Sprint Commits to Introducing the Palm Treo Pro in Mid-March

After months of delays, Sprint has just promised to introduce Palm's latest Windows Mobile smartphone, the Treo Pro, in the middle of this month.

Sprint was originally planning on releasing the Treo Pro in January, but has had to push this release back several times. If it is finally ready to launch this Windows phone, engineers must have found the source of the significant bug in the system software that was the cause of the delays.

At one point, Sprint was going to be the first U.S. carrier to offer this model, but now it appears Alltel will be it to the punch.

An Overview of the Palm Treo Pro

The Treo Pro has been available for some time. Currently, a GSM version is being sold by Palm directly to U.S. consumers as an unlocked device. It is available through wireless carriers in other parts of the world, including Europe and Canada.

This smartphone has the design that's become a hallmark of the Treo line, a candybar shape with 320-by-320-pixel touchscreen above a QWERTY thumb-keyboard.

It runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional on a 400 MHz processor from Qualcomm, and comes with Microsoft's standard suite of productivity and entertainment applications.

Other features include an external microSD card slot for additional storage, a built-in GPS receiver, and a 2.0 MPx camera.

More about Sprint's Version

The Treo Pro model currently available in the U.S. uses GSM networks, but Sprint's version will be a CDMA phone with EV-DO. In addition, it will have Wi-Fi and Stereo Bluetooth.

"The combination of Sprint Mobile Broadband with EV-DO (Evolution - Data Optimized) Revision (Rev.) A technology and Windows Mobile 6.1 on a Palm smartphone creates a mobile solution that meets the needs of today's mobile professionals," said Kevin Packingham, senior VP of product & technology development for Sprint.

This model will support a number of this carrier's services: Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, Sprint Music, and Pocket Express.

Sprint says its 1500 mAh battery will be good for 5 hours of talk time. 

This carrier intends to charge $200 with a two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate for the Palm Treo Pro.

Source: Sprint