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We were pretty sure that HTC was the manufacturer for the Treo Pro even before it was confirmed. Here's a little more inside baseball.

TreoProTricks has published the key sequence to enter the bootloader, which is the gateway into the bowels of the phone. When we talk about applying rom updates on an HTC device, the bootloader's where the action is. There we learn a few things:

1. The HTC codename for the Treo Pro is PANT100, presumably for "Panther." (The Treo 750 is "Cheetah.")
2. The Treo Pro is, in fact, a full-on HTC device with the Palm branding and customizations, as was the Treo 750.
3. If you can get to the bootloader, it's a huge step toward loading custom roms.

The bootloader is not a toy (he types as he shakes his finger). And you can't just load any rom onto your phone — there are a few security checkpoints in place. But once/if the folks at the various Treo hackery sites get up and running, we could see some very cool things in the Treo Pro's future.

A week ago today we posted up this story about the Dell Pharos, confirming longstanding rumors that Dell was finally going to get back into the Windows Mobile game. Then, as Malatesta and I were discussing it during the WMExperts podcast last week, yours truly did a double-take.

See that there Velocity 117 on the left? Looks a might bit like the Velocity 111 on the right that we did a brief hands-on with at CTIA, don't it? Heck, some Engadget commenters suspect that the Pharos 127 is a prettified version of the Velocity 103 (though our money is on it being a prettified Velocity 301).

Either way, it's nice to see Velocity finally get some marketing oomph and it's equally nice to see Dell find a way to jump-start it's entry back into the WinMo landscape. All that being said, these devices don't exactly project the aura of absolute power that used to come with the Axim line.

Remember how we mentioned our excitement over Microsoft's Live Mesh mobile client? It's been released (along with the Mac client).

From the Live Mesh blog:

We are delighted to release our client software for Mac OS X (10.5.1 or higher) and Windows Mobile (6.0 and 6.1). Because these are both significant new software investments for us, we’re going to only provide them on a limited basis for now (and mobile is restricted to only US or UK to start.) If you get a message saying that we’re at full capacity for these clients, keep an eye on the blog here. We’ll post updates as we increase availability over the coming months.

Catch that? It's out on a limited basis, at least at first, and only available in the U.S. (here) and U.K. (here). If you're already using Live Mesh, log in to your account and add the mobile client.

In other LM news, the WAP access, about which we've previously reported, is now an official feature. Check out the rest of the update features here.

We'll have more on the mobile client in the near future. In the meantime, check out a video after the jump from the Live Mesh team.

Update: I've got it loaded on the phone just fine. Looks like just a true client of what we've already seen from m.mesh.com. Catch is, it won't connect. And there doesn't appear to be any way to re-enter your username and password, which is bad. But I don't think that's my problem. (Patience, however, is.)

Ori Amiga: Mesh Mobile

We mentioned Motorola's relatively bad news yesterday regarding their Windows Mobile plans -- namely that they're outsourcing development of WinMo. Check this little tidbit, though. PCMag took a listen to their call on the subject during their conference call and the new CEO Sanjay Jha dropped a mention of, ahem, Windows Mobile 6.5:

“Windows Mobile 6 has not delivered the experience that I think Apple has been able to deliver, but as you look at the plan that is Windows Mobile 7 and even 6.5, I think there are significant new added features which will help the platform,” Jha said. “We have now targeted new teams which are focused – in California and Seattle – to deliver experiences. That is where we have to differentiate.”

Apparently Moto will have a 6.5 device out in the second half of 2009. We're wondering exactly what 6.5 would include. We do know that the next version of Pocket Internet Explorer, based on desktop IE5, should be getting out to phones in the next few months. What other features are you hoping we'll see before the fabled Windows Mobile 7 hits?

Thanks to Leigh at coolsmartphone for the tip!

The launch date for Sprint's HTC Touch pro has bounced around more than election poll numbers. (See here, here and here.) Case in point: Our own HobbesIsReal managed to snag one last week and posted his 24-hour impressions.

But we're happy to say that the Touch Pro now is officially officially here. It's up on Sprint's Web site and everything. That's the good news.

The bad news is that it's gonna cost you. The $579.99 list price is knocked down to $399.99 after "instant savings." And you can take another $100 off that with a mail-in rebate. But for that to kick in, you have to sign up for an "everything" plan (starting at $99 a month), a "Data Premier" add-on or "PRO Pack" add-on. That's SOP for Sprint these days, but be forewarned anyway. And by many accounts, you get your money's worth, GPS lag notwithstanding.

Look for our full-on review here in the next week or so as HobbesIsReal puts the Touch Pro through its paces.

Just a quick heads up. Microsoft fixed the problem with the Live Mesh mobile client overnight.

You'll have to download a new build of the application, which you can get at m.mesh.com/install/wm6/LiveMesh.cab from a mobile or desktop browser.

We'll have more on the mobile client and the entire Live Mesh system soon. And then we'll quit writing about it for a few days. Promise.