What's New

December 31, 2001

 
In case anyone is interested, I bought a new PDA recently...a Palm m505! For any of you who follow the discussion forums on PDAMD.com, you may recall that I purchased one of these last May shortly after they first became available, only to return it a couple of days later after finding that none of my medical applications would run from the expansion slot, not to mention being less than thrilled by the relatively dim color screen. But what about the HandEra 330, you ask? Didn't I just say, not a month and a half ago, that the HandEra 330 would be my first choice if I upgraded? Well, there's no question that the HandEra 330 has a lot to offer medical users. However, it's essentially the same size and weight as my trusty TRGpro, and while the feature set is compelling, I was really starting to resent the TRGpro's bulk now that I no longer wear a lab coat at work every day. These days, my handheld tends to reside either in my shirt pocket or my front pants pocket, and the TRGpro is just a little too big to do this comfortably day in and day out. So, I was again won over by the Palm m505's slim form factor, and have managed to overcome my initial objection to the screen by using Palm's backlight utility, which enables the m505 to "remember" the last backlight setting. With the backlight turned on, the m505's screen is actually quite nice, even if the batteries do run down a bit faster. Finally, since both iSilo and my Skyscape applications now work with the expansion card, I'm able to essentially duplicate the functionality of my TRGpro with AutoCF. The downside is that I now have to buy all of my accessories over again, since the m505 uses the new "universal" connector. The HandEra 330 would have at least allowed me to continue using all of my old peripherals, although in the end that wasn't enough of a reason for me to stick with the Palm III form factor. I've been using the m505 for almost a week now, and am very pleased with it. I can't say that I'd recommend it to everyone, since any PDA involves certain compromises, but if you value portability and expandability, the m505 is hard to beat. Plus, you can carry around color pictures of the family to show everyone, and did I mention that games look much better in color? ;-)
posted by Kent 5:59 PM | |

Visit the Archives for previous news items.