Palm is reaching out to business consumers with both hands. The company announced Thursday that its Palm Treo Pro smartphone will be available through Alltel Wireless. That announcement comes just one day after Palm said the device will be available through the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network on March 15.
The new device, which costs $579.99 without a plan and $199.99 with a two-year activation and $125 mail-in rebate, is geared toward enterprise customers who want quick access to e-mail, the Web, and other applications that get them through a typical work day. The phone is being made available online on Alltel’s Web site and at Alltel retail stores.
Initially, there was some confusion about Wednesday’s announcement, with some observers thinking Sprint had announced the availability of the much-anticipated Palm Pre instead of the Pro. Some rumors had said the Palm Pre would be delayed, but Palm said it’s on track, with a Webcast planned with Sprint on March 12.
The Treo Pro is thin, comes with a high-resolution color touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, and a removable battery that lasts up to five hours. It also includes Wi-Fi and GPS (with turn-by-turn directions and searches for points of interest) and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1. Palm’s Treo Pro is the company’s first smartphone that comes with Internet Explorer 6 and with options for either mobile or desktop-like browsing.
“Treo Pro is the best product for busy professionals who always need to be productive and connected so that they can take care of their work and move on to their other priorities,” said Alexander Hunter, a spokesperson for Palm.
“This is a different kind of form factor for Palm Windows Mobile devices — they are much thicker and heavier and we’ve seen devices become smaller, lighter and thinner,” said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas. “Windows…