For those interested in using smartphones to read e-books, eWEEK reports that Palm plans to soon unveil a next-gen Treo smartphone. Analysts report the new model is intended to halt the slide in Treo sales due to fierce competition from Nokia and Sony Ericsson. (Shown at right is the current Treo 700p.)
What’s most interesting is that the new model will use the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. According to the article, Palm’s own operating system used on the Treo is apparently too unstable.
Bob Russell, editor of MobileRead, has a more positive take on Palm’s future, including a passing comment on the next-gen Treo, providing a counterpoint to the somewhat downbeat tone of the eWEEK article.
Anyone use a Treo for reading e-books and digital texts? Share your experiences in the comment area.
Related: Do you read e-books on a cellphone?
I’ve been reading ebooks on various PDAs since 1999. Since I got my Treo 650 over 19 months ago, it has been my primary reading companion. 90% of my reading over the past year has been on my Treo. The other 10% is in the form of traditional dead-tree format – it’s really because new releases tend to appear in ebook format late, or not affordably priced.
Of course, the first Treo 700, the 700w, was also a Windows Mobile device. Seems reasonable on the part of Palm to hedge their bets until they know how the Access Linux Platform (the sucessor to PalmOS) will actually perform. And they did follow up the 700w with a (better) PalmOS version, the 700p.