Palm Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. today announced the Palm Treo 800w smart phone, calling it a device most suited for business users and not a direct competitor to the iPhone 3G launched Friday.

Hoping to challenge BlackBerry’s dominance with business users, the new high-end Treo mobile phone seems to be similar to the previous Treo models, but at a closer look one discovers it to be the first smart phone with the capability to access fast EV-DO Rev.

Among the Treo smart phone’s capabilities are Wi-Fi and Global Positioning System. It will be marketed for $249.99 after discounts and rebates, also being subject to a two-year contract. By contrast, that puts it above Apple's 8G iPhone 3G, which sold more than 1 million units over the weekend, at a price of $199 a piece, nearly half the price of its previous version. The iPhone also has Wi-Fi, GPS and access to AT&T Inc.'s fast 3G network.

"It's not a direct iPhone competitor and is more for business users, while the iPhone is more suited for music and video and the consumer," said representative Karen Chan.

Benefiting from a Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro operating system, which includes Outlook e-mail as well as text messaging, Treo 800w makes it possible for Microsoft Word and Excel documents to be edited.

According to Sprint its EV-DO Rev. A download speeds average 600 Kbit/sec. to 1.4Mbit/sec., while uploads average 350 Kbit/sec. to 500 Kbit/sec.

The new Palm Inc. gadget features a 320-by-320-pixel resolution touch screen, access to Sprint TV for news, weather and sports, and Sprite software for easy device backup. The removable battery allows up to 4.5 hours of talk time.

Although the 800w is list priced at $800, Spring is commercializing the phone for $249.99 with a two-year contract, after $250 in instant savings and a $100 mail-in rebate.