Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - Review

Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - Review


Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - ReviewYesterday we got our greasy, cake-stained hands on the brand new Palm Treo 500v, which will be available on Vodafone in October. The Treo 500v signals a departure from Palm's traditionally yawn-inducing business-centric designs and is Palm's thinnest Treo to date. Palm knows how we love the thin.

Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - Back Camera & SpeakersReaction in the office this morning has been varied, with some people loving the new, curvier design and others saying it looks like a Treo made for children, rather than a serious business phone. There's no pleasing some people.

Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - Applications MenuThe Treo 500v's Qwerty keypad is a little smaller than the Treo 750v's and there's less space for manoeuvring, but it's still usable. Equally the screen is smaller than the 750v's and not a touchscreen, which may annoy some Treo veterans.

Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - MMSIt runs on Windows Mobile 6 Standard, but before you gasp in horror, Palm has made some rather interesting changes to the interface that will help Palm users adapt to Microsoft's OS. As you can see in the picture, the menu has a tabbed layout that lets you access different applications on the 500v much faster than having to negotiate the traditional Windows Mobile layout.

Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - SMSAnother handy feature is an email wizard that lets you setup automatic delivery of Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail messages as they arrive. Of course, you can still set it up with the office's Exchange server to get instant access to your work emails.

Palm Treo 500v (3G GSM Triband) Smartphone - Calls3G ensures fast access to email and the Internet, but we're disappointed there's no Wi-Fi--although this isn't a problem if you're on a flat-rate data plan.

Other features include a 2-megapixel camera and an expandable microSD slot. Expect more details in the full review that's speeding your way like a Michael Owen volley.