Palm m515

When Palm launched its m505 some criticised the low quality of the colour display, which was poorly lit.

One of the tasks of the m515 is putting that to rights and indeed the new display is brighter and more usable. However, even with the brightest of the three settings activated, the front lit LCD isn't as bright as the back lit screen of the new m130.

Palm hasn't done a great deal to turn the m505, which we expect to disappear from the product suite, into the m515.

This new device has 16Mb of Ram, instead of 8Mb as in the rest of the Palm range, as well as an SD slot to accommodate either the company's new Bluetooth card, which is Palm's forthcoming European foray into the connected device arena, or more data storage. Beyond that, little has changed.

The hardware build is the same stylish design as the m500 and m505, and the Palm OS is version 4.1. The same 33MHz Dragonball processor is used as in the rest of Palm's range, except for the slower m105. The lithium polymer battery should give around a week of average usage between recharges.

Software includes the same applications supplied with the m130, including Documents to Go, MGI Software's PhotoSuite, Palm Reader and a range of internet and connectivity tools.

Palm suggests a price of £369.99 (ex. VAT) for the m515 or £449.99 (ex. VAT) if it's bought in a bundle with the Bluetooth card. This is in line with pricing of the newer Pocket PC 2002 PDAs, but isn't competitive enough to make the m515 a better choice.

If you can live without the extra 8Mb of Ram, a slightly smaller (albeit brighter) screen and a less stylish hardware design, the m130 is a much more economical buy.

Price: £369.99 (ex. VAT)

Specifications:

OS: Palm 4.1
Processor: 33MHz Dragonball
Weight: 138.9g
Memory: 16Mb
Display: 65,000 colours
Expansion slots: MMC, SD card

Contact: Palm 020 7365 9802
www.palm.com

See also:

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Sharp Zaurus SL-5500

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IT WEEK FOCUS: Bluetooth

Exploring the business applications of Bluetooth short-range wireless technology  24 Jul 2002

Sony Clie PEG T625C

Sony's latest Clie is simply the best Palm-based PDA on the market.  05 Jul 2002

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Sony Clie PEG T625C

A great all-round PDA with loads of style and plenty of excellent software.  13 Jun 2002

NEC PocketGear

Very similar to other Pocket PC devices, but with a lower spec.  10 May 2002

Palm m515

New top of the range Palm.  08 May 2002

Toshiba PC e570

Toshiba finally joins the new Pocket PC party.  20 Feb 2002

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