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As expected, Verizon Wireless has started offering Palm's Treo 755p this week. It took a long time for this smartphone, long available from Sprint, to finally pass Verizon's testing regimen. The 755p is Palm's highest-end Palm OS smartphone for CDMA/EV-DO carriers.

Verizon is selling on its Web site for $400 with a two-year agreement and after a $100 discount. A mail-in rebate drops the cost to $350.

As with the Treo 680 and Treo 750 for GSM operators (available from AT&T in the U.S.), the 755p loses earlier models' external antenna for an internal type. It also has a QWERTY thumb-keyboard and a high-resolution 320 x 320 pixel resolution touch display.

The smartphone is 3G-enabled through support for CDMA operators' EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized network) cellular-wireless networks. This high-speed technology carries content - video, e-mail, pictures, etc. - at average rates of 400 to 700 kilobits per second.

Specifications for the 755p include a 312 MHz XScale processor, 128MB of non-volatile RAM (60 MB user available), a miniSD memory card slot for up to 4 GB of additional storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera for picture and video, a 1600mAh Li-Ion battery, and Bluetooth.

You may use the 755p as a modem for a laptop to connect to the Internet or enterprise through a wireless Bluetooth or wired USB connection. e.

The 755p is Palm's first Palm OS Treo to offer built-in e-mail support for Microsoft's Direct Push technology through the device's VersaMail application.

Google Maps for directions, local searches, moveable/scalable maps, satellite imagery, and traffic updates is built right into the 755p's ROM.

Palm also bundles its unique threaded SMS/MMS application, which allows you to view messages in a single chat view. Surf the Web through the Netfront browser from ACCESS, and read/edit native Microsoft Office and PDF files through DataViz's Documents To Go Version 8.

Verizon offers voice control software with the 755p.