Press Release

Palm Reveals Treo 700p Smartphone, Blending Broadbandlike Speeds with World-class Palm OS Usability
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2006--
First Palm OS Based Treo Smartphone on EvDO Offers Faster
Connection Speeds, Dial-up Networking, Rich Multimedia and More Memory
Demonstrating its commitment to providing mobile professionals
with a choice of smartphone operating systems, Palm, Inc.
(Nasdaq:PALM) today announced the Palm(R) Treo(TM) 700p smartphone,
which includes hardware and software innovations centered around
usability, connectivity, multimedia and compatibility. As the first
Palm OS(R) CDMA-based Treo smartphone to offer the broadbandlike
speeds(1) of the EvDO (Evolution Data Optimized) network(2), the Treo
700p smartphone helps customers better balance their personal and
professional lives by combining an easy-to-use mobile phone with
high-speed wireless data access to web, email, business and multimedia
applications.(3)
Pricing and availability for the Palm Treo 700p smartphone will be
announced later by Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
"The release of this Palm OS based product on the latest
high-speed network technology is music to the ears of our dedicated
installed base of Palm OS customers and clear validation that we
intend to continue to focus on multiple platforms for our solutions,"
said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc.
"This flagship product - the second new smartphone Palm will introduce
this calendar year -- offers our world-class usability combined with a
smarter phone, wireless email, built-in browser, and rich media
capabilities - all at blazing speeds on the EvDO network."
As the newest member of the Treo family, the Treo 700p smartphone
combines the award-winning hardware design of the Treo 700w smartphone
with Palm's innovative software that has shipped on approximately 3
million Palm OS based Treo smartphones worldwide. Palm differentiates
this smartphone from others in the Treo line by offering the following
features along with many additional enhancements:
First Palm OS Based Treo Smartphone on EvDO
Adding a fast data connection to the already efficient Palm OS
platform speeds email, messaging and large attachment downloads, and
dramatically enhances web browsing. The speed of EvDO also allows for
an enjoyable experience when streaming multimedia content, and the
Treo 700p smartphone ships with Palm's first built-in streaming
application. The Treo 700p streams mobile content, such as live TV,
movie clips and audio from radio stations, as well as training videos
or company communications.
"Palm continues to deliver powerful and easy-to-use smartphones to
the market, and we are pleased to be a part of the new Treo 700p
smartphone with Palm OS," said Toru Arakawa, chief executive officer,
ACCESS Co., Ltd. "We believe the Palm Powered Treo smartphone,
together with the wide variety of applications available from our
developer community, provide a powerful mobile-computing experience."
First Treo Smartphone with Built-in Dial-up Networking (DUN)
Capabilities
Treo 700p smartphone users can take advantage of broadbandlike
EvDO download speeds on their laptop computers by using the new
smartphone as a wireless modem via USB or Bluetooth(R) wireless
technology. This functionality may eliminate the need to purchase
Wi-Fi or other connectivity services at coffee shops, airports and
hotels. For the first time on any Treo product, this capability is
available out of the box. Individual carriers will set pricing for
appropriate data plans.
Supercharged Multimedia
In addition to the new streaming application, the Treo 700p
smartphone now includes a 1.3-megapixel camera and camcorder, offering
four times the resolution of a VGA camera. To help Palm customers
organize and share their photos, the new product makes it
significantly easier to create and manage photo and video albums. Once
albums are created, Treo 700p smartphone customers can use the
slideshow application to add music, audio captions and transitions.
The Treo 700p includes Pocket Tunes from NormSoft, Inc. for
playing music files. The new application, with an easy-to-use
Palm-customized user interface, offers customers more options for
sorting music and making play lists. With an upgrade to Pocket Tunes
Deluxe, Treo 700p customers can play content from all music stores
that use Microsoft's PlaysForSure/Janus technology.
Additional Memory
The Palm OS based Treo 700p smartphone includes 128MB of memory
(60MB user available). By using SD memory cards, currently available
with 2GB of storage (sold separately), in addition to the 60MB of
dedicated user storage, users have plenty of room to download and
carry important documents and multimedia content.
Other Treo 700p Features and Benefits
-- Superior phone functionality, including personalized ring
tones for various categories of callers and the ability to
ignore a call with text messaging;
-- New voice-memo application, which can be used to create custom
ring tones, add voice annotations to photos or simply record a
memo;
-- Enhanced email and messaging, including better Microsoft
Exchange Server 2003 ActiveSync support, which now includes
contact sync in addition to email and calendar, as well as
threaded SMS/MMS messages in a single chat view and
out-of-the-box support for Yahoo!, AOL, and Gmail;
-- Smarter, faster web browsing using a new and improved version
of the award-winning Blazer browser;
-- Full PDF support using DataViz(R) Documents To Go(R) Version
8.0, which also offers native support for Microsoft Word,
Excel and PowerPoint; and
-- The fast, friendly and familiar Palm OS platform, Version
5.4.9.
In-box Treo 700p Smartphone Applications
A CD in the Treo 700p smartphone box includes extra applications
-- some free, others for a fee -- such as VoiceSignal, for users who
want voice dialing, and Avvenu, for those who want access to their
home- or work-computer files while on the go. A secure VPN software
client is provided by anthaVPN. Anyone with downtime could appreciate
games from Handmark (Solitaire) and Astraware (Bejeweled), while those
with a commute may find Palm Traffic to be a useful application. For
book-lovers, the CD also includes Palm eReader as well as software
from Audible Inc. for listening to audio books.
New applications for the Palm OS platform continue to be developed
and improved. Two recent additions include scanR, which cleans photos
of whiteboards and documents and delivers the results as a PDF file,
and Lower Mars' Mobile Golf Pro, which uses the Treo 700p smartphone's
streaming application and the Blazer web browser to stream videos of
golf lessons and tips. On the enterprise front, Good Technology has
enhanced GoodLink's push-email experience and security capabilities.
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., a leader in mobile computing, strives to put the power
of computing in people's hands so they can access and share their most
important information. The company's products for consumers, mobile
professionals and businesses include Palm(R) Treo(TM) smartphones,
Palm handheld computers, and Palm LifeDrive(TM) mobile managers, as
well as software, services and accessories.
Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller
and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm
Retail Stores and Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).
More information about Palm, Inc. is available at
http://www.palm.com.
(1) "Broadbandlike speeds" refers to download only.
(2) Within EvDO data wireless service coverage area only. Actual
data speeds vary based on network capacity and application design.
Backward-compatible with 1xRTT and IS95 networks.
(3) Within wireless coverage area only. Email and web require data
services from a mobile service provider at an additional cost. VPN may
also be required. Outlook email requires Microsoft Exchange Server
2003.
Broadcast Video and Other Palm Materials
Broadcast video and other materials are available online from
Palm's Multimedia Library (www.palm.com/MultimediaLibrary). Press can
register at the site, which is hosted by The NewsMarket
(www.TheNewsMarket.com), a web-based news and video archive, to browse
and preview an extensive content library and order footage directly
from their desktops. Registration and ordering on the site is free.
Palm, Palm OS, LifeDrive and Treo are among the trademarks or
registered trademarks owned by or licensed to Palm, Inc. All other
brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to
identify products or services of, their respective owners.
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5148224
CONTACT: Palm, Inc.
Jim Christensen, 408-617-7455
jim.christensen@palm.com
or
A&R Partners for Palm, Inc.
Jennifer Stryd-Donahue, 760-918-1667
jdonahue@arpartners.com
SOURCE: Palm, Inc.
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