The Bottom Line: Although lacking higher resolution screen of Sony's high-end Palms and those of PocketPC. A familiar, stylish, and comfortable form factor may win out with the majority of consumers.
In reality, the m515 is a minor update to the m505 with an additional bit of tweaking to what may be considered the high end of Palm hardware. m505 sales were disappointing especially when compared to the prior sales of the Palm V and Vx models of the recent past. The m515 replaced the now discontinued m505 and added a few things into the mix. Although a bit pricey at $399 retail, the professional look of the m515 will still attract buyers that instantly fell in love with the V and Vx series Palms. With $399, you still get a memory expansion slot, 16MB of main RAM, a brighter color screen, a thin and fairly small form factor, and Palm's quality customer service. It is just enough to lure many buyers to purchase a Palm m515 over other Palm OS hardware and Pocket PCs.
Pros:
1) 16 MB of main memory/RAM
2) Professional look and stylings of the Palm m515
3) SD/MMC expansion slot
4) Universal Connector allows the majority of m500/m505/m125/m130 accessories to be used with the m515
5) Bright Color Screen
6) Slim form factor
7) Lithium Polymer Battery
8) Plenty of accessories available for the m515
9) Flash ROM
10) Vibrates
Cons:
1) A little pricey for a minor update to the Palm m505
2) Low resolution screen (160x160) versus competition from Sony
3) Still no Battery attachment since it drain the Lithium Ion Battery so bleedin' fast!
4) No external speaker! Try waking up to the m515 pathetic alarm!
Why do you have this Palm? You have so many freakin' Palm PDAs already!
I don't own this one... It belongs to a friend. I own several Palm PDAs... they include the Palm IIIx, Vx, and m505. I also have the Handspring Visor and Visor Deluxe. I am currently using the m505 and my latest purchase the Sony CLIE T615 Palm PDAs. I also own the Compaq iPAQ 3135, Toshiba e570, and the AudioVox Maestro Pocket PC (rebadged Toshiba e570 with less RAM). The Maestro was a present though.
I get to play with it when my friend has questions or has problems installing any software into his Palm m515. The price I'm quoting in this review is based on Dell's Home and Home Office Software and Accessory site with 10% off PDAs and a $25 off $250 purchase coupon. The site also offered Free S&H and no sales tax outside of Texas.
End Short Take - Heavily Detailed Review coming up...
Details... Details...
If you didn't look at the model number etched on the top of the Palm... you likely wouldn't have noticed the difference until you looked at the color screen. That the first major difference over the m505... you can see the colors now. It is not washed out anymore. It is easy to read and bright to your sight. Finally!
Major difference numero dos... less obvious is the fact that there are now 16MB of main memory i.e. RAM in this Palm. That's a big help for the multipling memory hogging programs appearing for the Palm OS these days (like Vindigo and AvantGo and many other programs).
The m515 retains the popular silvery gray appearance with silver buttons that originated from the breakthrough stylish designs of the first Palm V model. The m515 has dimension of 4.5 x 3.1 x 0.5 inches with a weight of 4.9 oz. The exact same dimensions and weight and look as the original m505. It is comfortable to hold in the palm of your hand and not slick or slippery to the touch. You still get the cheesy leathette fold cover that attaches to the side of the Palm m515. Yeah... big whoop for the leathette cover... go buy a real case for the m515 at least.
Again, like all the other past and present Palm developed and manufactured PDAs, you have large, easy to press application and scroll buttons. No fumbling around the tiny scroll buttons on the Sony CLIE N and T series PDAs. But I have grown fond of a job wheel device which the m515 (and the rest of the Palm made PDAs) lack. A feature made popular by Sony CLIE models and the HandEra 330. Maybe in a future model.
The m515 uses the Motorola DragonBall VZ 33 MHz processor... the fastest processor used for Palm OS 4.1 and below. The fastest processor belongs to the Sony CLIE NR-70 and NR-70V although for $100-200 price premiums over the m515. The m515 has 16MB of glorious RAM... a very welcome addition. Installed is Palm OS 4.1 onto the updatable Flash ROM memory. The same Lithium Polymer battery is used... which is unfortunate. The battery power was decent for the m505 but now the battery life stinks.
A standard infrared port resides in the top center of the m515. The SD/MMC slot to the side of the infrared port. The infrared port isn't enhanced but gets the job done.
Palm OS allow input through the Graffiti system (you can call it similar to handwriting recognition but you "write" characters on the Graffiti area and they are interpreted as letters, numbers, and symbols displayed on the screen) or through a virtual keyboard on screen. You can attach other accessories to input data as well.
The built-in palm programs include a date-appointment book, phone book, note pad, and to do list. There is a standard calculator on built-in as well. The m515 can also vibrate to silently alert you to alarms and hopefully wake up a light sleeper. The flashing LED is supposed to help but likely does very little for me so far.
Screens
The improved screen is what will strike you on a side by side comparison of the m505 and m515. The m515 is much brighter than the m505 with clearer colors (the m505's color were washed out and dulled). The m515 screen is actually the same low resolution (160x160) screen that could display 16-bit color or up to 65,000 colors. This is what happens when you increase the electric juice going to the screen. Without backlighting, the colors of the m515 screen are still visible and are still an improvement over the m505. However, the brighter backlighting makes all the difference between the m505 and m515. The backlight makes the m515 easy to read in about all conditions. If the m505 came out with this screen, I doubt many people would have complained at the time.
The backlight has two settings... low and high. Low backlight seems to be a bit brighter than the original m505. It seems to be enough for most viewing conditions (as well as an okay battery saver). At high... wow, that's bright. Puts the m505 to shame... too bad the battery pays for it big time.
Unfortunately, Palm is still staying with 160x160 active matrix screen resolution versus Sony CLIE's 320x320 resolution. I'll admit that most people will not need a high resolution screen... since the most obivious impact is on picture display quality. However, a high resolution screen also allows for things like clearer and more defined text, more defined pictures, and more detailed pictures! The screen has decent dimensions of 2.2 x 2.2. inches.
Color reproduction wise, there isn't the wash out effect on reds that you see with the Sony CLIE models (with the exception of the NR-70 and NR-70V Sony CLIE models). However, I still feel that the m130 reproduced color better and brighter than the m515... that might be a personal preference however.
You've got Flash ROM!
4 MB of Flash ROM can be handy. First off, it allows you to update the Palm Operating System on the Handheld... unfortunately, is there a need to upgrade the Palm OS? It is already known that Palm OS 5 will be released in Summer 2002 and it will NOT be compatible with current Palm PDAs due to the lack of processor power.
At least you can use Flash ROM to save files on your handheld that you wouldn't want to lose if the batteries died. You still need a third party software program to access the flash ROM however. Note that the Flash ROM is still slower than the actually RAM.
Again, the SD/MMC memory expansion slot... similar to the m130 section
The slot is mounted on the top left side of the unit. Insert a card and push in until it clicks. Press the card in to eject. Simple after you make sure the card is in the right orientation.
This small memory format hasn't made many waves since being introduced to the market... but here it is. The same slot used in the Palm m125, m130, m500, m505, and m705 PDAs as well as the HandEra 330, Toshiba e570 Pocket PC, AudioVox Maestro, Compaq iPAQ 38xx series and several more PDAs. The current maximum size of the card are up to 128MB (running an average of $85 on the web) for SD cards with rumors of 256MB and 512MB cards (rumors that started last year). Other than memory expansion, Palm itself has done very little with the SD/MMC slot. It has produce program cards and eBook cards for insertion but little in the way of accessories. A Bluetooth SD card was recently released but is fairly expensive to buy unless you needed it ($120+). Rumors of an SD camera are also running around (www.palminfocenter.com has info on this).
Note that expanding a Palm's memory via SD/MMC card is not the same as having more RAM. Accessing programs through the SD/MMC card is very slow compared to programs on the main RAM. On top of that, many database intensive programs do not support the memory expansion cards like Vindigo, AvantGo (not directly), ePocrates, Johns Hopkins Antibiotic Guide, etc. (which is why it is great to have 16MB on main memory/RAM on board. Secondly, when running a program from the memory card, you must have at least the same amount of main RAM free as the size of the program because the OS will copy the program to main memory to run and delete the file from main RAM when you stop using the program. Usually, you need more than that. While the ability to store programs and files on the memory expansion card is nice, it does not replace main RAM!
Palm uses the Virtual File System (VFS) included in Palm OS 4.x. The is the organization of files on the SD/MMC/MemStick (TRGPro and HandEra does not use the VFS system... since I don't have much experience with these two models, I am not sure how the CompactFlash and SD/MMC cards are organized). Some programs allow you to use the memory expansion to store files and databases... but as I said, some major Palm programs do not! This includes NotePad and MemoPad! If a program allows you to store files on expansion cards, you must still have the main RAM free for the OS to copy the file to the main RAM for use.
Keeping the Promise Alive... The Universal Connector
Palm is still sticking with the same connector on all of its current handhelds. The same universal connector. At least you have accessories for this part of the Palm. Many m125, m130, m500, m505, m705 accessories through the universal connector are compatible with the m515. All m500 and m505 accessories are compatible with the m515. You can even use the m500/505 cradle to HotSync but be careful of static electricity problems with older m500/505 cradles. At least your m1xx cases and stylus can still be used!
Batteries... Batteries... Where art thou?
Now you don't need batteries anymore... you've got Lithium Polymer! By Palm's estimates, the battery should last a good urmm..... uhhhh.... 3 hours of continuous use with the backlight on high. Tack on another 1 or 1/2 hours of battery life. The battery life has now gone to the gutter. Don't travel too far from a recharging cradle however. Heck there isn't even a battery pack to extend your PDAs power. The battery life here is just plain torrid and horrible.
However, I do miss having batteries to place in the unit. A concept that HandEra introduced was the battery compartment with a Lithium Ion battery accessory that you could use instead of alkaline batteries. At least if you weren't near an outlet or other appropriate power source, you could put in ye olde AA batteries. Another cool concept was the external battery adapter on the Sony CLIE T and NR series PDAs.
Software
The m515 comes with some excellent software which is also found in all the other released Palms to my knowledge.
DataViz Documents to Go Standard Edition 4.0: a program that allows you to edit and create MS Word and Excel files with limited formating functions. You can also view MS Powerpoint files with basic formatting. Compatible with SD/MMC card.
AvantGo: currently free software that download specially made internet pages onto your Palm for viewing. Not directly compatible with SD/MMC card. Memory hog as well if you subscribe to many channels.
MGI PhotoSuite: graphics program that allows you to transfer pictures to your palm in small file sizes. Compatible with SD/MMC card.
powerONE calculator: Slight more advanced calculator than what is offered on the Palm OS already.
Palm Reader: mostly for eBooks
Vindigo 1.0: An excellent program designed as guides to entertainment and dining for certain cities in its database. Was a free service until April 1, 2002. Now requires a $24.95 yearly subscription fee and installation of version 2.0 software (will automatically update on HotSync and active internet connection). Note that this program is a memory hog and does NOT support SD/MMC cards at all! Each city installed will take up from 800 kB to 1.2 MB of main RAM... I installed NYC (Manhatten) and Brooklyn and used up over 2 MBs on my T615!
Main Memory
16 MB is a good amount but is still easy to check out prematurely. Becareful what you put into the main memory. Many programs need to be in the main memory instead of the expansion card. Programs like ePocrates (prescription drug reference for Physicians), Vindigo, AvantGo, Johns Hopkins Antibiotics Guide, and more will not function correctly from the expansion card. Other program will and can also use the memory card to save files. Remember that the main memory is the most valuable portion of the Palm!
Palm Service
I've have a few run ins with the Palm Customer Service. My experience has been fast, efficient, and courtious. Palm's service representatives would try to solve my problem in whatever manner they could. The static electricity problem found in m500 and m505 due to the cradle caused my m505 to short out. Palm took it back and send a replacement ASAP. Less than a week for me to send and receive my Palm m505 back from them. That's service!
Last words and Buying Advice...
Regardless of what I say for the m515 or any other PDA... there are a few important factors to note when buying a handheld. You should go to a store like Staples, Best Buy, Circuit City, Electronic Fry's, etc... to pick up the unit and see how it feels in your hand. If you don't like how it feels in your hand, you'll never want to use the unit. There are more than enough models out there that you can find the model that feels nice in your hand and offers the features and screen readability you desire. If you just go by any review and base your decision on just features, you may end up buying a unit that isn't comfortable for you. Go and play with the units at your local store... you may even find that a PDA wasn't for you.
I also have posted numerous other review on PDAs over my time at epinions. I have a review on the Sony CLIE T615 and CLIE S360. I am currently playing with a friend's Palm m515 and will have a review later in the week and a friend just got a Sony CLIE NR-70 imported from Hong Kong... but it is in Japanese and I'm rusty in that language.
Palm organization and style at an affordable price Easy to learn and use--even if you've never used a handheld before Mini-USB connector allows easy t...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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