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Palm, Inc. Microsoft and Verizon Wireless shook up the mobile world in September with the announcement of the first Treo smartphone built on operating system other than the Palm OS, the Redmond-based software giant's own Windows Mobile 5.0.

The companies have been less than forthcoming about the name for new smartphone, however. Although the Internet rumor-mill has consistently batted around the moniker Treo 700w, some have speculated that Palm may be leaving itself room to look in a different direction for a name by officially keeping the Windows Mobile Treo model number so close to the vest.

Recently, Verizon confirmed the Treo 700w conjecture when the operator briefly posting an ad for the device—not due to ship until earlier next year—on its Web site. The advertisement clearly showed the name of the new Treo to be the 700w.


from Brighthand

Features of the CDMA Treo 700w include 64 MB of non-volatile memory (twice that of the previous Palm-basded model, the Treo 650) to allow data to survive a complete power drain, just like the earlier Treo. It also has Bluetooth for personal area networking, so users can connect to wireless headsets and printers, for example.

While the unit doesn't integrate Wi-Fi like some other smartphones on the market, it is compatible with Palm's Wi-Fi SD card, so you can add the capability. There's a 240 x 240 pixel resolution display.

The new Windows Mobile Treo will be Palm's first 3G product, as it supports Verizon's high-speed EV-DO, network for data-transfer rates of about 400-700 kilobits per second (kbps).

It will take advantage of the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform in multiple ways—offering Outlook Mobile, Office Mobile and Internet Explorer Mobile built into the smartphone, as well as direct access to Exchange Server 2003 for mobile access to information.

During the press conference announcing the Treo 700w, Palm, Verizon & Microsoft used the smartphone to contact someone quickly from the Windows Mobile Today Screen. You could choose between home, office or mobile numbers, or select e-mail or SMS. And with two letters entered, a user could find a record from among thousands of contacts;

Additional features include the ability to reach people most often called via photo speed dials visible as a band of images on the Today Screen; decline a call with a friendly SMS, signaling "In a meeting" or "Talking with the boss" instead of simply ignoring the call; and rewind, delete or fast-forward through work or cell phone voicemail with familiar and consistent on-screen icons.

Treo 700w in Landscape Mode

A-OK
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the Treo 700w for release in the United States in October. All wireless products must receive the FCC okay before shipping in this country.

It is not known when other carriers may start offering a Windows Mobile Treo as well, certainly after Verizon ships the Treo 700w during the first quarter. A GSM/GPRS edition for operators like Cingular and T-Mobile most likely won't appear until the second half of next year either.

Palm's Place
The PDA pioneer emphatically asserts it will continue to build Treo smartphones and other products on the Palm OS too. Verizon, the number two mobile operator in the United States (behind Cingular Wireless) already carries Palm's current Treo 600 and Treo 650 Palm-based models.

The company traveling down the road towards a Windows Mobile device seems heretical, yes. Yet that is exactly the direction the company has been headed for some time now, especially since the spin off PalmSource—the company's software division and OS maker and recent ACCESS acquisition.

Other Palm OS licensees, especially Samsung, roll out products using multiple platforms. In addition, since Palm handhelds and handsets run on ARM processors, these devices should support other mobile platforms without a major hardware overhaul, easing the transition from one OS to another.