Details of Handspring's forthcoming color Treo 270 communicator have leaked on the Web, mirroring a similar incident last August when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made details of the Treo 180 available online.

The unit, code-named Atlanta but properly known as the Treo 270, is very similar to the existing models -- it runs Palm OS, has Handspring's own Blazer Web browser and a custom SMS utility. Although the Treo 270 has a colour screen, Handspring claims a longer battery life than the monochrome Treo 180: 3 hours talk time and 150 hours standby, compared to 2.5 and 60 hours respectively for the older model, from a 3.7v 850mAH Li-ion cell.

It's not known whether the Treo 270 will support GPRS. It uses a Wavecom WISMO Pac GSM/GPRS module that is capable of GPRS, but the test reports on the FCC Web site only cover GSM calls. The same cellphone unit is used on the 180, which does not support GPRS, but enabling it would be a matter of a software upgrade and could conceivably be introduced after product launch.

Last August, when details of the Treo 180 leaked on the FCC's Web site, Handspring had FCC approval changed from granted to pending so that the information made public would no longer be available.

Rumors are also circulating the Web that Handspring is readying a low-cost version of the Treo, called the Treo 90. Canadian online store Compusmart.com is listing the device at US$459. According to Compusmart.com's listing, the Treo 90, which is expected to be available at the end of May, will come with 16MB of RAM, a 12-bit colour TFT screen and an SD memory slot.

Handspring said its expects to launch the Treo 270 in Australia sometime in the middle of this year.