivers)[Not important to me]
- Treo 650 Voicemail Updater 1.04 for Cingular Wireless [The Treo 650 has always had a problem with getting the right voicemail number from Cingular’s network.]
The website goes on to say “Please set aside 30 minutes to complete the process” of running this update. They should have said an hour because I didn’t have all of the Documents to Go software installed on my desktop and Treo, not to mention that I wasn’t registered with Dataviz yet. As far as I can tell, that’s the easiest way to get the latest version of Documents to Go.
The ability to view Microsoft Office documents sent to you by wireless email is just too useful to not have installed on your Treo. I had it at installed at one point, stupidly lost it when I did a previous firmware update, and never put it back. So last night I had to bite the bullet.
When you get into the upgrade, you have to:
- sync to backup your data, then hard reset your Palm,
- sync to an empty profile, then soft reset your Palm,
- install the updater, and sync to the empty profile again (This causes your Palm to load the updater and patch itself.), and
- sync again with your regular profile to bring your data back.
All of this takes a long time.
To top it all I have to do the entire process again for Kathleen’s Treo. Ugh.
The Treo’s still the best integrated communicator money can buy, but these firmware updates try the patience of even the most devoted user.