Treo500
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O2 adds Treo 500 to roster
British carrier O2 has added the previously Vodafone-exclusive Treo 500 to its roster of business class smartphones. O2 is offering Palm's latest Windows Mobile handset for free with certain data and voice plans, which is probably the only way the company could get anyone to take these underwhelming hunks of plastic off their hands.[Via the::unwired]
Unlocked Treo 500 around the corner for Europe
We suspect it might have some trouble doing battle against the best that other manufacturers have to offer in the Windows Mobile space, but that apparently won't stop Palm from soon offering a carrier unlocked version of its Treo 500 handset in Europe. The move should come shortly following the expiration of Vodafone's period of exclusivity, with availability as soon as next month according to The Register. Seeing how no official announcement has been made, there isn't any pricing information -- but our question is, at what price point would it have to slot to be competitive against, say, an i620?[Via Palm Infocenter]
Palm's Treo 500v gets official
Well folks, you can't say we didn't warn you. Palm's European wing announced today that the Treo 500v was really real, and headed onto the monolithic Vodafone network in October. As expected, the new model will be coming in two colors, a bright white and gray finish (called Glacier White), as well as a muted charcoal tone (known as, surprise, Charcoal Grey), and will be running Windows Mobile 6. The phone will not have a touchscreen, as we reported, but will rock 3G / UMTS data (not HSDPA), have a 2-megapixel camera (so at least we know Palm isn't completely recycling older phones' guts), 256MB of onboard memory (150MB for users), plus a microSD slot and Bluetooth 2.0. Everything else about the phone should feel like standard territory, as Palm doesn't seem to be offering anything in the way of software that's different, though this phone could (and should) find some fans with those looking in the direction of BlackJacks, Qs, and Dashes. Still, we can't say we're not a little deflated... maybe the rumored "800" will blow our collective minds.[Via Pocket-lint]%Gallery-7352%
New Treo 500 pics surface showing off color schemes, back and side views
Sure, we know the actual event is only a few hours away, but can you ever really see too many pre-release photos of a new mobile phone... especially when it's this much of a let-down? That's right folks, feast your sparkling eye-socket-fillers on these new Treo 500 pictures, featuring both variations of the monochromatic, totally mediocre color-schemes that Palm has cooked up. We don't know where our friends in the Netherlands got these pics, or why the white version's keyboard is blurred out like a still from a Paris Hilton "video," but we do know some things, namely: the camera and speaker placement on the backs have changed ever-so-slightly; these phones are thinner, but not that thin; and... these designs look straight out of 1999. Look, we know you're trying guys, but you're going to have to do better than a BlackJack-aping, Windows Mobile almost-ran to win our hardened hearts back.[Thanks, Lenny]
Palm Treo 500 gets dressed for September 12 announcement
Okay, we suppose it might not be as silly looking as we'd originally thought, but let's be honest: would this be your first choice for a Windows Mobile 6 Standard device? Yep, that's right, we said "Standard," meaning there's no touchscreen in the cards for Palm's latest and greatest device, a distinct departure from Treos of yore. So yeah, anyway, if this document turns out to be legit, the long-rumored Gandolf is going to end up christened as the Treo 500 when it's announced for Vodafone on the 12th. 3G data will thankfully be in tow, too, though there's no word on whether it'll be HSDPA or plain ol' UMTS. Not bad, but seriously, there are plenty of solid WM6 Standard handsets in the pipeline from manufacturers big and small. Best of luck, Palm.[Via Boy Genius Report]
