AfterTek

Palm, Inc. and Cingular Wireless have unleashed the first Palm Treo smart device running on Cingular’s 3G/UMTS network. The highly anticipated Treo 750 five-band phone runs Windows Mobile 5.0 with Direct Push Technology and offers Palm’s usability improvements plus business features, including email, security, and web access on the go.

The companies say the Treo 750 combines the Palm experience of a multifunction mobile phone with email, messaging, web browsing, organization software and a robust application portfolio with Cingular’s 3G network. Its compact design features an internal antenna, soft-touch finish, and contoured edges. The Treo 750 also has a full QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 240×240 touch screen and support for Bluetooth stereo headsets.

With a built-in 60MB of user-available storage, memory can be enhanced by using the miniSD slot to add memory cards of up to 2GB, which can be used to storing data, photos, music and video. In addition to the standard Windows Mobile features, which include mobile versions of Office programs, Palm has added some one-handed access features.

The highlights are a new messaging application, with threaded chat view for text and MMS messages, Today Screen enhancements with the ability to “dial by name” with a few keystrokes on the keyboard, perform a web search directly from the Today Screen and perform one-touch dialing with personalized photo speed dials.

With Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition, users get access to mobile versions of Windows Media Player 10, Internet Explorer, and Outlook applications in addition to the ability to view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files and view PowerPoint and PDF files. The Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) is available out of the box with the Treo 750 and includes Direct Push Technology, which gives users connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server automatic wireless updates of their email, calendar items, contacts and tasks.

The MSFP also provides added security features for IT administrators, such as over-the-air password policy enforcement and remote wipe for lost or stolen devices. The Treo 750 offers mobile professionals other corporate email options, including streamlined access to Microsoft Exchange or Domino/Notes using Good Mobile Messaging or personal email with Cingular Xpress Mail.

The Palm Treo 750 initially will be enabled for UMTS with a free upgrade, scheduled to be available later in 2007, to Cingular’s HSDPA technology. The new technology provides faster downloads and uploads speeds, comparable to broadband services.