Officially Announcing the Treo 500v Smartphone in EMEA

As you have read yesterday (or the day before that or even the day before that), Palm is announcing the Treo 500 smartphone, which is initially available to Vodafone customers throughout EMEA (officially official). Here is a link that contains product details and a list of countries the Treo 500v will be available in.

Product specs and benfits include:

·       Windows Mobile® 6 Standard software

·       Full qwerty keyboard

·       3G/UMTS network

·       Automatic delivery of Hotmail/MSN, Yahoo!, and Gmail, email as it arrives

·       Microsoft® Direct Push technology for delivery of Outlook® email

·       Access to Google Maps and eBay

·       Vodafone live! for news, sports, and entertainment on the go

·       Windows Media® Player Mobile for music and videos

·       2.0 megapixel camera captures video too

·      150MB of memory, expandable with microSD expansion card

Below is another image of the Treo 500v - notice the colors (our personal favorite is the "charcoal grey").

Also, Andrew Carton of Treonauts has wrriten an overview of the announcement in Europe.

-Treo 500v Team

Comments

[Bill Taroli]

Thank you, Palm! I appreciate that you're being more proactive about communicating with us... even if we won't benefit from this in the states just yet. ;)

[Ricky]

Please, please...look at RIM, why they can design a full qwerty keyboard device so beauty, but why you (Palm) still using Treo600/650 form factor?

Do spend time on WM6, Palm WM device don't have any advantage when compare with HTC.

[Terry Dai]

I have already had no expectation on Palm. You have already had a good Palm system but still rely on Window OS. And such specification are so common in the other WM6 PDA phone.

[Stuart Guthrie]

Looks great!!! I hope it comes in a Palm OS version eventually :-)

While the new Treo 500v looks nice, the Treo product line running Palm OS does not. Hopefully you will soon take action to appease Palm's most important support base, namely those using Palm OS platform handhelds. Treo 680 is a good product, but could be better, and could have some alternatives.

And while you're at it, please never make the mistake of removing touchscreen from Palm OS handhelds. Not only are there a lot of us users who much rather use Graffiti than the tiny keypads, there is also a plethora of software which need to utilize the stylus.

Just think: There is a dictionary software for Palm OS which recognises handwritten Chinese characters and then provides the English translations. Now when will iPhone (not to mention Windows Mobile or Palm OS without digitizer) ever be able to do that!

[Luis Lobo Borobia]

Does this include Wifi?

[R_K]

Unfortunately, the page behind the link does not provide any additional information about the product.

[Marcello Anselmi Tamburini]

Dear Palm, I'm very sorrowed because of this new device was a great waiting for me. I'm waiting for re-entering in the Palm World, but this is not the way, sorry.

Can I wait some true palm-device?

[Benoit HERVIER]

Do you want to leave the pda and smartphone market ?

[OS]

Thanks a lot palm! Perfect device!
It will definitely bring Palm to where it wanted to be!

Wish you all good luck in killing your company!

[MaSa]

Great phone! Love it.

I'm now looking forward for the PalmOS version. :o)

[Ondrej Burda]

Hi Palm,
good but not enaught. Please add wi-fi, 320x320 touch screen, GPS and give us option to get WM6 or Palm OS and i (not only me) will go for it.
Not sure how this will work. If you take a look into the vodafone offer in europe.
I get HTC Artemis (P3300) from vodafone in Europe and not for bad price. Let's see what will be final price. Should be good for my wife.
But need to say good for:
+ Design
+ Mini USB integration
+ at least 2 MPX camera.
+ Finaly something new

Best Regards
Ondrej Burda
Long time Palm fan and user but currently on WM due to your "progress" in inovation.

[Patrick]

Guys - honestly, this is... It's just stupid. I'm sorry. I love my 700wx. I think Palm came out of the gate and made the best, U.S. Released, Windows Mobile device to date. I still think it's the best. The problem is that there is a ton of Windows Mobile Standard devices that have this form factor that offer things the 500 does not - like WiFi.

I honestly don't mind the look of the device. It looks snazzy... I wouldn't mind having one, IF it ran WinMo Professional.

Nice try though. I'm sure it will have it's WinMo Standard fans but without integrated WiFi like every current WinMo Standard phone, it probably won't sell much.

You should also release the specs of screen size and resolution. Thankfully, it looks like a 320x240 device but some confirmation would be nice.

[Hamilton]

So when when are we, US consumers, are going to see a new, not slightly enhanced, product?

[bob]

I'm getting closer & closer to dumping Palm. I have supported your company for years by purchasing your product. I have a 700p with 1.10. I am a very patient person but, . . . I like my 700p but if you don't provide an adequate fix soon, you will lose me.
You keep bringing out "new & improved" products but all I see is palm trying to keep up with the Jones'. What happened to the company that wanted to make a stable usable product? If you do that then they will come.

[Luigi D. sandon]

After the Foleo, another useless device from Palm. While the Treos deperately lags behind the competitors that offer WiFi, GPS and more, what current users get is a low-end device that IMHO has no chances. All Treo users I know are people looking for high-end devices - the people this device is targeted to will get devices from Nokia, Samsung and Apple, they don't even know what a Palm Treo is.
My advice: fire your planning guys, they don't know what your market needs.

[Michal Illich]

And when will come Palm OS version with 320x320 display and touchscreen?

[Ken]

How is this different from a Tytn?

Except that it doesn't have Wi-Fi.

Also, anyone want to buy my old 700p. It works except for the stuff that doesn't.

[Patrick Terry]

To me this seems like an entry level Treo, since it has Windows Mobile® 6 Standard.

Will there be a high end Treo coming out. We all heard rumors about a Treo 800, is this 500 what the rumors are about? I need it on Verizon.

I want GPS, EVDO revA, WinMo 6 Pro (hence a touch-screen), at least 128 mb RAM and 256 HHD. A mute button on top would be good (500 got rid of the mute button, a Palm masterpiece!).

I can dream can't I?

[rpa]

any plans for a Palm O/S version?

[Andres jabois]

This is ... weird, but i think is ok, hope you solved all those weird problems with old bluetooth, ... oh, no wifi again :D ?

[MaSa]

I am copying a comment of "Joe". He is soooooo right:

"Posted by: Joe | September 07, 2007 at 04:51 PM

To be frankly I'm already being so sick of waiting for another Palm or Treo that I almost want to give it up. I've been using Palm since 1997 when Palm was still made by US Robotics, but your company kept us disappointing in recent years.

Treo 650 was such a fantastic product, but after waiting for so long the product update was only a Treo 680? No Treo with no wifi, only a bigger memory and nothing more else? It's like a joke!

Okay, what's going next? I'm not too optimistic, but I'll wait."

I'll wait till end of September now. Then I will decide:

iPhone or "TX+Phone"

Then waiting will have an end!

P.S.: Been a Palm User since 1999. The TX has been the best PDA ever made. Really true. Palm, now migrate it to the next generation and kick iPhone's bum. Release a TX+phone. Do you listen to your customers?

[Bill Barnes]

Hi, nice device but it won't run my Palm OS software and it certainly won't be a decent replacement for my Lifedrive.

A new PDA with a camera like this one, 8gb of the newer SD card type a screen like the Lifedrive and TX and finally an updated Palm OS would make me very happy. You could even throw in a phone if you insist!!!

[HushPe]

I was looking at getting a 680 but have been holding off in hopes of a smaller form factor *Palm OS* driven handheld. I, like a small number run my company on a Mac and is the only decent handheld device that works like a Mac. I don't need a handheld that folds my washing, but one that works on todays networks with what is available (3G like this one does) but running Palm OS is really what I was after.

I use Vodafone NZ who subsidise the 750V almost to a point where it's cheaper to get that than an unlocked 680 which they don't do at all. Yes the new Palm Treo looks like a nice device (without touchscreen which I don't quite get).

Please listen to your customers, we don't want the earth, and you can't please everyone, but it's quite apparent from reading the comments that most users actually DO want a Palm OS driven device, none of us particularly care that it runs WM as nearly every other device does.

Some positive notes (well more thanks, and some ideas to carry though to a Palm OS device):

- Mini USB connector Vs hotsync cable (now I can use a standard cable at a squeeze)
- More network features (3G) etc
- Home button
- Keyboard (it's nice you haven't shrunk it RIM style, as that just looks damned confusing)

Points I don't particularly need:

- Camera (yes 2MP is nice, but with digital cameras so cheap, and not really phone related save my space - this is just my personal thing about phones)
- WM (please do Palm OS)
- Softbuttons (touchscreen is preferred)

I think you're doing well so far, keep the communication coming (and reply to some of us), and slog it out to deliver a 'real' Palm powered device - it's what makes a Palm a Palm, otherwise we'd just get an HP :P

[gadgetwizard]

Why no sim free unlocked version? why only a vodafone version? why must i have a vodafone contract? why do you do this? it was the same for the 750! if you did a sim unlocked version i bet you'd get more sales!!