Handspring's Treo 600 smart phone moves closer to launch

Handspring's upcoming Treo 600 smart phone has taken a step closer to commercial launch with the device gaining approval this week from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The device, like all electronics products that emit radio waves over a certain power, must receive approval from the FCC before it can be legally used in the U.S. Thus, this is a necessary step, and usually one of the final steps, before the device goes on sale.

Two versions of the Treo 600 were approved: one compatible with the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) wireless standard, and carrying the Sprint PCS logo in an image included with the documents, and one compatible with the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) wireless standard.

The dynamic duo of smartphones had the development names Batman and Robin, according to the documents published by the FCC on its Web site.

Few technical details of the devices were included in the approval papers although Handspring last week provided some basic details. The device will be based around an Arm microprocessor and run Version 5 of Palmsource's operating system. Beneath the display, which is roughly square in shape, is a row of navigation buttons and below that is a QWERTY keyboard. The PDA also features a digital camera and SD (Secure Digital) card slot.