Palm and Vodafone took the wraps off the new Palm Treo 500v. It will run Windows Mobile 6 Standard, meaning it will be the first to sport a non-touchscreen interface. The GUI looks to be a customized homescreen reportedly designed by Vodafone. The actual release date will be October 1 and no price has been announced yet. You can expect this phone to ship at a lower price than previous Treo smartphones. “The Treo 500v is priced to enable a broader audience to experience the internet and email on the go,” said John Hartnett, Senior Vice President, Global Markets and Windows Business Unit, Palm Inc. The Palm Treo 500v will be available in two colors: glacier white or charcoal gray (as pictured).
Other major changes include a mini USB connector as seen below.
The Palm Treo 500v supports 3G (UTMS), includes a 2 megapixel camera along with a suite of Microsoft apps (Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook). SMS messaging appears to be of the standard variety meaning no threaded SMS messaging (Note to third party developers, there is a major need for this in both the Moto Q and Palm community).
So, there you have it. While the Palm community anxiously waits for a next generation Treo, the company has delivered another “entry-level” device. Given the expected price point and the competitive landscape in the European market, Palm will most likely see moderate success with the Treo 500v. If and when it arrives in the US, the Treo 500 will see stiff competition from the Blackjack and upcoming Moto Q Global.
Is it me or did Palm just tell us the Centro, complete with touchscreen interface, was their entry level smartphone?
For more details, check out Palm’s UK site.
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