Sprint Commits to New Windows Mobile 6.1 Treo

There have been rumors for some time that Sprint is prepping a new Treo smartphone based on Windows Mobile, and this telecom recently confirmed this.

Buried in the official announcement of Windows Mobile 6.1 is a small note that says Sprint will release "A new Palm Treo" running this latest version of Microsoft's operating system for smartphones and handhelds.

Sprint doesn't says when this model will be released, but Palm executives have said their their company's next Windows Mobile-based smartphone will hit the market by the end of this summer.

Rumors of the Palm Treo 800w

Palm Treo 800w (view large image)

Unconfirmed reports on the Treo 800w have been around since at least mid 2007.

There will reportedly be GSM and CDMA versions of this device, both of which will have 3G support -- tri-band HSDPA and EV-DO Revision A, respectively.

In addition, this smartphone will include Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0.

It is expected to be Palm's first Windows Mobile device with a 320-by-320-pixel display. It will also supposedly have a GPS receiver, microSD memory card slot, and feature a 2 megapixel camera.

The picture of this upcoming device is from Bill Gates' keynote address at CES in January, in which he briefly alluded to it.

At this point, it seems likely Sprint will be the first wireless carrier to offer this model, but a leaked roadmap from Europe's Vodafone also lists it.

There has been no word what it will cost, but as a high-end business-oriented model, it's not likely to have an entry-level price.

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• Microsoft Announces Windows Mobile 6.1