PalmOne m500 Handheld

by Palm

Product Details

Product Manual [2.84mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 3.1 x 0.4 inches ; 4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00005AWBJ
• Item model number: 3C80800U
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (182 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,549 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #2 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > PDAs, Handhelds & Accessories > PDAs & Handhelds
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 15, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com

Palm introduced the Palm V as the handheld for elite users: its anodized aluminum finish, small size, and thin profile--not to mention its premium price tag--were supposed to appeal to the upper echelon of executives. When the masses decided that a small and light device was worth the extra bucks, Palm found itself with its top-selling handheld. With the introduction of the Palm m500, it's clear that Palm has learned its 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: its shape is a tad more curvy, though the bottom portion of the case is slightly 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 small indented nubs for the scroll buttons, which means they won't press against 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 its 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 also sports an expansion slot, which accepts MultiMediaCards (MMCs) and Secure Digital (SD) cards, for increased memory storage and future devices like digital music players. Unfortunately, at the time of this review, we were unable to test any of the cards offered by Palm. While different from other expansion formats (such as Handspring's Springboard slot or the CompactFlash format used by many Windows CE devices and digital cameras), SD/MMC cards at least are the smallest format.

Another hardware change in the Palm m500 is the USB-based universal connector, which provides for much faster data synchronization and the promise that this design will be the standard connection port used 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 additional memory available through the expansion 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 slightly 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 under the hood or incorporated as subtle tweaks. For example, the Date Book application appears virtually unchanged, though overlapping alarms are summarized on one screen instead of forcing you to dismiss multiple reminder screens. The Palm m500 also 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 can on the Palm m100 series models), plus Note Pad for jotting notes without using Graffiti.

The other notable 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 able to easily 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 convenient as a built-in (as in the Palm VII) or clipped-on modem (like the OmniSky), but if you already have a capable 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 anticipate the (hopefully) near future when SD expansion cards offer more functionality. --Nelson Finn

Pros:

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

Cons:

• Not many software improvements in Palm OS 4.0

Product Description

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

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

222 of 225 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars m500 - thumbs up, November 19, 2001

By 

R. Amaral (Somerset, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PalmOne m500 Handheld (Office Product)

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!

124 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have, May 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: PalmOne m500 Handheld (Office Product)

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.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Palm m500, November 9, 2002

By 

Eric Foster (Kenmore, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PalmOne m500 Handheld (Office Product)

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.