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Palm Teases With Slim, Pretty New Models

Posted by timothy on from the this-year's-model dept.

stylewagon writes: "Yup, the 2 new Palm models were released today -- right on time. Palm's website has just been updated with all the info about them -- the new mono m500 and the colour m505. Both feature the new Palm Os4.0, expansion slots and (finally!) have a USB cradle (a la Handspring)" Well, they haven't actually been released -- the CNET article uses that old standby "unveiled" instead, but Palm says they'll be out mid- to late spring, in all their Secure Digital Expansion New Perfect World glory.

5 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Nice, but... by kennylives · · Score: 4

    I have 2 problems with it...

    1. It looks to use a completely new connector on the edge, so I'd have to give up the 2 cradles, the travel kit, the folding keyboard (how cool) and the wireless modem.

    2. I notice that the little cardslot in the top of the thing is a. Proprietary in the extreme, and b. Supports SDMI, to which I object because it works with the basic assumption that everyone using digital technology to store music, ebooks, etc. are thieves and are not to be trusted.

    This is (in a way) Palm's answer to Sony w/ MemoryStick. But why should I (we) support yet another proprietary, crippled, (no doubt) tightly controlled, and more expensive memory technology?

    --

    Where the value of X-Mailer: is the true measure of a man...

  2. A better Palm? Methinks not... by Eil · · Score: 4


    Umm... well, so far I don't see anything innovative about either of these. The only new features seem to be:

    1. PalmOS 4.0 - Okay, I wouldn't mind playing with it maybe, but it looks to perform exactly the same as 3.x.x.

    2. MultiMediaCard Expansion Card Slot - Yay, just what we need, more proprietary expansion ports! Palm made a mistake by not supporting an expansion slot in their ealier models but do they really have to screw consumers like this?

    The one true PalmOS device, in my opinion, is the TRGpro. I own one and I have to say that for the price, it beats the pants off any monochome Palm or Visor to date. It's basically a PalmIIIx, except it's got an industry standard Compact Flash slot. You can plug in modems, serial cards, barcodes, anything! It uses the same memory cards (up to 1GB with the IBM Microdrive) as a lot of digital cameras.

    I remember when Palm used to innovate.

    1. Re:A better Palm? Methinks not... by shren · · Score: 4

      Here's your link:

      TRGpro

      If you want to take a look at this thing. I'm not a palm user myself, but I'd look at this first. Compatibility rules.

      --
      Maybe the state's highest function is to grind out insoluble problems. (Zelazny, Hall of Mirrors)
  3. SD Card accessories by rtos · · Score: 5
    If you check out the press release, they list all kinds of SD Card accessories. Wireless ethernet, wireless modems, cameras, GPS, etc... MP3 players are noticably absent (although mp3 storage devices are listed). And SD Cards are not as obscenely proprietary as the Sony Memory Stick... at least it's a group of companies, rather than the Sony "I will make my own standard" approach. Also... Palms support both SD Cards and MMC.

    Still no word on screen resolution... I assume if they aren't touting 320x320, that means they are still at 160x160. Of course, that is all PalmOS 4.0 can handle is 160x160, anything higher (e.g. Sony Clie) uses some sort of pixel doubling or something.

    I emailed OmniSky last week to ask if they have support for the Palm505 yet. They said that they were not ready to announce any new support yet. But made it sound like they would. The link above lists Minstrel modems (the ones OmniSky uses) available in April 2001. So I assume shortly after the m505 hits shelves OmniSky will have full support. That gives users a full TCP/IP stack (afaik), modem for $199 with rebate, unlimited service for $39.95/month.

    The new vibrating/silent/audible alarms being built in is a nice touch.

    And it appears that applications will be able to be run directly off the SD Cards. That's a good thing too.

    Personally, I would like to order one, they sound great... but I'm just unsure of the life of this thing. If Palm is going to release a 320x320 device with a StrongARM processor next year, I may just wait. But for now, I'm planning on buying one when they hit store shelves.

    --
    -- null
  4. Re:Secure-Digital-Citizen-Fscking-Method(TM)(C)(R) by SubtleNuance · · Score: 5

    And a CF card is about twice as big - twice as big as 'damn small' is still small.

    Smart Media cards (PCMCIA PCCard - different form-factor) is about as thick as a dime and just slightly larger than a postage stamp ... why not use that?

    The MMC in these Palms are a SDMI delivery device - nothing else - it has no striking independent technological merit of its own that isnt available on a Libre implementation of the PC Card Standards... CF cards are a little bigger - but still unbelievably small -Do you think IBM Microdrives are too big? Wouldnt we all like a IBM Microdrive for our handheld devices.. it provides plenty of space for a few days worth of music/video/picture creation/enjoyment... a couple 96/128 MB CF cards will do the same... so tell me: Why MMCard? Lets be honest about the size issue -it really is irrelevant.

    TTBOMK