PalmOne m505 Color Handheld

[Archived in $300 - $400, PalmOne, Products]

Manufacturer: PalmOne
Price at amazon.com: Used & new from $60.00

List price $349.00



Product Features:

• Built-in 8 MB memory stores thousands of contacts, appointments, to-do items, and notes
• Displays over 65,000 colors--view photos, video clips, and more
• SecureDigital/MultiMediaCard expansion slot for additional memory and functionality such as a dictionary/thesaurus, games, and more
• USB cradle allows faster HotSync operations
• Windows and Macintosh compatible--includes desktop software for both platforms

Product Description:

The lightweight, stylish Palm m505 handheld offers 16-bit color support and is expandable and customizable. The Palm m505 has an expansion card slot for additional memory storage (up to 64 MB) and add-ons such as a dictionary/thesaurus, games, and more. The Palm m505 comes with all the classic personal information management tools you expect: Date Book, Address Book, To Do List, Memo Pad, Mail, and Clock. It has 8 MB of built-in memory, enough to store thousands of addresses, years of... read more


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Description from Manufacturer: Palm's simple yet elegant operating system has long been a shining light in the world of PDAs. The good news on the Palm m505 is that the Palm OS still offers a wide array of tools to gather your personal and business data in a great computing environment. Unfortunately, the most touted aspect of the Palm m505--its color screen--is a disappointment.

Turning it on for the first time, we wondered if we had received the monochrome version Palm m500 handheld--the screen was dark and barely visible in our moderately lit office. We fumbled around for the contrast preference, but couldn't find it. In fact, the Palm m505 has no way to adjust contrast other than to turn on the backlight. Only with the backlight activated could we actually discern the icon and screen colors, and even then the LCD screen seemed muted.

On side-by-side tests with the Handspring Visor Prism, its main color competition, the Palm m505 was lacking in brightness and crispness--despite both handhelds' having 16-bit display support that can show up to 65,000 colors.

The reason for this seems to be that Palm has sacrificed brilliance for energy efficiency. The Palm m505's rechargeable battery does, indeed, keep its charge with "normal" usage (estimated by Palm at 40 minutes per day) for about three weeks. However, with the mandatory use of the m505's backlight, we found the battery needed more frequent charging. Luckily, charge time in the included HotSync cradle/recharger is quite short.

The basic Palm applications in OS version 4.0--Address, Date Book, Memo Pad, and To Do List--remain largely unchanged, with a few tweaks here and there. For instance, the Date Book application now includes a screen view with a list of the appointments and to-do items for a particular date. And like the m100 series, the Note Pad has been added for doodling and scribbling handwritten notes (instead of writing longer tomes in the Memo Pad using the Palm's Graffiti alphabet).

Palm has collected a number of bonus software titles that you can easily add to the m505 without denting much of the 8 MB of memory, including AvantGo, which downloads Web news and content from a variety of sources (enabling us to keep up with Aussie Rules Football scores). The biggest test for the color screen came with PhotoSuite, an image viewing app that displays a range of image-file formats downloaded from your PC. We found the color depth to be quite good, but the screen's lack of brightness made the images look rather muddy.

Additionally, several connectivity applications from Palm's Mobile Internet Kit are provided, including the Web Clipping app for viewing Web content built specifically for Palm viewing and MultiMail SE for accessing e-mail. And, of course, there's the highly touted expansion slot for SecureDigital cards and MultiMediaCards, allowing you to add memory, content, and functionality. Unfortunately, at the time of this review, we were unable to test any of the cards offered by Palm.

With its curved angles, thin design, and light weight, the Palm m505 closely resembles its predecessor, the Palm V series handheld. And like that model, the m505 feels very comfortable both in the palm of your hand and resting in your pocket. Also, with the Palm m505's new 33 MHz Dragonball VZ processor, switching applications seemed much more immediate.

The siren song of the new m500 series is indeed seductive, and Palm has done well to streamline its basic repertoire and add some tasty new notes to the mix. However, the Palm m505 is ultimately a disappointment due to its underwhelming color display. If you're having trouble getting this song out of your head, the Palm m500 handheld (with all the functions of the Palm m505 but with a monochrome screen) should keep your toes tapping just fine. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

Pros:

• Faster processor
• Classic Palm styling--contoured design is comfortable to hold
• Good range of additional software, from Internet connectivity to e-book reader
• New expansion slot takes industry standard SecureDigital cards and MultiMediaCards

Cons:

• Color screen is rather dim and ultimately disappointing
• Backlighting must be turned on to see the color screen, wearing down the rechargeable battery
• Expandability via SecureDigital and MMC cards limited by current offerings

Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: Nice und small but lacks screen contrast/brightness controls Rating:
Being new to the Palm universe, I purchased this for its small size (it easily slides into a shirt pocket) and the fact that my boss has the same model. Beaming him address items and schedule changes has made life a bit easier. However, its small size was a factor on why I chose the Palm m505 over a Handspring Visor.

Unlike some (many?) users here, I have had no problem synching the device to my PC and my Mac. Installing the SW and synching has been a breeze. The Palm 4.0 desktop OS is also a straightforward program that's easy to navigate.

I've also dropped the device on occasion, and thankfully, my data remained intact.

My only gripe is the lack of screen contrast und brightness controls. Without the built-in light, the screen can be hard to see in low-light conditions. With the built-in light turned on, the screen is easy to see, although it wears down your batteries more quickly. I have learned to live with this flaw and will not purchase a new Palm anytime soon.

Palm just released the m515, which has those screen controls. Unless you can get a better deal on the m505, I recommend the newer model if you are really concerned about the screen brightness.

UPDATE: In January 2003, my m505 suddenly was unable to sync with my PC. After a few e-mails and phone calls to Palm, I learned that this model (and the m500) are prone to hotsync failures due to static electricity. Shipping the m505 to Palm and a quick hotsync with the backed-up data on my PC fixed the problem. The m505 was back in my hands in less than a week, and the only cost to me was for shipping.

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Comment: AWESOME CHRISTMAS PRESENT!! Rating:
I got this awesome palm piolot with a keyboard and it is great! I bought games and put a cool "Documents to Go" program on it. I write stories a lot so I can use it for that, and I can also write school things on it if I'm in the car and my handwriting won't be sloppy! This is very cool. I am 12 1/2 and this is one of the best palms I have ever used. You should buy it!

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Comment: Time Bomb Rating:
I got this model for myself because at the time, it was the best model available. It worked really well for quite a while, and I even told my dad to get it for my mom for Christmas. So far, she has had no problems (knock on wood). Mine bit the dust earlier this year after over a year of problem-free functioning. It just quit syncing. Nothing changed at all. It just stopped syncing one day. I went through numerous attempts to solve the issue through email technical support with Palm. Nothing worked. I didn't want to call them because I didn't want to spend money on tech support. Turns out they won't charge you because they know there is a problem with the unit! They sent me a reset card which didn't help. I called them again and they were going to make me jump through more hoops. I pulled out the attitude and said NO WAY. They finally agreed to take the unit back for repair. They turned around the unit quickly and it was fine for a couple months, and it just quit on me again. They are obviously having VERY serious issues with this model, and I feel as if I have suggested a time bomb for my mother. It's not worth the hassle to get this Palm. I don't know if all Palms are this problematic, but I would avoid any Palm model that begins with a "5." I'm sure they are all duds, and once you begin to rely on a PDA there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING more bothersome than having to go through these issues. You are left without a PDA for who-knows-how-long and you feel vulnerable. It's just not worth it.

Posted at November 11, 2003 07:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)