Palm turn to Microsoft to power new Treo range

Treo 700w gets Mobile 5.0 operating system

The new model will turn away from the Palm OS as in this Treo 600

26 September 2005 18:04 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Palm has announced that it has turned to Microsoft to power its latest offering in its Treo range in the US.

The new Treo (touted around the web as the Treo 700w) uses the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system and will have Outlook Mobile, Office Mobile and Internet Explorer Mobile built into the smartphone as standard.

In a press conference with Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm; Bill Gates, and Denny Strigl, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless the company said that the new model would be exclusive to Verizon Wireless using its BroadbandAccess service in America.

The Treo smartphone on Windows Mobile is a CDMA-based phone targeted for the US market available on its EV-DO network with download speeds averaging 400-700 kilobits per second.

Palm said that full product details will be disclosed when the product is available for purchase in early 2006 although leaks on the internet suggest it will feature a 1 megapixel camera and come with 64Mb of internal memory.

No plans were revealed for additional mobile operators however, Palm indicated that a GSM Treo smartphone using Windows Mobile would be available in the second half of 2006.

We will keep you posted.