This post was published 2 years 9 months 8 days ago.
It\'s is possible that the information within this article is now out of date or updated.

When the Palm Treo 680 was first introduced, it was made available in four colors: Graphite, Arctic, Crimson, and Copper. This consumer-oriented replacement was sold as both unlocked and locked versions, the locked version being available to Cingular subscribers, the unlocked available to anyone who had a GSM provider. The rub was the the locked version was only available in Graphite, not the other three colors. For Cingular subscribers that meant paying a full price $399 and still having to have get a plan. Well, that has all changed in the past few days.

Over the past few weeks, there has been limited to no availability of the Copper colored phone on the Palm site. In fact, several online sites reported that it was a discontinued item, that it had met it’s demise. This was a hot topic among the Palm- and Treo-based forums all over the net. In the past week, and the past few days, all of a sudden, the Copper was back, then it was gone again. Then the Crimson was gone, then they were both gone. Then the Arctic vanished! All without the help of David Copperfield. What was going on?

Today it becam apparent, but without an official release or announcment. It was buried as a footnote (item 3) on the Palm website where you purchase the Treo 680. To quote:

"Effective February 15, Palm will begin selling Cingular-branded Treo 680 models in crimson, arctic and copper colors. Previously, those colored models were available only in unlocked versions from Palm. The unlocked Treo 680 graphite version will continue to be sold in the United States. "

So now the shoe is on the other foot, or more properly, the phone is in the other ear. Cingular users will now have the option of choosing from four colors of phone, and the unlocked users will only have one choice. Why Palm made the unwise decision (IMHO) to cut off unlocked users is a mystery. The choice of colors for this phone has been one of the hottest selling points for it. Not just my opinion, but other users as well. Just read the forums.

There are still some unlocked phones available, mostly in Palm retail shops and online electronic shops. But the prices are starting to rise. Doing a Google search for Treo 680 <insert color choice here> will yield some surprising prices. One site had the Copper and Crimson selling for $469 plus shipping. YIKES!! I’m glad I got mine before Palm made the switch.

Richard Cunningham (82 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook