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First Treo for sale on eBay


Mon Dec 10, 2001 - 2:00 PM EST - By Marcus Adolfsson

Handspring today announced that the first Treo to be offered for sale is up for bid on eBay. This event kicks off a larger charity initiative by eBay and the Consumer Electronics Association called "Bids to Help Kids," which will feature donated consumer electronics items for bid on eBay, including three additional Handspring Treo communicators. Proceeds will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nation's largest youth mentoring program. Handspring Treo is currently not sold anywhere and will be widely available early next year.

The Handspring Treo up for bid on eBay is a Treo 180 with a built-in QWERTY keyboard and will come with a certificate of authenticity. The Treo 180 series is the first in a new line of communicator products from Handspring that combines a mobile phone, wireless data applications like email, short messaging and Internet browsing, and a Palm OS organizer into one compact device. The ten-day auction begins today and ends on December 20, 2001. The Treo 180 is listed on eBay at http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/cescharity2002.

"Since we announced the Treo communicator, we've been very encouraged by the interest it has received from business professionals and consumers," said Karen Sipprell, vice president of corporate marketing for Handspring. "We're proud to offer the very first of what we believe is the most innovative handheld product since the original Palm Pilot as part of eBay's charity effort to raise visibility and money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America."

"We really appreciate the generosity of Handspring. It is innovative technology leaders like Handspring that help make eBay the most vibrant marketplace for technology products," said John Herr, vice president of technology and entertainment for eBay. "Their donation of the first Treo communicator will help make 'Bids to Help Kids' a great charity effort."

The "Bids to Help Kids" auction will continue with the offering of other charity items at www.ebay.com/ces, beginning December 30, 2001 and lasting until January 11, 2002. ReturnBuy, Inc. is donating auction management services for the "Bids to Help Kids"" charity event.

Last year, during the 2000 holiday season, Handspring sold the first VisorPhone and one-millionth Visor on eBay. The sale raised $4,500 for Special Olympics Northern California.