Handspring Unveils Next-Gen Treo

NEW YORK -- Handspring is introducing here its next-generation Treo, the first hybrid phone and personal digital assistant to use the latest version of the Palm operating system.

The Treo 600 series, announced on the opening day of the CeBIT America trade show, also represents a dramatic design departure from previous versions of the critically acclaimed and popular handheld. Instead of a flip-up gray clamshell, a Treo 600 has the design of a silvery candy bar. It is, however, noticeably wider than most contemporary cell phones of this style, in order to accommodate the integrated QWERTY thumb keyboard.

Combo Specs

Expected to ship this fall in both CDMA and GSM/GPRS versions, the Treo 600 is based on version 5 of the Palm OS and uses one of the powerful ARM processors (one of Texas Instruments' OMAP chips) that the OS supports. A built-in camera can capture 640-by-480 resolution images.

Handspring says the Treo 600's keyboard is more ergonomic than those on earlier Treos. Users can assign keys to launch not just programs but specific program functions (such as opening a designated spreadsheet). Treo 600 devices will also feature a new version of the Blazer browser, which Handspring says will support more Web formats.

Carriers Will Sell

Carriers determine the cell phone's pricing, but a Treo 600 should cost no more than the current top-of-the-line Treo 300 does today, says Brian Jaquet, a Handspring spokesperson. That model is priced at $500 on Sprint's Web site.

Sprint will offer the CDMA version of the Treo 600 and the European carrier Orange will market a GSM/GPRS version, Jaquet says. Handspring is also discussing distribution arrangements with other carriers.

The Treo 600 should represent a strong competitor to Samsung's I600, which Sprint is expected to release shortly.

The I600 is a clamshell that has no keyboard, allowing it to be much narrower than the Treo. When flipped shut, the I600 is significantly shorter, although a bit thicker. However, the I600 is based on version 4 of the Palm operating system, uses a much less powerful processor than the Treo 600, and lacks the SD expansion slot present on most newer Palms. So far, Samsung has not announced plans for a GSM/GPRS version of the I600.