| Product: |
Palm M505 |
| Date: |
29/11/01 (323 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Cool handheld, Expandable, Quick charging
Disadvantages: Expensive
Well thats between me and my pocket but most of the time, Im using the Palm M505. At least thats what Im claiming!
For people on the move, sometime a laptop is a little impractical.
A bulky A4 size case with a bit of weight behind it may not serve any function to the businessman travelling lightly.
Sometimes, the ability to have the functionality of a PC to fit in your Pocket is what you need.
Sure the Pocket PC seems to have faded from the spotlight due to the incompatibility problems but handhelds still have an active role in the marketplace.
Out of all of these, the Palm 5 is my favourite and by far the most functional for my needs.
Let me tell you about it.
What it looks like
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Its about the size of your hand, roughly 15 cm high by about 10 cm wide and a thickness of about 1cm. hence the name Palm and is mostly visible screen with a grey/graphite plastic surround.
The Screen is flat and operates in true LCD Display mode.
On off button is locate at the top and recessed so that it does not turn on and waste battery life in your pocket.
The function buttons are located in the bottom of the display and give some additional usage on top of the touch screen device.
Operation.
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Its quite useful for making notes or preparing presentation ideas. Handy to store that thought you just had about your next project.
With its various windows emulation programs, it can provide functionality to spreadsheets, word documents and image viewers.
Not only this but with its immense power, you can now browse the internet with it. You do need to add some expansions to it for this.
Add ons.
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Obviously these small devices cannot handle many of the tasks that individuals require on their own.
That does not mean that it cant perform these actions.
With the add ons available, you can expand the Palm to do what you want.
Here are
a list of optional extras that make life simple.
External keyboard.
To make typing much quicker, ann on a PS2 keyboard using the universal connector. This negates the portable function but handy when sitting at your desk.
Memory card.
Using the expansion slot, you can increase your memory and storage so your applications can run more smoothly and store more information. Gives you up to 16Mb of memory with an 8Mb card.
Imaging devices.
There are now cameras and Scanners available for the Palm which give it more use when sending emaila attachments. No importing needed when you can capture directly.
Modems.
Using an infared device, you can use your Palm to hook up to the internet via a mobile phone. Great for the business person on the move that needs to check the web. Better than WAP as it has a display that can provide you with 64,000 colors on the TFT screen.
Synconisation Cable.
From your connector on the M505, you can link straight into a Windows based desktop via a USB cable and syncronise your applications and address books in seconds.
Specifications.
One drawback is the lack of Audio on this device. you cannot record to our output from this device. Basically, sounds take up valuable memory and this would cripple the small Palm M505. Best not to provide the functionality than have customer complaining about the poor performance from it.
The Screen is pumping out high definition Colour and clarity through one of the best TFT small screens on the market.
The Weight of the device is a bit too light as I cant tell when its in my pocket or not.
Usage? Well the life cycle of mine has not been tested as I never let the battery run out completely.
Charging for the first time takes about 2 hours. A quick 10 minutes every day helps it survive for 2 hours usage daily.
The manufacturer suggest 2 weeks of average life between charges.
Memory?
Well, 8Mb is a l
ot to cram into a device this size but it does it. That is good seen as my first Pentium PC only had 8Mb. Add to that the 4 Mb of permanent `hard drive` storage and you have a great little device.
Overall.
This is a great little PC with scope for plenty more. As time passes more and more applications and add ons becomes available for it.
I think the M505 is the future of the handheld market.
Pricing and availability.
To buy this device will cost you about £250-£280 from most high street electrical retailers. Dixons sell this device for difinite as I bought mine from there. £255 it cost me. You can buy online and perhaps get a discount from Dabs or one of their competitors.
Summary:
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