PalmOne Updates Treo

PalmOne announced a new version of its popular Treo smartphone. The company will ship the Treo 650 in two flavors, which will support either the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)/1xRTT (used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint in the United States) or Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)/Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) quad-band (used by AT&T Wireless, Cingular, and T-Mobile in the United States) cell phone standards. The original Treo 600 became popular because of its small size and full built-in BlackBerry-like QWERTY keyboard. New features in the Treo 650 include a high-resolution 320x320 display, a faster 312MHz Intel processor, a removable battery, an improved camera, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 support, and updated Palm OS and Bluetooth support. The only carrier to announce Treo 650 support so far is Sprint, which will offer the phone in November, starting at $599. Other carriers are expected to follow with announcements shortly.