Treo Pro is a nice phone, but the software could be better

— -- Consider the new $549 Treo Pro smartphone I've been testing. The business-focused device is Palm's latest attempt to lure customers wooed by Apple's iPhone, Research In Motion's BlackBerry and others.

There's no knocking the thin and attractive new Treo Pro hardware — it's the best-looking Treo to date. I can't say the same for Microsoft's cranky and not overly intuitive Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional software, which Palm tweaked with its own shortcuts.

In making its pitch, Palm hopes the techies in your company's IT department will appreciate Treo Pro's enterprise-grade security. And, of course, it can more than handle other business functions, notably "push" e-mail from your employer's Microsoft Exchange servers. Mobile versions of Microsoft Office are onboard.

Treo Pro has other things going for it, including Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth stereo and MMS, or multimedia messaging service. I've been impressed by its generous battery life and voice quality, even on calls from Germany to the USA. GPS worked well with applications such as Google Maps and TeleNav (you get a free trial). Here's more:

•Design. The Treo Pro experience starts with handsome packaging, something out of Apple's playbook. The phone was designed by former Apple executive Jon Rubinstein, a key iPod creator and now a bigwig at Palm. The Treo Pro is black, but its spirit is apparently "green." It comes with a postage-paid mailing label to recycle an older mobile phone, whether from Palm or other manufacturers.

An installation CD for Microsoft ActiveSync software is no longer supplied. You just connect the Treo via USB cable to your computer to install the program and synchronize contacts, calendar entries and so on. The USB also charges the device.

With its smooth casing, the Treo Pro certainly feels like it means business. Keys on the traditional qwerty keyboard are tightly spaced but usable, at least with my average-size fingers.