TamsWMS - the Windows Mobile Smartphone Blog

Designing cases for flip phones has traditionally proven difficult due to the radical shape changing involved when such a device is put to use. Other companies have attempted clip-on and leather cases before - can Brando’s silicone case stack up?

Brando’s products ship in envelopes from Hong Kong; they are delivered to your mailbox when you’re not there. Contents always arrive intact:

Brando additionally packed up its stuff into transparent blisters:

The case itself consists of two sleeves that are pulled over the parts of the device. Since the case fits rather tightly, getting it on and off is a bit fidgety. These images show the process:

As usual for Brando’s products, the case does not obstruct the keyboard. The thin layer of silicone can not be felt when typing:

The camera and outside screens are not covered by the case. While this allows for excellent usability, an encounter with keys will probably not end up well.

QTek’s 8500 is designated as a music phone and thus has special media keys(that permanently get activated by mistake). Brando covered these with foil - which means that pressing them accidentally is less easy…

Syncing can be done without removing the phone from its case:

Brando also integrated a cutout at the bottom - no idea what this one was for. Like with most other silicon cases, exchanging the battery and/or the memory card requires you to remove the case:

The case does not allow the phone to close fully. This causes the phone to keep on the main screen at all times and disables the music keys on the outside(which I hate passionately). Unfortunately, pressure from the top causes the motherboard to flex somewhat - which IMHO is unhealthy on the long run.

In the end, this silicone case will make silicon case fans happy - all peripherals can be accessed easily, and it is available in four funky colors(blue, black, white and pink). Unfortunately, the closing issue(which IMHO can not be eliminated completely due to the slimness of the phone) turns out to be quite a nuisance - decide yourself if you feel like investing the affordable 10$ at Brando’s.

The Palm Treo 500 ships with a landscape QVGA screen - unlike most Windows Mobile Smartphones, the screen on the 500 is wider than tall. This causes an extra bit of scrolling due to the list-orientedness of the operating system - but is helpful when viewing documents. Can it stack up contrast-wise?

Many consider the Treo 680 the pinnacle of Palm’s screens - and the 500 can compete well in all aspects. In fact, it even manages to beat it in some aspects:

The hp ipaq rx4240 fares similarly:

In the end, the 500’s transflective screen can be rated more-less on par with our current benchmark devices - nobody should have any issues with it. However, the matereal above the LCM is extremely sensitive…getting a screen protector definitely is recommended.

After having unboxed the Palm Treo 500 and looked at it from various angles, let’s look how big the machine is compared to some other devices laying around:

Our first contestant comes from Palm itself - it’s the evergreen Treo 680(same size as the 750). The Treo 500 is as wide, but a nice bit thinner:

An almost-vintage Palm TX is significantly larger, but a bit thinner:

HP’s small rx4240 and HTC’s teeny-tiny QTEK 8500 truly show the Treo 500 who the fat kid on the block is:

Nokia’s evergreen N71 is a bit thicker:

Last but not least, Apple’s iPod touch is approximately as big as the 500 when looked at from the front - but a single look from the side redefines the meaning of thin(the iPhone is significantly thicker):

In the end, the Treo 500 definitely isn’t a small device by any means - in fact, I would dare to say that it is rather fat(for a Windows Mobile Smartphone). But is it worth buying? Stay tuned - the final verdict is coming soon!

Benchmarks for Windows Mobile Standard smartphones are hard to get by now that SPB Benchmark is discontinued more-less - luckily, Virtual Spaghetti’s vsBenchmark 2007 also runs on Windows Mobile 6 Smartphones(if they have enough RAM).

The following benchmark compares a Treo 500 against a QTEK customized with a Windows Mobile 6 ROM:

Treo 500	QTEK 8500

Interestingly, the Treo 500 produced severely garbled graphics:

In the end, the 416MhZ Marvell CPU does not manage to put itself seriously ahead of a 200MhZ OMAP processor - we are looking at a 2x clock increase, and get just a measly speed improvement of less than 50%. Nevertheless, the Treo 500 is as fast as Windows Mobile 6 smartphones get - and since I never really had any problems with my QTEK, I don’t see anyone running into issues with this machine either.

Please tune in soon for a look at the 500’s screen and system specs(and the verdict)!

Creating cases for flip phones has traditionally been very difficult - usually, all one gets is either made of silicon or PVC(aka crystal case). Proporta has managed to create a classic aluminum-leather case for the QTEK 8500 flip - can it stack up?

Proporta’s products ship in envelopes via standard mail from London.This is great, as stuff gets delivered to your mailbox(aka you don’t need to be at home to get your stuff) - and the envelopes protect the stuff well enough. The case itself is contained in an extra blister along with a belt clip:

When unpacking the phone for the first time, you get a slightly nasty shock - does Proporta really want my phone to be held by THIS:

However, once you slip your phone in, all doubts are busted - the phone is held firmly and the flip still closes well:

As usual, Proporta integrated cutouts for all important elements:

Unfortunately, the cutout for the sync port is not perfectly done - fitting connectors in can require quite a bit of pressure. But this isn’t all that bad - getting the phone out is very easy:

Last but not least, is a picture of the phone in its case:

In the end, this 35$ case may be a bit expensive(when looking at a 100$ phone) - but it really is worth its price in gold. The case protects the phone well, and in case some peripheral does not fit, removing the phone from the case is easy. If you wish for a leather case, get this by all means!

Vodafone’s Treo 500v was styled like a consumer device from hair tip to toe - Palm’s Treo 500 was designed in a more “conservative” fashion; the black case really looks quite well. But looks isn’t everything in a TamsWMS review - what about the stuff inside(and on the outside)P

Sizewise, the 500 is a lot slimmer but a bit wider than the Treo 680(equivalent to 750/750v):

Unlike most other Windows Mobile smartphones, the Treo 500 has an excellent keyboard. While typing is a bit more comfortable on machines like a Treo 680, the Treo 500’s keyboard still feels very well and is a pleasure to use:

The screen has a glossy cover that magically attracts scratches. Leaving the unit in a Proporta Gadget Bag for a day and passing it through an airport scan produced a few nasty scratches. The back of the 500 contains the speaker and the camera. The backplate of the 500 isn’t attached with a button anymore - instead, it is just pulled off to the bottom.

Doing this reveals the removable battery(not compatible with 680/750; but interchangeable with a 500v’s), the SIM slot and the memory card slot(uh-oh):

The Treo 600’s top-mounted power button is back(although it doesn’t do anything even remotely useful), and Palm also included the classic volume buttons:

Last but not least, the bottom of the 500v reveals a MiniUSB port and the 2′5 inch headphone jack:

Overall, the Treo 500 is similar to the hp 514…both devices have nicely done hardware with a fatal flaw. Palm managed to get charging/syncing, data input and overall design perfectly right…and destroys the otherwise-perfect device with the waaay-too-sensitive screen cover. Nevertheless, like the 514, the 500 is an exceptionally well-done Windows Mobile Smartphone…and the keyboard…

Tune in soon for a look at the 500’s screen.

Palm’s VodaFone version of the TReo 500(called Treo 500v) had a custom user interface called Ribbon. Ribbon, um, was a horror for every power user to use. Anyways, I am glad to confirm that someone at Palm’s got sensible and decided to ship the 500 with the standard Windows Mobile UI.

Here are a few images of the box showing it in action:

For all those who wish to take a look at the Ribbon UI, there’s a somewhat detailed writeup over at our partner site TamsPPC.

For all of you visiting us from CNET - welcome! However, this IS NOT a new phone for VodaFone - this is a 500v for non-Vodafone carriers and over-the-counter sales!

Palm’s first Windows Mobile Smartphone(the 500v for Vodafone) has been reviewed all over the internet. However, the company has recently released an unlocked version of the device called Treo 500 - and TamsWMS is proud to be the first news service to present you the beginning of a Treo 500 review…by unpacking the box:

Not surprisingly, the 500’s box was stripped off all Vodafone branding - Palm’s design team did a great job at making the package look cool:

Immediately after opening the package, you are presented with a multilingual “read-this-first” manual:

After having read the manual(which I, of course, didn’t do :)), the box reveals a driver CD and a “Quickstart guide”:

Once this is done, you can finally get your paws onto a blister containing your precious Treo 500 and a battery(did I mention that it looks cool?):

Both the 500v and the battery are in small PVC bags - Palm additionally glued blue protective foil over the screen and the camera lens of the device:

Below this blister, one can find a MiniUSB cable, a power supply with international plugs and - a wired headset. As usual, Palm did not include a MicroSD memory card - while I personally feel that this is a rather bad idea(limits users), the widespread availability of cheap memory cards makes this less of a problem than it once used to be:

Last but not least, here is a small video showing the unpacking process:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7068658954178327278&hl=en

In the end, the Palm Treo 500 ships with the same (well-done) hardware bundle found in the 500v’s box. However, Palm significantly beefed up the presentation, packaging the stuff in a fashion similar to the one that debuted along the Treo 680. While this probably won’t make much of a difference for a seasoned mobile device addict, having a “quickstart” manual handy can be a great way to mitigate initial frustrations for the average user….

P.S. - Stay tuned for benchmarks, a detailed screen comparison and much more - in the next parts of our Treo 500 review!