Comments on: m500 and m500 Revealed... Mostly

Click for Larger Image The Palm webstore is in the process of being updated with the information on their new models, including pages for both the m500 and m505. There are no pictures on those pages yet but the design is described as being based on the V series, so the pictures seen earlier are almost certainly correct.

The product descriptions, though not complete, confirm many of the rumors. Both have 8MB of memory and the Universal Connector. They have rechargeable lithium polymer batteries. The m505's screen displays 65,000 colors. Both are available for order now, though they show up as backordered. The estimated shipping date for both is April 2.

Also already appearing on the site are lots of peripherals, including a keyboard, a backup module, a 16MB memory expansion card, cases, and more. To see all of these, go to the Palm Store and search for m500.

Return to Story - Permalink

Article Comments

 (68 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Comments Closed Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.

Down

Palm Web Site

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 9:55:31 AM #
Just went to the Palm Store and 0900H on Sunday morning and saw nothing about the M505; they must have pulled it for awhile.

morningstar1844@hotmail.com

RE: Palm Web Site
Ed @ 3/18/2001 10:05:14 AM #
All of this is available on the Palm store by searching for "m500" or "m505". Or you can follow the links in this article.

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter
RE: Palm Web Site
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 10:14:48 AM #
Well it probably wasn't pulled because they aren't releasing it until tomorrow, so there won't be any info I would think until tomorrow morning. I guess some places are just ahead of the game

Palm M505

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 10:11:23 AM #
Sorry about the above comment! I went to the site and did a search on 505 and it gave me this link. I called Palm this morning, but they won't take orders until 3-19-01

check out this site https://store.palm.com/Catalog/productdetails.asp?productnr=3C80801U&parent=

Bye morningstar1844@hotmail.com

RE: Palm M505
Ed @ 3/18/2001 10:33:46 AM #
I ordered one off the Palm Store this morning and one of the people who pointed this out to us ordered yesterday. I have my fingers crossed that Palm won't come up with some reason to invalidate our orders. If these are going to be in short supply, I want to be at the front of the line.

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter
RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 11:20:45 AM #
I also ordered the M505 this morning (Sunday 3/18)! The anticipated ship date is listed as 4/2/01! I got a confirmation email from Palm as well. Let the buying begin!!

RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 12:08:30 PM #
I also ordered mine along with the SWIVEL Belt clip and travel charger.

RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 1:16:59 PM #
Ordered mine as well. Bought basically every accessory. :)

Here's my theory for the day... perhaps the m500/m505 will be available from Palm on 4/2/2001
and will be available in stores like Franklin Covey in May? If I remember, that seemed to work
well for Handspring's Prism/Platinum release.

Hope Palm doesn't take my over-eagerness to order (jumping the gun on the release) as a reason
to cancel my order.

RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 1:53:06 PM #
At Sparco.com they also have m500 series accessories. Two of the things that stood out was a games and dictionary expansion card, Wow!

RE: Palm M500 Series Modem
Ed @ 3/18/2001 2:15:18 PM #
Cool, Sparco shows an m500 series modem so there is no reason to wait for an SD one.

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter
RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 2:45:28 PM #
Anyone try to check their order status online? I ordered around
noon, and the order status page says my order doesn't exist.

RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 3:29:42 PM #
For you guys who ordered the accessories, do you think they will hold up the order if they haven't stocked all of the accesories? For example, what if the new keyboard configuration won't be in stock for several weeks?

RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 3:34:49 PM #
Ever heard of "Backorder"? That is what most businesses use when they won't have items in for several weeks. What makes you think that the order would not be "upheld"?

RE: Palm M505
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 4:37:21 PM #
I'm sure they will PROBABLY ship your m505 out before the peripherals are available. Do you think they will ship the peripherals before the PDA? We'll see, won't we? It's not like the orders are taken and processed in three different places. Oh yeah, they are.

Backlit or Sidelit screen?

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 10:38:16 AM #
According to their site, the m505 has a backlit screen, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's wrong.

Scott

M500 series

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 10:47:45 AM #
Has anybody heard of the new alarm features?

RE: M500 series
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 11:45:41 AM #
The new alarm features of the M500 series are:
NEW 1) Vibrate
NEW 2) Power button/LED blink
NEW 3) Title bar indicator when you have multiple alarms that have gone off and you have not responded to them (instead of tapping on OK, OK, OK over and over)
4) Alarm sound(s) as usual

You can of course have all 3 of the alarm notification methods go off at once too which would be interestingly noisy.

High res screen

Colormeweb @ 3/18/2001 10:47:57 AM #
Quoting from the Palm site:

"And 65,000-color support displays your information in vibrant color on a high-contrast screen."


Could this mean a high res screen like the new Sony Clie?

RE: High res screen
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 10:58:47 AM #
just 16 bit color

RE: High res screen
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 4:05:51 PM #
Has anyone had experience with a color Palm or Handspring with a screen like this? Is it readable in daylight and is the battery life very good (could it get through a few days of heavy use)? Thanks.

RE: High res screen
CKMOOSE @ 3/18/2001 6:50:50 PM #
I have a Palm IIIc and the display is difficult to see in direct sunlight. It is very nice in all other lighting situations, especially in low light where the regular monochrome screen with backlight is almost useless.

The battery life is really good. With heavy use (lots of reading and video games) it will go for a week or more before you need to recharge it. I bought a travel charger and have only used it once since I got it several months ago.

RE: High res screen
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 8:46:46 PM #
The new screen is/will be much better across a wider range of lighting conditions. It is/will be *so* much better than the IIIc in direct sunlight... :-)

Battery life
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 9:20:37 PM #
Does anyone know if this new type of battery can be charged everyday or will this ruin the battery (i.e. should you let the battery drain down before you charge it each time)?

Palm Store is Taking Orders!!

bobbdd @ 3/18/2001 12:09:39 PM #
I just ordered my Palm M505. The site is taking orders and has a delivery date of 4/2/01, listed. I also got a confirmation email from Palm that the order is in process. I sure hope I'll like all the rest of the details and perfomance as they are reveiled!!

RE: Palm Store is Taking Orders!!
Ed @ 3/18/2001 12:46:14 PM #
The fact that the Palm Store is taking orders and that the delivery date is April 2 has been covered several times already. Sorry, but you've touched on one of my pet peeves. Everyone, please read the entire article and the other comments before adding your own.

I'm rearranging the article in hopes of preventing anyone else from making this same announcement.

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter

RE: Palm Store is Taking Orders!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 3:37:01 PM #
Are these valid orders or not? I placed the order but when going back and checking my order with the order number that I was assigned I get a message that says it cannot be found.

RE: Palm Store is Taking Orders!!
Moose @ 3/18/2001 4:55:09 PM #
The order page now shows a TBD as the ship date. I assume TBD means To Be Determined but it might be some other acronym that I'm not familiar with.



m505 why ???

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 12:26:44 PM #
Yes, just throw your money out of the window. Buy your m505 with color screen this year, a palm with higher resolution next year and a "m705" with upgraded cpu in two years and so on. Perhaps you'll get your dream palm device in five years.(not to mention a wireless model for extra bucks) It's sad to see how Palm fools his customers. By the way, since Sony claims the new color clie will be on sale here in germany it's absolutely possible that it will be released in the U.S. too.

RE: m505 why ???
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 1:00:55 PM #
Sorry - not all germans are so negative minded like this guy here what i am trying to tell him in german as follows:
Mal wieder typisch deutsche Pappnase!
Der einzige neunmalkluge herstellerfeindlich klingende Kommentar muß natürlich von einem deutschen Besserwisser kommen.... Natürlcih hätte PALM den m505 schon vor fünf Jahren rausbringen können - hat es aber nicht gemacht um so Typen wie Dich auszunehmen !?!?!
Schön wär's!
Die Leute haben Spaß am entwickeln, verkaufen und Geld verdienen und das ist gut so. Wenn es Dir nict gefällt dann benutz doch Papier und Bleistift...
Denk mal drüber nach

just missed my point (in german, sorry)
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 3:26:40 AM #
Ich war lange Zeit Amiga-User und weiss nur zu Gut was es bringt zu sehr Plattform-abhaengig zu denken. Nicht alles was Palm macht ist gut und richtig. Ich bin selber Palm-User und zufällig in der IT-Branche beschäftigt und schreibe Palm-Programme...vergleiche mal die Preise und die Hardware mit der Pocket PC Plattform und du wirst feststellen das hier was nicht stimmt. Und glaubt nicht das nur das gute Palm-OS alles wieder gut macht...wenn Qualitaet zählen würde, haette sich Windows gar nicht verbreitet....also, ein bischen Kritik muß wohl erlaubt sein. (ok fool customers) war ein wenig ueberspitzt.

SD Debate

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 2:41:43 PM #
"and add new applications without sacrificing memory space." - Palm Store

could this mean that the rumor about not being able to run apps off SD cards is untrue? don't mind me I'm just stirring up the mix a bit, we'll all just have to wait till tomorrow.


RE: SD Debate
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 6:09:32 PM #
The cards will run things like games and other things like GPS maps.

RE: SD Debate
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 6:29:27 PM #
Do we have to wait until more SD cards come out or can we go ahead and buy 64MB MMC cards?

RE: SD Debate
bcombee @ 3/18/2001 8:23:52 PM #
According to the PalmSource 2000 presentation, the slot will support MMC, SD, and SDIO cards, so any existing MMC cards should work fine, although the memory I/O speed for them is slower than on a SD card.

RE: SD Debate
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 8:35:40 PM #
The memory used in SD and MMC cards is not memory-mapped, it's more like a hard-drive - in fact it uses the FAT file system. For this reason applications can't be executed in place (XIP) - they will be copied automatically into internal RAM and then executed. Once finished the OS will remove the application from RAM. The user will see a "please wait" dialog while the copy takes place. The duration of the copy is proportional to the size of the application.

RE: SD Debate
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 10:52:31 PM #
TRG and Handspring have the "reader" programs on RAM and the "books" on the CF and springboard respectively. This technology has been out for more than 1 year now. It would be a huge step backward to not have this kind of convenience with the SD card/palm interface. Are you saying that this will not be possible with the SD memory?

Screen resolution?

BillFugina @ 3/18/2001 2:49:03 PM #
Does anybody know the screen resolution on these devices?

RE: Screen resolution?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 11:02:51 PM #
160x160

Mobile Internet Kit is included

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 3:56:43 PM #
Just in case you didn't notice that the Mobile Internet
kit is already included, ignore the "More solutions for your Palm™ Handheld!" that are shown at the bottom of the m505 order page, those are generic items not specific to the m505.


Cradle

scouter075 @ 3/18/2001 4:13:20 PM #
I didn't see what cradle (serial or USB) is shiiping as standard with the 505. Anybody notice?

Dennis G. Esler
scouter075@mindspring.com
RE: Cradle
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 4:35:43 PM #
It is USB. They will be selling cradles in serial also.

RE: Cradle
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 6:11:52 PM #
As you can confirm on this page:
https://store.palm.com/Catalog/productdetails.asp?productnr=10104U

The Cradle is not compatible with the Palm V and M100 series.

RUBBISH!! m505 brings usNOTHING NEW!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 5:18:55 PM #
I am still bitterly dissappointed that the new m505 is not what i had hope for!!

NO new speaker or MP3/music playback?!

NO improved screen resolution!

IT is HEAVIER THAT EXPECTED!!

Its nothing new.. just a heavier PAlm Vx, thats more thirsty on the batteries, bigger and bulkier.

But i knew people would go rushing out like fools to get one...

I've been waiting so long for nothing!!!


RE: RUBBISH!! m505 brings usNOTHING NEW!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 5:26:58 PM #
You were waiting something that had MP3 playback AND had higher resolution AND was lighter than the current model??

First of all, the M505 is .9 ounces heavier than a Palm Vx. AND it has a color screen.

You can also upgrade it to have MP3 playback capability with the Secure digital slot (I personally would not want to listen to music through my palm
thank you)

The only thing that I see is a downside is the same resolution as before, but if you've been reading any of these sites, palm LONG AGO said that they would not be increasing the resolution of their models until next year. PalmOS 5 is going to have native support for increased resolution as well as support for the much more powerful ARM processor.

I really can't believe you've been waiting for so long and reading websites such as this fine establishment and be surprised with what the Palm m50x series is.

I'm personally considering this if I can get some sort of wireless internet through the Secure digital slot.


RE: RUBBISH!! m505 brings usNOTHING NEW!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 8:52:13 PM #
Nothing new?

So your current Palm device (my actual assumption is that you're a troll with a Journada :-P ) is running OS 4.0 with vibrating alarm, 16 bit color, SD expansion, USB support, Bluetooth-ready, backlit Grafitti area... need I go on?

RE: RUBBISH!! m505 brings usNOTHING NEW!!
palmcoder @ 3/18/2001 11:57:53 PM #

I, too, was amazed to learn that the m505 wouldn't have a speaker for MP3 playback. I guess Palm decided that they couldn't compete with the high-fidelity, crystal-clear, bass-pumping speaker built into the $500 iPaq. :P


(sorry, I know I shouldn't feed the trolls...)


aww...

twizza @ 3/18/2001 5:36:30 PM #
Now that I am really comfortable with my IIIxe here this comes. I guess that there is no happiness for Palm peoples.
RE: aww...
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 7:05:45 PM #
there's no need to stop being comfortable with your IIIxe, don't give in to the hype. just remember that until palm comes out with a better color screen and a machine with more than 8mb of ram, not to mention a newer operating system, there's no good reason to get a new machine. i was getting sucked in by all the hype about the M50x series, and then i realized that i *like* my IIIxe, and until something *truly* better comes along, why bother dropping $450 on a machine that will probably disappoint.

RE: aww...
twizza @ 3/18/2001 10:09:12 PM #
yea. that is basically how i am feling now. i wont be needing an upgrade for this for a while. when i asked the Lord for this i told Him what i wanted and i have it. right now. i am seeing more candy that i want. while it is not what i need. it is sure nice to know that it is out there for me to upgrade to later on.

also. if there was one grip that i do have with my "perfect for me" IIIxe it wuold be teh screen. i would like the dot pitch offered in the m-series screens in my own. though i dont like teh size. i really would like kind of clarity when writing or viewing pics that will be used for the avantgo web channels that i develop.

M500 Color Depth

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 9:16:49 PM #
Is the m500 a 16 color grey scale or is a 16bit grey scale device?

One Left

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 9:18:46 PM #
So we know what Handspring, Sony & Palm have to offer...Whats the latest info and due date for the new TRG device?

RE: One Left
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/18/2001 10:48:31 PM #
It ought to be announced this week at CeBit since Handera is registered for the conference. I am sure that it means that they have a new device. The question is.....color?......and When will it ship?

Midnight! So where's my m505!?

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 12:08:21 AM #
Let's go Palm...we're waiting.

RE: Midnight! So where's my m505!?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 12:12:11 AM #
There we go! Now if only we could get an availability date up there.

RE: Midnight! So where's my m505!?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 12:16:40 AM #
Mountain Standard Time guys, be patient

m505 revealed

mkheraj @ 3/19/2001 1:49:53 AM #
Palm has begun selling the m500 and m505 now. Pictures, pictures!!!!

m500 and m505 are here: wow!!! go to palm.com!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 1:48:12 AM #
Go to http://www.palm.com/products/palmm505/ for pictures, details and datasheets.

They're pack with so many features (silent-LED/vibrating/sound alarms, etc.) and bonus software (Pocket Mirror, Documents to Go, MGI Photo Suite, PowerOne calculator, etc.) that they are a true, wonderful offer! The new OS 4.0 seems exciting too.

I will buy the m505 today! Well, pre-order it!
Only one question: no comments on the Palm web site about the flash rom (is it flashable? 4 Mo or 2?).

Do you have any information?
Skip'

RE: m500 and m505 are here: wow!!! go to palm.com!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 1:59:17 AM #
They have Flash ROM, sorry. Just found the information on the comparison chart: http://www.palm.com/products/family.html

It's a go! :-)

Skip'



RE: m500 and m505 are here: wow!!! go to palm.com!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 2:02:00 AM #
Well, and take a look at the 'News' section on the Palm web site: 11 press releases today. Lots of news for a big day...

Skip'

Still unsure about the resolution....

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 1:55:17 AM #
The site is now up http://www.palm.com/products/palmm505/

There is no mention whether or not the resolution has been increased to 320x320. Very disappointed. I will take the assumption that the resolution has not changed, otherwise, why would Palm NOT mention it on their site ??? Watch for a Palm M510 (??) to come with the higher res.

RE: Still unsure about the resolution....
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 2:11:49 AM #
Or maybe we will see a M305 model, basically same shape as the current PalmIII series.... 320x320, speaker, mp3 capability, etc....

m500 and m505 availability? look at Palm News...

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 2:04:54 AM #
"The m500 handheld, weighing just four ounces, is scheduled to be available in the United States in late April for an estimated street price (ESP) of $399 (U.S.).(1) International availability is expected in May. The m505 handheld, the lightest expandable color-screen handheld computing product ever designed, is scheduled to be available in the United States in May for $449 (ESP)." says the Palm announcement...

:-( I had Palm customer service on the phone tonight and they said early April for the m505... Two different dates for the same source...

Skip'


Their selling

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 2:07:07 AM #
I know you can buy them cause I was the second person to buy one. Sweet!!! shiped in 3-4 weeks. I can't wait. :) :) :)

Placed order at 12:03 a.m. 03/19/01

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 2:33:27 AM #
Palm now taking orders over the phone; stated that they would ship in 2-3 weeks. I ordered the
1. M505 Colored
2. Hot sync cable USB (for 2nd computer)
3. Travel charger
4. Metal case not listed on the Web site
5. one asia card
6. one keyboard and case
7. leather belt case

Oders Placed after MN on Phone take first place

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 2:43:14 AM #
Orders placed after MN (03/19/01); go before the web orders placed earlier today! Luckily I was number 3; a long wait for 2-3 weeks. I guess one has to be patience! Let's hope Palm releases a few hundred thousand.

Handsprings better get busy with a new release and I think Palm is going to run strong to release add on"s such as Visor has done. Good for us all. Handspring has a good following! Low prices on a Prism's now!

Few more notes

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 2:59:10 AM #
1/ on back side of the units there are four screws visible - hope glue is definitely gone this time?
2/ regarding the pr ess release "Both handhelds feature a new Arctic Mist metallic silver color:.." On released pictures it seems that each unit (500/505) has a different color (color one is noticeably darker)?
3/ Vx price is now lowered to 350USD. I think it should be close to 300 soon...
4/ Note: I personally think that the two most important things affecting usability are - BATTERY LIFE (seems to be as low as half on color unit, let's check the real thing soon!) and DISPLAY QUALITY (I'm awaiting first real-user review). From my point of view, the 50USD price difference for bw and color unit looks to be too small. Maybe the color technology isn't still perfect this time? (power consumption/screen clarity question again)

Palm m505 Questions

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/19/2001 4:14:44 AM #
I am in Australia and we dont really have a HUGE PDA market downhere. Heck, we dont even see Handspring or Sony Clie here at all.

But i would like to know :

1) Can The M505 load applications from SD memory cards ?

2) Is 64MB really the upper limit an Palm SD reader handle? THe Press release claims 256Mb or 128mb i think
but the Palm site says upto 64mb.

3) Does the new Palm m505 have a better speaker than the older models ? My IIIc has a terrible speaker, when i play sound files, movies with TealMovie they sound horrible and the alarm is weak.

4) I hear that there will be an MP3 SD module, how will songs be played back IF the speaker is still the same or will it be head phone jack only?

5) Also i have read about SEGA developing games for PALM. Is that going to be inform of SD card or software ? And how will sound be handled if speaker is still the same?

6)Is the resolution still 160 x 160 ? What is better for viewing photos ? 160 x160 - 16BIT or 320 x 320 - 8 bit?

7) Any international release dates? I was under the impression that it would have a world wide release date rather than USA getting it 3 months earlier.

Thanks very much in advance for any input.



Oh the hype... and the agony

Eston Bond @ 3/21/2001 6:25:39 AM #
I have waited so long for this release- and now find the m505 as no more than a marketing scheme for Palm. No Palm V accessory connections? Well there's no reason to upgrade! I think Palm wants all their new users to buy these new accessories. I've got over 300.00 in accessories for my Vx, and there's no way I'll shell that out again. At least the Palm III series had the same connector as the Palm Pilot. I'm extremely disappointed, Palm. I'm glad I bought the iPaq I'm writing this on.
Top

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass: