Click to View

Less than a week ago, Alltel started offering RIM's (RIM) BlackBerry 8703e. Already available from Sprint, the device is the first QWERTY thumb-keyboard BlackBerry with high-speed EV-DO networking, for data transfer rates averaging between 400 and 700 kbps.

Today, the regional carrier added another important device to round out its smartphone lineup, Palm's Treo 700wx. Until now, Sprint held an exlusive on Palm's latest Pocket PC Phone for CDMA/EVDO carriers; although Verizon is supposed to pick up the Treo 700wx soon as well.

Alltel's Treo 700wx, as with Sprint's, is an update to the long-available Treo 700w from Verizon. First shipped 11 months ago, the Treo 700w was Palm's first Windows Mobile smartphone.

Reports say Alltel's Treo 700wx sports a slightly updated OS over the Sprint version: Windows Mobile 5.2 in the former to 5.0 in the latter. It goes for $349.99 with a two-year contract; $150 less than what Sprint is currently charging.

Other than the large difference in price and slight difference in OS, the Alltel Treo 700wx is exactly the same as Sprint's.

Hardware-wise the Treo 700wx and Verizon's older Treo 700w are nearly identical expect for one key difference: The former has twice as much RAM, 64 MB (128 MB of non-volatile memory in total), as the latter. What this does is give the Treo 700wx 60 MB of user-available memory compared to the 700w's mere 25 MB, and leaves more room for applications to run. So when you've got several apps running at once, for example, the performance of the 700wx will be far less likely to slow down.

Out-of-the box the 700wx also delivers Bluetooth dial-up networking (along with USB) to allow users to leverage the Treo as a wireless modem for a laptop via EV-DO: The same connection that deliver speedy access to e-mail, the Web, video, audio, handset TV and other content services.

Bundled with the Treo 700wx is Microsoft-based push e-mail through the software giant’s Windows Mobile Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP), which includes Direct Push Technology for messages, calendar, contacts, and tasks; native S/MIME support, certificate-based authentication to all Exchange data; and remote and local device wipe.

The Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone, which measures 4.4 x 2.3 x .9 inches (111 x 58 x 22.5 millimeters) and weighs 6.4 ounces (180 grams), runs on a 312 MHz Intel XScale processor, and it has an SDIO-enabled Secure Digital slot for memory and peripheral expansion. There's a square 240 x 240 pixel resolution touch-screen with 65,536 colors, and a 1.3 megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom.

Like other Treos, its QWERTY thumb-keyboard is backlit and it has a 5-way navigator and speakerphone. The 700wx has the same new buttons for 'Start' and 'OK' plus 'right' and 'left' action keys that aim to assist navigation and handset control as the 700w as well.

The smartphone's removable/rechargeable lithium-ion battery specs out to 5 hours talk and 300 hours standby.

For more on Treo 700wx, see our review.