I've owned many Palm OS PDAs (No PocketPCs yet), including Palm IIIx, Handspring Visors, Visor Platinum, Sony Clies, and the Palm m505. When I initially got the m505, like most people, I liked that the Palm Vx had finally grown into color, but was sorely disappointed at the lack of a bright screen. It lacked color/brightness adjustments, only a on-off for the backlight (actually a sidelight) for the reflective LCD screen.
The Palm m515 fixes much of what was wrong with the m505. Too bad the m515 wasn't released sooner, it might have saved some of Palm's reputation! It has the screen that everyone was looking for in its predecessor, adds more memory, keeps the same sleek Palm Vx-ish design, and is the same price.
That's all good, and so is the m515. Outwardly, the m515 is just like the m505, weighs exactly the same (4.9 ounces), and has a 33MHz DragonBall VZ processor at its core. This is the same processor that is standard in Palm OS devices across the board right now, except for the Sony Clie NR series, and the forthcoming T650c. It also comes with the Palm 4.1 OS, which supports USB connectivity; a USB docking cradle is included. In addition, the OS sports several enhancements, including vibrate and flash alerts and the ability to write Graffiti simultaneously while using the virtual keyboard.
In addition the vibrating alerts are a welcome upgrade from the Palm Vx series. The vibration has never failed to wake me from sleep. The speaker unfortunately is the same type of primitive speaker found on the Palm models, Sony has recently changed to a Polyphonic speaker which generates much richer sounds. (great for Alarm Clock functions!)
Those are the basics, now lets move onto the screen:
As far as the screen goes, it's the same 160x160-pixel, active-matrix, 16-bit LCD that supports 65,000 colors. Its reflective qualities allow you to view the screen in a wide variety of lighting conditions, including bright sunlight. And the m515 is MUCH brighter than the m505, thank goodness. The screen is easier to read, in bright sunlight compared to the Handspring Treo 90 thanks to the reflective screen LCD. It also has more colors available. Unfortunately, as one might expect, the bright display comes at a cost: battery life. Palm says that you can get about one week of power before having to recharge the built-in lithium-ion battery. I like to run it with the backlight on at all times, which really shortens battery life, so I charge it each night.
Of note, the Palm hardware still does not support the 320x320 hi-res screens that are on all the current Sony CLie Color models, so you really notice the graininess of the m515 screen in comparison.
Cradle.
The m515 has the same brick of a cradle as the m505. It requires a large power adapter, that is quite heavy, which plugs into the USB cradle/charger. The worst thing about the cradle is that you must lift and snap the Palm m515 to remove the unit from the cradle, and placing it in the cradle takes practice too. It makes a click that is very loud, and sometimes scary!!
Expansion.
Like the m505, this model has 4MB of flash ROM for upgrading the OS in the future and a small slot on back for adding postage-stamp-sized MultiMedia Memory (MMC) and Secure Digital (SD) cards. Unlike the Handspring Treo implementation, this SD supports the SD I/O which is a more robust version that will support things like Bluetooth. On the bottom of the unit you'll find a Palm Universal Connector, which allows you to connect such add-on accessories as modems, cameras, and GPS receivers. This is now standard across Palm Branded PDAs currently shipping. There aren't too many devices yet, but more will come.
The inherent problem in the Palm OS makes it very slow to load large files from the MMC/SD slot memory expansion slots, so the 16MB of built in memory is a HUGE plus for me.
Software:
Palm really was great in pioneering the addition of adding 3rd party software with their handhelds. You get Palm Mobile Connectivity software for connecting your Palm to your cell phone in order to access the Internet; DataViz Documents To Go Professional Edition for viewing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files; MGI PhotoSuite Mobile Edition; Palm Reader; and AvantGo Mobile Internet Service. Palm Desktop 4.0.1 (version 2.6.3 for Mac) and conduit software to sync with Microsoft Outlook are also included. I find Documents To go indispensible for carrying around dozens of small MS Word docs that I can glance at on the go. Handspring has a very deficient software bundle. Sony has bundled the Docs to Go personal edition with their latest Clies.
Also, Palm includes PhotoSuite Mobile Edition, which comes with some sample photos and a handful of short, decent-looking, smooth-running video clips. However, these I fell fall short of the Sony Multimedia apps: Photostand, Picture Viewer, and gMovie. Also the Sony Hi-Res screens lend themselves to hi-res picture viewing which is much better than the m515 can muster.
Overall, the Palm m515 is a great machine, a big step up from the m505. At it's current price it's $100 more expensive than the similiarly configured (and better screen) Sony Clie T615, so I would probably take the Sony over the Palm m515. However, the additional RAM and the brighter screen of the m515 make it a solid choice, esp. if you want to use a Palm Standard Connection expansion device.Palm will need to push more innovation out of their handhelds if they want to remain competitive in this market. Palm OS 5 and more hardware should allow them to do that.
Palm organization and style at an affordable price Easy to learn and use--even if you've never used a handheld before Mini-USB connector allows easy t...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.