Palm, LG take different paths with new handsets

Divergent strategies for handset vendors are reflected in two launches announced today.
Palm Inc. will sell its Treo Pro device unlocked and unsubsidized through its online stores and resellers in the United States for $550, while launching it in Europe with Vodafone and O2, and in Australia with Telstra, the company said.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company has targeted enterprise users with the Pro and clearly hopes to improve its profitability with an apparently high-margin device. The device offers Wi-Fi and GPS, among other high-end features.
Palm’s Treo Pro also carries improved storage and program memory and processing power, which should help its Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system, according to analyst Pablo Perez-Fernandez at Global Crown Capital, L.L.C.
“The target demographic (for Treo Pro) is clearly corporate users looking for a messaging smartphone,” Perez-Fernandez wrote in a note to investors. “Clearly there is demand for Mobile Windows. The OS is on the rebound and we believe could hit 18-20% in global market share within two years, even as iPhone and Android emerge as serious smartphone operating systems.”
Meanwhile, Palm remains busy on its next-generation handset platform, key to its re-emergence in a crowded, competitive smartphone field.
LG arrives with mobile TV
LG Electronics Co. Ltd., in contrast, delivered a consumer-oriented TV phone to AT&T Mobility – the Invision, priced at $100 with a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. LG has climbed to second place in U.S. handset market share by delivering the devices carriers need to promote their revenue-generating services. In mobile TV’s case, that market is frustratingly nascent for those enamored of its potential.
For its part, AT&T Mobility cited the upcoming college football season as another reason why a handset offering mobile TV should attract consumers; the Invision will carry CBS Mobile, ESPN Mobile, Fox Mobile and NBC2GO. The handset also offers the carrier’s Video Share calling, via AT&T Mobility’s 3G network, and sports a 1.3 megapixel camera.