Palm Treo 500v launched in Singapore
First announced exactly a month ago, the Palm Treo 500v smart phone is now available in Asia, at least in Singapore. The 500v was launched in partnership with European carrier Vodafone in September and still bears that operator's brand name even though Palm has released it with M1 here.
Using Windows Mobile 6 standard, the 500v is Palm's first Treo without a touchscreen. It still has the same QWERTY keypad found in every one of its PDA-phones, but sports a different set of features from earlier Treos because it is targeted at the consumer market rather than business users. One point that really stood out for us was the exclusion of threaded messaging, a mainstay of Treo devices--whether Palm OS or Windows Mobile-based ones. We have a unit and will be posting up a full CNET Asia review soon. In the meantime, read a review done by our colleagues in the UK.
The 500v will be available in some countries in the Asia Pacific by the end of the year, though Palm could not be more specific about when and which countries at this point. In Singapore, it is available only in gray from M1 at S$498 with a two-year contract as well as at S$698 from retail outlets.
Update: Read our full review here.
About the author
Editor John Chan's love for gadgets can be traced back to the days when he disassembled his toys and couldn't put them back together again. He practices great restraint in not opening up every review product that comes through the CNET Asia Labs, and before that, in his previous job at HardwareZone. He has reviewed items big and small, from mobile phones to projectors and feels everyone should carry a multitool at all times in case of MacGyver situations.
Latest comments
No, this is not the Centro. Currently, the Centro is a CDMA device sold by Sprint in the US. There was a leaked shot of a GSM Centro recently (http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2007/10/04/gsm-version-of-centro-leaked/) but nothing has been confirmed.
Phones sold in Singapore need to be unlocked.
John, Is this the same phone that has been launched by Palm and Sprint as Centro in the US? The CNET UK review said that it runs on Windows Mobile OS whereas the Centro runs on the Palm OS. Live in India and am dying to get my hands on this, is this available unlocked in Singapore? Can ask a friend to pick it up for me. Thanks
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