The road between press release and in-store availability has been a rocky one for the Palm Treo 680. Last month, word on the web was that the device would grace shelves at Cingular shops nationwide on November 5. After the day came and went with no sign of the smartphone, an unlocked version made a brief appearance on Amazon, with news of shipment delays caused by a manufacturer’s error following closely behind. In short, everyone knew the 680 would eventually make it to Cingular, but no one knew when.
Today, Cingular Wireless and Palm put an end to the guessing game when it officially announced the device’s availability. The date? This Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.
The Cingular-branded Treo will start at $199.99 (with two-year voice and data contract) and looks to be offered only in boring old graphite. If your heart is set on an arctic, crimson, or copper 680, you’ll need to make a $400 donation to Palm, who’ll send you an unlocked device on December 1st. How’s that for customer appreciation?
[SlashPhone]
