Palm Delivers Treo 750 for Europe

While the Treo 700 has yet to surface in the United States for GSM networks, European customers of Vodafone are getting first access to the Treo 750, a slightly sleeker smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.0 that has no outside antenna.

The Treo 750v, specifically customized for Vodafone, will reach users in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and other regions by the end of the year. The device supports the wireless carrier's 3G UMTS network, and includes Microsoft's push e-mail technology out of the box.

Like the Treo 700w, the 750v features a Palm-specific Today screen, which includes the ability to "dial by name" and search the Web. The phone sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, integrated Bluetooth and MiniSD card slow, along with Windows Media Player 10 for multimedia playback.

"The new Treo 750v smartphone -- made available first in Europe -- on the Vodafone 3G/UMTS network is Palm's latest salvo to reach more customers in more regions with an ever-expanding line of compelling Treo smartphones," said Palm CEO Ed Colligan.

Palm is hoping carrier deals like the one with Vodafone will help it better compete with more-established rivals such as Motorola and Nokia, which have both begun rolling out business-oriented smartphones of their own. The Motorola Q, which also runs Windows Mobile 5.0, has proven a big hit among enterprise users.

Just last week, Palm posted lower-than-expected revenue in the first quarter due to lackluster sales of the Treo. Analysts point to a lack of design changes in the Treo, which appears almost identical to when it launched three years ago, as one of the reasons for slow uptake of the Treo 700.

The Treo 750 may help remedy that issue, at least slightly, but the company has yet to announce when it will bring the product to the United States. For now, it is only selling CDMA versions of the Treo 700w and 700p through Verizon and Sprint.