Treo 500 Available Unlocked - Still European Only

Good news / Bad News time:

Good News: As we said they would, Palm has released the Treo 500, the surprisingly cool and surprisingly successful little Windows Mobile standard device, in an unlocked form. You can pick one up for the £269 and use it any old place you like.

Bad News: It's still a Tri-Band phone, meaning that while you'll get 3G goodness in Europe, you won't get it in the US (and in many place you won't get service at all). More bummage: The 500v's neat carousel interface is most definitely a Vodafone-only option, the standard 500 doesn't offer it.

We know, the Treo 500 isn't anything special (the Blackjack and the Q9h have been one-upping it on several fronts since before it came out), but the hardware on the Treo 500 is surprisingly nice. If Palm could bring that price down just a tad, we'd be able to recommend it a bit more. Assuming, of course, that they bring it over to these shores.

Thanks to paulpenny for the tip!