Palm introduced the Palm V as the handheld for elite users: it is anodized aluminum finish, little size, and thin profile–not to mention it is premium price tag–were supposed to appeal to the upper echelon of executives. When the masses decisive that a little and light device was worth the extra bucks, Palm found itself with it is top-selling handheld. With the introduction of the Palm m500, it’s clear that Palm has learned it is lesson and is sticking with the successful form factor, while adding a handful of new features to incrementally advance the entire Palm family.

The Palm m500 could be confused with a Palm V at a distance, but not up close: it is shape is a tad more curvy, even though the bottom share of the case is somewhat less flared than the V. More important, the m500 is a bit shorter and lighter (the latter largely because the back half of the case is now plastic, not metal).

A tremendous improvement, at least for those of us who’ve regularly carried Palm V units, is the use of two little indented nubs for the scroll buttons, which means they won’t press versus the fold-over cover and keep the unit powered on (and drain the battery) following an alarm. The power button feels more sturdy than the Palm V’s flaky switch, and now it lights up when the m500 is charging in it is cradle or, optionally, when an alarm goes off. Another welcome addition to alarms is a built-in vibrating alert for those times when you don’t want the handheld to chirp loudly.

The Palm m500 likewise sports an elaboration slot, which accepts MultiMediaCards (MMCs) and Secure Digital (SD) cards, for increased memory storage and future gimmicks like digital music players. Unfortunately, at the time of this review, we were unable to test any of the cards offered by Palm. While dissimilar from other elaboration formats (such as Handspring’s Springboard slot or the CompactFlash format employed by a lot of Windows CE widgets and digital cameras), SD/MMC cards at least are the smallest format.

Another hardware modify in the Palm m500 is the USB-based universal connector, which provides for much rapidly and without delay info synchronization and the promise that this design will be the popular connection port applied on successive Palm devices.

In most other respects, the Palm m500 is much like the Palm V. It includes 8 MB of memory, which is starting to feel skimpy in terms of storage these days, but is offset by the further and added memory available through the elaboration slot. The screen is a high-contrast monochrome display; on the unit we tested, the backlight was more golden in color than the green Palm V, which made it more or less more readable in darkness.

The Palm m500 runs Palm OS 4.0, the latest version of the operating system, but most of the software changes are either beneath the hood or integrated as subtle tweaks. For example, the Date Book application appears nearly unchanged, altho overlapping alarms are summarized on one screen rather of forcing you to dismiss multiple reminder screens. The Palm m500 likewise now comes with Palm’s Clock application for quickly checking the time (though you can’t view it through a window in the cover, as you may on the Palm m100 series models), plus Note Pad for jotting notes without using Graffiti.

The other noteworthy software addition is Palm’s Mobile Internet Kit, which lets you transfer e-mail, check the Web (using Palm’s Web clipping technology), and use SMS text messaging on any GSM-compatible cellular phone with infrared capabilities. We were competent to without apparent effort connect to the Internet using the Palm m500 with a Nokia 8290 phone, where the Nokia acted as just another modem. It’s not as commodious as a built-in (as in the Palm VII) or clipped-on modem (like the OmniSky), but if you already have a competent cellular phone and the Palm m500, you might as well use them together.

In all, the Palm m500 represents a good step forward for the Palm line, even if it isn’t as flashy or revolutionary as the Palm V’s introduction. We expect the (hopefully) near future when SD elaboration cards offer more functionality. –Nelson Finn

Pros:

• SD card elaboration slot
• USB Universal connector
• Better case buttons
• Mobile Internet Kit software
• Vibrating alarm

Cons:

• Not a good deal of software improvements in Palm OS 4.0

The lightweight, stylish Palm m500 handheld is expandable, customizable, and Internet capable. The Palm m500 has an elaboration card slot for further and added memory storage (up to 64 MB) and add-ons such as a dictionary/thesaurus, games, and more. The Palm m500 comes with all the classic personal selective information management tools you expect: Date Book, Address Book, To Do List, Memo Pad, Mail, and Clock. It has 8 MB of built-in memory, sufficient to store thousands of addresses, years of appointments, hundreds of to-do items, and more than 50 applications.

The elaboration card slot is a dual-purpose slot that may hold two types of cards: Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard (MMC). Both types of cards are small, inexpensive, and easy to plug in. Much like computer diskettes, they hold selective information for upload or download onto a handheld. With them, you may instantaneously add software programs, e-books, big databases, graphics, or even video files to your handheld without sacrificing memory space.

Sleek and lightweight, the Palm m500 handheld has a shiny aluminum casing and is curved to fit in your hand. The display’s intensified engineering science makes it more comfortable to see at all angles, in dim light, and in bright sunlight.

The new native USB HotSync cradle allows you to speedily back up and interchange data amidst your handheld and your PC or Mac. The Palm m500 handheld likewise features new vibrating and blinking LED alarms (in addition to the popular audible alarm) to aid you stay on top of your busy schedule. The Palm m500 handheld comes equipped with a rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery, which is charged using the HotSync cradle.

The Palm m500 handheld comes with Palm OS 4.0, which provides heightened security and bettered Internet connectivity. Other application features include Note Pad for writing sticky notes, Palm Mobile Connectivity for connecting to the Internet and obtaining e-mail by way of compatible cellular phones, and AOL for the Palm OS.

The Palm m500 handheld is PC and Macintosh compatible and requires a USB port. It comes with Palm desktop software for both PC and Macintosh. It has a one-year warranty.

What’s in the box

• Palm m500
• Stylus
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• USB HotSync cradle
• Palm Desktop software for Windows and Macintosh and Palm Mobile Connectivity software
• Getting Started guide
• Handbook

Most helpful customer reviews

204 of 207 people found the following review helpful.
m500 – thumbs up
By R. Amaral
Ok…I just finished reading all the reviews between the Palm m500 and the Palm m505 (color). This is my first Palm so this review is coming from a novice point of view. I decided to go with the m500. I made a wise choice! I really don’t need a color screen. I don’t play games or anything like that. So I decided to go with the m500 and save almost a hundred bucks. I bought it for the address book, the memo feature, the to do list, and the additional memory you can buy. I really don’t need to see these things in color. Many people complain about the screen clarity, size etc..etc..I really don’t have a problem with it. It is nice and clear. I can see the fonts no problem, and the palm icons are nice and clear. The screen is a good size too. The illuminated light is nice and bright. The screen is dark while the fonts and all the graphics nicely light up. It comes with alot of extra software too. It was also very easy to operate. I started to feel confident within 5 minutes after I pulled it out of the box. It’s navigation is very straight forward and easy to understand. I just installed software that allows you to view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files right on your Palm!

All in all I am very satisfied with the m500. I would highly recommend it to beginners who want basic Palm functions, but also want the option of exploring and using the other great features that puts the m500 at the top of the line of Palm handhelds. You also save some money too!

121 of 127 people found the following review helpful.
A Must Have
By A
I used to own a Sony CLIE. As most people know, it is a so-so Palm clone with NO accesories. Finally I decided to upgrade to a new m500. It is the smallest handheld running on Palm OS (yes smaller than the Vx and the m505). It also has the clearest screen (far superior to my almost new CLIE). And comes with around $200 of bonus software, something the Vx lacks. I think this handheld is better than the m505 for two reasons. 1, it is cheaper, and 2, the screen is much better (it is not black and white, but displays 16 different shades from black to white), while the m505 has a very dissapointing color screen that is sure to leave you squinting even when looking its best. If you are debating over Palm OS and Windows CE, Palm is the hands down winner for several reasons. One reason is that their handhelds are smaller and faster than Windows handhelds (The smallest windows handheld is equavalent to two Palm V’s stacked up). Palm is also more econimical. Palm handhelds batteries last around a month. Windows CE lasts 4 hours. Palm has 10′s of thousands of software programs (around half of it is free), while Windows CE has 100′s of expensive programs. If you are looking for a PDA with great features, accesories, software, and mobility choose Palm.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Palm m500
By Eric Foster
The Palm m500 is very similar to the very versatile Palm Vx in many ways. Palm has added some features that make this model even better. The interface with the PC and hotsync tasking is flawless.

The response time and speed of this unit is very much improved as is it’s overall functionality given the software package. Coming with Documents to go, AOL and Power One, the software just keeps getting better. Now I can take my important documents and spreadsheets with me.

It has a nice greyscale screen and is much lighter than the Vx model. Eight MB of RAM might not be enough, but it can be expanded through the use of memory cards. I’ve backed up all of my data, e-books, databses and applications on one card which [are fairly inexpensive].

I highly recommend the Palm m500 for professional uses. It’s wide variety of supplementary accessories also makes this model a plus. My only criticism is that the power button does protrude more than the Vx model. In the Palm hard case, the power button does turn on inadvertently at times. Hopefully better hard cases will become available for those, who like me insist on such accessories. Overall, a very responsive, high quality unit.

See all 176 customer reviews…

Pocket Diet Organizer Pda Calories Sodium Carb Cholesterol Photo

Pocket Diet Organizer Pda Calories Sodium Carb Cholesterol Pic

Pocket Diet Organizer Pda Calories Sodium Carb Cholesterol Picture

Pocket Diet Organizer Pda Calories Sodium Carb Cholesterol Photo

Pocket Diet Organizer Pda Calories Sodium Carb Cholesterol Picture

Pocket Diet Organizer Pda Calories Sodium Carb Cholesterol Photo

Similar Products To Pocket Diet Organizer Pda Calories Sodium Carb Cholesterol
PalmOne m500 Handheld
HP iPAQ 2215 Pocket PC
PalmOne Tungsten E Handheld
Diet & Exercise Assistant 4.0
Sharp OZ-290HII Pen Touch Wizard Organizer with Outlook Sync