The Palm m500
Technical Summary
Processor: 33 MHz Dragonball VZ
Memory: 8 Mb
Screen: 4-bit greyscale,
backlit, 160 x 160 resolution,
Operating
System: PalmOS 4·0
Power: Internal Lithium Ion
Polymer, 650 mAh
Form Factor
The m500 is one of the smaller personal digital
assistant designs available. It is
almost the exact same size as the m515,
but is slightly lighter and thinner.
The
device has a green LED / power button combination at the top right of the case,
under which is the screen and under this, one will find the four hardware
buttons in conjunction with the scroll keys.
At the very bottom, one finds the serial port. Turning the m500 over onto its back, at the very top you will
find the SD / MMC card slot, which I detail later.
Screen
The
m500’s greyscale screen is probably the finest “monochrome” screen used on a
PalmOS device. It is noticeably greyer
than the likes of the III, IIIxe, Handspring Visor
Professional or Vx and has a more effective backlight.
Although
the m500 uses the traidional PalmOS monochrome “reversing” backlight, it is
significantly whiter than older monochrome PalmOS devices (such as the Palm Vx
and IIIxe),
which makes it easier to use in dim lighting.
With normal lighting, the backlight washes the screen out and makes it
almost impossible to use.
In
use, some users will argue that the m500’s abilities are wasted thanks to the
monochrome screen, however I dispute this fact. The m500 is as usable as the m505 and m515
under most conditions, and the only time when the m515 is more useful is in dim
lighting conditions. Of course, if the
user spends much of his or her time under dim lighting, then the m515 is the
better device to get! The screens are
compared more directly in this
article.
Sound and Notifications
The
m500 has the standard sound setup of a PalmOS 4·x unit, so it can produce a
range of beeps, but not much more. It
is slightly quieter than the m515.
However,
like the m515, the m500 also has a green LED and an internal vibration
function. Both of these are useful
additions to the beeper.
Storage
The
m500 has the standard PalmOS 3·x of 8 Mb of memory - disappointingly, Palm did
not give the m500 the full 16 Mb of memory that the m515 benefits from.
Battery Performance
This
is a m500 strength. The 650 mAh
internal rechargeable Lithium Ion Polymer battery is identical to that used
with the m505 and m515, except the m500’s screen has a
lower power drain. This translates into
better battery longevity - the difference being significant once the m515’s
backlight is used.
Expansion
The
m500 has a SD I/O slot, allowing the device access to memory and Bluetooth
cards.
OBD-II Scanner Duties
Monochrome
Palms are as useful as their colour relations when it comes to OBD-II Scanner duties. Whilst they are not quite so useful at night
- although the m500 is preferable to the m515 after dark - their battery longevity is superior when
used during the day. This is an
especially important point when considering the m130, which must always use the backlight, whereas the m515 doesn’t rely on
self-illumination.
Summary
The
m500 represents an interesting alternative to the m515, which is discussed in greater detail here. It’s a small, lightweight personal digital assistant with
excellent battery performance, good expansion and a stable operating
system. Palm’s improvements to the
backlight are especially welcome