Palm m505 Color Handheld

The Palm m505 is a welcome addition to the Palm handheld family of electronics. It sports a sleek, next generation design and countless new features including a backlight color display, vibrating alarm indicator, SD & Multimedia card expansion slot and 8 MB of memory. This compact PDA weighs in at 4.9 oz and is well worth the investment.

Whether you are a first time PDA owner or upgrading to a new Palm you will be pleasantly surprised with the m505's features. The high contrast 65,000 color display comes to life with the backlighting, yet quite sufficient without. The vibrating alarm indicator is a great feature when you need to be discreet. Other small enhancements including auto-fill when entering addresses, and the ability to link to your address book directly from the expense report application.

The Palm OS v4.0 software has enhanced security, improved Internet access, and the classic functions of the Palm handhelds such as Infrared, Datebook, Addressbook, Calculator, Find, Memo/Notepad, and To Do List. The m505 also comes with bonus software AvantGo, eBooks, Documents To Go, Photosuite, and mobile connectivity software.

If 8MB is not enough storage for your m505, the Secure Digital (SD) expansion and Multimedia Card port will come in handy. You can purchase expansion cards with different functions including backup, memory, games, travel, and reference data. The m505 is equipped with a universal connector allowing users to hook up devices like a digital camera, modem, GPS receiver, keyboard, and others.

The m505 is powered by a rechargeable battery that charges directly from the HotSync cradle. The Palm will stay charged for weeks with normal use. Keep in mind the more you use the backlight feature the faster the battery runs out.

Before you decide to make the plunge and buy the m505, you should be aware that the HotSync cradle included in the box uses a native USB connector. If you do not have a USB port on your computer, or if you have Windows NT or 95, you will have to buy a serial cradle sold separately.