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Pauline · Dec 26, 2001, 11:50 AM

I am wanting to upgrade my current PDA, Handspring Neo, to either the Palm M505 or Handspring Prism and was wondering which you guys think is better? They both seem pretty similar to me so is it just down to personal taste on which I prefer or does one have better features than the other?

iBorg · Dec 27, 2001, 03:48 AM

I checked both of these out, plus the Handera, over the past couple of weeks, in anticipation of upgrading from my Palm Vx. After checking all the Palm OS units, I chose the Sony Clie - superior capabilities, with Palm OS 4.1, and a kick-ass screen that puts the others to shame! Twice the pixels on the same size screen, vibrant colors, and a tremendously bright backlighting that can almost double as a flashlight!

The downside is that they don't include Mac compatible software, so you have to either buy a $30 shareware "Missing Sync," or work from a previously synced Palm device leaving the necessary programming on your Mac desktop or PowerBook.

Seriously, the Clie is incredible! Try it before buying Palm!

iBorg

iNeusch · Dec 27, 2001, 04:11 AM

Because th Sony doesn't work so good with the mac I got a Palm m500... because it was a special offer I did not get the 505, but I should have...
GET A PALM 505!

Pauline · Dec 27, 2001, 08:28 AM

I was swinging towards the Palm anyways but now I've scrapped the Handspring from the equation the Sony Clie has been added! The only downside with the Sony is that I am wanting to sync the pda with my Powerbook and it can't do that without third party software. Hmm decisions, decisions

iNeusch · Dec 27, 2001, 08:56 AM

Originally posted by Pauline:
I was swinging towards the Palm anyways but now I've scrapped the Handspring from the equation the Sony Clie has been added! The only downside with the Sony is that I am wanting to sync the pda with my Powerbook and it can't do that without third party software. Hmm decisions, decisions

Ok, let's put it that way

PALM = MAC
SONY = PC

Get it?

Palm will soon roll out a new version of Palm Connect, while Sony doesn't even know about the Mac platform

Pauline · Dec 27, 2001, 09:21 AM

Originally posted by iNeusch:

Get it?

Got it

I'm going to place an order for the Palm m505 later tonight and hope it gets here before the new year. I found a really good deal which includes a leather case and 16mb card for free so the Palm it is.

iNeusch · Dec 27, 2001, 09:33 AM

Originally posted by Pauline:
I'm going to place an order for the Palm m505 later tonight and hope it gets here before the new year. I found a really good deal which includes a leather case and 16mb card for free so the Palm it is.

Palm.com has nice offers

iBorg · Dec 29, 2001, 12:42 AM

Originally posted by iNeusch:


Ok, let's put it that way

PALM = MAC
SONY = PC

Get it?

Palm will soon roll out a new version of Palm Connect, while Sony doesn't even know about the Mac platform

No, not really....... If you have had a previous Palm synced on any Mac, you can simply substitute a new Sony Clie in your next hot sync, which is what I did, without any glitch. Otherwise, you need a $30 shareware, "Missing Sync," which works well, I'm told. If you want to use all the included software on the Clie CD that is included, you'll have problems (unless you have Virtual PC, which solves the problem - and without it, at worst, you'll still have all the software that Palm includes, which is minimal!)

The Sony Clie is simply leaps & bounds ahead of anything put out by Palm, Handspring, or Handera, period! The features are superior, including things like a scrollable thumbwheel for one-handed use, and a "back" button. (My Clie N760C even uses Sony memory sticks to store mp3's to play through its headphones!) It lacks nothing that its competition offers. And the high-definition color screen is on another level than anything else using Palm OS - it is simply breathtaking! You really have to see it to believe it!

I've had 3 different Palms in the past, most recently the Vx. I had planned on getting the m505, ........... , until I tried the Clie. The 505 (and the 500) has almost the same terrible screen that the Vx had, hard to read in dim light, with a backlight that's a dim joke, and the "color" screen on the 505 is disgraceful. (Criminy, the Color GameBoy's screen is better, and it costs under $90!!!)

If you're a fanatical Palm-user, the 505 is all you can get. Just check out the Clie before making an expensive mistake! I would have regretted "settling" for a Palm 505.

iBorg

iBorg · Dec 29, 2001, 12:45 AM

Oh, BTW, if you buy a Sony Clie now, they throw in a 32 MB memorystick and a leather case.

iBorg

Pauline · Dec 29, 2001, 04:44 AM

I'm heading out to my local PC World today as they have the biggest selection of pda's so I'll check out the Palm with the Sony and compare the two.

sanford · Dec 29, 2001, 09:17 AM

Hmmm, everybody forgot about the Visor Prism. For $299, it is much less expensive than either the Sony or the m505. The m505 screen is unusable compared with the Prism's: it is bright, sharp and displays great color. The Sony does have better pixel resolution, but it is not as crisp as the Prism, nor is the backlight as bright.

I would rank them in this order:

1. Visor Prism (for price, screen quality, springboard expansion and out-of-the-box Mac support)
2. Sony Clie (for screen resolution and ergonomic innovations)

Note, I do not even list the m505. The m505's screen is so poor that you spend US$399 for a device that is so frustating and uncomfortable to use, you tend to leave it behind or not consult it, which sort of botches the reason for spending $399 on a handheld in the first place.

mikithecrackhead · Dec 29, 2001, 12:53 PM

Visor Prism available at Walmart.com for only $238; $238 visor prism

rambo47 · Dec 29, 2001, 02:18 PM

I love the Palm platform. I have the Vx and it does everything I need it to, and does it well. I never stepped up to the color Palm/Visor model because after seeing the iPaq and Casio E-125, the Palm color screen is an insult.

Syncing the PocketPC devices with a Mac is iffy at best, most likely impossible. Some folks are working on something to allow you to sync PocketPCs with Macs, but I'm not holding my breath. What I am hopeful about is a possible Unix OS for handhelds so I can abandon PocketPC and use something more Mac-like, or at least less windows-like.

Until then, I stick with the monochrome Palm. And a Casio to play with.

iBorg · Dec 30, 2001, 01:04 AM

Originally posted by sanford:
Hmmm, everybody forgot about the Visor Prism. For $299, it is much less expensive than either the Sony or the m505. The m505 screen is unusable compared with the Prism's: it is bright, sharp and displays great color. The Sony does have better pixel resolution, but it is not as crisp as the Prism, nor is the backlight as bright.

You're right about the m505 - terrible screen!

Wrong about the Sony Clie N760C, though! It has the best screen on any Palm OS compatible, Prism included! It has twice the pixel resolution, with the sharpest screen, and the backlight is bright enough to double as a flashlight! I never have the screen brightness turned up past about 3/4, even in the worst lighting, because it's too bright!

Sanford brings up a good feature on Visor, though - Springboard expansion modules. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a single module offered that I'd buy yet.

Good luck choosing, Pauline - the best way is to try them side-by-side. The OS is the same on all of them, so if you can afford top-of-the-line, it all boils down to quality.

iBorg

Pauline · Dec 30, 2001, 05:26 AM

Thanks for all the advice! iBorg you're right about the Sony's screen it is fantastic! I compared it side by side with the Palm m505 and its screen was awful compared with the Sony's. So in the end I went for the Sony and I love this thing. I'm still playing around with all the new features and toys and don't think I'm going to get bored with it for a very long time.