Free Treo 750v and new, low-cost Treo may be on the way

Lots of Treo news out there today, so let's get right to it. First, it appears a low-cost Treo is in the works, as Palm CEO Ed Colligan made several references to such a model during a conference call to investors yesterday. Colligan said Palm is working with a new China-based ODM (Outsourced Design Partner) to help bring costs down so that they can "...address the retail environment further with the introduction of a lower-priced product targeted at retail demographic in the very near future." Colligan added that he expects to see it offered by more than 20 carrier partners worldwide by the end of the fiscal year and plans to reveal more about the product in the coming weeks. Some sites have already identified the model as the Treo 680 with some preliminary specs, and it looks like low cost also means low end, as it's said to have only a VGA camera and no Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or push e-mail capabilities. It will, however, sport similar dimensions to the Palm Treo 750v. Speaking of which, Brighthand says it's probable that we could see a U.S. version of the 750v for less than $200 or even for free, within the next two months. If rumors are true, the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; EDGE/UMTS) 750v could land at Cingular in late October/early November.

More resources: TreoCentral, Gizmodo, Uberphone