Enterprise Support Programs – Including a Two-Year Limited Warranty – Available for Unlocked Treo Pro
Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that the unlocked Treo™ Pro smartphone is now available in the United States. With its unmatched blend of Palm’s ease-of-use innovations, Windows Mobile 6.1, and enterprise support in a sleek new design, Treo Pro is a world phone built end-to-end for the global enterprise. It allows businesses to simplify their IT infrastructures while lowering costs and keeping their users productive and happy.
Treo Pro balances simplicity and productivity — including email, Wi-Fi, GPS, web and UMTS/HSDPA network capabilities1 — to meet the needs of businesses and end users alike. Its thin design blends a flush, high-resolution color touch screen, one-touch buttons and a full QWERTY keyboard. The removable battery packs up to five hours of talk time and enough strength for the business user’s needs, offering a powerful yet effortless mobile experience.
Treo Pro is unlocked, giving end users the flexibility to simply insert their existing active SIM card and immediately start using their Treo Pro anywhere there is GSM coverage, without a new contract.2 Worldwide travelers using the Treo Pro can cut costs on international roaming charges by popping in a local country SIM card wherever they go.3
Because Treo Pro runs Windows Mobile 6.1, it is compatible with System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, which Microsoft launched earlier this year. Adding value to mobile enterprise solutions, Mobile Device Manager allows IT professionals to manage Windows Mobile phones similarly to how they manage PCs and laptops.
“More than 33 million Converged Mobile Devices [CMDs] will ship in the U.S. in 2012, representing a growth of 37 percent, and we expect Windows Mobile device shipments to grow by nearly 48 percent in the U.S.,” said Sean Ryan, Research Analyst, with the Mobile Enterprise practice at IDC. “Businesses want tools that enable their mobile workers to be highly responsive to customers and make better decisions. Rapid innovation around capabilities, connectivity, and performance is making converged devices increasingly attractive to enterprises looking to give their mobile workers an edge.”
Treo Pro Support and Service
An enterprise product deserves enterprise-caliber support. Total cost of ownership is critical to Palm’s business customers, and IT hardware cycles often exceed typical 12-month consumer warranties. Palm therefore is offering a 24-month limited warranty for qualifying business customers who deploy Treo Pro within their organizations. Should their smartphone require repair, customers can feel confident that they are protected from unforeseen costs and that Palm-authorized technicians will repair it or replace it with genuine Palm parts. The 24-month limited warranty lets companies extend the life of their investment, lowering the total cost of ownership and removing the burden from IT in the second year.
There are also a variety of support programs available for business customers, designed to be scalable to customers’ needs and budgets. Palm’s support services help businesses plan, deploy and support their mobile workforces, whether that means simply augmenting current capabilities with specialized support services or completely outsourcing the management of mobile solutions.
“For Treo Pro, we’re approaching support with our heaviest users in mind,” said John Moses, vice president of Customer Relations at Palm, Inc. “These international business customers often have the highest expectations and need assistance on important setup tasks, like safely migrating valuable calendar and contact data, configuring multiple email accounts and installing productivity software. We’re here to ensure that their first moments with Treo Pro and their overall support experience exemplify Palm ease of use.”
More information about Palm enterprise support is available at http://www.palm.com/enterprisesupport.
Pricing and Availability
Treo Pro is now available for a suggested retail price of $549 through the Palm online store (http://www.palm.com/store). Treo Pro, along with partner-provided services and support, also is available from Palm’s extensive reseller network of Internet, retail and corporate resellers, including CDW, Dell, PC Connection, PC Mall and Enterprise Mobile.
The Treo Pro smartphone comes with a power charger, microUSB cable and a stereo headset (3.5mm). Other accessories designed exclusively for Treo Pro (sold separately) include a vehicle power charger, leather side case, travel microUSB cable, cradle, extra battery, TTY audio adapter, and replacement styli.
More information about the Treo Pro smartphone is available at www.palm.com/TreoPro.
Treo Pro Supporting Customer Quotes
Ohio State University Medical Center:
< !-quote-!>quote:“Offering Treo Pro as an unlocked device is a very good business move on Palm’s part,” said Wasif Malik, senior systems consultant, Student Educational Services & Mobile Solutions, Ohio State University Medical Center. “A phone is a personal statement, and people want the flexibility to use it where they want without contract requirements and pricey roaming charges. Selling unlocked phones has been a very popular business model in Europe and globally this has been the trend.”< !-/quote-!>
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream:
< !-quote-!>quote:“Palm did a really nice job getting Treo Pro to the right size,” said Mike Corby, director of Business Excellence, Sales and Distribution at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream. “It’s significantly thinner, yet the keyboard is still easy to use. The design is very intuitive, so there’s no steep learning curve, and the screen brightness is the best I’ve seen — especially outside. People who see me using it keep asking me about it — they love the look of it.< !-/quote-!>
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company’s products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm Treo™ and Centro™ smartphones and Palm handheld computers, 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 online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).
1 Within wireless coverage area only. Wi-Fi within range of 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network. Some Wi-Fi hotspots require fee for usage. Email, web, and GPS require an account and data services at additional cost. GPS application not available from all carriers. Third-party software may be required. GPS coverage not available in all areas at all times. More than 860 GSM networks provide coverage in 220 regions worldwide. Within UMTS/HSDPA data coverage area only. Actual data speeds vary based on network capacity and application design. Requires data services at additional cost.
2 Users should refer to their existing contract for any possible restrictions.
3 Within GSM/UMTS data coverage areas only.
Palm, Treo and Centro 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.
