Palm met with us near the CTIA wireless conference in San Francisco to discuss the company's newest initiative with Microsoft. Palm is supporting and integrating Microsoft's new "System Center Mobile Device Manager" platform.

According to Palm, the new Treo features will be available in 2008. The announcement of the platform was made during Microsoft's keynote CTIA address. System Center Mobile Device Manager provides enterprises with enhanced security and remote control of employee devices, and provides employees with improved remote access to corporate data.

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Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 23, 2007 -- Palm, Inc. today announced that it will make the Palm Treo 750 smartphone compatible with Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, delivering increased security and easier phone management, as well as access to information on the corporate network. IT professionals will be able to confidently manage large Treo 750 deployments with features such as policy enforcement, inventory and reporting, and software targeting.

Mobile Device Manager is a comprehensive management solution that enables efficient control of Windows Mobile phones, such as the Treo 750 smartphone, by providing reliable, low-cost consistent manageability within a company's existing Microsoft infrastructure.

"Increasingly, businesses turn to smartphones to provide tools to enhance their mobile productivity - whether it's accessing contacts, calendars or line of business applications," said Pieter Knook, senior vice president of Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft Corp. "Palm's support for System Center Mobile Device Manager will help IT departments make the most of their Microsoft mobile investments in three strategic areas: security management, Windows Mobile phone management and access to information."

The Treo 750 smartphone combines the Palm experience of a multifunction mobile phone with email, messaging, web browsing, organization software and a robust application portfolio. It's also a five-band world phone running Windows Mobile with Direct Push Technology for Exchange email, calendar, contacts, and tasks. The Treo 750 smartphone, running on the AT&T next-generation 3G network, features Palm's exclusive usability improvements, such as threaded chat for text messaging, Today Screen enhancements and improved voicemail controls.

Mobile Device Manager builds on the core set of security and management features available on the Treo 750 smartphone and brings advanced capabilities for Windows Mobile to the System Center family of IT management solutions, including the following:

• A Mobile VPN that provides security-enhanced access to corporate data (for example, intranet, line-of-business applications) behind the firewall, so users can get to more of the information they need while away from their desks;
• Security-management features, such as support for Active Directory, for expanded protection of sensitive corporate information and policies for more control; and
• A single device-management solution for Windows Mobile for easily distributing software and managing phones.

"The Treo 750 smartphone is a powerful combination of Microsoft's robust mobile operating system and Palm's hallmark ease of use," said John Hartnett, senior vice president, Global Markets and Windows Business Unit, Palm, Inc. "Adding compatibility with System Center Mobile Device Manager makes it easy to manage thousands of devices throughout a company and enables a competitive total cost of ownership. The Treo 750 blends seamlessly with a company's growing infrastructure, and IT professionals gain the tools they need for improved manageability, device security and access to business-critical information."

Availability

The Palm Treo 750 smartphone will support Mobile Device Manager through an update starting in the second half of calendar 2008.

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Full press release on Palm.com