My Palm m505 screen review
Scott I. Remick
the opportunity to check out the screen for myself. I have been
contemplating upgrading to one of these (from a Palm Vx). I only had a
few minutes, so I plan on returning there sometime to spend more time
with it (and beam over some other apps to try). However, I accomplished
my main goal.
So what do I think of the screen? It's just fine. Is it better than the
Clié, Journada, etc? Of course not.
Here's my rant, people: those other units look better because they CAN
be; they're larger units. When you're talking about a device the size of
the m505 (which is only so slightly larger than the Vx that you can't
notice), there's only so much technology you can fit in. Compromises
have to be made (and it's a combination of screen technology and the
limited space for a battery to POWER it). For those of you thinking:
"better technology than that exists, even given the size", you are
forgetting development time. When Palm started developing the m505,
they had to use whatever color screen technology existed at the time
that was at least somewhat tried-and-true (what use would have been a
better screen that failed all the time?), could be made small enough to
fit in a Vx case, and could still yeild decent battery life from the
already limited battery. As it was, Palm took a leap and used a new
battery technology (Li-polymer) and made it BIGGER than the battery in
the Vx, which left them with even LESS space to cram in new stuff. Plus
we've got an expansion slot in there now.
You can't complain that the m505's screen is worse than the Clié/iPaq
any more than you can complain that the display on your digital watch is
worse than that on the m505. Put things in perspective, people...the
m505 is TINY and the mere fact that it is what it is is truly amazing.
If you can't live with it's screen, then the m505 isn't the right device
for you and you're just going to have to settle for something larger.
But don't slam Palm...the m505 is simply the next natural stage in the
evolution of that segment of their product line. Future ones will be
even better, just as the V was better than those that came before it.
But if there are to BE future models, then what Palm needs is your
support. It's no secret that Palm is struggling now. How much of it is
because of consumers who spend more time complaining that the latest
Palm units aren't the Holy Grail of electronic devices, instead of
appreciating them for what they ARE and supporting the company's efforts
and vision? For there to be something better in the pipeline, there
needs to be a Palm to begin with, and that Palm needs your continued
support (and yes, money) to R&D these things.
Now I suppose those in here who are really pro-PocketPC/anti-Palm trolls
just posing as former loyal Palm users claiming to be betrayed and
otherwise dissing Palm to cause dissention in the ranks will flame me
regardless...but for the rest of you legit and sensible people: please
think on what I'm saying here. How about a truce? If the m505 isn't for
you, fine...but that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't continue to
support Palm.
I know that I'll be upgrading to the m505, and even if it isn't the
Perfect PDA, at least I know I've done my part to support the company so
they can continue to improve the product.
Flames will be ignored, but thoughtful comment welcome.
ps- I was pleasantly surprised to find that, despite the redesign, my
$20 Point! stylus that I use with my Vx slid nicely into the slot on the
m505.
[This was written on my Palm Vx]
Ronnie Gibson
"Scott I. Remick" <sire...@com.yahoo> wrote in message
news:MPG.15a1dd8c6...@nntp.bur.adelphia.net...
<snip>
> But if there are to BE future models, then what Palm needs is your
> support. It's no secret that Palm is struggling now. How much of it is
> because of consumers who spend more time complaining that the latest
> Palm units aren't the Holy Grail of electronic devices, instead of
> appreciating them for what they ARE and supporting the company's efforts
> and vision? For there to be something better in the pipeline, there
> needs to be a Palm to begin with, and that Palm needs your continued
> support (and yes, money) to R&D these things.
While I agree with many of your points, I think the above paragraph needs
some comment. I too am a Palm user and am very happy with their
products (PalmPro, PalmV, PalmVx) but you need to remember that they
are quite definitely a business, not a charity. The company will be
'supported'
by customers if they continue to produce good products (which I believe
they do). If they get to the point where they can't survive without the
unquestioning support of the die-hard Palm users, they're finished.
Their products MUST appeal to the unbiased masses - they have to be
products that people want in and of themselves... not just because they
believe in Palm.
For myself, I hope that Palm are able to continue producing excellent PDAs
AND shift the balance of their income more towards licensing from being
nearly all hardware sales. I also hope they are able to maintain the
endearing
simplicity of PalmOS as it necessarily expands.
Ronnie
Ben Starr
this newsgroup were conjecturing about whether the technology was available
to create a Palm V with a colour screen. Palm proved that it was possible
but along the way had to make some compromises. You can't have it all but
the m505 is pretty close.
The same goes for changing the adapter plug. There was talk of it not being
possible to fit everything into the m505 with the existing plug. This
doesn't change the fact that it is a pain having to buy new accessories but
you've got to consider all factors when evaluating a device. Like I said
above, you can't have everything as sometimes it just isn't physically
possible.
Of course I still believe that it is over priced...
--
Ben Starr
benjamin...@nospam.hotmail.com
(Please note my e-mail address has been altered to avoid spammers,
remove "nospam." if you wish to e-mail me)
Stefanos Dris
companies. I think this makes sense, since Palm is going through difficult
times and competition is greater than ever. Hopefully PalmOS will evolve
into a product with features that will lure PocketPC users away from M$,
while maintaining its simplicity and unrivalled functionality. As for the
hardware... well I don't know what will happen to Palm, but I don't worry
about it too much, since I know there will always be quality PalmOS devices
from Sony, Handera, Handspring... (to name a few). Although I bought the
m505, I can't help but notice that the new Clie PEG-N610C has a
high-resolution brightness/contrast adjustable screen as well as jog-dial
for $50 less than the m505. Sure, I love the size and metallic feel of the
m505, but I still think it's overpriced. In any case, the future still looks
good for PalmOS devices. The switch to ARM core-based processors should
greatly increase our favorite OS's capabilities.
Stefan
"Ronnie Gibson" <ronnie...@strath.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:9h9ift$obl$1...@dennis.cc.strath.ac.uk...
Daniel Bonds
when they came out (never like following new developments too closely
right after I make a purchase), but I thought the new Clie was $50
MORE than the m505. Not to say that it isn't a great device. Both ithe
color Clie and the new Handera have made me wish many times form
factor wasn't so critical to me. I was just under the impression it
wasn't quite the value you make it out to be.
I'm waiting for the day when I get to pick the features I want. Give
me a Clie screen with the active graffiti area like on the Handago
with the size of the m505. To show that I'm not totally unreasonable,
they can even keep the MP3 player. I guess everyone has different
priorities, eh?
I digress..
Daniel
On Tue, 26 Jun 2001 14:58:23 +0300, "Stefanos Dris"
<stefa...@ic.ac.uk> wrote:
>...
>Although I bought the
>m505, I can't help but notice that the new Clie PEG-N610C has a
>high-resolution brightness/contrast adjustable screen as well as jog-dial
>for $50 less than the m505. Sure, I love the size and metallic feel of the
>m505, but I still think it's overpriced.
>...
x-guy
There is a new Clie N610C coming out in (people predict) August, which is
basically the same thing as N710C but without mp3 and comes with OS4.0 and
support 16-bit color. And it costs $399...........
x-guy
judge by how the device looks and how much they have to pay.....
I also think m505 is an OK device, but overpricced!
Adam Helberg
no device with a great color screen nor great monochrome screen, regardless
of size. These problems are showing up as stock prices near all time low.
Surely they must have someone monitoring the comments on this newsgroup.
Adam
"Scott I. Remick" <sire...@com.yahoo> wrote in message
news:MPG.15a1dd8c6...@nntp.bur.adelphia.net...
JRW
the battery needed to support the device screen technology, and is about 28%
heavier than the 505. The 505 fits my shirt pocket comfortably, I carry it
everywhere and I wouldn't do that with the Sony.
Jeff
"Scott I. Remick" <sire...@com.yahoo> wrote in message
news:MPG.15a1dd8c6...@nntp.bur.adelphia.net...
Scott I. Remick
helb...@earthlink.net says...
> The fact is Palm and Handspring now have a major display problem. They have
> no device with a great color screen nor great monochrome screen, regardless
> of size. These problems are showing up as stock prices near all time low.
> Surely they must have someone monitoring the comments on this newsgroup.
In my opinion, what Palm should do is come out with an updated non-
slimline (as in V/Vx/m50x) color model. Sorta like a new IIIc. That
way they can make it thick for those who don't care about thickness and
just want to be using a Palm with an excellent color screen.
I don't doubt this is in the works somewhere. Perhaps the m305?
GWM
wrote:
<snip>
>Both ithe color Clie and the new Handera have made me wish many times form
>factor wasn't so critical to me.
If form factor wasn't an issue I would always be carrying my Sony
laptop with its 15" screen and DVD drive.
Form factor is IMO the most important characteristic of a PDA.
-G
Alistair
"x-guy" <x-...@hotmall.com> wrote in message
news:3B38B595...@hotmall.com...
> While I agree with your point, but I don't think people are forgiving,
they
> judge by how the device looks and how much they have to pay.....
>
> I also think m505 is an OK device, but overpricced!
I agree. I just had a quick "hands on" in the local store - looked at the
505 priced at £399. Had a look at the Jordana(?), but it was too ugly. Then
looked at the iPac. Then I realised why Palm are in trouble. For £20 more
the iPac was in a different league altogether; a colour screen that really
was colour - stunning tft display, and an amazing 32Mb as opposed to the 8Mb
palm! Not only that, the speaker was suitable for MP3 playback (not
fantastic, granted) as opposed to beep beep quality.
Palms greyscale Vx compares well against any other greyscale screen I have
ever seen, but the have lost the plot with colour. Like another poster in
this thread said, they have a lot of catching up to do.
(I noticed while checking prices that the US price in dollars is almost the
same as the GBP price grrrrrrrrr)
Alistair
Tempy
>Form factor is IMO the most important characteristic of a PDA.
>
You sure it's not battery life ?
I matters not what size it is if it ain't working !!!
Brian Keener
My question is that if form factor is THE most important characteristic
of a PDA, where are all the REX users? And why isn't HE using a Rex?
Brian K
Tempy
wrote:
>My question is that if form factor is THE most important characteristic
>of a PDA, where are all the REX users? And why isn't HE using a Rex?
>
Cos he's not being honest.
What's inportant is the device works and fullfills your needs, then
size is an issue.
Otherwise, why not carry a tiny diary and calculator in a watch ?
To me, size and weight are NOT the biggest issues.
I want something I enjoy to use, to me personally, if I'm not happy
with the device, be it screen, speed, whatever, then even being
slimline aint gonna compensate.
Mark S
US Prices are:
m505 $449
iPaq $600 or $650 (64Meg)
Sony Clie $499 (best color screen)
"Alistair" <a...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9hd61r$ct1fb$1...@ID-12072.news.dfncis.de...
Alistair
"Mark S" <rep...@this.news.group> wrote in message
news:9hdt3m$q...@dispatch.concentric.net...
> You must have some odd things going on with prices over there:
> US Prices are:
> iPaq $600 or $650 (64Meg)
Took me ages to find this link again. iPac at $450 (32Mb) - retails at £410
in UK
http://computershopper.zdnet.com/texis/cs/query.html?catid=C0000061&pid=P025
2251&sb=3&cobrand=29
Alistair
Tempy
>You must have some odd things going on with prices over there:
>
>US Prices are:
>m505 $449
>iPaq $600 or $650 (64Meg)
>Sony Clie $499 (best color screen)
>
>
Here in the UK a company is selling the following:
Ipaq (with just a serial hotsync cradle) 32MB £338 UK Pounds inc TAX
A USB Cradle is another £30
Palm M505 (USB Hotsync cradle) 8MB £351 UK Pounds inc TAX
Ipaq (Full 64MB and USB Cradle etc) £500 UK Pounds inc TAX
So you are looking at the IPAQ with USB being £17 more than a 505 Palm
Kevin
Very well stated, Scott... and my feelings exactly. It was only a year
ago when everyone said color was not even possible in the V form. Palm
still makes the best designed handheld product with the most practical
features. Hope they're around to lead the way for a long, long time.
sire...@com.yahoo (Scott I. Remick) wrote:
..I finally found a store with a Palm m505 on display as a demo, so I
Alistair
> Here in the UK a company is selling the following:
>
> Ipaq (with just a serial hotsync cradle) 32MB £338 UK Pounds inc TAX
> A USB Cradle is another £30
what company is that?
--
Alistair [ICQ UIN 41113560]
www.GhostRecon.net
Website of Ghost Recon dot net
www.agr-s.com
Website of Alt.Games.Rainbow-Six
Mark S
significantly cheaper (not to mention that a 32 Meg iPaq is pretty
useless... you need 64 Meg to do anything.
/Mark
"Alistair" <a...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9hdu0q$ddlie$1...@ID-12072.news.dfncis.de...
Russ Garner
sure whether this price is ex. VAT, but it's certainly a fair bit
cheaper than I've seen it anywhere else, and it's still cheaper than a
505 :(
The 3660 (64Mb) is £425.
On Thu, 28 Jun 2001 01:28:56 +0100, "Alistair" <a...@blueyonder.co.uk>
wrote:
Alistair
--
"Russ Garner" <russelldotgarne...@resolve.to.reply.net> wrote in
message news:njlmjtc9j1h9a9pnn...@4ax.com...
> Try www.action.com and search for the H3630. It retails at £288. Not
> sure whether this price is ex. VAT,
Excluding, therefore it sells for £338, still a good price - the best I
found was amazon at £350.
Alistair
x-guy
laptop - couple of lb.
PDA - couple of oz.
Can we say if the size doesn't matter, I will buy a jet airplane instead of a
BMW?
x-guy
you just don't want to give it a try....
Tempy
wrote:
>
>> Here in the UK a company is selling the following:
>>
>> Ipaq (with just a serial hotsync cradle) 32MB £338 UK Pounds inc TAX
>> A USB Cradle is another £30
>
>what company is that?
http://www.technomatic.co.uk/home.asp
Excellent deal I think, sounds like you just get the bare Ipaq and
serial docking station.
Not sure if you get any more if you go to a high street store and pay
£500 !
CF Chong
Palm m505 with 16M MMC card with a box of ReadWrite: SGD839 (USD463)
SONY Clie 710 with 8M MS: SGD799 (USD441)
In Singapore, Clie is cheaper than m505. m505 was launched a month ago. Clie
710 will launch 1st week July, next week!
On 28 Jun 2001 00:17:58 GMT, "Mark S" <rep...@this.news.group> wrote:
_\\|//_ Imagination is more important than knowledge...
0(` O-O ')0 A. Einstein
___ooO-(_)-Ooo_______________________________________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________________________________
~~ <__> <__> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GWM
If size and weight are not issues, then no PDA can compete with a
laptop.
What distinguishes a PDA from a laptop is FORM FACTOR, which therefor
makes it the most important characteristic. However, it is definitely
not the ONLY characteristic that matters. All devices have tradeoffs.
It's up to the user to decide which ones are acceptable.
And as far as the Rex goes, I love the size and form factor. However,
the Rex is obviously severely limited in a number of ways, including
input, screen size and software. In this case the tradeoffs were not
acceptable to me.
-G
GWM
>Well, the Clie is in my shirt pocket everyday, sure you can do the same thing,
>you just don't want to give it a try....
>
Well, when I put a Clie in my shirt pocket, it felt kind of bulky.
Maybe I need shirts with bigger pockets.
-G
GWM
>It is a very bad example.
>
>laptop - couple of lb.
>PDA - couple of oz.
>
>
>Can we say if the size doesn't matter, I will buy a jet airplane instead of a
>BMW?
I'm sorry - you lost me on that one...
-G