Palm Elan: Mystery Handset Headed to AT&T?
There’s a big, bold question mark at the end of that title for one simple reason: this really is a mystery. The truth of the matter is, that we literally have only scraps to go on here, plus a lot of word of mouth. No, this isn’t the same word of mouth from “people familiar with the matter,” but it’s pretty close. What is the Elan? We don’t know. Is it the bigger-screened, slate-style handset that people want? We just don’t know. But, there are some hints that could give away to a clear image, somewhere within all this mobile madness.
Count this the second handset that strikes more confusion than anything else. The first is, not surprisingly, another one from Palm, actually. Codenamed the C40, it’s been sitting in Sprint inventory screens for quite some time now. And now, we have the Elan. Where’d it come from? Well, over at PreCentral, we have TopTongueBarry who is an AT&T IT person. Apparently, he confirmed previously that the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus had both gone through the testing phases of AT&T, and now a third device, the Elan, was going to start being tested as well.
It doesn’t stop there, however. No, another member, Shadow360, took it upon themselves to start digging around, and they hit the jackpot (more or less). Apparently there were accessory manufacturers creating things for the Elan. Furthermore, the Elan’s accessories are compatible with the iPhone. Also, TopTongueBarry added that testing for the Elan should begin in about two weeks, will rock a “soft keyboard,” and be released in Europe, but could see an unlocked version here in the States. Yes, that last part has us scratching our heads a bit, but if Palm is planning to serve up an unlocked device with AT&T’s 3G network, it makes complete sense. Otherwise, there’s really no reason why AT&T would need to be testing the Elan.
As we mentioned from the start, this isn’t even technically a rumor. We’ve got, as you can see from the screenshot above, that the word ‘Elan’ exists, and that accessories were indeed made for it. But, the entire project could be scrapped, or it may never grace the network of AT&T at all. There’s still too many questions, to be honest. However, there’s no arguing that Palm needs to get a new device out there, and one with a bigger screen (in the more slate-style of handsets) would be a dream come true for quite a few people out there. So let’s hope that Palm is already working on it. Either that, or succumbs to peer pressure.
[via PreCentral]