Treo 700p gets a price?
By Ryan Block 
posted May 6th 2006 11:59PM
posted May 6th 2006 11:59PM
Hang on to your pensions, 401ks, and pocketbooks people, it sounds like the Treo 700p may just have a price. According to some Radio Shack employees -- or people posing as Radio Shack employees -- when the Palm Treo 700p debuts, it'll set you back $679.99 retail with no service agreement, and $529.99 with new two-year contract. Howch -- significantly more than the $399 / $499 two year / one year prices we heard about before. Of course we've no way of knowing whether these prices are real, let alone solid and official, but if they are, boy oh boy are we gonna have to be quick to the draw on asking for a raise.[Thanks, Mike]
This price would be totally outrageous. It's pretty bad when Sprint is worse than Verizon on pricing.
Maybe a steeper price than hoped, but if it adds 4g SD card support, wifi driver, more memory, and fast data then it may be worth it to a lot of people. On the Sprint side you may lose some of Verizon's coverage and the ability to change plans on the fly, but you also lose potential Verizon tiered charges for "unlimited" data based on usage, their larger early contract breaking fees, and Verizon's policies against using the data connection for streaming media. You also probably get better rates for the data plan (TBD), and you might even get to use it for DUN (dial up networking) with Sprint.
So, yeah, that's pricey, but maybe that $130 difference from expected cost pales in comparison to all the other differences in carriers and what those charges might add up to be, so I don't know that it's a deal breaker all by itself. Add expensive data plans in the mix also, and well, maybe a standalone and unconnected Treo (as far as data goes) isn't so bad after all.
But for the upgrade, I think the 700p is still very tempting. If only we could get all the solid details...
Hmmm... for me, the scales just suddenly tipped in favor of the PPC-6700 now. Eh, but I'll grudgingly wait a couple more weeks until this is actually released and fully reviewed.
Radio Shack typically prices their merchandise higher than anyone else. Take for example the Cingular 8125: Cingular sells it for 449.99 retail, that is, without a contract. Radioshack sell it for 599.99 without a contract. What is the extra 150 for? I have no idea...but go into any Radio shack and check it out...
Thats pretty rediculous. I hope its false, ive been waiting for this for damn near a year. If that turns out to be the price... Palm can go f*ck themselves.
I hate to say that I am not surprised, I was / am waiting for the phone. I am very inclined to believe it being that Sprint thought that the Treo 650 was worth 6 bills without a contract. I expected $700.00. I say F them I might as well get a bleeping Samsung X1 UMPC and use my A900 to connect.
I was waiting for thing for so long to switch to Sprint and pay the early termination fee all for this phone, that once my 650 became inoperable a couple weeks ago, I decided on a different approach. I went to a retailer in Chinatown (NYC) and bought the Motorola Ming A1200 (Linux smartphone). No I don't work for Moto, but this thing is awesome. Small, stylish, 2MP camera, A2DP bluetooth, 1GB micro SD and full PDA software. Java programs run great on it, and with Opera Mini 2.0 I don't have as much of a desire for the 3G just yet, as it's really fast. Still, I love the Palm OS aps that I've used for so long, so it might be hard to get those eBay thought out of my head when the 700p is out, reviewed, and price settles down.
If Verizon comes out with the Q a week later, as rumored, and the Q comes in at about $299 with contract, as rumored, then the Q will far outsell this device.
Why would the Q sell for 299? Well, the 700w sells for 399 w/contract, and the Q has the lesser version of WM5. So even if the Q is more stylish than the Treo, the Treo is considered a more feature-rich phone, and should cost more. Of course, at this point it is only speculation.
So, sure the Q has the lesser version of WM5 and doesn't allow for doc editing (yet) but for many many people that won't make a difference.
Many people are just looking for a good smartphone, wtih basic PIM functions, email, web, and multimedia, and the Q will fit that bill nicely. Then if the Q has the great styling, and better screen, it will be no contest as to which to buy for many folks.
If this rumor proves to be true, then the pricing is outrageous.
Wait, we're going on RADIO SHACK cellphone pricing?
#9 you got a better suggestion? not like we've got anything outta anyone that's official yet besides this.
if this is somehow reflective of the actual price from Sprint though then they've officially shot themselves in the face.
though I suspect this is priced higher than it'll be through Sprint. this is just WAY too high.
Sprint and Verizon are not stupid. The Treo and Q will be expensive at first while the devices are in short supply. Early adopter geeks (like the people who write comments on this blog) will pay a premium to get them first. Then they'll drop the prices and go after market share. That's how it always happens, folks.
With all due respect to #11, I don't think the price will drop after the initial release. It didn't with the Treo 700w release...that's still the same price as at release.
I do expect the price to be relatively high for these type of devices, but the rumored price for this new Treo is just ridiculous. Even many early adopters won't shell out that many bucks.
Plus, I still think that if the Q comes in at significantly less, like the rumored 299, or even 249 as some have hinted at, then it will clean up on this market. Verizon has a really great chance at snagging alot of this market and gaining alot of data plans if they price the Q reasonably. Moto would also gain, helping it establish a foothold in a new market niche for them.
The point about it being "Radio Shack" is that they always price stuff kinda high.
At release most every Palm device they carry is more expensive than anyplace else.
However this size of this price premium cannot be just from Radio Shack.
I expect it to still go for 499.00 with contract elsewhere.
But its just a guess.
the larger point is that what RS sells it for is very likely higher than what it will retail for elsewhere.
The price break comes after the next new phone is released, so don't count on your discount 700ps until at least a "750" comes out. Get ready for bargain 650s, though.
Cingular has a *HUGE* price break on the Palm 650 on their "Premier" website. Last night I saw the 650 on Cingular Premier for like $159. This morning it's $129... Maybe intro of the 700P is almost here. I'm tempted to get a 650, even though it's at the end of it's product cycle. It's still a good PDA. Is there a real reason to wait for the 700P?
@8:
I don't think Q vs. 700p is a valid comparison. First off, the Q does not have/need a digitizer (touch screen). That alone boosts the price and completely changes the way the device is used.
The 700p--according to what I've read, not hands-on experience--is an evolution of the 650, nothing amazingly new. Better camera, broadband, wifi driver support, etc ... I'd rather have the 700, but it doesn't look like it'll do anything the 650 can't, it'll just do things better.
Ok, I manage a radioshack and nothing, i mean NOTHING has been said about this phone. New phones dont show up in our system until they are received in our warehouses and sprint phone prices are set by sprint as we buy the phones from them. So there is nothing yet about this phone.
599.00 retail-no contract
499.00 1 year contract
399.00 2 year contract
299.00 take 1st born
The price should be about $499.99 after rebate.
Most likley they will have a mail-in rebate as well.
Sprint will not have a handset over $500.00 ish
The i550 that was going to replace the i500 was way too much so they did not want it, it was like $600.00 Plus. The 6700 has everything and more and its not that high, so from what I have heard it will be less.
$679.99 is really crazy talk, its just no worth it.
MAP2010
Sadly, the Treo 700p is available now @ $679.99 no contract, $529.99 2yr agreement. At least, that's what it said on my screen when I scanned it for a sale. Damn, if me buying the PPC-6700 @ almost 6 bills was expensive, this is truly ridiculous.
lemme just say, i work for radioshack...
we wont even carry the 700p til late july, i kno, cuz im getting one the day we do...
i have a 650 right now... love it, but cant wait til the 700p comes out so i dont hafta use realplayer anymore w/o paying for another app... cant wait for the 1.3MP camera... and i've been missing powervision ever since i traded my sanyo mm9000 for the 650, it probly wouldnt bug me if i wasnt used 2 the speed, but im syked that the 700p is EV-DO... i just hope there have been some significant improvements to the bluetooth capabilities of the phone...
ive got a 2GB SD card... i think that may be good enough for me for now...
anyway, its down to $649.99 unactivated on Sprint's website now, so that is what it will be for us...
and our prices are almost always the same or cheaper than cingular's and sprint's...