March 29, 2001 Palm and Handspring Offer Updates to Hand-Held Models
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
THE PALM V hand-held computer has been one of the most beloved and successful digital products since the Macintosh. Slim and handsome and easy to use, this coolest of the Palm models has drawn stares of envy and lots of buyers since it appeared two years ago.
Next month, however, Palm will begin phasing out the Palm V series in favor of two new models: the m500 and m505. At first glance, they look identical to the Palm V and its more powerful twin, the Palm Vx. But these new models have been fundamentally overhauled to include all sorts of new features -- especially a new slot on the back that can accept expansion modules. The m505, due in May, even manages to pack a color screen into its thin frame.
Meanwhile, Palm's rival, Handspring, whose Visor PDAs popularized the idea of an expansion slot, has just launched its own answer to the Palm V -- the slim, metallic Visor Edge.
I have been testing these new Palm and Visor models and, with one significant exception, I liked them very much. As with the Palm V, you will pay a premium for their small size, but they work very well.
IN TINKERING WITH its baby, Palm was very careful. The two replacement models look like the Palm V except for a slightly different metallic color and a slight curve to their sides. On the screen, they still sport the familiar and elegant Palm user interface and there are still four function buttons below the screen.
Handspring's Visor Edge
But there are some differences. For one, the new "m" series is a bit shorter and narrower than the Palm V, with about the same thickness and screen size.
The battery life of the $399 monochrome m500 is a little better than the Palm V's famously good capacity, according to the company, even though it has what seems to me to be a whiter and brighter screen. Palm says the $449 color m505 gets about the same battery life as the monochrome Palm V -- no mean feat because color eats power faster.
The biggest change, however, is on the back, where Palm has for the first time built in an expansion slot, which uses a relatively new type of add-in card called SD. Palm says a wide variety of companies are at work on these cards. Eventually, there'll be little cameras, MP3 players and other gizmos that use the slot. For now, there are a series of more boring cards, costing $30 to $50 each. These range from blank storage cards to software cards preloaded with games, and travel and reference programs.
Smaller changes abound. One of the four function buttons, the one formerly assigned to the memo pad, is now devoted to a notepad program that captures drawings or quick, handwritten notes. There's a faster processor under the hood, and a bunch of new standard software, including programs that allow you to read downloaded books, to view Microsoft Office documents with formatting, and to view photos and short movies.
There's also a new, faster cradle for charging and synchronization, which finally uses a modern USB cable instead of an ancient serial one. The cradle, which mates with a new connector on the bottoms of the new Palms, is to become universal across all future Palm models.
BUT THERE IS ONE big problem with Palm's new "m" series: the screen on the color model, the m505. It's so dim, dark and dull that I can't recommend spending the extra $50 to get it. At some angles, it's tough to tell the screen is even in color. And even with the backlight on, which helps a lot but eats battery power, the m505's screen looks pallid and weak compared with the color displays on Handspring's Visor Prism or Compaq's iPAQ Pocket PC.
Palm says the m505 screen is based on cutting-edge color technology, and concedes it could have been much brighter. But Palm engineers deliberately dialed back the brightness to achieve great battery life. Palm still calls the result "brilliant color." I call it barely color. I agree that brightness must be balanced against battery life, but I think Palm went too far and should have at least included a control allowing users to brighten it.
Handspring's new $399 Visor Edge doesn't come in a color model, and it's a little bigger than the new Palm models. But compared with its earlier, chunky product line, the Edge is positively svelte. I think the metallic case, which includes a lid, is striking in each of its three colors: silver, blue and red. Even the longer, heavier metal stylus adds a touch of class.
The Edge is mainly a style play rather than an offering of any major new functions. To accommodate Handspring's famous expansion modules, including a phone, you have to snap on a special holder, which is free but adds bulk. There is one cool new software feature on the Edge: Fast Lookup, a search program that tries to guess what you're looking for as you press the buttons.
None of these new hand-helds includes a built-in wireless modem for e-mail and Web data retrieval. You have to add this functionality with costly, bulky optional components. But the two new monochrome models by Palm and Handspring are welcome redesigns. Just stay away from Palm's new color offering.
