Verizon Wireless and Palm Announce Treo 700wx Smartphone

After weeks of rumours Palm and Verizon Wireless today announced the availability of the Palm Treo 700wx smartphone running Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 with Direct Push Technology – adding another choice to Palm's current EV-DO product offerings for Verizon Wireless customers who were already the first to benefit from the earlier Treo 700w model.

The Treo 700wx smartphone combines broadbandlike speeds on Verizon Wireless' high-speed network with wireless email and rich media capabilities all in one – bringing Palm's world-class ease of use to the Windows Mobile platform. The Treo 700wx has a full QWERTY keyboard for easy messaging, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a bright 240x240 touch screen and support for Bluetooth stereo headsets.  The built-in 64MB of RAM allows the use of a more robust set of applications, while storage can be enhanced by using the SD slot to add memory cards of up to 2GB, which are great for storing data, photos, music and video.

Verizon Wireless customers using the Treo 700wx have the benefit of Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess service – which runs on the nation's most reliable national wireless broadband network – to send and receive data. With the wireless broadband connection, customers can get access to broadband speeds while out of the office. Today, Verizon Wireless' broadband network covers more than 200 million Americans in 242 major metropolitan areas and 180 major airports from coast to coast and offers average download speeds of 400-700 kilobits per second.

"People love the Treo smartphone because they are driven by the need to stay in touch and manage a variety of communications and information – both business and personal,” said Tim Roper, vice president, U.S. region, for Palm, Inc. "Palm's one-of-a-kind user experience and broad support of key applications and email solutions make the Treo 700wx a core asset for mobile professionals to stay productive and maximize their downtime while on the road.”

With Windows Mobile 5.0, the Treo 700wx offers the tools mobile professionals need, including access to mobile versions of Windows Media Player 10, Internet Explorer, and Outlook applications in addition to the ability to view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files and view PowerPoint and PDF files. The Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) is available out of the box with the Treo 700wx and includes Direct Push Technology, which gives Verizon Wireless customers connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server fast, automatic wireless updates of their email, calendar items, contacts and tasks.  It provides added security features for IT administrators, such as over-the-air password policy enforcement and remote wipe for lost or stolen devices. MSFP also gives users over-the-air lookup of a company's Global Address List (GAL), providing employees with quick access to colleagues' email and contact information.

Support for Verizon Wireless' Wireless Sync service is also available, which provides the convenience of automatic delivery of email and easy access to personal information-management tools, such as contacts and calendar, as well as enterprise tools, such as device management and file synchronization.

"Palm and Verizon Wireless share our dedication to bring business customers powerful devices to manage work on the go,” said John O'Rourke, general manager, Mobile and Embedded Devices, Microsoft Corp. "Verizon Wireless' fast EV-DO network combined with the Palm experience on Windows Mobile will help customers get to information to stay on top of their jobs such as Microsoft Outlook email, calendars and tasks and connected to the people they care about.”

The Palm Experience on Windows Mobile
Unique to the Treo smartphone based on Windows Mobile 5.0 is a suite of software enhancements developed by Palm that underscores its brand promise of fast access, ease of use and simplicity, including the following:

• Today Screen enhancements, which feature 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;
• Ability to manage a call directly from the Today Screen and stay on top of voice mail with on-screen, VCR-like icons, such as rewind, delete and fast-forward controls for easy navigation; and
• Ability to ignore a call and quickly compose a text message, such as "In a meeting” or "Can't talk.”

Pricing and Availability
The Palm Treo 700wx smartphone from Verizon Wireless is available now at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores, Verizon Wireless business channels and online for $399.99 after a $100 rebate and a new two-year customer agreement.

Personally, considering that the lighter and slimmer Windows Mobile Treo 750 is now available for an incredible $149.99 from Cingular/AT&T I don’t see much value in this offer unless you’re absolutely locked into Verizon Wireless…

Treonauts always look for the best value…