m505 Drops to $400

Click for Larger Image Palm has officially dropped the price of the m505 by $50 to $400. This is the first time this handheld has had a price cut. The new price has already taken effect.

The company is also offering a mail-in coupon for a free 16 MB SD card to all purchasers of the m505, m500, and m125 between now and January 7.

When a price change like this happens it can be quite difficult to assign a reason. The m505 has been available for about six months and a price cut after that amount of time isn't at all unusual.

At the same time, Palm is in a price war with its competitors and the m505 has been under a great deal of pressure from lower-priced but comparable models. Sony's N610C has a very similar feature set and a better screen and it has been $400 since it was released this summer.

Also, the slowing U.S. economy has lowered demand for handhelds and cutting the price for Palm's flagship product should help increase interest in it.

In September, Palm dropped the price of the m500, the grayscale version of the m505, to $330.

While it is true that the m505 has been available for a while from some webstores for this price and even lower, many such stores peg their prices on the suggested one. A $50 drop in what Palm' charges will probably lead to even lower prices elsewhere.

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Let's Applaud Palm for this

kevdo @ 11/1/2001 2:31:33 PM #
Ohh, looks like the advantages for the 610 aren't as pronounced as before... heh heh.

>Sony's N610C has a very similar feature set
>and a better screen

Well, that's a matter of opinion. I liked the m505's better myself. I hate the fonts on the Sony models.

That said, I sure would like Palm to include a brightness setter -- or to make all models of equally bright screen. I've seen several m505s and the brightness varies pretty considerably.

RE: Let's Applaud Palm for this
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 4:57:00 PM #
My Clie N610c is getting much better battery life @ 95% brightness than the m505 with the frontlight on. And, yes, the Hi-Res screen IS better. Look at Wordsmith, Datebk4, and TinySheet4. It DOES look better, that is a fact not an opinion (320x320 is obviously better than 160x160).

RE: Let's Applaud Palm for this
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 5:08:12 PM #
The 505's form factor is the only saving grace for this otherwise overpriced dud. Even the most unelightened pda user knows that the 610 screen far superior to the 505's. As a previous owner of a 505 I can state with some confidence that the 610 is far superior, and still cheaper.


The $399 price tag is still too much money. Palm needs to knock it down to at least $325.

RE: Let's Applaud Palm for this
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 5:28:45 PM #
The 505 has a vibration alarm too, but other than that, give me a Sony any day...

RE: Let's Applaud Palm for this
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 8:30:56 PM #
The only problem with the sony is it is SO ugly. Ouch.

RE: Let's Applaud Palm for this
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 9:47:10 PM #
Really? I like the way it looks. I do agree, the m505 is nice, and thin, but, I still hardly notice the Clie in my pocket. And, I really dont care what it looks like. The screen makes up for every defect on the Clie TWICE.

That is OK, I still got my CLie 760 for even less money

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 2:29:03 PM #
I was in the market one time for one of these m505's, but once I was able to purchase the clie 760 for only $360.00 with no tax,and no shipping fees, at dell.com, i quickly forgot about the PALM m505.

I am a happy Clie owner, and will never go back to the m505.

RE: That is OK, I still got my CLie 760 for even less money
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 3:00:04 PM #
Okay. So now with the m505 being $400, use the Dell coupon to make it cheaper ($300), than the Clie 760c. Anyway, someone could steal either palm from a store, and call it cheaper, so it's a stupid argument.

RE: No More Dell
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 3:33:02 PM #
Dell had such problems with the coupon they stopped selling the 760.

RE: That is OK, I still got my CLie 760 for even less money
jeremyf @ 11/1/2001 5:53:44 PM #
lol, that must be "punk"...

How about us loyal Palm folks that already bought the M505?

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 2:56:54 PM #
Forget the price drop - happens all the time. But, doesn't everyone think that if you just bought a m505/500 recently that you should get the free expansion card too?

Missed the Point
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 3:24:05 PM #
Not making promos retroactive also happens all the time. In fact, I've never heard of it happening at all.

RE: How about us loyal Palm folks that already bought the M505?
madhatter @ 11/1/2001 3:45:04 PM #
Actually, I have seen some stores that advertise if you find a lower price within 30 days, they will match or beat it. That usually includes their own price drop and any promo's like a free expansion cards, cases etc.



A Palm in hand is worth two in your pocket.

RE: How about us loyal Palm folks that already bought the M505?
dckiwi @ 11/1/2001 4:21:29 PM #
Madhatter,

I would have to concur. BestBuy have a "30 day" policy, whereby if you find an item cheaper (even at their own store) they will honor a discount for the difference.

This will be interesting...

RE: How about us loyal Palm folks that already bought the M505?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2001 12:37:54 PM #
If you buy from palms website there is a thirty day return policy also, which includes price drops.

RE: How about us loyal Palm folks that already bought the M505?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/3/2001 8:52:03 AM #
And I just bought my palm like 2 weeks ago ..

WIreless

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 4:29:43 PM #
Great!! Now all we need is for Omnisky to start supporting a modem. What is the deal???

RE: WIreless
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 4:38:51 PM #
Actually, what we need is for someone (anyone) to start supporting the Minstrel service in the southeast US (ie, Atlanta).

RE: WIreless
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 6:35:37 PM #
Actually we need someone to make the wireless modem more affordable, somewhere around $150

RE: WIreless
Davy @ 11/1/2001 7:21:49 PM #
What we need is for more people to take the plunge and actually but the $300 modem, in order to lower the costs by means of mass production. That's the way things work.

RE: WIreless
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2001 12:58:47 PM #
isn't what we need is a built in wireless module? :)

It gets better if you buy at CompUSA

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/1/2001 10:13:40 PM #
CompUSA is advertising a free keyboard and slim leather case (after rebates) through Saturday. I went and purchased a 505 today--they honored the 399.00 price offered by Palm. So for my $400 (+ tax), I got the Palm, the keyboard, AND the case. And I can still send in the coupon for the free 16mb SD card. Pretty good deal!

As for the screen, I would argue that resolution isn't everything. Sony's have come under criticism for having "squishy" screens, and that's what I've noticed on the models I've checked. What's more, the fonts on the Sony look "too thin" at times, if that makes sense.
Not that I'm bashing Sony--it's a great screen. But to each his own, and I prefer the value of the deal I just received, in spite of the single backlight setting, low res, etc. Every handheld has trade-offs--value matters. I think this is a great value.

Release schedule for m525?

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2001 12:04:12 AM #
Based on past experience, I'd say it's pretty safe to assume that the m525 release isn't going to be next week, but do we have any idea when the "upgrade" to the m505 is due to come out?

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2001 7:30:05 AM #
M525 will launch next year. By that time, who cares.



RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/3/2001 10:42:21 AM #
By the time the m525 launches, it will be competing with the Sony N810C and a color version of the T415. Handspring will have its tiny color Treo and the Visor Prism replacement (Edge-sized) out.

Who in their right mind would but the m525?

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/3/2001 12:47:59 PM #
The case cosntruction is of value to me. Also with the new universal connector for Palm I don't want to go into buying new accessories for a Visor or Sony device. I will say if I had seen the difference between N760C and M505 before I purchased in June I would have waited and gone Sony.

But since I have my M505 for almost 5 months I guess I can't complain. BUT, if Palm doesn't improve quality and get moving on new units with faster and better options I will be forced to go elsewhere. I will just wait and see what hapens during the next six months.

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/3/2001 5:20:05 PM #
I don't think there'll be a color version of the T415 and surely not by April. There isn't room enough in the case. The color Treo isn't due until summer, 3 or 4 months after the m525. Many thousands of sane people will buy the m525 for its hi-res screen, built in bluetooth, and strong brand name.

RE: Release schedule for m525?
Altema @ 11/3/2001 8:37:52 PM #
I have to agree with the last poster, the color version of the T415 could not be the same size. They would need to increase the size, or deal with 3 hour battery life. Ditto for the color edge. The M525 addresses the shortcoming(s) of the M505, and I would not be surprised if Palm had a couple of secrets up their sleeve, but I'd be shocked if it was the same size as the M505.

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/3/2001 11:03:30 PM #
I would be the m525.
I'm actually delaying the upgrade from my Vx until it comes out. The sooner and the better, the better.

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/3/2001 11:04:50 PM #
buy, not be ;-)=

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/3/2001 11:29:48 PM #
Unfortunately for Palm,

- They have no "tricks up their sleeve".

- The color Treo, color "Edge" and color T415 will all be released in the next 6 - 7 months.

- The color T415 is not significantly bigger than the monochrome model. (Maybe I've actually seen the prototype, or maybe I'm just guessing...)

- Sony seems to have gotten serious about taking over the PDA market and is able to produce three new models in the time it takes Palm to make one. In an industry that moves as quickly as this, within a year, Palm's products will soon be so far behind the curve it's laughable. Palm brand name loyalty is the main reason that the m505 is selling at all. But even Palm loyalists will be unable to justify paying for substandard Palm hardware in the near future. I believe the next six months is going to show us all how ill-equiped Palm is to compete with its own licensees.

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/4/2001 11:00:14 AM #
> Sony seems to have gotten serious about taking
> over the PDA market and is able to produce three
> new models in the time it takes Palm to make
> one.

6 months ago, Sony didn't have any decent handhelds. Ever look at the first gen Clies? They stank and were really expensive. But Sony got their act together and made a complete line of handhelds out in a 6 month period. Kudos to them. But they now *have* a complete line of handhelds. Their pace of new handhelds is going to slow tremendously. I don't expect ANY new handhelds from them in the next 6 months. They might bump their current handhelds up to more memory, but that doesn't qualify as new models in my book.

p.s. The color T415 is a fantasy.

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/4/2001 3:35:11 PM #
p.s.s I have four COLOR T415's in hand, trust me.

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/4/2001 7:11:18 PM #
You are wrong about Sony. They are in the process of destroying Palm by producing hardware that makes Palm's products look second rate. Look at what has happened in the past six months. Do you really think Palm can survive having their sales cut in half? Especially when they're already losing a ton of money?

Get serious.

Palm has been reheating the same basic designs - (1000/5000/Personal/Pro/III/IIIe/IIIx/IIIxe/IIIc; V/Vx/m500/m505; m100/m105/m125) for so long, they're now unable to innovate to save themselves.

At least we'll be getting more Claudia Schiffer, Michael Jordan, Madonna, Scooby Doo and Fred Flintstone special edition Palms as the company becomes increasingly desperate...

RE: Idiocy LIVES!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/4/2001 8:37:56 PM #
You people amaze me...

I know there are rumors of an m525, a color Edge, a color T415. But they are just RUMORS at this point, or at least figments of your imaginations.

"I have 4 COLOR T415s in hand. Trust me."

Yeah, you know, an anonymous person makes a claim on the internet and says "Trust me." I'm Sold! It must be true! Please...

We've got people quoting timeframes for the color Treo, etc. Do you work for Handspring? How about Sony? Then why not identify yourself?

Sony this, Handspring that. "No one in his right mind would buy a Palm." What you're really saying is you wouldn't buy one, and that's fine. But please stop acting as though people who do are somehow intellectually inferior just because they don't have a "high-res" screen (seriously, in a 3" square, does resolution matter that much?) or they can't play mp3s while they're supposed to be working.

Sometimes I wish you people could just meet in a room, whip your units out, and decide whose is bigger, so at least some of you would shut up!

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/4/2001 11:43:14 PM #
> We've got people quoting timeframes for the color Treo, etc. Do you work for Handspring?

Handspring says the color Treo will be out mid-2002 on their site.
http://www.handspring.com/products/communicators/index.jhtml
Open mouth, insert foot, chew vigorously.

m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/5/2001 1:47:11 AM #
Can somebody point me towards rumors about the feature set for the m525?

What the latest speculative buzz about its updates?

RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/5/2001 3:25:18 AM #
RE: Release schedule for m525?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/5/2001 8:28:02 AM #
This article has more details on the m525:
www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=2336

The promotion runs through Jan. 7, 2002

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/2/2001 8:42:52 AM #
Hey Ed I think you got a typo :)

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