Can Palm's latest entry to the PDA market allow it to finally catch up with the rest of the field, or is it too little, too late?
Better late than never is an axiom that certainly applies to Palm's m515, the model that replaces the flawed m505. It has the screen that everyone was looking for in its predecessor, adds more memory, keeps the same sleek design and maintains an identical price. That's all good, and so is the m515. The only problem is that the competition has raised its game in the six months that it has taken Palm to release this model.
Cosmetically, the m515 is identical to the m505, weighs exactly the same (139g), and has a 33MHz DragonBall VZ processor at its core. It also comes with Palm OS 4.1, 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.
Like its predecessor, 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 MMC and SD cards. 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. Really, the only major differences from the m505 are the addition of 8MB of RAM (16MB total) for storing more data and third-party applications and a better, brighter screen that can be adjusted to display at low, high or no brightness levels with a tap of the stylus.
As far as the screen goes, it's a 160 by 160-pixel, active-matrix 16-bit-colour LCD. Its reflective qualities allow you to view the screen in a wide variety of lighting conditions, including bright sunlight. However, unlike the m505's screen -- which we criticised for being too dim (particularly under normal indoor lighting conditions) -- the m515's display is bright. Unfortunately, as one might expect, this 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. However, the company doesn't specify whether that's with the low or high brightness setting. With normal use (40 minutes per day) on the brightest setting, we had to recharge at the end of the fourth day.
It's also worth noting that since the m515's display isn't high resolution, isn't as sharp as the screens found on Sony's high-end Palm OS devices or those found on handhelds that run Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 operating system. Still, what you get is a nice, easily viewable screen that makes big improvements over the m505 screen.
In addition to the signature applications like Address Book, Calendar and Expense, Palm throws in some bonuses. You get Palm Mobile Connectivity software for connecting your Palm to your mobile phone in order to access the Internet; DataViz's Documents To Go Professional Edition for viewing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files; MGI's 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 synchronise with Microsoft's Outlook are also included.
To evaluate the screen's capabilities, we installed PhotoSuite Mobile Edition, which comes with some sample photos and a handful of short, decent-looking, smooth-running video clips. But since the m515 can't play sound, you'll be stuck watching silent movies. We also tried the Palm version of Serious Sam, a first-person shooting game. It, too, ran without a hitch and was impressive enough, although the high-resolution graphics we've seen from some Pocket PC games look better.
At AU$999, the m515 is certainly a bargain compared to the m505, which originally sold for around AU$1150. There is a minor caveat to this, however. If you're willing to forgo the warranty, the same unit can be had (at the time of writing) for as little as US$350 from US online retailers. At current exchange rates, that comes out at a touch over AU$660, some AU$330 under the RRP.
We're glad that Palm finally got the screen right -- if not perfect -- this time around. This product should have been released months ago, and although it's a little late to the party, many users will find its slim profile, sleek looks and expandability quite enticing.
Palm m515
Company: Palm
Price: AU$999
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1300 360 558
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