Palm ‘accidentally’ releases presentation of new Treo Pro, prays somebody will notice
By Dave Jeyes
Palm briefly leaked a Flash presentation of their latest forthcoming handset as the handset maker struggles against slipping into irrelevance. The handset is a slimmer version of their current line and will run Windows Mobile 6.1 and boasts that it is, "the best looking Palm ever." Palm’s few remaining die-hard fans are still waiting for word on the long-promised Palm Nova operating system with no announcement in sight.
The Palm Treo Pro was initially dubbed the Treo 850 and comes in either black or white, following far behind in the footsteps of the Apple iPhone 3G. It boasts 3G network capability and a 400 mhz processer with 128 mb of RAM. The Treo Pro also has a 2.4" touchscreen with 320 x 320 pixel resolution. The new handset will also feature a headphone jack, signaling that it is catching up with other phone makers in appealing to users that use their phone as an mp3 player. This phone is meant to be a part of Palm’s lineup for 2009, though there is no word on when it will be released.
Unfortunately the new Treo Pro seems to have very little in terms of upgrades from their current flagship product, the Palm Treo 800w. The good news is that while the 800w is only available on Sprint, the new 3G phone will be released by either AT&T or T-Mobile, as they are the only mobile companies with 3G networks. Other than that, the Treo Pro is the spitting image of its predecessor that has been polished up to compete in an increasingly design-conscious US handset market driven by the iPhone.
Palm’s sales have been slipping in recent years as Blackberry, HTC and iPhone are edging them out of the market. Last year’s release of the Palm Centro, a budget version of their usual Smartphone design, did nothing to stem the flow of customers to other phone manufacturers. While Palm started out by offering their phones with their own operating system, they have recently been relegated to selling handsets running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. While they have been plotting their return to the software market with the Palm Nova operating system, there is currently no release in sight.
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