Palm and Sprint will officially announce the widely-rumored Treo 700wx on Sept. 5th. The 700wx is expected to be available immediately for purchase to both business and general consumer users. In fact, many TreoCentral members have already purchased theirs from local Sprint stores. Retail price will be US$649.99 before rebates, US$499.99 after available discounts and rebates.

Running Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition, the 700wx features several improvements over the Verizon-only Treo 700w. Chief among them is more SDRAM for running programs - 64mb total and approximately 57mb available for all programs. Additionally, the 700wx is able to act as a tethered USB modem out of the box - allowing laptops to use the 700wx's near-broadband speed EvDO network for data access.

The 700wx has the identical form-factor as the previous Treos in the 700 series, and will therefore use the same replaceable battery and sync connector. Additionally. accessories compatible with the 700p and 700w will work with the 700wx.

TreoCentral has been using the 700wx for the past couple of days and we're excited to bring you a first look at the features and functionality of the 700wx. Read on for specifications, my own thoughts on the device, a short video showing off the 700wx's capabilities, and a small photo gallery of 700wx images.

Specifications

Here are the specs on the 700wx, my comments in italics:

• Wireless: CDMA 800/1900 MHz digital dual-band EvDO and 1xRTT - providing speeds of up to 400kbps to 600kbps
• Phone features: Personal speakerphone, hands-free headset jack, microphone mute option, TTY/TDD compatibility, 3-way calling - during a call, there are now on-screen soft-buttons for mute and speakerphone
• Memory: 128MB/60MB nonvolatile memory available to user - program memory now whopping 57.45mb when no programs are running
• Processor: Intel XScaleTM312MHz
• Expansion: MultiMediaCard/SD/SDIO card slot - supports Palm's WiFi card out of the box
• Battery: Removable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, 5 hours talk-time, more than 300 hours standby
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition - Palm's customizations for the 700w have also been applied the 700wx
• Camera: 1.3 megapixel with 2x digital zoom and video capture support, automatic light balance
• Size/weight: 4.4" x 2.3" x 0.9" (111 mm x 58 mm x 22.5 mm) 6.4 ounces (180 g)
• Communications: Bluetooth 1.2 wireless technology, Infrared (IR) - voice-command over bluetooth will still not work, but Sprint PCS's own "voice command" service is supported
• Display: 240x240 color touchscreen with support for 65,536 colors
• Keyboard: Built-in backlit QWERTY keyboard, plus 5-way navigator

What's included in the box:

Palm Treo 700wx smart device, rechargeable battery, AC travel charger, stereo headset, stylus, USB ActiveSync cable, User documentation, Getting Started CD

Included software:

ActiveSync 4.2, Bubble Breaker, Calculator, Camera, Cubis, File Explorer, Goodlink, Internet Explorer Mobile, Messaging, Microsoft Office Mobile suite, Microsoft Outlook Mobile, Phone, Pictures and Video, Picsel PDF Viewer, Pocket MSN, Quick Tour, Search, Solitaire, Sounds Manager, Terminal Services Client, Voice Command, Windows Media Player 10

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