(Credit:
Crave Asia)
First announced exactly a month ago, the Palm Treo 500v smartphone 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 different features from earlier Treos because it is targeted at the consumer market rather than businesses. 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 U.K.
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.
(Source: Crave Asia)
Palm Treo 500v
(Credit: Palm)As scheduled, Palm announced a new product today for our friends across the pond: the Palm Treo 500v. Available in charcoal gray or glacier white, the smart phone sports a new, slimmer design (4.3 inches high by 2.4 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep; 4.2 ounces) and runs Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition, which means, unlike past Treos, it won't have a touch screen (hmm, interesting). It offers 3G/UMTS support, Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel camera, and 150MB of user-available memory with a microSD expansion slot. Other than the new look, there's really not much to get worked up over. We're hoping the Palm Centro, which has been confirmed for Sprint, will do a little more to get our hearts aflutter. The Palm Treo 700v will initially be available to Vodafone customers in Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Vodacom customers in South Africa.
AT&T's new Video Share service
(Credit: AT&T)Months after it was first announced back in January of this year, AT&T has finally rolled out its Video Share service. Only available on the LG CU500V so far, this new video-calling service is the first of its kind in the country. However, it only offers one-way video streaming for now--meaning the recipient can't send any video at the same time. Hopefully AT&T will expand the service to support two-way video calling, but until then, this might prove to be an easy way to share an interesting video in real time. AT&T has launched Video Share only in three cities, however--San Antonio, Atlanta, and Dallas. It won't be available in the rest of the country until late July.
LG CU500v with AT&T branding
(Credit: LG)No, we're not pulling your leg--the LG CU500v has indeed launched after a premature announcement last week, complete with AT&T branding all over it. As you'll recall, this update to the LG CU500 incorporates something new for the U.S. cell phone market, namely video calling via Video Share. The video is transmitted only one way for now, but those with compatible handsets can switch the direction of the video. Also, the AT&T branding is not only visible from the exterior of the phone--several applications have also been rebranded. For example, Cingular Mail is now AT&T Mail, and so forth. Aside from the video and the AT&T rebranding, it's the same as the LG CU500--1.3-megapixel camera, quadband support, a microSD card slot, and more. You can get the LG CU500v for $29.99 after you sign a two-year contract and get a hefty discount and rebate.
Update: We've just received word that while the LG CU500v handset was launched today, the Video Share service itself won't be launching until "later this summer," which probably means the date will be different depending on where you are in the country. Stay tuned for more information on the Video Share roll out.
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LG CU500v leaked document
(Credit: Engadget Mobile)The story behind the release of the LG CU500v gets more confusing by the minute. Yesterday we saw this item on Engadget Mobile that indicates that the LG CU500v will actually debut on May 4th and that the April 27th "release" was premature. The page also noted that the device's branding will switch from Cingular to AT&T, as will everything else with the Cingular name (Cingular Mail becomes AT&T Mail, Cingular Music becomes AT&T Mobile Music, etc. However, Cingular Video will purportedly change its name to Cellular Video, which is presumably so it can keep its CV logo). But then a few comments on that same entry indicate that the LG CU500v is already being sold in stores. We're quite confounded as to what's really going on here, but I guess the truth will come to light on May 4th. Or not.
LG CU500
(Credit: CNET Networks)Update: Mere hours after we posted this blog entry, we got the news that Cingular/AT&T has pulled down the LG CU500V from its site. So either someone jumped the gun and listed it early, or the site is experiencing some technical difficulties. Plus, it looks like the Nokia N75 is suffering from the same launch fake-out. What's up, AT&T? The following is the original blog entry prior to the take down:
AT&T has just launched the LG CU500V, which is the first phone to offer live mobile video calls in the U.S. We mentioned it awhile ago, back during CES 2007, and like we said back then, the LG CU500V is essentially identical to the LG CU500 save for the Video Share feature. It's not exactly true synchronized video calling however, as the video is transmitted only one-way, though apparently the direction can be switched during the call if the receiver has a compatible handset. Engadget suspects that AT&T plans to launch true video calling later this year, but that remains to be seen for now. Also, unlike what we reported at CES, it seems that existing LG CU500 users can't upgrade their firmware to support the new Video Share feature; they'll have to pony up the extra cash to buy a new LG CU500V just like the rest of us. The LG CU500V will cost about $29.99 after a two-year contract and a rebate.
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