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The wireless industry anticipated tomorrow would be a significant day for Cingular Wireless, as the largest mobile operator in the United States was to become the first carrier to ship the GSM edition of palmOne's Treo 650 smartphone, and the second operator (after Sprint) to offer the new Treo worldwide, period.

Well, it appears Cingular Wireless, which delayed its Treo 650 launch a couple of times, won't be first after all. Raining on the company's parade is Vodafone New Zealand and a number of distributors in the Chinese province of Hong Kong.

The Kiwi carrier rolled out the GSM/GPRS/EDGE quad-band smartphone in that country today. New Zealanders must pay a premium for the Treo 650, however, as Vodafone is selling it for the princely sum of NZD$1,299 (roughly $920) sans service agreement.

Honk Kong residents—who found out they would be getting Research In Motion's innovative BlackBerry 7100g only yesterday—woke up to the news this morning that they could finally buy the Treo 650 too.

The people of Honk Kong recieve a better deal on the handset than Kiwis, as the Treo 650 sells there for HK$5,480 (around $700) without service. It is available from 3, CSL, SmarTone and SUNDAY, plus chain stores and retail establishments.