14 DAY TRIAL // Palm's much discussed Treo Pro handset is finally available for purchase. Alltel has managed to come to the market with its version of the device, outpacing Sprint with about 10 days. As many of you might already know, Sprint announced recently that the mobile phone would be added to its offering on March 15, while Alltel already has it on sale.
It is rather interesting to see how Alltel managed to beat Sprint in releasing the first CDMA Treo Pro in the United States, especially given the fact that the device went on sale a day before the announced launch date. In addition, we also learn that the mobile phone will become available via the Palm Store and Palm's B2B sales organization starting with March 16.
When it comes to pricing, the two carriers seem to have the phone with the same price tag. The Palm Treo Pro is available on Alltel for $199.99 after an online discount, mail-in rebate and the signing of a contract agreement with the carrier. If you're interested in purchasing the handset free of contract, you'll have to pay $519.99 for it. Sprint also has the device for $199.99 with a two-year subscriber agreement (with an Everything plan with data or a $30 per month or higher data add-on).
It’s a common fact that Treo Pro comes with Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, while also offering all the features and capabilities of a smartphone, including GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity and the full QWERTY keyboard. Hopefully, Sprint will be able to launch the device on March 15, just as it has recently announced, and we'll not see another delay, the way it happened a few times before. Especially since the carrier also prepares for the launch of another Palm handset, Pre, which should land sometime in June.