Palm on Tuesday ended speculation with the official launch of the Treo Pro. The GSM smartphone is Palm's first to support tri-band 3G over HSDPA, allowing it faster Internet speeds not only in North America and Europe but also places such as Japan and Korea. It also marks the first significant redesign of GSM Treos in years and has a new, sleeker design that incorporates a flush touchscreen and a button to quickly switch its built-in Wi-Fi on and off.

True GPS is also built-in for navigation through Google Maps, as are a switch from proprietary Palm connections on the Treo 750 to micro USB and a native 3.5mm headphone jack on the Pro. The device is Palm's second to be based on Windows Mobile 6.1 and gains access to the improved Today screen, better Internet Explorer browsing and other minor additions to the Microsoft-made OS.

Palm has yet to reveal full details for the Treo Pro, including its pricing and launch date, but is very likely to release the device through AT&T in the US and through other carriers using HSDPA worldwide.

Update: Palm has withdrawn the announcement and hints at a possible premature release, though as of press time hasn't requested that the news be pulled.