Palm's m500 series are the first handhelds to use Palm OS 4.0, sharing the same hardware specs except for the 16-bit display of the m505 - which has our full attention.
Whether Palm likes it or not, the company will be forced to make their own devices that support color - and the new m505 is a result of this. There has been a lot of talking in the PDA community regarding the poor brightness of the 16-bit display, which frankly cannot measure up to Pocket PC devices or the Handspring Visor Prism - or even Palm's own IIIc model. However, this discussion is related to some other factors, so if you're interested on learning my whole take on this read on.
The hardware
This said first: Palm flunks the cluttered box test with the m505. With 15 items non-hardware related items in there inlcuding three software CDs (one of which was a Cannes promotional CD) and the manual, I almost had a fit when I opened the box. What was left after removing all unnecessary parts was the m505 itself, its USB cradle, the power supply, two CDs containing the Palm Desktop software and Mobile Connectivity software, and finally a leather cover that slides into the left railing of the m505 and acts like a "book cover".
 | What first struck me about the m505 was its small size and weight, considering it has a color display
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The m505 itself does on the other hand not contain clutter at all. It's simple and elegant, and probably the ultimate executive show-off piece - but that doesn't mean it doesn't pack a punch as well. Thankfully, both the device and the stylus feel very robust for such a small device - the stylus is by the way an appropriately weighted workhorse, and the fact that it's not a work of art like the rest of the device doesn't bother me at all.
Size is imperative when it comes to the m505, just as with its predecessors in the Palm V series. It's not only very light, but it also has a nice form factor to it, making it easy to grip and work with. The external shortcut keys are also placed similarly to the V series - the power button, doubling as a charging and alarm indicator, in the upper right corner on the front of the device, and four application shortcut buttons placed on the lower front of the device for launching the Date Book, Address, To Do List and Note Pad applications. Additionally, there's the up and down browse buttons that all Palm OS users know and love.
The m505 has both USB and serial connectivity through its Universal Connector placed under the device, and Infrared connectivity through the IR port located at the top of the device. Right next to it, you'll also find the biggest revolution this handheld has undergone except for the color display - the combined SDCard/MMC slot which enables a range of expansion and storage cards to be used with the m505. Until now, expansion options have been poor for Palm owners, but fortunately Palm has finally gotten its act together and provided a proper method of expanding the storage capacity of its handhelds and allowing for various kinds of expansion.
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