Officially announced in the Summer of 2008, and expected to come to the US in the Fall, the Treo Pro was supposed to raise Palm's suffering margins as it crawled through the end of the year. The device's release was pushed back all the way to the point of inopportunity: after the Pre's unveiling.

Now, the Treo Pro just looks like a Centro update that showed up for the party after everybody has gone home. In the company's third quarter earnings call this week, Palm put the delay of the Treo Pro up there with the economic crisis in terms of severe detriments to the company's bottom line. Today, it has finally been announced, and it will be available through Sprint on March 15.

The Treo Pro will cost $199.99 with a two year Sprint subscription and associated rebates, or can be bought directly through Palm's site. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone uses Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network, and also supports 802.11b/g and GPS.