Treo 500v – first impressions

Palm’s latest Treo, the 500v, has just arrived in the labs of our sister site, TamsPPC. The detailed review is currently being created, here are a few quick snapshots(created with Nokia N71) of the new box to keep curiosity levels in check:

The Treo 500v is a bit slimmer and shorter than the Treo 680, however, it is about 3mm wider. The 500v’s QVGA screen is a bit wider than the 680′s, too:

Traditionally, the back of a Treo was held in place with a small button. Palm removed the button with the 500v…the back of the box has thus become very hard to remove:

Palm did a slight redesign of the keyboard. The 500v’s keyboard has a ‘clickier’ touch to it – the Treo 650′s/680′s keyboard feels much smoother and also is more silent. As for the blue keyboard illumination(which is not dimmable)…that IMHO is a matter of taste:

Overall, the 500v definitely feels cheaper than its predecessors – it definitely cannot replace a Treo 680/650/7xx. But that is not what the 500v should do – like the hp 514, it is not a mobile workstation but rather a light texting tool.

Want to know more? Visit TamsPPC!

Related posts:

1. Treo 850 specs leaked, it has WiFi
2. Palm Treo 500 in our labs
3. The Treo 680 update – first impressions
4. Palm Centro drops
5. First impressions of the Treo 600′s camera