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Palm has confirmed that Sprint will officially introduce the 700wx Tuesday September 5th. The new smartphone really isn't all that new really. It is actually a variation on the Treo 700w, the first Windows Mobile Palm smartphone model, which Verizon has been offering exclusively since January.

Hardware-wise the 700wx and 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 700wx 60 MB of user-available memory compared to the 700w's mere 25 MB, and leave 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 through Sprint's 400-700 kbps EV-DO network. The same connection that deliver speedy access to e-mail, the Web, video, audio, handset TV and other content services.

Bundled with the 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.

Sprint also includes Good's Mobile Messaging and Mobile Defense solutions as well. But you must pay for these.

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.

Sprint will sell the Treo 700wx for $499.99 after available discounts and promotions, likely a 2-year service contract.

After the Sprint picks up the 700wx, the two leading CDMA/EV-DO carriers in this country will be offering Palm's newest Treos. Both Verizon and Sprint started shipping the Palm platform Treo 700p almost simultaneously this past May.

PDAStreet has been sent a 700wx to review and will let you know what we think not too long from now.

The 700wx most likely takes advantage Windows Mobile 5.0 platform in the same ways as the 700w. That means offering Outlook Mobile, Office Mobile and Internet Explorer Mobile built into the smartphone. It also brings Windows Media Player Mobile to the handheld.


Windows Media Player Mobile

As Palm does with its Palm OS products, it delivers software enhancements on top of Windows Mobile. These include Today Screen improvements, including the ability to "dial by name" with a few keystrokes on the keyboard, perform a web search directly from the Today Screen and perform one-touch dialing with personalized photo speed dials.


Treo 700wx Today Screen

There's also the capability to manage a call directly from the Today Screen and stay on top of voicemail with on-screen, VCR-like icons, such as rewind, delete and fast-forward controls for easy navigation. Users can also ignore a call and quickly compose a text message such as "In a meeting" or "Can't talk right now" by selecting the "Ignore with text" option from the incoming-call screen, among other features.