Sprint Adds Treo With Rev. A

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 7/21/2008

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS — Sprint Nextel launched its first PDA phone equipped with both Windows Mobile 6.1 OS and CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev. A high-speed cellular-data technology.

The Palm Treo 800w, which replaces Palm's Treo 700wx, sells for $249 through all Sprint distribution channels after rebates with a two-year service contract that must include unlimited-data usage, the carrier said.

Both the Treo 700wx and new Treo 800w feature touchscreen and hard QWERTY keyboard, but the 800w adds Wi-Fi, Rev. A, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS vs. Windows Mobile 5 Professional, a 2-megapixel camera with video capture compared to VGA digital-still camera, GPS receiver, integrated antenna instead of extended-stub antenna, and stereo Bluetooth instead of mono Bluetooth.

To date, the only other Rev. A-equipped PDA phone from Sprint is the Wi-Fi-equipped HTC Mogul, but its Rev. A capability is available only as a software upgrade after purchase. In another difference, it features Windows Mobile 6 Professional OS. The 800w, on the other hand, is Sprint's first PDA-phone or smartphone that ships with both Rev. A and Windows Mobile 6.1 out of the box.

The Treo 800w is only the second phone from Sprint with a Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, the carrier added. The other is the EV-DO-equipped Motorola Q9c, which is actually sold with Windows Mobile 6.0 out of the box but has 6.1 available as a software upgrade. In another difference, the Q9c uses the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard (smartphone) OS, which does not support touchscreens.