Globe eyes bigger share of smartphone market

Ayala-owned Globe Telecom is aiming to capture a larger share of the still largely-untapped market for PDA (personal digital assistant) phones in the Philippines with the introduction of the Palm Treo 680, targeting new users in the rapidly growing smart phone market.

According to market research firm In-Stat, the PDA-phone is estimated to account for 25 percent of all wireless handsets worldwide by 2011.

Research conducted by Palm suggests that a substantial population of users avoid purchasing PDA-phones, fearing they are too expensive and too difficult to use. Globe said the Treo 680 will offer an affordable and simple way to get started and stay connected.

The PDA-phone is easy to use, slim and compact, yet packed full of features beyond its stellar phone capability, such as email, web browsing, messaging, multimedia, calendar, contacts and more.

"Globe is proud to be the first operator in the Philippines to bring the Treo 680 smartphone, with its award-winning operating system and ease of use, to its individual and corporate subscribers," according to Jesus Romero, head of Globe’s enterprise business group.

He added: "The Treo 680 is the right step toward helping our corporate subscribers move to a richer and more full-featured mobile experience that helps them work efficiently while on the move. This is the kind of innovation that Globe is committed to bring to the wireless voice and data market."

The Treo 680 has a recommended retail price of P24,000 and is available at all Globe Telecom business centers and hubs in the Philippines. Globe’s corporate customers can get the Treo 680 free under Plan 1800, while corporate individuals can get the Treo 680 free under Plan 2500.

"The Treo 680 smartphone is reaching new customers and markets, exemplifying Palm’s dedication to expanding both geographically and demographically," said John Hartnett, Palm’s senior vice president for global markets.

Small, sleek and fast, the Treo 680 will attract a broader range of users who want an easy-to-use solution to manage and balance their work and personal lives while on-the-go.

It has an internal antenna and slim form factor, making the device small and sleek. It has a full, easy-type keyboard, perfect for writing text messages and emails, and an optimal 320x320 vibrant color screen for viewing web pages, photos, media and more.

It also has a unique phone user interface that further simplifies Treo innovations, such as the ability to respond to calls with a preset text message and add new phone numbers to existing contact information, and three-way calling.

The Treo 680 also has integrated email and web capabilities, so users can stay in touch with colleagues and friends. The messaging application on the Treo 680 displays text-messaging conversations as threaded chats so users can see their entire conversation with a particular person.

It can also be used as an MP3 player and has an integrated digital camera with video-capture support and video player.