Palm Treo Pro Available For Pre-Order – Only $549

Ouch, yeah, in a world full of $199 iPhones, the Palm Treo Pro is $549. Though that does include a free international power adapter and free shipping. Yay? Don’t get me wrong, I think the Treo Pro is a very nice phone, and if any Windows Mobile phone were to sway me to the dark side it would probably be this one. I might even seriously consider paying $549 for it over an iPhone, since a physical keyboard is a big deal to me. (I’m not going to buy either of those – the Android phones are due soon.)

Why so much more than the iPhone? Well, the iPhone is only that cheap because it is sold with a subsidy lock tying it to AT&T, and they make up the money on the back end with the contract. The Palm Treo Pro has not been picked up by a carrier in the US, so it is only available unlocked – so it is usable on any GSM network. Just pop in your SIM and go.

It is a very nice smartphone. Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional running on a 400MHz CPU with 128MB RAM and 256MB storage (100MB user accessible). 320×320 screen, HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM – tri-band UMTS and quad-band GSM, 802.11b/g with WPA/WPA2, GPS, BlueTooth 2.0+EDR, 2MP camera, microSDHC slot (up to 32GB), a real 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-USB connector, and a real QWERTY keyboard.

It is really aimed at high end business users, a more powerful alternative to the Blackberry. (And no having to decide between GPS and WiFi!) But not being available with a contract for a cheaper price is probably going to really hurt sales.

About MegaZone

MegaZone is the Editor of Gizmo Lovers and the chief contributor. He's been online since 1989 and active in several generations of 'social media' - mailing lists, USENet groups, web forums, and since 2003, blogging.    MegaZone has a presence on several social platforms: Google+ / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / LiveJournal / Web.    You can also follow Gizmo Lovers on other sites: Blog / Google+ / Facebook / Twitter.
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