Palm's low-end color device, the m130, has been advertised as 16-bit color supporting 65,000 colors. Now it turns out that, well, it isn't, and it doesn't.
Wired Magazine has uncovered a flaw in Palm's m130 handheld. Although the device is advertised as a 16-bit color device, with support for 65,536 colors (2^16), Palm has now admitted that due to a manufacturing flaw, the device is capable of only 58,621 "color combinations." Palm has admitted the flaw, and stated that it will be in contact with users who purchased m130 devices. It has also updated its web site, and will be altering the box and packaging for the device.
 | That's not really a 16-bit screen, it just pretends to be
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"We want our customers to know we made this honest mistake," said Marlene Somsak, a Palm spokesperson. "We truly believed the m130 offered 65,000 color combinations. We want to offer an apology."
Apparently the m130 uses a 12-bit screen, normally capable of 4,096 colors (2^12). Through a system of color blending, Palm tried to make the device capable of simulating 65,536 colors, or rather color combinations. Their design fell short, however, and is only able to show 58,621 color combinations. Many users have speculated as to just how much Palm knew, and which departments in the company at that, and whether or not they deliberately lied in their advertising, though no definitive answers have been determined. In the vast majority of applications, most users won't notice a difference between 12-bit and 16-bit color, unless playing high-end games or viewing high-color photographs.
This is also not the first time that handheld company has been caught mis-labeling a product. Hewlett-Packard's first Pocket PC Jornada device two years ago was advertised as 16-bit color device, but later turned out to be only 12-bit, without any color blending techniques. At the time HP offered refunds to customers, though the full extent of Palm's response is not yet known. As of this writing, the company has updated its web site but not issued a formal appology.
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