Guinness World Record set on a Treo 650 smartphone

More than 129 years after the first telephone call was made, technology has revolutionised the way we communicate with one another, from the telephone to email and SMS. To celebrate the UK launch of the Treo™ 650 smartphone from palmOne, Inc., former World Text Champion Arttu Harkki has exchanged his mobile phone for a palmOne™ smartphone, to type the fastest-ever email on the move using a QWERTY keyboard.

Arttu Harkki of Finland set the Guinness World Record for texting in 2001. Today, he used the Treo 650’s full QWERTY keypad to complete the message in just 2 minutes 22.9 seconds. In keeping with the theme of communications, Arttu typed a fitting email:

“The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell (UK), who filed his patent for the telephone on 14 February 1876 at the New York Patent Office, USA. The first intelligible call occurred in March 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, when Bell phoned his assistant in a nearby room and said 'Come here Watson, I want you.'"

Hein Le Roux, official adjudicator from Guinness World Records, said, “There are a lot of phones that incorporate QWERTY keyboards, and we need to make sure that the record is standard across all models. For this reason, we asked Arttu Harkki to type using just the thumb of one hand."

Leading telecoms analysts forecast that 40% of people with a business mobile phone will use mobile email by 2008 (source: Analysys Research, 2003). The Treo 650 makes this forecast a reality, by making mobile email a simple solution for everyone, from large corporations to those with individual POP3 accounts. In addition to this, the Treo 650 incorporates a quad band phone with full SMS capabilities, web access and enough memory to host a wealth of applications from GPS to multilingual dictionaries.(1)

François Bornibus, vice president for palmOne EMEA, said, “The new Treo 650 allows users to quickly and easily set up their email. Many ISP settings are pre-programmed on the phone – which means you can be up and running in minutes, making mobile email easily accessible."

Treo 650 smartphone expanded features/benefits

The latest member of the Treo family builds on the award-winning design of the Treo 600 with various improved features:

• New vibrant, easy-to-read 320 x 320 display;
• New non-volatile memory keeps information safely intact, even if the device loses its charge;
• New removable battery for the times when you need to carry extra power;
• New integrated Bluetooth(R) technology for communicating with compatible headsets, car kits, computers and printers equipped with Bluetooth technology;
• New improved camera for better low-light shots, with video-capture capabilities;
• New improved QWERTY backlit keyboard and new design for easier typing;
• For GSM, capability to access EDGE based networks, which deliver incredibly fast data speeds(2);
• Support for direct corporate email access to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 using palmOne’s VersaMail(R) email software;
• MP3 player(3); and
• Single inbox for text and picture messaging.

More information on the Treo 650 smartphone can be found at www.palmOne.com/Treo650.