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Severed Hand of Skywalker · May 10, 2001, 02:36 AM

I am hearing very mixed reviews about the Palm m505's screen. Some LOVE it some HATE it!
Anyone that has it or has used it care to comment. I am trying to decide if I should buy it or not but I cannot find any stores that have any display models.

Thanks

May 11, 2001, 10:36 PM

It sucks. Really. CompUSA has the 505 right next to the Prism. The 505 looks pretty bad on its own; when you have the two next to each other, the difference is more dramatic (and the 505 looks even worse). I'm really stumped as to how Palm could be so far behind when it comes to color displays.

Skywalkers new Hand · May 12, 2001, 03:23 AM

Originally posted by SpinyNorman:
It sucks. Really. CompUSA has the 505 right next to the Prism. The 505 looks pretty bad on its own; when you have the two next to each other, the difference is more dramatic (and the 505 looks even worse). I'm really stumped as to how Palm could be so far behind when it comes to color displays.

Well the battery life and size of the unit are MUCH MUCH better then any other colour units. Do you think that these points make the tradeoff more worthwhile?

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May 12, 2001, 09:05 AM

If you are interested in size and battery life, go with the m500. Now THAT has a clear display. Check it out for yourself; the max backlighting setting is horrible, anything less than that is unusable.

rambo47 · May 12, 2001, 10:00 AM

the Palm screens are crap. Period. 160 x 160 resolution is an insult. What a dissapointment when they released the m500 and m505 with this same antiquated screen. Look at the HandEra 330 specs and tell me then about the Palm's display. HandEra's screen is 240 x 320, just like the iPaq and other top-line pocket pc's. I love the Palm OS, but thier hardware is crap. Wanna know why Palm's stock price is down under $8 ? It's because they lost their edge with hardware. I just preordered the HandEra. Now to sell my Palm Vx. Too bad I just got the Omnisky modem. It's great, but not compatible with the HandEra.

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iDisk: rseijas
Homepage: homepage.mac.com/rseijas

May 12, 2001, 10:39 AM

The problem with the HandEra is that, aside from the pre-loaded software package that has been modified to the new display, nothing else can take advantage of it. There are also some apps that are unusable.

rambo47 · May 12, 2001, 11:43 AM

The HandEra uses the Palm OS so all Palm apps should work, just like on the Palm units themselves. I wouldn't want a PDA that uses a different operating system. The Palm OS is great, just not their displays. Here's the specs and data on the HandEra 330.
Also note the Flash RAM so the OS is upgradable! This is what kept me from getting a Visor: you're stuck with the OS that it shipped with. No big deal now, but what about when something great comes along in a later update?

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iDisk: rseijas
Homepage: homepage.mac.com/rseijas

[This message has been edited by rambo47 (edited 05-12-2001).]

May 12, 2001, 12:20 PM

Apps written for the Palm OS will definitely work on the HandEra, but not at enhanced screen size -- they have to be modified by the developers to take advantage of the added real estate. There are SOME apps that the display cannot accomodate AT ALL and will not be viewable AT ALL. There was a review in the WSJ earlier this week that outlined a lot of this.

Skywalkers new Hand · May 14, 2001, 01:37 AM

That handera looks about 2 years old.

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BigMark · May 18, 2001, 02:58 AM

I agree. The screen looks good, but I just don't like the look for the casing.

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JZ · May 21, 2001, 11:04 AM

Originally posted by Skywalkers new Hand:
Well the battery life and size of the unit are MUCH MUCH better then any other colour units. Do you think that these points make the tradeoff more worthwhile?

Nope. I am a Prism owner and was hoping to trade up for the M505's smaller size. There is no comparisson between the two screens - even when backlit, the M505's screen is several times dimmer than the Prism.

I have the feeling that the brightness of the screen was an effort on Palm's part to increase battery life like you say, but why not give ME the choice? If I want 4 hours of battery life and a brilliant, beautiful screen so be it. Palm take away that choice. Go check out a Compaq iPaq at CompUSA - it has preset brightness levels in the preferences that show you the relationship between the brighness setting you choose and the corresponding power consumption. That is how it should be done.

Plus I've read that the M505 essentially uses that same screen hardware as the iPaq which means that they just aren't utilizing its capabilities.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · May 22, 2001, 10:08 PM

I saw that Palm m505 today. What a hunk of CRAP! I was going to buy it but when I saw it I instantly barfed. The screen doesn�t even look colour and is harder to read then the Vx. When you turn the backlighting on it makes it about 30% brighter but it is still dim and bad. I would have to say the brightness is 70% less then the Palm III. The Palm m500 is MUCH better then this thing.
Even the guy working at Futureshop agreed with me and said that lots of people are returning it. So did 2 other employees. Another said that handspring is working on a Visor Edge Colour.

I swear, that this thing is bad enough to turn my off Palm for good.

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[This message has been edited by Severed Hand of Skywalker (edited 05-23-2001).]

drewman · May 26, 2001, 02:10 AM

I think that the color screen on the M505 is a different type of LCD screen than the Prism. It is supposed to make viewing outdoors much easier to see colors.

I believe the two technologies are transmissive and reflective with the M505 being reflective which would indicate to me that it doesn't use 'backlighting' but lights from the front which would make the sun shining on it work much better.

drewman

nigeljedi · May 27, 2001, 11:31 AM

It's funny I ran into this topic, because I'm looking at the color models myself. I wanted the Prism, because I really like Handspring, but I liked the smaller size of the M505. Now, I'm not sure. I guess I'll have to see them up close and personal.

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Enjoy Sunny Graphics/Illustration

markedcw · Jun 2, 2001, 11:34 AM

I bought the M505 to replace a Visor Deluxe two weeks ago. Before buying, I looked closely at the Prism as well. (My brother has had one for several months.) Yes the Prism's screen looks better indoors or at night but just step outside to reverse the story. The Prism is more like a laptop; the screen is dim, almost black, in direct sunlight. In contrast, the M505 is at it's best in the sun or under a halogen desk lamp. Overall, I find the M505 more usable in a wider variety of lighting conditions than even the grayscale Visor.

For me, the balance of color, all-around usability, minimal size and weight, and metal case made me choose the M505. I haven't regretted that decision.