After much speculation Palm has announced the Palm Treo 500v smartphone which runs Windows Mobile 6 to be launched on Vodafone in October.

The new compact form factor - unusually for Palm without a touchscreen display - is available in "glacier white" and "charcoal grey" and has a full QWERTY keyboard.

Boasting multimedia capabilities, this new handset has high speed 3G/UMTS mobile internet (via Vodafone Live!) and messaging functions including IMing, SMS and push email.

Windows Mobile will let users manage all the usual documents with mobile versions of Microsoft software and as another help towards productivity they can share the Treo 500v smartphone's data access with a laptop.

Although a Vodafone spokesperson has described it as a "premium" device it seems the 500v will be "from free" on "most contracts".

Pocket-lint will be getting a full hands-on with a Treo 500v later today, so stay tuned for a first impressions report of how this new device looks and works up close and personal.

For now, here's a list of features from Palm's press release:

* All-in-one smartphone with messaging, email and web
* Full keyboard for fast and easy typing
* Automatic delivery of Hotmail/MSN, Yahoo, and Gmail, email as it arrives
* Large, high-resolution screen
* Internet Explorer Mobile full-featured browser
* Access to Google Maps and eBay
* Vodafone live!
* 3G/UMTS network
* Planner with address book, calendar, to-do lists, and more
* View Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe files
* Windows Media Player Mobile for music and videos
* 2.0 megapixel camera captures video too
* 150MB of memory, expandable with microSD expansion card
* Windows Mobile 6 Standard software
* Microsoft Direct Push technology for delivery of Outlook email
* Bluetooth wireless technology

>> Reviewed - Palm Treo 500v smartphone Review