Palm Treo 500v

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When Palm became a Windows Mobile (WM) licensee, hell froze over for Palm OS fans. That worked out all right eventually as the Treo 750 PDA-phone turned out to be one of the most user-friendly WM devices out there. That's something the company historically excels in, and is a factor that keeps people buying its Treo devices even though these PDA-phones are sometimes lacking in other features.

The 500v is Palm's first Treo using WM6 standard for smart phones. This marks the first Treo smart phone that doesn't have a touch-sensitive display. Unfortunately, it is also the first time we felt Palm didn't live up to the standards of usability we expect from it.

Design

The design of the 500v was leaked months before its launch as the Palm Gandolf. Like many other Windows Mobile smart phones with QWERTY keypads, the 500v features a landscape-oriented QVGA display. Under this display, the Vodafone name is prominently displayed. Like the Treo 750v, the 500v will start out as an exclusive with the European operator, a point further reinforced by the Vodafone logo found on the back battery cover.

QWERTY keypads are standard in Treo devices and the layout of the one found on the 500v doesn't differ much from previous Treos. Though the smart phone is much more compact than earlier PDA-phones like the 680 and 750, its keypad size remains the same. This makes for great thumb typing because of the excellent tactile response and well spread-out keys. Compared to an older Treo 650, we did find the keys stiffer than we'd liked, but that should not slow down typing much. As with all QWERTY keypads, those with larger fingers may never quite take to it, so make sure you try it out at a store before making any purchasing decision.

There is a white version, but it won't be available in Asia, not yet anyway (click for larger image).

With dimensions of 110 x 61.5 x 16.5mm, the 500v is not exactly super slim. While it is the thinnest Treo to date, it pales in comparison to devices like the Samsung i600 and Asus M530w which are 11.8mm and 13.8mm in depth, respectively. The material used on this smart phone is very similar to that on the Treo 680, which means it feels plasticky even though the sides are painted with a metallic color. Design-wise, the 500v will probably induce a kind of love it or hate it feeling--we certainly couldn't get a consensus among those who saw it in the CNET Asia office, though most will agree that it is quite well-built.

The buttons above the keypad are flush with the screen, but still easy to press because of the large size. We had no problems with the directional pad as well, which has an oval chrome finish with a separate selector in the center. Volume control and an additional shortcut key can be found on the left side. On the base is where the connectors are. These include a 2.5mm audio jack and a mini-USB for charging and syncing.

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