Philips Velo 500

Author's product rating:   

Look & Feel	Good
Memory / capacity	Satisfactory
Comfort & Portability	Very poor
Ease of use	Satisfactory
Value For Money	Poor

Advantages:	Familiar feel to the OS
Disadvantages:	Unwieldy, impossible to upgrade

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I bought my Philips Velo some time ago now and initially enjoyed using it. I soon came across a few problems however, which have left me disenchanted, and it in the cupboard.

I found the screen size is good, and It does run quickly, the programme interfaces are familiar Windows apps, and the data transfer to PC is adequate. The unit is fairly large however, and more suited to the business person with a briefcase than me with my pockets alone.

When I bought the unit, Windows CE was going through an upgrade and I was promised a copy of this when it came out, along with a free modem cable for my mobile phone. This offer was from Philips, not the store. After several months of not hearing from them I spent the best part of a day tracking down the appropriate telephone number, only to find that my registration had been lost. A few weeks later the upgrade arrived, but to this date, no modem cable.

This was where the big problems began. Each time I tried to upgrade the OS, by following pages of complex and detailed instructions, the Velo crashed at the final stage, requiring a reset to factory standard. Tech support were unable to give me any help whatsoever. I eventually decided it was not worth the hassle, and have left the origional OS in situ.

Due to many reasons I now have another PDA, and my Velo sits unloved in the drawer gathering dust.