With its modern look, Treo Pro is now the sleekest device from Palm. Mobility Mind says it’s “arguably the best-looking Treo smartphone so far.”

But it’s powered by Windows Mobile 6.1, so Palm OS fans would have to settle with Centro or wait some more. Also, the Treo Pro primarily targets corporate users. It is “for businesses that want to simplify their IT infrastructures and lower costs,” according to the official press release.

Its unique features include built-in WiFI and GPS, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, and MicroUSB™ 2.0 for synchronization and charging.

For complete details, read the full press release from the Palm website:

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today introduced Treo(TM) Pro, an effortlessly usable smartphone for businesses that want to simplify their IT infrastructures and lower costs, and for users who want to stay on top of their professional and personal lives. With its streamlined design and Palm(R) shortcuts layered on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Treo Pro is a unique combination of sleek simplicity and robust productivity — including email, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities(1) — that meets the needs of businesses and end users alike. Treo Pro, which will be available from Vodafone and O2 in Europe(2) and from Telstra in Australia, also will be available in an unlocked version in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.

“Businesses want the control and savings that Windows Mobile affords, in an innovative and elegant package that keeps their users happy. That’s where Palm comes in,” said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer, Palm, Inc. “Everything about Treo Pro — from the hardware design to the packaging and accessories — embodies the elegant and simplified end-to-end experience that our customers expect from Palm.”

The Treo Pro smartphone lets IT managers support an increasingly mobile work force with the ease of use and robust feature set business professionals demand. Besides the benefits of lower costs and increased productivity, Treo Pro can deliver the increased security, easier device management and access to information on the corporate network that Windows Mobile 6.1 provides.

Users can quickly respond to business and personal email, access the web, stay on top of appointments and contacts, and use Wi-Fi or GPS on the go.(1) Treo Pro’s thin design blends a flush, high-resolution color touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard with a removable battery that packs up to five hours of talk time and enough strength for the business user’s needs, offering a powerful yet effortless mobile experience.

“I’m really happy with Treo Pro — it’s a technology leap from a device design and capability standpoint, enhancing Palm’s presence in the Windows Mobile realm,” said Wasif Malik, senior systems consultant, Student Educational Services & Mobile Solutions, Ohio State University Medical Center. “It’s cleverly designed for Windows Mobile, with a large touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and all the productivity applications for Windows Mobile 6 in a much thinner design.”

Palm Experience on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

The Treo Pro smartphone, based on the popular Windows Mobile platform, helps optimize business processes by effortlessly mobilizing users with enhancements to the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform, including:

– One-touch Wi-Fi button — Easy, fast Wi-Fi connection experience (802.11b/g).(1)

– Today screen enhancements — Web search directly from the Today screen.

– Ringer switch — Silences the device immediately.

– Screen saver — Lets users know at a glance — without turning on the device — what time it is and whether they’ve missed a call or have a new SMS/MMS message.

– New voicemail indicator — The center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting.(3)

– Dedicated email and calendar buttons — Fast one-button access.

“Windows Mobile is delivering mobile solutions that help businesses address the changing competitive landscape,” said Andrew Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business. “The Treo Pro smartphone brings together a powerful combination of Palm’s feature innovations and Windows Mobile 6.1, providing access to the information people need when away from the office.”

Lower Costs, Increased Productivity

With Treo Pro, businesses can quickly and easily deploy a secure, low-cost and compatible infrastructure for their mobile workforce by taking advantage of a tightly integrated Palm and Windows Mobile 6.1 solution, including:

– Microsoft Direct Push Technology(4) — Direct connection to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007 gives users up-to-date email, contacts and calendars.

– Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 — With the deployment of Mobile Device Manager, the Treo Pro can deliver increased security, easier smartphone management, and access to information on the corporate network. IT professionals can confidently manage large Treo Pro deployments.

– Thousands of applications available for Windows Mobile — Businesses can extend mobility beyond email to optimize business processes.

– World phone — With high-speed UMTS/HSDPA network capabilities(5), Treo Pro is a sleek world phone that’s ideal for companies with an international work force.

– Integrated GPS — Users can access maps, turn-by-turn directions and point-of-interest (POI) searches.(1)

– Support and training — Palm shortcuts make Treo Pro so easy to use, businesses can spend less on training and support for their users. End-to-end enterprise support means companies can expand the scope of their mobile deployments without putting a strain on internal support personnel.

– Familiar Windows experience — Users can browse the web with built-in Internet Explorer Mobile; open, view, and edit Word and Excel compatible files; review PowerPoint presentations and PDF files; and open ZIP files remotely.

Pricing and Availability

Treo Pro will be available in September in Europe(2) through Vodafone (from free to EUR 399 with contract) and O2 (pricing is available from O2 direct sales and online business stores), and in Australia through Telstra (from free with contract). It will be available in the United States in the fall through the Palm online store (http://www.palm.com/store) as well as select Internet, retail and enterprise resellers for a suggested retail price of $549. The U.S. version is unlocked and unsubsidized, giving end users the flexibility to simply insert their existing active SIM card and immediately start using their Treo Pro without a new contract.

Detailed regional pricing is available from local resellers and distributors. Additional Treo Pro availability is scheduled to follow worldwide.

The Treo Pro smartphone comes with an international power charger, microUSB cable and a stereo headset (3.5mm). Other accessories designed exclusively for Treo Pro (sold separately) include a vehicle power charger, leather side case, travel microUSB cable, cradle, extra battery, TTY audio adapter, and replacement styli.

More information about the Treo Pro smartphone is available at www.palm.com/TreoPro

Palm has unveiled a new mobile device, the Treo Pro smartphone. The new phone features a one-touch Wi-Fi button, GPS, Windows Mobile 6.1 and a high-resolution flush color touch screen.

Am still looking for more details as the official press release seems to have been pulled out.

“Who said Palm is dying? Who said mobile users are not interested in Palm’s smartphones anymore? If it so, then why all the fuzz of this Treo Pro?” he added.

It would have been best if this new and high tech offering from Palm was Palm OS-powered. But still, here are Treo Pro’s reported features:

• 400Mhz CPU , but snappy response
• 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM
• Expansion card supports up to 32GB
• 320×320 screen
• WCDMA/EDGE/HSDPA
• WiFi
• GPS
• 2 MP camera
• microUSB connector
• 3.5mm earphone connector
• 1500mah battery
• Bundled apps: Adobe Reader LE, Windows Messenger, Java (Esmertec), Internet Proxy, Telenav, Streaming Media, Sprite backup

If the above specs are true, Treo Pro will be the second Palm device to have integrated WiFi, next only to Treo 800w.

How was this latest “leak” from Palm discovered? According to PalmInfoCenter, WMExperts member scottymomo “poked around Palm’s Learning site and found a[n] unposed flash tutorial of the unannounced new Treo.” In his/her WMExperts post, scottymomo attached some pictures — including the one posted with this entry.

Later, in TreoCentral, a certain nomad2000 posted more pictures and device specs. (Nomad2000 also posted this info at the Chinese forum Treo8.com). Scottymomo then posted additional features and screenshots of the Treo Pro at TreoCentral.

Treo Pro was appears to be the same product earlier called Treo 850 and Palm Drucker.

PalmAddict Asia Editor Andy J. S. wrote this development explains why Palm has reportedly placed orders of up to 5 million units of new different mobile phones to manufacturer Compal Comm: “So these whole shebangs are actually a solid news we can hope to become into a reality.”

Post-paid subscribers could get the iPhone, which Globe will start offering on August 22 of this year, for a lower price. Subscribers to a P4,999 per month plan will get the 8GB unit for free.

Read the Globe press release and the iPhone 3G plans page for more details.

Reports and reactions from other bloggers:

• Tonyo Cruz: Whoa! Globe to sell iPhone 3G for P41,899!
• McBilly: Globe iPhone 3G Philippine Pricing
• YugaTech: Phone 3G Price and August 22 Globe release

eReader, which describes itself as “The World’s Largest eBookstore,” is my favorite ebookstore. I bought my soft copy of “The Google Story” there. It also offers free downloads of the eReader software, which smartphone users may use to read ebooks on their Palm OS, Symbian, WinMobile,  Apple and other mobile devices.

“The newsletter says eReader offers 25% discount, but my computation — if I remember my Math correctly — reveals that the price cut is actually around 34%. Here is the list of old and new prices:

• Twilight (Twilight Series Book 1) from $10.99 to $8.21
• New Moon (Twilight Series Book 2) from $10.99 to $8.21
• Eclipse (Twilight Series Book 3) from $19.99 to $14.93 (34% off)
• Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga Book 4) from $22.99 to $17.17 (34% off)

A spokeswoman for Meyer said that in less than three years, the first three books in the series sold 6.5 million copies in the United States alone. According to a New York Times report, “Breaking Dawn,” the fourth and final installment, sold 1.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale.

NYT columnist Gail Collins read the first two novels and tried to search for the key to the series’ success. “The attraction is clearly the vampire hero, who is a perfect entleman, eternally faithful and — as the author points out repeatedly — quite a hunk,” she writes.  She then lifts some description of the vampire: “He lay perfectly still in the grass, his shirt open over his sculpted, incandescent chest, his scintillating arms bare … A perfect statue, carved in some unknown stone, smooth like marble, glittering like crystal.”

Like Harry Potter — whose story captivated millions of children and adults in the world with its last book selling 8.3 million copies on the first day — the Twilight books encourages young people to read. Collins notes: “Before you make fun of this, I want you to seriously consider whether you’re interested in denigrating people who spend their leisure time actually reading books rather than watching ‘America’s Got Talent’”.

In its review of the first book in the series, Amazon.com writes that “the precision and delicacy of Meyer’s writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of [young adult] fiction.”

Read the first chapter of the first book on NYT.

Written by Patrick Ames and published by Peachpit Press, the full-color book which is currently priced at $17.99 (around Php 783) promises tips, tutorials, and techniques not disclosed in the PDF manuals.

“Now You Know Centro is meant to be fast and simple, allowing you to practice on your handheld while you read. You’ll learn about the wireless capabilities, e-mail, media and streaming media, accessories, productivity, and more. In minutes, you can watch your skills improve and use what you learn immediately,” the book’s description says.

It adds that the book “is designed for immediate gratification, not for hour-long reads, the exact way you use your smartphone.”

PalmInfocenter’s article has info on similar books for other Palm devices.

“It seems like just yesterday that someone purchased the one-millionth Centro, and now we’ve sold two million of them,” the blog entry said.

On March 31 — or almost four months ago — Palm said Centro sales reached one million.

Reporting on the announcement on the sale of the two millionth Centro, PalmInfocenter (check out its new Twitter account!) added this info: “The Centro is on store shelves in more than 25 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific.” (I wonder how many were sold in the Philippines.)

PalmInfocenter also noted that based on the latest Mobile Metrics report of Admob, the Centro is June’s No. 7 device worldwide, up from eight in May. This means that among all mobile phones worldwide that accessed mobile sites serving Admob ads in June, the Centro ranked seventh.

By the way, the Philippines remained on the sixth place with only 2.5% of all Admob requests originating from mobile phones here.

(Image from Palm.com)

I still prefer the white one; it complements the white Asus Eee that I’d like to buy if and when I earn enough money.

Here’s the announcement that Palm issued last July 15:

It’s time to get connected and get the party started with the Palm®CentroTM, now available in black onyx and glacier white.

Get in touch with your friends and organize your social life in a breeze through email, text, voice, web and more. The full keyboard and touchscreen functionality gives an added ease to your needs.

What’s more, you can capture the moment in a snap and move to the music, all in the Palm of your hand. Don’t miss out on the action!

Meet up and live it up with the Palm Centro.

This latest Treo, however, is of no use to Philippine-based users as it runs on a CDMA network, which is not used here, and is exclusive only to subscribers of Sprint, a United States telephone company.

Its features include:

• integrated GPS
• one-touch Wi-Fi
• the latest version of Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• fast mobile broadband speeds on Sprint’s EvDO Rev A network

Among the good reviews posted on Palm’s official blog say the Treo 800w is “the best Treo ever” and “the most productive Windows Mobile Pro device”.

What: Bloggers’ briefing on poll automation

When: July 19, Saturday, 1:00pm - 3:30pm

Where: Comelec Automated Electoral System Information Office, ground floor, Palacio del Gobernador Bldg. Intramuros, Manila (near Manila Cathedral)

The Commission on Elections will give a special briefing on poll automation to 20+ bloggers on July 19.

Comelec and its technology suppliers will conduct actual trainings on the usage of electronic voting machines and automated counting machines. Video presentations and tutorials will also be shown. The voting machines will be used in the ARMM elections next month.

The briefing will also be an opportunity to hear the feedback of voters and bloggers about the poll automation program of Comelec.

Program

1:00 Opening remarks - Mr. James Jimenez, Comelec Spokesperson

1:05 Comelec presentation

2:40 Reaction from Bloggers’ Kapihan

2:45 Open Forum

Due to limited seat, we urge the interested participants to send an email to mongpalatino[at]gmail[dot]com.