Sprint Palm Treo Pro coming March 15
Sprint Palm Treo Pro
(Credit: Sprint)First, let's just be clear that we're talking about the Palm Treo Pro, with an O and not an E, since that one letter and wishful thinking can lead one to see otherwise and incite mild hysteria (uhh, not that we know anything about that).
On Wednesday, Sprint finally confirmed the rumors and announced that it will add the Palm Treo Pro to its smartphone lineup starting March 15. The Windows Mobile 6.1 device will be available online and in retail stores on that date and will go for $199.99. That is, of course, after rebates and after you sign up for a two-year contract and add an Everything Plan with data or $30 per month or higher data plan. You will also be able to purchase the smartphone through Palm on March 16.
The Palm Treo Pro is the first Palm phone to offer Internet Explorer Mobile 6 and is EV-DO Rev. A and Wi-Fi capable. The smartphone also has integrated GPS and will work with Sprint Navigation for real-time turn-by-turn directions. Other features include a 2.5-inch, 320x320-pixel resolution touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, and a 2-megapixel camera.
Palm should be sending us one to play with soon, so check back for a hands-on review. In the meantime, you can get an idea of what to expect in our full review of the unlocked version of the Palm Treo Pro.
Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie. 
The Pre is supposed to fill a niche between the casual user (Centro) and the business user (Treo Pro). It is meant to be a personal device for a more advanced user. So, the Pre could end up with a price tag between the two.
Here's hoping...
I have never seen a palm device for less than $199 after all the savings.
For the abuse these palm devices take from me it is definitelyn worth more.
I have gone from the Treo 650 and 700p (Palm OS on Verizon) to the Treo 750 and now the Pro on AT&T (WM6, 6.1 respectively) and I can easily say this is the sleekest most powerful and easy to use Trep to date.
I also have to manage numerous other blackberries (curves, bolds) and Iphones and the sort, and i wouldn't trade this phone for any of them.
Each phone, Pro included, mentioned above does cetain tings better than the others, and it does come down to what kind of user you are, but for a high powered, busines professional user who also likes to have a rich multimedia experience it is very hard to beat this phone...
You can "smell fail" all you want, they will sell these at 500 and 1,000 units a pop to corporate customers.
The question might be asked why buy a Pre right away in July, just to be a beta tester, when no handset is sexy and head turning form more than a few weeks nowadays.
- by Thranx March 5, 2009 7:20 AM PST
- This article is incorrect. The Treo 800w is EVDO Rev A, has wi-fi and is from sprint.
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- by StennG March 6, 2009 8:00 AM PST
- NO, the article says: "The Palm Treo Pro is the first Palm phone to offer Internet Explorer Mobile 6 and is EV-DO Rev. A and Wi-Fi capable. "
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(12 Comments)It is the first phone to offer IEMobile 6.
I tested it at Sprint on Treo Pro in mid January before the Sprint Treo Pro recall. I don't think EI6 is smart on the Pro given its small 320x320 which actually defaults o 242x240. I would recommend opera or one of the tighter browsers on Treo Pro, and it seems to be something they threw on to differentiate the Pro, when it is a liability due to its memory hogging that can't be turned off. The flash is nice, but otherwise IE6 on the Pro sucks as a browser on this small screen and it s sucks memory down. I hear the lack of memory caused by IE6 was one of the reason for the Treo Pro recall in January and they tried to fix it for two months and couldn't.