Yesterday, Sprint Nextel finally confirmed a series of rumors and said it will launch the Palm Treo Pro on March 15. The company that owns and operates the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States said the new device will sell in retail stores as well as online for $199.99.
As you probably guessed, the price includes rebates and has a two-year contract attached to it and an Everything Plan with data. The Palm Treo Pro will also be available for purchase through Palm Inc. starting March 16.
Palm has been selling the unlocked version of the Palm Treo for the past six months for $549.
The announcement regarding Palm Treo Pro’s release was made just one day after Sprint Nextel execs issued a preliminary earnings statement that basically said the revenue drop in the third quarter was caused in part by the later-than-expected shipments of the Treo Pro. The company officials also said they expect that Sprint’s revenue for the quarter will be somewhere between $85 million and $90 million, significantly lower that last year.
Now let’s talk a bit about the Treo Pro. The device is the first Palm that runs the Windows Mobile 6.1. The Palm Treo is also EV-DO Rev. A and Wi-Fi capable. It has integrated GPS and real-time turn-by-turn directions thanks to Sprint Navigation. The Treo Pro is 4.4 inches high by 2.3 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep and has 4.7 ounces. It has a 2.5-inch, 320x320-pixel resolution touch screen, a QWERTY keyboard that resembles the Palm Centrino, Bluetooth, and a 2-megapixel camera.
