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Alltel's Palm Treo Pro is available now.

(Credit: Palm)

Just a day after Sprint announced the March 15 availability of the Palm Treo Pro, Alltel did one better and revealed on Thursday the immediate availability of the smartphone.

The Treo Pro can be purchased online or at Alltel retail stores for $199.99 with a service agreement and after discounts. The device runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition and has Wi-Fi, GPS, and EV-DO Rev. A support. You'll also be able to use the smartphone as a modem for your laptop.

Like the Sprint version, Alltel's model offers Internet Explorer Mobile 6, as well as a 2-megapixel camera, a full QWERTY keyboard, and a 2.5-inch, 320x320-pixel-resolution touch screen. You can find more information about the smartphone's design and feature set in our full review of the unlocked Palm Treo Pro.

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.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Though we're only two months into 2009, it's not too much of a stretch to say the Palm Pre is the most anticipated smartphone of the year.

Ever since it was announced at CES 2009, the Pre has created quite a buzz for its functionality and interface, and in our opinion, it comes closest to rivaling the iPhone pound for pound. Of course, the question remains of whether the Pre will actually deliver, but perhaps more at the forefront of people's minds: when will it be available?

At CES, Palm and Sprint said they expect to ship the Pre in the first half of 2009 but didn't get more specific. Well, it seems the Boy Genius Report (BGR) recently got its hands on Sprint's End of Life list, which shows which products have reached the end of their life cycle along with their replacements, and according to the document, the Pre will have an in-store stock date on or around March 15 and will replace the Palm Treo 755p.

Interestingly, our friends over at Buzz Out Loud received a listener tip Tuesday stating that he got confirmation from a Sprint customer service representative that the Pre would be in stores February 15 with an suggested retail price of $549.99, $150 with a two-year contract and after a $100 rebate. (You can see the chat transcript below.)

Frankly, I'm very skeptical about a February launch. It's just too soon. During our meeting at CES, Palm kept emphasizing that the software wasn't final and that it was working on bug fixes, so rushing the out product in the next couple of weeks doesn't quite sit right with me. I have to wonder if the Sprint rep maybe confused the Palm Pre with the Palm Treo Pro, which is also reportedly on its way to Sprint.

In fact, BGR also mentioned that the End of List sheet showed the Palm Treo Pro having a launch date of February 15, replacing the Palm Treo 800w. Obviously, we'd all like to see the Palm Pre come to market sooner rather than later, but I'd much prefer a solid, final product even if it means I have to wait a bit longer.

Last week, several blog sites, including Engadget Mobile, reported the appearance of the Palm Treo Pro on Sprint's Web site, but as soon as it appeared, it disappeared.

While this may be a case of someone getting a little too trigger-happy, the idea of a Sprint Treo Pro is certainly not a fluke, and in fact, the smartphone is now up on Best Buy's Web site.

The Windows Mobile smartphone is advertised for a whopping $699.99 (though we suspect and certainly hope the price will drop with a service agreement) and is currently listed as backordered. Up till now, the Treo Pro was only offered as an unlocked GSM phone. No word yet from Sprint on when the Treo Pro will make its official debut but we'll keep you posted.

Palm Treo Pro

On Monday, we reported on some rumors that Best Buy would offer the RIM BlackBerry Bold (in addition to AT&T) after the Boy Genius Report site posted some screenshots of the retailer's computer system showing an October 26 in-stock date for the smartphone.

Well, it seems BGR has uncovered more information that suggests Best Buy will also carry the RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, the Palm Treo Pro, and the T-Mobile G1.

According to the story, the red BlackBerry Pearl Flip and the Palm Treo Pro will be available on October 26, though you can actually buy the Treo Pro now from Palm's Web site. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip has been confirmed for T-Mobile, but we've yet to hear an official availability date. As for the carrier's other big release, the T-Mobile G1 will also be in stock at Best Buy on the same date, but won't go on sale to the public till November 16. No word yet on pricing.

Click on the image to see the Palm Treo Pro photo gallery

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

While not the best-kept secret in the technology world, what with all the leaked photos and videos, we're still aflutter over Palm's official unveiling of the Palm Treo Pro Wednesday. And why wouldn't we be? The smartphone is looking pretty sharp, both inside and out.

The first thing you might notice is the new modern look. The Treo Pro sheds the outdated, clunky design of previous Treos and trades it in for a sleeker design (4.4 inches high by 2.3 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep; 4.7 ounces) and nice black casing. It also sports a 320x320-pixel resolution touch screen and features a screensaver that will show you the time, any missed calls or new text/multimedia messages at a glance. You can also see some Palm Centro influence in there with the full QWERTY keyboard, but the navigation keypad is all new.

It's not all about looks either. As the name would suggest, the smartphone is targeted at business users and on paper, it looks to be fully equipped keep up with the on-the-go types. The Treo Pro runs Windows Mobile 6.1, complete with the Microsoft Office Mobile Suite and Direct Push Technology for real-time e-mail delivery. The quad-band world phone is stocked in the wireless department as well, as it offers UMTS/HSDPA support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

It all sounds pretty enticing, no? Itching to get one? Well, here's the skinny on availability. The Palm Treo Pro will be available in Europe starting in September through Vodafone and O2, while Telstra will pick it up in Australia. Interestingly, here in the States, it will be sold unlocked through Palm starting in the fall. There's no word on exact availability date or pricing, or whether a U.S. carrier will eventually pick it up. That said, we actually have a meeting with Palm later Wednesday so we'll see if we can get any more information out of them and also give you a hands-on report about the Treo Pro.

In the meantime, please feel free to share your thoughts on the news. I don't know about you, but I have to say this is the first time in a long time that I've really been jazzed about a Palm smartphone. You?

Is this the Palm Treo Pro?

(Credit: Slashgear)

Heeeeyyyy, remember those sexy pictures we saw of a rumored Palm Treo 850 a while back? Well, it looks like they're resurfacing again, but this time in an internal Palm presentation that, oopsies, briefly appeared on the company's Web site. The slides have since been taken down but they were up long enough for SlashGear to get some screen shots.

If this presentation is legit, it appears the smartphone will actually be called the Palm Treo Pro and will run Windows Mobile 6.1. The sleek-looking device (I'm really digging the design) will also reportedly have 3G support, Wi-Fi, a 320x320 pixel resolution touch screen, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Not a ton more info there, but I don't know, I'm pretty excited. What do you think?