Palm launches Windows Treo in Europe

Palm now claims to have 75 per cent of its business in the smartphone market

Palm has launched its first Windows Mobile handheld device in Europe after partnering with Microsoft and Vodafone.

The device marks Palm's first specific European launch and will be available in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and The Netherlands.

The company had previously released the Treo 700 in the US market running Windows software.

Palm chief executive Ed Colligan said that the firm had changed its business model, core customers and distribution to build up 75 per cent of its business in the smartphone market.

"It is easier to do your computing on a handheld device. That is our mission. We are not trying to be the world's biggest phone handset manufacturer," he said.

John Hartnett, senior vice president for global markets at Palm, added: " With everything we do we have become a smartphone company."

Palm also claimed that the market for email communication for mobile computing is still up for grabs, despite the number of BlackBerry and smartphone devices already out there.

"Only three per cent of business inboxes worldwide are currently accessed via mobile devices and that is a huge opportunity," said Hartnett.

Colligan believes that the mobile industry stands to benefit from the increased amount of services being used on smartphone devices. "When you put a Treo in someone's hands they use it, so that drives revenue," he said.

However, the Treo 700 does not come with Wi-Fi as standard. Colligan claimed that adding the technology could have created a "negative experience" because of the effect on battery life.

"You would hate to be using Wi-Fi then not be able to make a call," he said.