Palm Treo Pro

Discontinued
20th August 2008

Competing head on with the new BlackBerry Bold 9000, the Palm Treo Pro is an advanced Windows smartphone from one of the oldest names in the handheld computing business.

This Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional handset comes with a QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA high-speed data, WiFi, GPS and a 320 x 320 pixel touchscreen display, all wrapped up in an attractive and very business-smart package.

Windows Mobile 6.1 comes with all the usual features such as "Pocket" versions of Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, a PDF and ZIP document viewer, push email support and Windows Media Player. Palm have enhanced the Treo Pro's interface with a number of shortcuts and enhancements to make the Windows experience a bit better.

Inside is a Qualcomm MSM7201 400MHz processor with 128 RAM and 256MB internal flash (of which 100MB is available to the user). Most users would probably want to use a memory card, and the Palm Treo Pro accepts microSDHC cards up to a maximum capacity of 32GB. The Treo pro supports quad-band GSM, GPRS and EDGE data blug tri-band 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz UMTS and 802.11 b and g WiFi (with a dedicated on/off button). Local connections can be made through Bluetooth 2.0 or a USB 2.0 cable. The Treo Pro even has a 3.5mm audio jack socket so that it can accept a standard headset.

As with a lot of Windows Mobile devices, the camera is a bit limited being only a 2 megapixel unit with no flash, although it does at least support video capture. The Palm Treo Pro also supports GPS and A-GPS, so you can use it with your favourite personal navigation application.

Although the Palm Treo Pro's display is a slightly more limited resolution than the BlackBerry Bold 9000, it is at least a touchscreen.. and at 320 x 320 pixel it is clearly better than most of the competition. Palm didn't say what size the display is, but from our measurements it is around 2.4 or 2.5 inches across the diagonal.

Weighing 133 grams (4.69 ounces) and measuring 114 x 60 x 13.5mm (4.5" x 2.4" x .53") the Palm Treo Pro is a little narrower than the BlackBerry Bold and almost the same weight. The beefy 1500 mAh battery can power the Treo Pro for up to 5 hours talktime and 10 days standby time (we don't know if there are 3G or GSM figures though).

Vodafone and O2 in Europe have agreed to carry the Treo Pro, plus Australia's Telstra network. Surprisingly, no carrier in the US has picked it up so the Treo Pro is available there unlocked and SIM free for a recommended price of around $550. Expect to see the Treo Pro in Europe from September onwards.

The Palm Treo Pro is not alone in this market segment, but it seems to be a well rounded and very attractive device which should appeal to many power users.