Palm and Orange have announced the Palm Treo 680 smartphone, running on the Palm OS(R) platform. The Treo 680 smartphone is ideal for the professional consumer who wants a more advanced phone experience on a single device, including access to email, web browsing, messaging and a range of features that are easy to use.

"Orange is pleased to bring the new Palm OS Treo smartphone to its customers in Switzerland," said Sebastian Petit, product manager, Orange. "The Treo 680 empowers users with a mobile connection to their email, calendar and contacts, as well as web browsing, messaging, multimedia, and more. We believe the Treo 680 smartphone, combined with the Orange Business Mail offering, will serve our customers' needs and help expand our customer base."

The Palm Treo 680 smartphone is easy to use because of the multiple innovations it encompasses, including the following:

-- A new internal antenna enables a sleeker design;

-- An improved phone application on the Treo 680 allows users to dial faster;

-- The ability to ignore calls with a quick text message lets users tell a caller "I'm in a meeting" or "Can't talk now";

-- The large, bright color screen is perfect for viewing email, documents or spreadsheets via DataViz Documents To Go(R), and even photos and movies;

-- The highly regarded built-in QWERTY keyboard has improved buttons, making it even easier to type emails or SMS messages;

-- The messaging application displays text-messaging conversations as "threaded chats," similar to IM, so users can see their entire conversation with a particular person; and

-- The Treo 680 also can be used as an MP3 player and has an integrated digital camera with video-capture support and video player, with simpler organization for photos and photo slideshows.

"Bringing the Treo 680 to Orange customers in Switzerland is the latest step in growing our Treo customer base geographically and demographically," said Roy Bedlow, vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Palm, Inc. "With its affordability, ease of use and style, the Treo 680 announced today with Orange is bringing Treo smartphones to the attention of new customers and markets."