Palm Experience Delivered With Push Email, 3G/UMTS Speeds

Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced the availability of the new Palm(R) Treo(TM) 750v smartphone in Malaysia on the Celcom network, bringing for the first time to Malaysia the hallmark Palm experience on Microsoft(R) Windows Mobile(R) 5.0 over a wireless 3G/UMTS network. The new Treo 750v will be available next month through Celcom, Vodafone’s network partner in Malaysia.

“Businesses and users can now look forward to the hallmark Palm experience on the robust Windows Mobile platform favored by many businesses,” said Paul Blinkhorn, vice president for Palm Asia Pacific. “The new Treo 750v smartphone brings to customers choice and further expands the market and demand for smartphones in Malaysia and in the region.”

The new Treo 750v will allow Palm to target business users with push email platforms such as Microsoft’s Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP), which includes Direct Push Technology and enhanced security features free out of the box.(1) This business-ready solution addresses the need for a robust push-email platform that can be deployed easily by small businesses to global enterprises.

The Treo 750v combines the hallmark Palm experience of a multifeatured mobile phone with email, messaging, web browsing and organization software all in a new compact design. Unique to the Treo smartphone on Windows Mobile 5.0 is a suite of software enhancements developed by Palm that underscores its brand promise of fast access, ease of use and simplicity. Examples include the following:

– Today Screen enhancements, which feature the ability to “dial by name” with a few keystrokes on the keyboard, perform a web search directly from the Today Screen and perform one-touch dialing with personalized photo speed dials;

– Ability to manage a call directly from the Today Screen and stay on top of voicemail with on-screen, VCR-like icons, such as rewind, delete and fast-forward controls, for easy navigation;

– Ability to ignore a call and quickly compose a text message, such as “In a meeting” or “Can’t talk”; and

– Dedicated messaging application for SMS/MMS that is organized in a “chat thread” so users can reference prior messages and use emoticons for a personal touch.

“At Celcom, we are dedicated to delivering comprehensive mobile solutions that meet the communications needs of all Malaysians,” said Azwan Khan Osman Khan, senior vice president of Corporate Strategy and Development, Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad. “The Treo 750v is ideal for business and high-end consumers, combining ease of use with push email and personal information. With Celcom’s superior domestic coverage and Vodafone’s unmatched global footprint, our customers will be in a virtual office while on the go.”

“Mobile users in Asia are among the most advanced users in the world. They want an enhanced mobility experience that is tailored to their lifestyle that goes beyond voice, text messaging and email. They want to be able to organize themselves by managing their calendars and contacts, work, listen to music, watch videos and do much more with a single device,” said Jason Lim, regional director, Asia Pacific and Japan, Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, Microsoft Corp. “Building on the power and flexibility of Windows Mobile, Palm’s innovative design and user experience and Celcom’s fast 3G network, the Palm Treo 750v delivers a winning solution for sophisticated professionals seeking to enhance their digital lifestyle.”

Treo 750v Features and Benefits

– Powerful Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 with Palm enhancements;

– Integrated SMS/MMS with chat view and dedicated inbox;

– Mobile access to multiple business and personal email accounts;

– Compatibility with 3G/UMTS networks for fast data access;

– 1.3-megapixel digital camera that also captures video;

– Built-in Bluetooth wireless technology enhanced to support Bluetooth enabled stereo headsets;

– Touch screen, which makes surfing websites, gathering data and navigating forms and applications much easier;

– Mini-SD expansion slot; and

– 240×240 transflective (TFT) touch screen.

Alcatel (Paris:CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced that it has been selected by Telekom Malaysia (TM) as the prime supplier of Celcom Berhad, a wholly-owned company of TM and Malaysia’s premier mobile communications provider, for its 3G/UMTS wireless network. This contract, valued at Euro 70 million, reinforces Alcatel’s position as CELCOM’s leading partner for advanced network solutions.

Upon completion of the project, Celcom will be able to offer customers across the Malaysian peninsula, as well as Sabah and Sarawak islands, a whole array of innovative high-bandwidth services for multimedia mobile communications such as live streaming mobile TV channels.

Under the agreement, Alcatel delivers 3G/UMTS radio access network infrastructure and high-performance digital microwave links to carry the traffic of enhanced mobile data services, enabling Celcom to complete the next phase of its national 3G deployment program.

Based on the EvoliumВ® platform, Alcatel’s broadband wireless access solutions will offer Celcom high throughput on the move, low latency, end-to-end QoS, affordability, efficient backhauling and maximum site reuse. Thanks to its built-in software modularity, the Alcatel EvoliumВ® radio access solution will allow a simplified software activation of HSDPA, through reuse the Alcatel hardware equipment already deployed in Celcom’s 3G/UMTS network.

“Celcom joins CamGSM (Cambodia) as the second Asia Pacific service provider, in less than three months, to select Alcatel for implementation of its 3G/UMTS network,” said FrГ©dГ©ric Rose, President of Alcatel Asia Pacific. “Celcom and CamGSM represent a growing number of Asia Pacific service providers in High Growth Economies that are evolving towards 3G and looking to Alcatel for an efficient software-upgradeable solution.”

Leveraging its natively multi-standard design, the Alcatel EvoliumВ® multi-standard radio access solution enables the seamless coexistence of GSM/EDGE and 3G capabilities in the same radio equipment. Furthermore, thanks to its built-in software modularity, the solution will subsequently allow a smooth software-based introduction of HSDPA and HSUPA when the local market requires these functionalities, thus enabling a future-safe and cost-effective path for the operator.

The Alcatel 9400 AWY family is a new generation of digital PDH, low and medium capacity, point-to-point microwave links, which is part of one of the most comprehensive and competitive mobile network backhauling solution of the market. With multiple interfaces – PDH, SDH and Ethernet – the Alcatel solution enables a future-safe and cost-effective path for the operator.

Also selected are the Alcatel 7670 Edge Services Extender (ESE) and 5620 Network Manager (NM) which will provide high density aggregation and switching of 3G ATM circuits for the EvoliumВ® radio access solution to also further reduce cost.

Nokia and Visa have teamed up to provide credit card users in Malaysia a chance to buy items using mobile phones.

Using Visa’s Wave readers, a system that deducts a payment from a credit card when an NFC (Near-Field Communication) mobile is pressed against it, the companies will test out the service in Kuala Lumpar where 200 users will try the technology. Only Nokia’s 3220 supports the Visa Wave service.

The four-month trial could be a precursor to a full commercial rollout, the companies said.

NFC has yet to catch on in Europe where it is only available as a commercial service in Hanau, Germany where it is used to pay for bus journeys.

In Japan NTT DoCoMo uses its own credit card brand, iD, which allows consumers to pay for goods with their so-called ‘wallet phones’.