PalmOne m505 Color Handheld
by Palm
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Our Price: $444.57 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $29.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of PalmOne m505 Color Handheld
Customer Review: Palm m505 vs. Handspring Prism
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased a Handspring Visor Prism in January of 2001 and then in early July, I purchased the Palm M505 after passing the Prism to my younger sibling. There were two major drawbacks to the Prism that was "fixed" in the Palm M505. First, the Prism does weigh a lot to be carried in a shirt pocket every day. The new M505 is light, thin, and is sleek compared to the overweight Prism. Secondly, I can actually see the screen in bright daylight. When I needed to check on a phone number outside on a bright day, the handspring's screen was invisible. (similar to most laptop screens being invisible under direct sunlight. I'm not sure why all those ads show people trading online on their laptops on beaches.) The M505's front lit reflective display solved this problem, which I believe is a very strong reason to buy the M505 over the Prism.
This reflective display is also one of the biggest problems with the M505. It's too dark and I can't change the contrast. If anyone is upgrading from a Prism or a Palm IIIc to the M505, they will be disappointed indoors, but like I said, they will appreciate the M505 outdoors. Also, the screen on the M505 seems a tad bit smaller than the Prism screen. However, if you are used to the non-color screens, especially the pre-Palm V screens, you may not notice this darkness. In fact, when the front light is turned off, the M505 initially looks like it has a non-color display.
The SD expansion slot for now is very limited. Hopefully when that SD association approves more I/O devices, more interesting things will come up. At the same time, most of the Handspring Springboard cards were useless to me. I had the MP3 module, the digital camera module, the Voice Recorder module, the Backup Module, and the 8MB expansion module. For the most part, I only used the backup and the 8MB expansion module, which are technically both available in SD versions for the M505. If you really want to take nice pictures, get a real digital camera.
If you use your palm indoors for the most part, do not care about the weight, and require mp3 and other multimedia devices, I'd skip the M505 and go for the Prism (it is rumored that a new Handspring Visor called the Snap will be coming out this year with a color screen with something similar to the size of the Visor Edge) or the Sony Clie. However, if you want something light-weight that you will be carrying around EVERYWHERE you go, I would definitely suggest the M505.
Customer Review: M505 compared to the Palm V
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been using a Palm V for 2 years, so the following is largely a comparison with the new M505. Overall I was pleased to have color but really disappointed that Palm, rather than just building on its strengths, has added new weaknesses:- Touch screen: Very disappointing on the M505. It is squidgy (you can see the whole screen distort when you touch it), poor quality in my opinion. I am having to change the way I input and my accuracy is right down. To me this is the most disappointing change, I have been using the M505 for 2 weeks now and still find the touch screen a problem and the reason I may ultimately abandon the M505 for an alternative. The included stylus may be related to the input problems I am having.
- The M505 has different sized slots for the stylus and the cover. So now I not only cannot use my old stylus (a really excellent device from Japan) as it does not fit in the new slots but also with the M505 I cannot put the stylus in the left hand slot which is annoying. I cannot imagine why Palm have done this, not only unecessary but also alienating to a customer base. They had it right before, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
- Display: Very reflective! I do not understand why no one has been able to address this, it was the same with the Palm V. Furthermore it seems not possible to have the backlight come on by default, and it is a bit dim compared to all competition I have seen.
- Base: No place for a stylus, there was with the Palm V base.
- Faster: The M505 is definitely faster so full marks for that.
- Included cover: The Palm V's cover was far superior to the cheap and nasty thing they now include.
- Software: Some improvements but nothing that stands out as significant. I still find that the synchronisation with Outlook is poor in that not all fields from Outlook get translated. I love being able to add video though it is a bit of a gimmick.
- One thing that impressed me was that I was able to upgrade and get going on the new M505 with all my old data and programs in much less than 30 minutes. Campare that to a day with a new PC.
In conclusion I am thinking I should have waited for the new Sony color model or maybe given the Handspring devices more consideration. What I really want & need is a combination of a color Palm and a Blackberry. I also have a new HP Pocket PC but the software ruins those class of products, Palm is way ahead.
Customer Review: Great overall product
Summary: 4 Stars
A couple weeks ago I purchased the m505, my first Palm computer. I have no regrets.It is a marvelous piece of hardware and software engineering and I am sold on its elegance, simplicity, functionality, and performance.
The small size is absolutely great and its design is beautiful. It fits fine in coat pockets and is not obtrusive in or out of view.
Admittedly, the color screen washes out under adverse lighting conditions. But the m500 is only ... cheaper so I figured that for an additional 12.5% cost I would find its color useful more often than not. However, it is something that Palm can improve in subsequent models.
Installing the PC software went mostly fine, and I was synching up with Outlook 2000 within minutes. I have had some difficulty getting e-mail to synch up without crashing the synch program on the PC, but I suspect that has more to do with what I have installed under Windows 98 than with the Palm software.
The standard applications are good and easy to use. Finding other applications on Palm's website is, however, like treading through an "organized jungle" of thousands of programs. And downloading and installing programs could cause the Palm to crash (it happened once on mine), so I am much more careful about what I install now.
The built-in batteries have been fine so far, giving enough power for what seems like 8 to 10 hours, if not longer. Recharge is quick.
Attaching the Palm m505 to the cradle is not as effective as it could be. It has to be inserted at a particular angle and then pushed back to rest. Removing it from the cradle also is more work than it really needs to be. Seems that repeated action would cause premature wear on the attaching mechanism.
m500/505-specific accessories seem not to be available in stores yet so these have to be ordered online. Many of these accessories seem a bit pricey, and could knock overall out-of-pocket costs into PC pricing territory. But they probably are very helpful and satisfy a specific need.
In the final analysis the ability to whip out the m505 in-between ballgame innings to quickly check or respond to e-mail or write notes or create to-do lists is fantastic.
Overall, I give it an honest 4 stars for what the m505 provides--information truly and elegantly at my finger tips, anytime, anywhere.
Customer Review: The best Color Palm PDA out in the Market!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The best Palm PDA out in the market!! I been using this palm m505 for a month now and its great, I use it to organize my busy life. Good battery life and color is great outdoors!First of all, This is a palm organizer its not a Pocket PC, The main propose is to help organize yourself not to browse internet- if I wanted to browse the internet, I would do it on a desktop ... Also since Pocket PC uses Windows the Crash rate is much higher than the Palm OS.
Secondly, people are complaining about the USB having problems, I did experience this problem at first but I was able to figure out what the problem was. The problem was 1) This depends on your Motherboard USB- Generic board usually have problems transmitting information (if you have problems you can always go to serial connection) 2) The Version of OS -I'm using Windows 2000 and it’s working great!!!
Lastly, People are complaining about the Screen being dark compared to other PDA's. Palm M505 used front lighting technology where else other PDA use backlighting technology. It has the ability to view the screen in a wider variety of lighting conditions (indoors as well as in bright sunlight). Other Color PDA such as Sony and handspring uses backlight technology where the light shines from back of the screen, so it acts like a flashlight. The advantage for this technology is it looks good indoors but once you go out in the bright sun- Ouch!! Can’t see anything-turns pitch black. Whereas, the Palm M505 uses the front light technology so you can see the color magnificently in the bright sun.
Palm used this technology because it offers the broadest range of readability and brightness in addition to maximizing battery life. (Since it’s uses the Sunlight to display color it doesn’t need internal light source thus it prolongs battery life)
Also to mention, the battery life on M505 is really great, it last on the average of 3 weeks to 4 weeks. Try this on the Sony Clie 760-with MP3 it only last an hour SAD!!! Pocket PC also don’t last that long also. Its kind of hassle to charge your PDA every night like a Cell phone, if you’re always on the run.
Customer Review: Color is dim, Screen is very readable in varying light
Summary: 4 Stars
I was slightly disappointed by the dim colors on my new M505. However the screen contrast and readability are significantly improved over my old PalmIII. The screen is much easier to read in bright light, and the colors are also much better in bright light. The backlight is very bright (white) and also lights up the outline of the graffiti area and the icons surrounding the graffiti area (making it easier to use the palm in the dark).
Overall I am very please with my new M505.
Some reviewers have complained that the M505 lacks a contrast adjustment. I carried mine for several days inside air-conditioned labs and outside in temps up to 90 deg F. I haven't noticed any difference in the contrast at different temperatures. My PalmIII always required a contrast adjustment when it got warm, and again when it cooled off. My M505 display isn't effected by temp changes.
The sound is much louder, and the processor is noticeably faster.
I haven't seen an M500 yet, but if the screen is actually paper white as advertised, then it may be easier to read than the M505. My advice is to examine both the M505 and M500 before buying one. The color can make applications easier to ready, but not many take advantage of it yet. I'm not sure its worth the extra money just use your Palm as a photo album, especially if the M500 is easier to read.
My M505 came with several add-on applications: DocumentsToGo, PhotoSuite Mobile, and PowerOne calculator.
The physical package is great. The buttons, especially the scroll buttons are much smoother than earlier palms.
Since the M500 and M505 use internal rechargeable batteries, you must carry either a hotsync cradle(also a charging stand) or a portable-charging unit when you travel for an extended period.
The add-on multimedia flash cards that you can buy for the Palm don't behave like regular memory. Most application don't know how to use the flash card. Most applications just look in RAM to find their files. To use files from flash, you must copy them from the flash into RAM. It looks like a multimedia flash card would make a good backup. Especially when traveling.