mm02 to Distribute Treo in Europe

mm02 Plc, the British mobile phone group, has agreed to distribute and market Handspring's Treo line of smartphones in Europe. Perhaps it's fitting that the first official announcement from a wireless service provider that it will support the Treo comes from Europe, as the first Treo models use the GSM wireless standard, which is far more prevalent there than in the U.S., Handspring's home country. No availability date was given. The two said only that they would be working together this quarter on the project.

mmO2 is one of Europe's largest mobile companies and includes BTCellnet in Britain, Viag in Germany, Telfort in the Netherlands, and Digifone in Ireland.

The Treo line itself still hasn't been released, though Handspring has promised it will be available in the U.S. this month. According to Handspring, it has already lined up an impressive collection of wireless service providers. In the U.S., this includes Cingular and VoiceStream. They also have agreements with companies in Canada. However, none of these have officially been announced.

Handspring is working on a CDMA version of the Treo, though no release date for it is available. CDMA is the most widely used wireless standard in the U.S.

Related Information:

• PIC: Treo Available Today -- Not!
• PIC: Handspring Treo 180, 180g, 270 Coming in 2002
• PIC: HandSpring Forum