Fresh from the release of the Treo 700w, Palm has announced a collaboration with Vodafone, a European mobile service provider, and specified that the new Treo will run on Windows Mobile.

The announcement offers very little detail, aside from stating that the unit will use Vodafone's UMTS network, and will be initially released to the service provider's European customers. Even the release date is vague; "before the end of the calendar year."

Given the promised release date, I don't think this is Palm's next-generation smartphone, despite the company's declarations. It could simply be a modified 700w, which configured for the CDMA network. It's a good sign that Palm is trying to enter the European smartphone market, as they're doing well in the US. But does the choice to depend on Windows Mobile for this venture mark the end of the Palm OS' development?

What do you think?