Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced a software update for the Palm Treo™ 700w smartphone from Verizon Wireless that will enable the Windows Mobile Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP), which includes Direct Push Technology. The free update, which is expected to be available later this month, gives Treo 700w smartphone users fast, automatic wireless updates of their email, calendar items, contacts and tasks, allowing IT managers to deliver this information directly from Exchange Server 2003 SP2 without incurring additional third-party infrastructure costs.(1)
Direct Push email increases the number of choices for enterprise customers looking to deploy secure, push mobile email solutions on the Palm Treo platform. This cost-effective solution allows businesses to increase productivity by satisfying the real-time information needs of mobile professionals, without having to spend additional IT budget on new email servers or licensing fees.
“The Treo 700w with the new Security Feature Pack and the Verizon Wireless high-speed wireless broadband network will give our business customers the enhanced mobile office experience they need to be competitive,” said Rich Meigh, Verizon Wireless vice president — device marketing. “The up-to-the-minute updates provided by this new Messaging and Security Feature Pack translate into increased employee productivity, improved customer responsiveness and faster return on investment for our business customers.”
Introduced to customers in early January, the Treo 700w smartphone is the newest member of the Palm Treo family and builds on the award-winning design of the Treo 600 and Treo 650 smartphones. It is the first Treo smartphone to take advantage of Verizon Wireless’ high-speed wireless broadband service on its EvDO (Evolution Data Optimized) network and Windows Mobile 5.0. The new smartphone delivers a unique suite of software enhancements on top of Windows Mobile, bringing the hallmark Palm ease of use to Windows Mobile for the first time.
“Direct Push Technology helps Palm Treo 700w customers stay on top of their jobs by quickly receiving and sending email and all other Microsoft Outlook information while they are on-the-go,” said Suzan DelBene, corporate vice president of marketing, Mobile and Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft Corp. “The strong integration between Palm and Microsoft is an example of our commitment to build solid partnerships, creating a thriving mobile-industry ecosystem and raising the mobile experience to great heights.”
“Enterprise CIOs have told us that the addition of MSFP to the Treo 700w is key to their wider deployment of the 700w across their companies and deep into their lines of business,” said John Hartnett, senior vice president of worldwide sales and customer relations at Palm. “We believe this high-ROI, easy-to-deploy push email and messaging solution will delight CIOs and end users alike. Our collective enterprise sales teams have hundreds of companies lined up and ready to initiate trials, which we expect will soon be under way with the availability of MSFP.”
Key Features of MSFP
- Direct Push Email Technology that enables the Treo 700w to automatically receive email, calendar, contacts and tasks wirelessly as soon as it arrives on Exchange Server 2003 SP2;
- Over-the-air lookup of a company’s Exchange Global Address List (GAL), providing employees with quick access to colleagues’ email and contact information; and
- Added security features for IT administrators, such as over-the-air device password policy enforcement and remote wipe of the device in case it is lost or stolen
Availability
The update for the Treo 700w will be available later this month on http://dts.vzw.com and http://www.palm.com as a free download and included in subsequent Treo 700w smartphones and future Treo smartphones based on Windows Mobile.
The Palm Treo 700w smartphone from Verizon Wireless is available for $399.99 after $100 instant rebate with a new two-year service agreement when accompanied by a voice plan of $39.99 or higher and an unlimited PDA/smartphone data feature. The Treo 700w is available at the 1,900 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores, Verizon Wireless Communications Stores at Circuit City, or on the web at http://www.verizonwireless.com and http://www.palm.com. Enterprise customers are encouraged to contact their Verizon Wireless Business Specialist at 800-VZW-4BIZ or http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/businesssolutions.com.
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 Treo™ smartphones, Palm handheld computers, and Palm LifeDrive™ 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.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation’s most reliable wireless network, serving 51.3 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
(1) Within wireless service coverage area only. Availability and coverage depends upon carrier and the geographic scope of roaming agreements. Email, messaging and web access requires data services from Verizon Wireless at an additional cost. Direct Push Technology requires Exchange Server 2003 upgraded to Service Pack 2 and access enabled by IT administrator.
Palm, Treo and LifeDrive 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.
