Palm puts Windows on the Treo

And partnership will produce further models

Palm has unveiled a new model of its Treo smartphone running Microsoft's Windows Mobile software in place of the Palm operating system. The move is part of a new strategic partnership with Microsoft that will produce further models, the two firms said, and may make Treo devices more appealing to business customers.
The new Treo, yet to be officially named, runs Windows Mobile 5.0 and is the first Palm to support 3G networks as well as being the first Microsoft-based model. It will ship to customers of US carrier Verizon in early 2006, and a European version is due in the second half of next year.
Palm European vice-president Francois Bornibus said the new model is designed to boost take-up of mobile email among business users. As Windows Mobile handsets can link easily to Exchange Server, the new device will be more attractive to enterprise customers, he added.
"We're selling Treos to many firms and consumers, but enterprises are only interested if they already have a Palm OS strategy. If they have a Microsoft strategy [for mobile], they don't want to change," Bornibus said.
Microsoft's Jason Langridge said large firms prefer Windows Mobile because of the consistent user interface and common development environment these devices share with the Windows PC platform.
The new device also brings core elements of the Treo user interface to Windows Mobile, such as the ability to call a contact directly from an Outlook message, avoiding the need to look up the number.
Details of the new handset, currently dubbed Treo on Windows, are sketchy. It runs an Intel XScale processor, but Palm would not disclose its speed, the amount of memory, or the expected price.
The US model uses a high-speed 3G network technology called EV-DO, but Palm would not say what the European version would have. "It will run on GSM voice networks, but I cannot comment on the technology beyond this," said Bornibus. But he added it would be "the latest technology available at launch".
Experts said the most likely option for a European model will be High-Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA), an extension of current 3G technology that could support speeds of 8Mbit/s to 10Mbit/s.