If you purchased a Treo 600 or a Treo 650 smartphone, you could be entitled to benefits under a class action settlement.

A settlement of a class action lawsuit affects you if you purchased, in the United States, a new Treo 600 or Treo 650 smartphone for your own use and not for resale. The settlement will provide either: (a) a cash rebate to any United States resident who purchased a Treo 600 or Treo 650 smartphone, experienced two or more repairs or replacements (in lieu of repair) on that device, and purchases a new Palm smartphone within a defined time period; or (b) a right of repair for hardware defects, beyond the expiration of the warranty on your Treo 600 or Treo 650, even if you did not experience two or more repairs or replacements.

If you qualify, you may send in a claim form to ask for a rebate, or a repair form to seek a repair. You can also exclude yourself from the settlement, or object. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, authorized this notice. The Court will have a hearing to consider whether to approve the settlement, so that the benefits may be paid.

WHO'S AFFECTED?
Purchasers of a Treo 600 or Treo 650 smartphone. You're a "Class Member" if you are a United States resident who purchased in the United States a new Treo 600 or Treo 650 smartphone for your own use and not for resale.

WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?
The lawsuit claimed that the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones had certain defects, failed at unacceptable rates, and that Palm made misrepresentations concerning the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones. Palm, Inc. denies all allegations and has asserted many defenses. Palm is entering into this settlement to avoid burdensome and costly litigation. The settlement is not an admission of wrong-doing or an indication that any law was violated.

WHAT CAN YOU GET FROM THE SETTLEMENT?
Palm, Inc. has agreed to provide a cash rebate to Class Members who experienced two or more repairs or replacements in lieu of repair, who purchase a new Palm smartphone within a defined time period, and who send in a valid claim form. The settlement provides for different rebate payments depending on whether you purchased a Treo 600 smartphone or a Treo 650 smartphone requiring repairs or replacements. Rebate amounts are as follows:

SMARTPHONE REPAIRED OR REPLACED AT LEAST TWICE TIMEFRAME OF PURCHASE OF NEW SMARTPHONE REBATE AMOUNT
Treo 600 Anytime after September 30, 2005 until the end of the "Redemption Period," which is six months after the Effective Date (the date the settlement becomes final) $75

Treo 650 Anytime during the Redemption Period $50

Palm has also agreed to provide a right of repair for hardware defects to any original purchaser of a Treo 600 or Treo 650 smartphone who submits a valid and timely Repair Form, even if they did not experience two or more repairs or replacements, and even if the warranty period has expired.

HOW DO YOU GET A PAYMENT?
A detailed notice and claim form package contains everything you need. Just go to www.palzasettlement.com to get one. You will be required to sign a declaration under penalty of perjury that your Treo 600 or Treo 650 smartphone was repaired or replaced at least twice and you will be required to provide documentation for at least one of the repairs or replacements.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES
Cash Rebate: The claim form for a cash rebate must be postmarked on or before July 28, 2008 and received by Palm no more than 21 days thereafter.

Right of Repair: If the warranty on your device has already expired by the Effective Date, the right of repair is valid for 120 days from the Effective Date. If the warranty on your device is still in effect on the Effective Date, the right of repair will extend for 120 days beyond the expiration of that warranty.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?
If you don't want a cash rebate or to obtain a repair, and you don't want to be legally bound by the settlement, you must postmark your request to exclude yourself by April 7, 2008, or you won't be able to sue, or continue to sue, Palm, Inc. about the legal claims in this case. If you exclude yourself, you can't get a payment from this settlement. If you stay in the Class, you may object to the settlement. Objections must be received by April 7, 2008. The detailed notice describes how to exclude yourself or object. The Court will hold a hearing in this case (In re Palm Treo 600 and 650 Litigation, Master Case No. C-05-03774-RMW) on May 2, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. to consider whether to approve the settlement and attorneys' fees and expenses totaling no more than $1,554,000 and incentive payments to the named Plaintiffs in the aggregate amount of $21,000. You may appear at the hearing, but you don't have to. To obtain a full notice and claim form, and for more details, go to www.palzasettlement.com or send an e-mail to palza.settlement@palm.com, or write to Designated Co-Lead Counsel, Ralph M. Stone, Shalov Stone Bonner and Rocco, 485 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1000, New York, NY 10018.

(Photo: brianc)

The recent Copyright Office ruling on unlocking GSM phones puts some much-needed power back in the hands of you, the wireless consumer. This means you can now bring your Cingular phone over to T-Mobile, or vice-versa. You also have the right to switch between prepaid and postpaid service on the same phone. And when you travel abroad, you can pop an international SIM card into your phone for much lower rates.

This last bit is especially important, because international cell phone use is crazy expensive. So what are the best unlocked phones? ABC likes the Samsung X820 (pictured above) "a perfect example of a terrific product that the carriers tried to block out of the U.S. market for no perceptible reason. It's less than .3 inches thick, with a 2-megapixel camera, gorgeous screen, and fun interface." They also have high esteem for the Nokia N80, Palm Treo 680, Sony Ericsson W810i and the Nokia 7380.

They advocate buying directly from the manufacturer, suggesting that rebel phone purchasing is akin to making a political statement. We've all been under the thumb of wireless companies for too long! Break free with an unlocked phone. —MEGHANN MARCO

Best Unlocked Phones [ABC News/PC Magazine]

Uhmagud including an electronic Swede-Atsu Massage Lounger! We're pretty sure we can expense this.

• Lowes is discounting the Black & Decket and Strait-Line Laser Levels by $50. Slickdeals has a listing of all the prices. With an additional $10 mail-in rebate on the Strait-Lines, you can actually make money. And remember kids, staring into lasers reveals a secret message!

• If you're hankering for the newest Palm Treo 700w from Verizon—the one that runs Windows Mobile, not Palm OS—then it looks like the rebates for new service are finally starting, with a $300 phone selling with a $200 rebate for new activation. That brings you down to $99 for just the phone, although plan rates will vary.

• Speaking of Palm PDAs, the factory outlet is selling the already-discounted refurbished items for an additional 10% off the already discounted price. TechBargains]

• Circuit City has a clearance sale in their outlet.

• Today's Woot! is a Vivitar Vivicam 8.1MP digital camera for $255 shipped. From other stores the camera goes for closer to $300, so that's really not a bad deal.

Highlights from Dealhack

• Save 30% off Dimension Desktop PCs at Dell Home
(Save a full 30% off any non-XPS Dimension desktop PC at $999+.)

• Get 10% Case Discount on Orders of Any Size at Wine.com
(Get the case bonus discount on any size order.)

• Linksys WiFi Wireless WPC11 PCMCIA Card only $9 at Buy.com
(Get any Windows PC on the net with this WiFi card.)

• Macy's is running a clearance sale with 40 to 70% discounts, plus $.99 shipping with code 99CENTS. Pretty hot. Over 3,000 sale items, and not all of them are DKNY loungewear.

• And if you can't find some button-down shirts at Macy's, Amazon is selling shirts from Arrow, Calvin Klein, and Kenneth Cole at a discount—as low as $12. Slickdeals has a short list.

• Office Depot is selling the Palm TX PDA for $260 after a $40 off $200 code: 28891600. There's also a $30 mail-in rebate, should you want to screw around with it. (And you should, because $260 is about what the TX goes in most stores.)

• Today's Woot: A mystery! It's currently showing those Bluetooth headsets from yesterday, but we swear we just checked it a few minutes ago and it had an iPod speaker system on there.

Highlights from Dealhack

• Lomography Fisheye or SuperSampler Camera only $40 at Design Within Reach
(Great price on the latest specialty cameras from the Lomographic Society)

• Save $300 to $650 off Inspiron Notebook PCs at Dell Home
(3 coupons with one week to save on the range of Dell portables)

• Logitech Wireless iPod Headphones $40 at Buy.com
(Bluetooth headphones for the iPod at $80 off after a $50 rebate)

• To get the hundred dollar price on this I/O Magic Gigibank 6GB storage thingy, you'll have to send in a $30 mail-in rebate. That said, $130 for a 6GB pocket-sized storage device isn't awful. [via TechBargains]

• Amazon has a bunch of Timberland jackets on sale, plus an additional $20 off $75 coupon. Some, like the canvas jacket, are just $40. Not bad. Ben's Bargains has the details.

• Woot of the day: Gyration Ultra GT Full-Size Keyboard and Mouse for $55, shipped. The mouse uses a gyroscope to allow use without a surface, so you can get all Harry Potter when you're watching movies on your home theater PC.

• And since we're entering convention season, The Consumerist had need for a new Powerbook battery. Batteries.com was not only cheaper for a generic replacement unit, but the current code HOLIDAY was good for an additional 15%, plus free shipping. We are pleased.