Palm m500 series
| Company type | Product lineup |
|---|---|
| Industry | Personal digital assistants |
| Predecessor | Palm V series |
| Founded | March 6, 2001 |
| Products | Palm m500, Palm m505, Palm m515 PDAs |
The Palm m500 lineup consists of three handheld personal digital assistant models: the Palm m500, Palm m505, and Palm m515. This series followed the Palm V generation, preserving a comparable but slightly more compact design.
Similar to the Palm V, these units sported metal housings (with the m500 featuring a plastic rear panel) and a 160x160 resolution screen. Key upgrades throughout the series included an SD/MMC expansion slot, enhanced processors, a new USB synchronization interface, refreshed software capabilities, vibrating alerts, status LEDs, and mechanical fasteners replacing previous hot-glue assembly methods. Subsequent versions offered improved color display quality and expanded memory capacity.
Palm m500 series
Unveiled on March 6, 2001, the Palm m500 series was developed following a survey conducted by Palm Computing, which identified the Palm V as the preferred PDA design.
All devices maintained the slim profile and rounded edges characteristic of the Palm V. The power button glowed green when docked or upon receiving critical notifications. User input was facilitated through four customizable buttons, two scroll keys, and a touch-sensitive 2-1/4" by 3" display with a dedicated 2-1/4" by 3/4" input zone. Data entry employed a stylus alongside Graffiti handwriting recognition.
Each model incorporated an SD/MMC card slot for memory expansion and accessory compatibility. This series introduced Palm's updated Universal Connector, which enabled connection to various peripherals and standardized HotSync cradles until its phase-out after the Palm T3.
Palm m500
The baseline Palm m500 featured 8 MB of internal memory and a monochrome screen while including all fundamental functions of the series. It debuted concurrently with the series on March 6, 2001.
Specifications
Operating System: Palm OS version 4.0 (upgradeable to 4.1)
Processor: 33 MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ
Memory: 8 MB
Display: 160x160 pixel monochrome screen with 4-bit depth (16 gray levels)
Dimensions: 4.49 x 3.02 x 0.46 in. (11.41 x 7.67 x 1.17 cm)
Weight:
Battery: Built-in Lithium Polymer rechargeable; approximately two hours for full recharge
AC Adapter: Input: 120 V AC, 60 Hz, 10 W; Output: 5.0 V DC, 1.0 A
IrDA port
Expansion slot compatible with SD and MMC cards
Palm m505
Released simultaneously with the m500, the m505 was Palm's top-tier model at launch. It incorporated all standard features of the m500 plus a frontlit color display supporting 16-bit color depth.
Specifications
Operating System: Palm OS 4.0 (upgradeable to 4.1)
Processor: 33 MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ
Memory: Total of 8 MB (4 MB Flash combined with 8 MB RAM)
Display: Color screen at 160x160 pixels with over 65,000 colors
Dimensions: 4.48 x 3.03 x 0.50 in. (11.38 x 7.70 x 1.27 cm)
Weight:
Battery: Internal Lithium Polymer rechargeable; two-hour recharge time
AC Adapter: Input: 120 VAC, 60 Hz, 11 W; Output: 5.0 V DC, 1.0 A
IrDA port
Expansion slot compatible with SD and MMC cards
Palm m515
Launched on March 4, 2002, the m515 was designed as an upgrade to the m505, incorporating user feedback to enhance functionality. Notable improvements featured a doubled internal memory capacity of 16 MB and an enhanced backlight system offering a brighter "high" mode to improve screen visibility.
Details
Operating System: Palm OS 4.1
Processor: 33 MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ
Memory: 16 MB RAM plus 4 MB Flash
Display: 160x160 pixel color screen supporting over 65,000 colors
Dimensions: 4.48 x 3.03 x 0.50 inches (11.38 x 7.70 x 1.27 cm)
Weight:
Battery: Built-in Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery
AC Adapter: Input: 120VAC 60 Hz 11W, Output: 5.0VDC 1.0A
Infrared (IrDA) communication port
Expansion slot compatible with Secure Digital (SD) and MultiMediaCard (MMC) formats