Sprint PCS Finally Enables Bluetooth DUN On Treo 650

When Sprint PCS and palmOne announced the Treo 650, we learned that it had crippled Bluetooth such that it could not be used for Dial-Up Networking, or basically you couldn't connect your laptop to your mobile phone for Internet access. Later on, we heard from Sprint that they planned to enable DUN with a software update. Well, today Sprint has made that software update available via the palmOne site. That's good news for Sprint Treo users who can now use their laptops through the Sprint Vision 1xRTT network without buying proprietary cables to connect laptop to phone. However, it's unclear whether this type of laptop traffic will be included in the Sprint Vision "all you can eat" flat rate of $15. A search of the Sprint website today revealed no information on data prices using Bluetooth and a laptop. Meanwhile, on the other side of the major CDMA league, in April Verizon offered a Bluetooth-crippled version of the Treo 650 and there's no word on any plans to enable DUN on that model. So kudos to Sprint in the end. Blocking handsets, such as the Motorola/iPod, or disabling existing features on hardware is NOT the way to give the customer the best experience.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: bluetooth


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.