Handspring unveils PDA/Phone combo

Handspring has unveiled two new combination phone and PDAs, called Treo, to go on sale early next year.

The monochrome-screen Treo 180 includes a phone, with speed dial, three-way calling and call history features, as well as an organiser, SMS messaging, web access, a keyboard and 16Mb memory.

Other features include integrating address books to make calls and send SMS messages, and a service where all email sent to a user's PC is forwarded to their Treo.

Expect the Treo 180 to be priced around $399 in the US. UK pricing is not available, but will likely be over £300.

Following early next summer will be the Treo 270, which adds a colour screen to the 180. It is expected to be priced at around $599.

Handspring is hoping to beat rival handheld maker Palm to market. Last month, Palm postponed the launch of its phone/PDA combination unit, the i705.

It faces competition from units based on Microsoft's PocketPC, but which are larger in size than Handspring's palm-sized model.

Already, Mitsubishi and France's Sagem sell Phone/PDAs, and a host of other firms including Toshiba, Samsung and BT's O2 unit are set to release their version next year.

Mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia are also beginning to release units with added functionality, although Nokia's 5510 is aimed at the leisure market, rather than the business user.

Handspring had 14 per cent of the handheld market in the first half of 2001, according to IDC, but just 11 per cent in the three months to June, according to Gartner Dataquest.