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On the heels of the launch of the first third-generation voice and data network in the United States, handheld maker Handspring Monday released the latest version of its Treo combination phone-PDA that supports the wireless high-speed network.

The Treo Communicator 300 is being made available from Handspring and Sprint PCS Group, based in Overland Park, Kansas, which last week launched its high-speed CDMA 2000 network capable of sending voice and data to wireless devices at speeds equivalent to a 56-kbps modem connection.

"It represents another step in our strategy of reorienting a large part of our business around the wireless space," says David Weilmuenster, director of business development at Handspring, in Mountain View, California. "We believe, in the handheld category, that this particular [wireless] segment is by far the best opportunity for growth."

The previous versions of the Treo, including the Treo 180 and the more recent Treo 270 color version, are based on the GSM wireless telecommunications technology. Few new features have been added to the latest hardware release, other than its ability to support CDMA 2000 technology, Weilmuenster says.

Handier Handheld

The Treo 300 runs a customized version 3.5 of the Palm OS that includes features specific to Handspring devices. The Treo 300 includes 16MB of memory and a 33-MHz processor. It features a Web browser, e-mail, and text-messaging software, as well as basic organizer functions, with an added feature for dialing a number directly from the device's phone book. The device also has a built-in keyboard and a color screen.

The Treo 300 carries a price tag of $500 and is available through Sprint PCS sales channels as well as on Handspring's Web site, Handspring said. Pricing for phone and data service on Sprint's network will range from $45 to $120 a month, depending on the number of voice minutes and the level of data transmission a user wants, according to Sprint.

Handspring is one of the first hardware makers to release a device equipped for Sprint's new 3G network. Other devices that are expected to become available in the coming months include mobile phones from Sanyo Electric and Samsung Electronics, a Sprint-branded digital camera that can e-mail pictures directly from the device, and wireless cards for PCs and laptop computers.

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