Smartphone Thoughts: Palm Announces the Treo 500v Smartphone - First Non-Touchscreen Palm Device

"Speak clearly. The new Palm® Treo™ 500v smartphone lets you say what you want, how you want with phone, messaging, IM, email, and web in one simple device.1 No more code words or misunderstandings thanks to a full keyboard and a big, bright screen.2 So you can chat with a quick IM.1 Browse the web or check your email.1 Organize your time and tasks. Play music, take pictures, and shoot video. Even work (if you have to). Stay in touch, simply, with the new Palm Treo 500v smartphone."

This annoucement was one of the worst secrets I've seen in the Windows Mobile world. We've known about this device for since June! Now that's it's official, what does everyone think of Palms first and only non-touchscreen Smartphone? I think it's a pretty nice first effort. It's thin (at just 16.5mm), 2 MP camera, 256 MB of memory with 150MB available for use, and Bluetooth 2.0. The only downside in the way of specs is that it's tri-band (900/1800/1900) and UMTS (2100). So it's not going to have the best reception here in North America. If Palm released a Quad band version, I would be all over this device. Did anyone else notice that custom home screen? It looks like you can scroll to the left and right with the items below changing to represent the currently selected menu item. Very cool device Palm. I'm looking forward to a version that I can use.