Brightness of m130

[mariog98]

I was thinking of recommending a M515 for my son but now I am looking at the M130 (8Mb). The $199 price is attractive compared to $285 for M515 (16 mb)

I will visit the stores again to check out the units.

Question:
Is anyone having problems with the brightness of the screen when in the dark? Is it satisfactory? That is my only concern. are review on epinions: (I now the M100 or my current unit Palm VX is terrible and glad the new units are lit differently)

http://www.epinions.com/content_60134887044

says it is ok.

Regars,

MarioG98.

[faithskater808]

look i dont know what ur sons needs are but i am a tenth grade student who has a palm m130 and love it you can do so much things with it and thats why i love it and always will if u need help with things to get for it just post it here

[Trinity]

Hello, I own a m130 and a m100. The m100 is good in the direct sunlight because you can adjust the contrast, but the m130 blows the m100 out of the water. Here are my suggestions for a pda:

Get the m515 if:
-You need a lot of storage. Remember, each program is approximatly 15kb, so with 16mb, you have room for thousands of things.
-You plan to have a lot of contacts and to do lists, etc.
-You are looking for a more professional looking pda.
-And you aren't afraid to spend a little more money.

Get the m130 if:
-You don't mind spending money to get a SD card to get the storage to 24mb or higher (higher than m515's onboard storage- SD cards run fairly cheap.)
-You want a stylish pda with changeable faceplates.
-You can't spend a lot on a palm right now.

Another thing to remember is that the m515 has 16mb of onboard storage, the m130 has 8mb. The main palm pragrams use the onboard storage for storing addresses, to do list, and etc. The main programs will not store their data on a sd card. Both come with sd expansion slots. You can buy sd cards that have up to 128mb of storage, so say for instance, you buy a m130. Then you buy a 128mb sd card. When you buy both of those, you will have paid as much as you would for the m515, but you would have 8 1/2 times the storage as the m515. The only downfall with the card, is when you hotsync stuff to the the palm, it goes onto the palm and not to the card, therefore, when it gets on the palm, you have to transfer it to the card. There are some 3rd party programs that do it automatically now. If i figure out where they are located, i'll post the address here. So in my comparison, for the average college student, get the m130, get a 128mb sd card.
(Remember, palms aren't just for buisness, have some fun with them too!)

P.S. The brightness in the dark is just fine, if it seems a little dim when you get it, just tap the brightness icon in the top right hand side of the graffiti area to adjust the brightness.

[ebisix]

It is good that you are looking at a color model. The screen makes a big difference with Palms.

I would go with the m130. You don't want to buy memory in the m515 that you don't end up using. With the SD/MMC expansion slot on the m130, this is not a problem.

Also, for the m515 you would be paying about $85 more for not many more features besides the extra memory. The m130 is an excellent choice.

[mmencke]

The only downfall with the card, is when you hotsync stuff to the the palm, it goes onto the palm and not to the card, therefore, when it gets on the palm, you have to transfer it to the card. you don't need a third party app for this at all in the hotsync mgr. that comes with the desktop saftware all you have to do is hit the change destination button and install directly to the card the only reason you would need to move stuff with a 3rd party app is if you are using an app that only supports mmc/sd when there is a directory set up for it on the card and to do that you can use freeware file mgrs.like filez. available here http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?prodID=9992 Personally, I would go with the m130. You don't want to buy memory in the m515 that you don't end up using. With the SD/MMC expansion slot on the m130, this is not a problem. I'll second that

[mariog98]

Thanks to the 3 persons that responded to this thread - very professional and experienced answers. Well appreciated.

So I visited Office Depot AND Office Max and the M130 is

At Office Depot: 237 - 50 = 187

At Office Max: 249 - 50 -$5 instant rebate PLUS free Pocket Keyboard (29.99 value) = 195.00 till 1/25/03

Both have 14 day return policy..

So it looks like my son will pickup an M130 tomorrow...and test it out...

Thanks for the great advice again...

I downloaded Free Fillez freeware program this morning. Good utility.

Regards,

Mariog98

[cliemea]

as trinity said- quote- Get the m515 if:
-You need a lot of storage. Remember, each program is approximatly 15kb, so with 16mb, you have room for thousands of things.

thats not really true, i have several programs on my (sj30 which is basically the same as the m515) which are several hundred kilobytes. I would recomend the sj30 over the m515 ans m130
- 4 times the resoloution as those two
- bigger battery
- better backlight
- cheaper (than m515)- can be had for about $225.00

a down side to the sj30 is its kinda thick- not so bad in your pocket but does get sorta anoying somtimes- see for yourself at some computer store

[Trinity]

Thank you for the correction. From other posts that I have viewed, It sounded like you had to put it in the RAM and then the card. I haven't had experience with cards, because the onboard storage has been enough for me..... oh, and about the footprint of software, I agree, the more advanced programs can be a couple hundred kb, but most programs like my database program and program data is fairly small.:D

[hcamstra]

You may want to consider that an M series Palm is much less vulnerable to physical damage (than anything else). In the past I've broken glass-screened Palms by dropping them, but never my old M100.

[mariog98]

From originator of thread:

I am back!!!

My son purchased his M130 for use with his car detail business 7 days ago. Of course,

he wants me to set it up. I have a computer...he does not. He is not a computer geek

and does not wnat a computer. But he was excited last month with the "defective"

M100 I gave him (my wife never used it....so I gave it to him....but batteries do not

hold data (2 seconds only) when changed....did not find that out till later)...

Of course he goes out on Friday nights with friends but I found the M130 stuffed =

hidden in a corner of my porch ready for me to work on Saturday morning - last week...

What a wonderful unit! Bright, has 2 levels. Easy to hold, impressive. The M130 was

purchased at OfficeMax (I visited office Depot, BestBuy, OfficeMax) since it was on

special (Normal price $249 - $5 instant rebate - $50 Mfr rebate (=195) plus a free

Fellowes POCKET KEYBOARD 29.95 value.).

All went well...I had version 4.1 of software installed on my PC already (From M100

base of 3.x which includes Notepad support).

Came with M130:
***Spent many hours working on unit.(hey it was Sunday - SuperBowl Day) ...New programs

on CD: PHotosuite Moblile -WOW! Downloaded JPG from my Sony Digital to the

unit...downloaded examples bday party video that came with unit. Ran

PHotosuite...great.

*** Installed free Palmreader.prc with 3 sample ebooks, one on how to use PalmM130

*** Installed PowerOne Calculator...wonderful, useful, good features and one can

upgrade to add other capabilities - options if interested with the MFR (Like HP

Scientific replacements etc). Has a great calc log. In color looks great..I

trasnferred to my PalmVx as well..b&w but useful. CHECK OUT: www.infinitysw.com

***Did not install Documents to go...later will do that.
***Did not install Mobile connectiivity - SMS, Web, mail suport...not used,
***Did not install Avantgo...not needed now.

My own programs:
Installed ClockPop Hack....gives quick time anytime. Set right button to give me

instant time if held down...very useful.

Installl Iambic Atendus 6.01 Dtaebook-Contact program - wow, I see the advantages of

color compared to my use with PalmVX. Very powerful progam

Installed FileZ by NoSleep - freeware..see what it in unit...

Installed games I like...

Installed Fellowes Pocket Keyboard...worked fine...easy to install, use. Has a 2 minute

time to minimize waste of two coin batteries it uses.

*****************************
Your comments here guided me to this unit - best value for today's market....Also

remember that I can add a Memory card to addmore capabilities and storage to the unit

if the 8Mb is not enouth...sitting at 3MB free now with extra JPG etc. - junk that I

can delete or manage.

****************

By the way,...does everyone know about O'reilly's PalmPilot, the ultimate

guide...Great book....you will learn things about your Palm and Desktop that you never

new. Tips, tricks, how to use advanced capabilities....well worth the investment. I

have the JUne 1999 2nd edition...there may be a new one.

I will make other comments on Agendus program on Iambic discussion forums.

Conclusion: Great unit...great first unit, economical, has growth capabilities,

impressive...Palm has a great unit here.

Anyone have hints on other useful freeware programs I can use?

Regards,

Mariog98

[palm boy]

Go to www.palmgear.com and serch for the game called Space Trader. Also look for IR pong 2.2

[Trinity]

hey, go to these places for good freeware stuff:
http://www.palmpilotarchives.com
http://www.freewarepalm.com

and of course, if you need a free specialty program made, come to me at http://proq.servehttp.com

[m130]

Just a side note about the Pocketwatch feature if you were aware. You can push on the up button while the unit is turned off and it will tell you the time and date. If you hold it down too, you can toogle the brightness without "turning in on".
:)