Where's the WiFi, Palm?

Unstrung writes about "one conspicuous hole in Palm's smartphone line-up, despite the fact the company now has a Windows model and has linked up with Research In Motion's (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry mobile email service. There's no dual-mode Treo smartphone available that combines cellular calling capabilities with WiFi connectivity. Dual-mode is one of the new hot-button issues for smartphone makers, and vendors from Audiovox to Nokia have -- or will soon -- bring phones to market that can support both network types."

Jack Gold at J.Gold Associates said, "I think the primary problem is how to make the Palm OS handle both radios and switch back and forth. If you have a WiFi Treo, you will want to be able to do VOIP as well as make a cellular call."

Charles Golvin at Forrester Research thought that "the company just has the interests of its carrier partners in mind." He said, "They had a lot of trouble with the early Treo because they couldn't get it into the operator channel, and their subsequent success is in large part due to the embrace of the operators. I think they've learned that lesson and now take operator requirements as a more important element in their product planning -- and operators are, by and large... not as gung-ho on the whole cellular-WiFi thing as one might imagine. I would, however, expect the next iteration of the Windows-based Treo to include WiFi."

I think I read recently that Palm is finally offering Treo 650 compatibility for its Wi-Fi SDIO card. Better late than never??