Unlike earlier Treos, the Treo 600 features a five-way navigation system (up, down, left, right, center) similar to what Palm has been using with its products of late. The navigation system is tightly integrated with the integrated software on the device, making it easy to move within and between applications using one hand. The QWERTY keyboard is also tied closely to the software to make it usable for more than data entry. For example, phone numbers, applications and even specific application functions (such as looking up a specific web page or addressing an email) can be assigned to any of 26 different keys for instant one-touch execution.

"In product design, making things smaller often makes the product better because it forces designers to break through old design ideas. Treo 600 truly is a breakthrough for smartphones," said Jeff Hawkins, chairman and chief product officer for Handspring. "Our team was very creative in shrinking the product to an impressively small size, while at the same time making it more powerful and easier to use. As a phone and a data device, Treo 600 delivers the best of both worlds."

Additional features include a new proxyless version of the Handspring Blazer web browser to enable full web browsing and secure access to corporate intranets with better frames and JavaScript support, a built-in VGA (640 x 480 pixel) camera for taking and sending pictures and setting up picture caller ID, and a dual speaker architecture for phone and system audio. A dual-band CDMA radio and a quad-band GSM/GPRS radio will power respective versions of the product.

Handspring said it is working with carriers and business partners to prepare email, SMS, and MMS solutions that will be customized for specific channels and announced in more detail this summer. In the coming weeks, Handspring plans to offer free developer tools for companies to build additional software and hardware expansion solutions. The Treo 600 should be offered to customers from carriers for around $400 to $500.