Palm unveils Treo smart-phones with Google Maps

Palm Inc. on Thursday introduced a version of its Treo smart-phones with Google Maps to be available in weeks in the U.S., and said it would begin a 25 million-dollar marketing campaign to expand demand for the product beyond its base of business users. The new Treo aims to meet growing demand for so-called smart-phones -- devices that receive e-mail wirelessly, let users listen to digital music and handle other features beyond talk.

Palm Chief Executive Ed Colligan said the Treo smart-phone would be a "more friendly and approachable" model, and would come in a variety of colors. He said the price would be more affordable than previous models, but declined to give specifics, since carriers would determine the final price consumers pay.

The company also announced a free download of Google Maps for the Treo smart-phones. The software is tied to Google's online service and informs users about traffic conditions in 30 U.S. cities, provides driving directions, local search results for business locations as well as satellite and aerial views.

Competition in the smart-phone market is heating up as rival Motorola Inc. started selling its "Q" in July and Nokia launched the E61 in April.

"It will be competitively priced with comparable smart-phones in the marketplace," Ed Colligan said at a press conference in New York.

He added that the marketing campaign would entail an investment of 25 million dollars between Palm and Vodafone Group Plc -- Palm's biggest marketing campaign in five years. Palm last month introduced a version of the Treo smart-phone with Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile service provider.

Source:Xinhua/Agencies