Following widespread rumours online, palmOne finally unveils its Treo 650 - heir to the popular Treo 600 communicator and sporting several upgrades and new features.
Click here to read infoSync World's preview of the Handspring Treo 650.
For the first time since its acquisition of Handspring in 2003, palmOne has launched a new addition to its Treo portfolio of communicators. Harking back to the Treo 200 and 300 models, the Treo line first became popular with the introduction of the thumbboard-toting and more streamlined Treo 600, which is now about to be replaced by the Treo 650.
 | The Treo 650 is to succeed the popular Treo 600
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To be available as either a digital dual-band CDMA/1xRTT or a GSM/GPRS/EDGE quad-band world phone, the Treo 650 will see its pricing set by individual carriers. Carrier availability is expected to begin later this year in the United States, with a worldwide rollout to follow in 2005.
Still based on Palm OS, the Treo 650 retains many of the signature traits of the Treo 600, including its slim form factor and thumbboard, yet improvements abound. Its display, though still 16-bit, has been upgraded to a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels, whilst the unit has also gained non-volatile memory and a removable battery; integrated Bluetooth; an improved - though still 0.3 MP - camera with video capture capabilities; and for GSM users, EDGE high-speed data.
The QWERTY thumbboad of the Treo 650 has also been given a minor facelift, gaining a backlight and colouring to more easily distinguish buttons that pull double duty as a numeric keypad. Software-wise, the 650 is still based on Palm OS with its full compliment of PIM applications, but gains native support for synchronisation with Microsoft Exchange 2003 servers, an MP3 player and a combined Inbox for text and picture messaging.
Users will also be able to view, edit and create Word and Excel compatible documents on the go, as well as view PowerPoint presentations courtesy of software from DataViz.
For expansion purposes, the Treo 650 continues to offer a single MMC/SD Card expansion slot with SDIO capabilities, although at present there are few accessories for which drivers are available for even the predecessor of the 650, the 600. A major gripe for Treo 600 users, palmOne's Wi-Fi expansion card is not compatible with the Treo 600, and the company has yet to announce any plans to enable compatibility with the Treo 650.
An additional hi-res image of the palmOne Treo 650 is available on the following page.
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