The long awaited Palm m505 "Color Palm Vx" handheld has finally arrived in some retail outlets this week even though Palm has yet to begin shipping eight-week-old pre-orders placed online at their website. I picked up mine at the Office Depot here in Austin, TX about two hours after they came in on May 2nd. Many of the new hardware features are well documented on the www.palm.com product site so I won't repeat them here. Here are some initial impressions of the device from a perspective as well as results of some compatibility testing of the SD memory expansion format.

The Screen

The screen definitely leaves something to be desired when not lit by the side-light. I would compare the readability of the unlit m505 to that of a Palm Professional or early Handspring screen. It is not as easy to read as my Palm Vx or the non-color m500 in room lighting. In low-light office settings, the screen looks almost black-and-white. The side light, though, makes a lot of difference, making viewing in low auditorium-like lighting very impressive. Side to side in an auditorium with an associate's Palm IIIc, the lit screen of the new m505 was not as bright as the IIIc's. The screen is more rigid than the IIIc, and doesn't deform when pressed with the stylus. The "black grid" effect of the IIIc is still there but is significantly better than the IIIc in that respect.

Hardware

The case is solid metal in front and back, unlike the non-color m500, which has a plastic back. The stylus is the same as the Palm Vx with the exception that the very top piece is part is about 1/4" shorter and can be screwed off and attached to a Palm Vx stylus. The m505 is slightly heavier than my Palm Vx. It is actually flared slightly at the bottom and the top (hourglass shape), is thicker than the Palm Vx, and fits very comfortably in your hand.

Synchronization

The USB cradle seems about 40% to 50% faster than the serial connection of my Palm Vx. Nothing much is added to the mechanics of synchronization except for the new Note Pad conduit and the special memory card installation options.

Vibrating Alarm

The new vibrating alarm feature can definitely be felt in one's shirt pocket or pants pocket but probably not in a coat. The vibration is much more rapid and noticeable than your typical vibrating pager.

Note Pad

Available on newer Palms, the Note Pad allows one to scribble a graphic note or drawing that is easily viewed on the corresponding PC conduit.

Processor speed

The processor for the Palm m505 is noticeably faster than the Palm Vx. Mostly, I noticed speedier lookups with large databases

SD Memory Expansion

I have a Panasonic 64MB SD Memory Card (~$110). Applications can be copied to the SD card via a simple screen on your Palm. Databases that are listed as Locked in the Info screen cannot be directly copied to the SD card. The Palm Install Tool on your PC, however, allows you to directly install any file or database on the memory card. Switching to the memory card is just like switching to a category except that there is about a two to three second delay in loading up the memory card application menu. The memory card cannot currently be divided into sub-categories. It seems to be able to accept any kind of PC file for storage on the card.

I attempted to load and run several common clinical references on the memory card. ePocrates qID & qRX (3/01) is a locked database but the files can be installed on the memory card. Apparently, it can't find the databases on the memory card and won't run. Skyscape 5MCC 2001 is also a locked database, doesn't recognize the database files on the memory card, and won't run either. The latest version of TealInfo also does not recognize folios placed on the memory card. I did not try the Handheldmed Reader, however, they have recently released a version that is compatible with memory cards.

All of the one-file applications that I tried worked on the memory card just fine. It appears that large database/programs that use multiple files simply do not look on the memory card to find sub-databases. This is a shame, because, those are exactly the programs that one would want to offload from the main memory.

There is currently no method for partitioning the large memory card into more manageable sections nor is there any way to create shortcuts that can reference these databases. That means a lot of scrolling to search through 64 MB of Palm applications to find the file you need. One can imagine that a software solution could allow the memory card to be partitioned just like a hard drive.

These software compatibility problems should be fairly simple to correct soon, especially, since SD memory expansion is now the standard for Palm hardware. Ideally, these problems should be corrected with a Palm OS ROM update rather than with third party hack applications. The latter are fine for technophiles, but, I can't recommend them for casual users. Good file management should be part of the OS.

Conclusion

The new Palm m505 seems, initially, to be a solid piece of hardware that will please Palm V fans, like myself, who won't use anything larger. The memory expansion system lacks some refinement, however, it is nothing that can not be overcome within a few months. I look forward to carrying a full eight times more reference material and a color display in my shirt pocket.

Andre S. Chen, MD, MBA is a physician and developer of clinical productivity software for Palm OS handhelds. His company, StatCoder (www.statcoder.com) creates applications for Evaluation and Management Coding, ICD-9 Coding, surgical CPT coding, Cardiac Risk Assessment, and CDC Growth Charts. For more information, contact Andre Chen at acheninfo@statcoder.com