Danny Bowman, vice president of customer equipment for Sprint, noted in a statement that the CDMA smartphone offers features such as Mobile Voice Control, a new IM application, and built-in Sprint TV for mobile entertainment and news.

While Palm is positioning the device as a "next generation" smartphone, Charles Golvin, an analyst with technology research firm Forrester, said the newest member of the Palm family is only "an incremental step." But with its support for Direct Push e-mail, he noted, "it's also a step toward better integration with the Exchange environment, for both users and I.T. managers."

'Oblivious to the Razr Factor'

Gartner analyst Todd Kort agreed that the 755p offers some modest improvements, especially on the software side. "But what disappoints me," he said, "is the hardware ."

Kort noted that the new device weighs about 160 grams, which is only about 8 grams lighter than the Treo 600, released several years ago. "Engineers at Palm seem to be totally oblivious to the Razr factor," he said, referring to the sleek and thin Motorola phone.

He also pointed out that the new Treo does not have built-in Wi-Fi. While the 755p could handle enough bandwidth for, say, a videoclip, he said that Wi-Fi is useful in airports and other closed environments where it is offered for free. "A lot of the time," he noted, "the CDMA signal is degraded once you're inside a building."

Kort noted that Palm "has had a pretty good quarter as far as the Treo goes," with about 870,000 units shipped in first quarter of this year, making it the highest total so far. "But the smartphone market is growing more quickly than the Treo is going, and it's not as cool or fashionable as it used to be. They're leaving themselves open to competition."

Inside the Treo Features

Available in either midnight blue or burgundy, the 755p also sports an integrated antenna and a MiniSD slot. MiniSD memory cards up to 4 GB can be used, and there is already 128 MB of built-in memory, of which 60 MB is available to the user.

The new Treo offers Sprint TV, with more than 50 channels of live and on-demand content for mobile, including CNN, ESPN, and other networks. The 755p has support for the high-speed EVDO to accommodate streaming content and large file downloads.

Using USB or Bluetooth, and with the appropriate service plan, the device can be used as a modem for a laptop. With its voice-memo application, users can record a quick audio memo or add voiceovers to photos. The 1.3-megapixel camera can captures still images and video, and there is a built-in application to organize photos.

The model will be available by the middle of this month, starting at $279 with discounts.