Bilingual

Mobile computing specialist Palm last week announced the Chinese-language version of its Treo 650 smartphone. Priced at $5,480, the updated handset allows users to switch between Chinese and its native English interface. It comes with the widely used CJKOS character display and handwriting input system which supports both traditional and simplified Chinese characters. The Treo 650 combines a compact, quad-band mobile phone design with e-mail, organiser, messaging, Bluetooth connectivity and Web access functions. But a quick survey of mobile operators CSL, SmarTone-Vodafone and Hutchison Group's 3 found that the Treo 650 has been out of stock in Hong Kong for weeks. Interested buyers can try to find available units at local retail shops and Palm's online store (www.palm.com/store).