REVIEW: Palm m505

[Steve]

Date Reviewed: May 2, 2001

"If the Palm V handheld is a WOW device (according to business guru Tom Peters' definition) then the new Palm m505 handheld is an OH MY GOD device. Palm has somehow managed to squeeze a color display and a Secure Digital expansion slot into the svelte Palm V form factor. Not only that, they've done it while maintaining the same price point as the Palm Vx -- $449."

Read the full review at http://www.brighthand.com/palmhandhe...505_page1.html

[amin]

I was the first one to respond in the original thread about this review, so I guess I'll be first to respond to the new one as well .

The only thing I might contest about this review is the US vs Hungary observation. Most reports about interscreen variability amongst m505s seem to indicate that screen brightness does vary but not based on country of origin. In other words, it may have been purely by chance that the brighter reviewed m505s were from the US. On the other hand, I know that Steve has seen plenty of m505s, so I respect his observation. Either way, this is a small point to get hung up on in a thorough and well-done review.

This thread will likely serve as a good indicator for how independent the Palm boards are from the rest of Brighthand. As any of the members who have been visiting for a while will recall, this review and the original thread that ensued made up the most controversial discussion in recent Brighthand history. The degree to which rationality prevails on this new thread will serve as a sort of inverse trollometer as I see it .

The m505 is certainly the best PDA for me, including the new CLIE T600 (or US version thereof) in any price range. I have been using an m505 since they hit retail in the US, and I have never regretted my decision to buy it. My brother recently bought one on my advice in spite of all the new PDAs brought to market since I made my purchase months ago. The #1 complaint voiced often on the web about the m505 is that the screen is too dim. If you are considering buying one, I strongly recommend that you ignore the critics and supporters and go see one for yourself if that is possible.

*amin

[Steve]

amin,

You are correct regarding the US vs. Hungary issue. I've since found that it has nothing to do with the country of origin of the device, but there are differences in some of the screens.

Also, the big controversy was around the screen brightness, which I readily admit could be a bit brighter. But all in all this is an excellent PDA and I still stand behind that.

[Ben S]

According to Peter Strobel's site (Peter's Pilot Pages ) -- the difference in screen brightness comes from the fact there are actually two screens: one from LG and one from (ironically enough) Sony.

I love Peter's site, but frankly he scares me a bit -- he's the only guy I know who does a review of a new PDA by taking it apart!!!

[D_Russ]

I just want to say that I have been a user of the m505 since May when I decided that I would buy (for a change) the latest and the best PDA that was available. This is my 3rd Palm PDA and I usually waited until the models were out for a bit and nicely discounted. I have never regretted the decision I made to go with the m505 in spite of all the griping and moaning about quality of display, OS 4, Palm's tech support, etc. With its beautiful looks and its form factor, I carry this PDA with me ALL the time (except when I'm involved with a church liturgy - and that's only because I don't want a forgotten alarm going off at an importune time). I must have been one of the MANY fortunate people who got an m505 with no dust, no problems in reading the screen in all kinds of light, and ended up perfectly happy with my decision. I love the USB hotsync connection and the time it takes me to sync to my PCs (home and work - no problems). I found that I cannot live without Datebk 4, ShadowPlan, Daynotez, Wordsmith, iSilo, Avantgo, and Zap2016 the use of each enhanced by this PDA's color screen and expansion. My MMC card is loaded with bibles, dictionaries, photos, novels, Word docs, and games; and I still have about a meg of space left in my RAM.

I think that Steve's review on the m505 was absolutely right on the money. Incidentally, that particular review (and I read them all) was the one that got me to act on my impulse to purchase one right away. I was able to get a deal at Best Buy ($405 - never pay retail) and have been Palmin' away with it ever since. I grant that there are probably some things that could have been done better with the m505 (an adjustment for screen brightness and I do occasionally find myself lusting for the high resolutions of the Clie but then I don't spend a lot of time looking at videos on my PDA -that is why God invented VCRs and Dvds). I have been as pleased as I can be that I bought this PDA when I bought it and I know that it will be my personal digital assistant for a long time.

[Jennifer S]

I use Silence to set my Palm to be silent during church services and choir rehearsal. That way, I don't have to worry about forgetting to turn off the sound.

Jennifer

[Steve]

D_Russ,

You're not alone there. For as many Pocket PC enthusiasts that jumped on me for giving the m505 such high praise, there were 10x more people who emailed me privately and said that they are THRILLED with their m505s. They just didn't want to make themselves a public target on that board. That's why it is SO NICE to have this board. I'm really enjoying it and think it will become bigger than the other board in just a few months.

[Ben S]

I bought my m505 because of irony.

Seriously. I had heard nothing about how bad the screen was for weeks before I bought my m505 in the last week of May (they'd only become available in my neck of the woods the week before). I want to be clear on this: not *ONE* review that I read said anything positive about the screen. The messages flying around on the newsgroups were even worse.

So it was not without some trepedation that I walked into Staples that Saturday morning. I was ready to walk out with an m505 *or* m500 -- even though I'm a total colour convert, if the screen had been as bad as I'd heard, I'd switch. I was more interested in expansion and pocketability (I was moving up from a IIIc, which was giving me back problems :-)

Imagine my relief when I took it out of the box, turned it on, and saw what the screen *really* looked like! It was great! And with the backlight on... perfect! (The guy at Staples wanted to know how I got it to "light up". Oh boy...) I plunked down my money and walked out the proud owner of an m505 -- greatly relieved that either the reviewers were being too critical or I wasn't being critical enough. I didn't care. I just knew I'd found my perfect PDA .

[Steve]

It's so nice to have a few people that share my feelings. Jen Edwards (Palm Goddess) also loves hers and we both think the whole Palm m505 screen thing was "much ado about nothing," to quote Bill S.

[NEoPHYte31]

hmm..coming from an ipaq, i expected the m505's screen to be EXTREMELY BAD!! fortunately, it is far from that! im perfectly fine with mine and the downgrade of resolution to 160X160 didnt bother me AT ALL!! maybe its just me... or maybe i was just expecting something much worse.. i really dont know! all i know is that i love it!! one of the things i like about it is the METAL cover.. makes it feel solid and super valuable unlike ipaq, clie, etc