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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Palm still builds the reference unit!, 16 Jun 2001
I was recently starting to consider a new PDA to replace my ageing IIIx, and was swaying between the IIIc and waiting for the m505. A trip to Singapore and getting my hands on a 505 then did the trick. The size and feel of the m505 is outstanding. I can now see what all the Palm V owners were raving about when it came out. The 505 is an excellent continuation of the Palm series, while setting new standards for connectivity and what can be packed into a small form factor. The machine is so light you hardly notice it is in your pocket. I keep putting my phone in the same pocket before realising it's in there.... Much better than the series III. The size makes the unit fit my hand perfectly. The form factor has always been the main reason why choosing a Palm Powered PDA over a PPC or a subnotebook, ad the same still holds true. You can do a lot more with a PPC, but if you want a PDA, stick with Palm/Handspring/etc. Battery life, size, and ease of use are the main issues in this case, and here the Palm units beat PPC hands down. If you want to play quake/listen to MP3s/watch videos on your handheld, go for a PPC. Much has been critisised about the screen of the 505, and its lack of brilliance, brightness, etc. Well, it isnt exactly a machine to watch videos on, but it provides good colour display with low battery usage. I need the backlight only very occasionaly. It is perfect under office lights and outside (which was one of the big problems of other models). Admittedly, a control for the backlight or contrast would be nice, but frankly, I haven't needed one so far. The colour display, even without backlight is perfect to improve the use of my main apps, the datebook, a routeplanner and a stockmanager. The displays of virtually all colour PPCs are definitely better. No debate. But the 505's screen is perfect for a PDA, and that is what I need. The Clie colour might actually compete with the PPCs, but I haven't seen one in real life so far. The additional connectivity software (SMS, Webclipping, AvantGo, etc.) make the machine a treat to work with and use. Battery life is outstanding. I have only managed to get it down to about 90%, after the initial charge, and then it was running for ages (playing with it on the first day). As a comparison: the first batteries on my IIIx didn't last a week. Usually a 5 min morning sync, while pulling all AvantGo and email, should be well sufficient. Looking at it, it should survive a 10 day trip without too many problems. Longer than that, especially if you want to do email, etc over IR, and you should consider a travel charger. Hotsyncing is a dream, with the USB cradle being incredible fast, even though I have a full backup running every time and AvantGo pulls a massive amount of webpages. In contrast to the PPCs Hotsync is also a big plus for the Palm/handspring camp. It works. Plain and simple. No trouble, no fuss. The backup and memory cards will be the ultimate expansion a PDA user will ever need. I for one will be able to keep all the chemical and physical references I allways go to my desktop and to my books for in a card with easy access wherever I am. No more running across campus to my office to search through the "rubber bible" to get the thermal properties of the 50+ compounds I usually work with, and no nood to hunt for a networked PC in the lab to get to my old papers. I can even keep PDF versions of formula books etc. right with me. This machine can be a scientists dream :) Once the keyboard is out, I will finally ban my laptop to the office. There is absolutely no need to carry it with me any more, except when giving papers. Everything else I can do with the 505. All in all: The m505 is reference model of PDAs at the moment. Possible alternative PDAs: m500, Visor Prism, Sony Clie colour, for the slim wallet: Vx or IIIc If you need Videos, 3D games, MP3s, and if short battery life is no concern for you, then look at an iPaq or a similar PPC.
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