The screen on Palm's latest colour handheld is the subject of some controversy.
Product: Palm m505 (the m500, a monochrome version weighing in at 4.2 oz., is available for US$329)
From: Palm Computing (www.palm.com)
Sync to: Windows 2000/98/ME and Macintosh computers.
Price: US$449 (about C$800).
Pros: Thin 3.2" x 4.5" x 0.5" profile, 120g (5.2 oz.) weight. Easy synchronization of data with USB-capable PC or Mac. Optional illumination for display and Graffiti area. 8MB RAM memory. Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard (SD/MMC) expansion slot and Palm OS 4.0, allowing optional wireless connectivity, memory expansion or other expansion options.
Cons: Side-lit screen is dimmer and smaller than that of some competing offerings, lacks adjustment options. Removable cover neither flips up nor around. The Graffiti handwriting system is not as easy to learn as the handwriting recognizer for PocketPC units. Accessories designed for other Palm models, cannot be used with the m505's new "Universal" connector.
Hardware
The 16-bit 65,000 color display of the Palm m505 is the subject of some controversy, after reports emerged in May 2001 that some (but not all) units manufactured in Hungary were less bright than those built in the USA. Actually, the differences appear to have less to do with the country of origin, than they do with small differences in the position of the light, which is mounted at the bottom of the screen, under the Graffiti area. These differences result in some models appearing to have brighter logos in the Graffiti area (yes, the Graffiti screen is finally illuminated!), but a less bright screen overall, as seen here.
The light (a sidelight, technically, although Palm calls it a backlight), critics say, is not bright enough to bring out the bright color contrast the way it should. As it turns out, Palm does not consider the difference to be a defect and will not exchange a Hungarian-built unit for one assembled in the United States that does not have this characteristic. Moreover, resellers such as online vendor Outpost.com say they will not take any Palm returns and refers user complaints back to Palm. A further complication is the assertion that some USA-labeled units are apparently relabeled Hungarian models.
We tested a Hungarian-built unit (which can easily be identified as such before purchase by a label on the side of the box) and, truth be told, did not find the display to be as much of a problem as complainers suggest. True, the reflective display is not as bright as screens on competing models from Handspring, Sony or PocketPC vendors HP, Compaq or Casio, but the optional illumination (which is turned on or off by holding down the power button for a few seconds) is, more than anything, the result of a tradeoff between usable brightness and better battery life. With the illumination turned off, the unit's 160x160-pixel screen closely resembles that of previous monochrome Palm models. With the light on, colour is perfunctory, but not significantly worse than that found on the company's previous Palm IIIc model (which, incidentally, lacked the option to turn backlighting off altogether). There are, however, no options on the m505 to adjust the colour or brightness -- a puzzling omission. Those desperate for a "fix" can try a free patch called Glowhack that turns on the light when the Palm starts up. This, as you might expect, decreases battery life significantly. Don't bother with alleged fixes called m505 Supernova or Bright505. Both, as far as we can tell, are hoaxes -- essentially, rebranded versions of Glowhack.
The unit ships with a tasteful-looking removable leather cover that clips into a slot on the left side of the unit, protecting the screen and covering the buttons while in a pocket or purse. It can be flipped around to the back while the unit is in use. (It is, however, practically impossible to remove without the use of tools, once attached to the unit's left-side slot -- a problem that also affected our ability to remove the stylus from its holder on the other side.)
We are apparently not alone in finding that the stylus is amazingly difficult to remove from its slot (called a "rail" in Palm parlance) on some units. On ours, we literally could not manage to pry the stylus free of its holder using our fingers and fingernails alone. We had to pry it out using the edge of a hard object. As you might expect, it eventually loosens up a bit with repeated use. Oddly, a rail on the left side of the device is a smaller diameter then the one on the right. Palm does not currently offer a stylus that will fit the left rail and blames "an internal component design" as the reason that the left rail is smaller than the right rail on the m500/505 handhelds. If the leather cover is not installed, the left-side rail serves little function except to make the unit less comfortable to hold.
The m505, like its monochrome sibling, is powered by a DragonBall VZ processor, running at a speed of 33 MHz. It includes a "Alarm Vibrate" option for silent notifications. (Note, however, that most third-party scheduling utilities don't currently support this feature.) The included docking cradle, to which the m505 is connected via a proprietary "Universal Connector," is designed for USB connection to PC or Macintosh computers. A serial cradle is available as a US$29 option, for those who prefer or require this connection method to sometimes troublesome USB. However, the USB cradle has faster HotSync times -- generally 3-4 times faster. There's also an IR port, allowing you to "beam" data to another Palm or other IR-equipped device. We successfully used a utility called PeaceMaker to send names and addresses to a PocketPC handheld with this feature.
Palm claims the unit's rechargeable Lithium-Ion Polymer battery lasts for up to three weeks, based on what it characterizes as "normal use." In our tests, this amounted to more than a day of continuous use, with the light off most of the time, or about 7 hours of heavy use with the light on. When returned to its cradle for "hot syncing," the unit automatically recharges in about two hours. While charging, the m505's power button glows green.
Software
The Palm OS 4.0 includes some new features designed to improve the system's connectivity options. Notably, some of the features require what Palm calls "Phone Drivers." The CDs included in the box contain drivers for popular Nokia PCS phones. With one of them, you can dial a phone from the address book, access Simple Messaging Services (SMS), etc. (We have not yet tested this feature.)
Palm has significantly improved the system's ability to browse standard web pages. An application called "MyPalm Web Clipping," available for download from from www.palm.net allows virtually any URL to be opened and browsed. There's also a Palm Mail application, providing access to email. Missing, however, are features like favorites or offline viewing. For these, you'll need a third-party app, such as AvantGo.
Some users have noticed that the updated OS has led to a few applications, such as ActionNames or TealMovie, that don't work properly on the m505. (In the latter case, however, the FireViewer movie app can perform the similar tasks.) Generally, however, programs that were written for previous OS versions using standard, documented, supported system calls will work just fine under Palm OS 4. Interestingly, it turns out that most applications written for the Memory Stick expansion feature of Sony's Palm OS-compatible Clie handheld also work with SD-compatible RAM expansion modules on the m505. Palminfocenter.com describes a few of the more useful ones in part 2 of its m505 review.
What's Ahead
Palm is reportedly planning to release machines in 2002 based on the more powerful, Intel-owned ARM processor. These machines will apparently be based on Palm OS 5 and are expected to further extend support for multimedia and wireless connectivity options and will, reports suggest, finally allow resolution independence that will allow for resolutions other than 160x160 (or the Sony Clie's "pixel doubling" workaround). Existing Palm software, say sources, will run under emulation on the powerful ARM chip. These machines are expected to continue support for the SD/MMC expansion cards and the not-so-"Universal" Connector found on the m505. The m500 and m505 feature a Flash ROM potentially allowing them to be upgraded to future operating system revisions.
Peripherals
Thanks to its MMC and SD expansion slots and the so-called Universal Connector, there are numerous options for m500/m505 expansion. SD memory expansion cards are already available; a 32MB card costs about US$55. Not surprisingly, several companies have pre-announced peripherals they are planning to ship RSN*. Kodak will offer a "PalmPix" digital camera for the m500 series for about US$130. Novatel Wireless says it will support the units with a version of its Minstrel wireless modem. And Targus is working on an m500/m505 version of our favorite peripheral for Palm handhelds: the diabolically clever Stowaway fold-up keyboard.
*Real Soon Now.
Conclusion
As always, your opinion of a product has a lot to do with how well it meets your needs. It is clear that there are machines on the market with bigger, brighter screens, better multimedia features and more expansion capabilities. However, the new capabilities of Palm OS 4.0, and the thin profile and light weight of the m505 make it worth considering, if you are in the market for a Palm-based handheld electronic organizer. It essentially marries the svelte form factor of the Palm Vx to the colour capabilities of the IIIc, and adds new expansion options and software capabilities. The result is the thinnest and lightest colour handheld on the market, at the same price, and with the same battery life as the monochrome Palm Vx it effectively replaces. It may not look as impressive on paper as a Compaq iPAQ with 64MB of RAM and a 206 MHz processor, but make no mistake: Palms don't need as much memory or as fast a processor to be at least as useful... and usable.
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