Palm m500 or Visor Pro? Any suggestions

[tbob]

I am trying to decide between purchasing the Palm m500 and the Visor Pro. I will mainly be using my PDA for databases (using HanDbase right now). Anyone with any experience/thoughts regarding these two?

Thanks!

[PDASROCK]

Here's the lowdown:

Pro:
Memory 16 mb, no usable flash
Bad case(if you get this one: DO NOT DROP IT)
Not upgradable past 3.5.2
Expansion slot: Visor stuff only, but wide range of uses

M500
Memory 8 mb, flash??
Nice metal case
Comes with 4.0? Upgradable to 4.1
Expansion: Secure digital, good format
(Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on these points)

Overall it sounds like you want the pro, more memory, but if you're worried about breaking it, get the m500, I've been scared of the cheap plastic casing on visors ever since I dropped mine from say 3 feet at most and the screen cracked.

[JohnKes]

If you are not going to use Springboard modules, go for the m500. It is much cheaper and easier to use databases with SD cards. You don't have Visor accessories, do you?

Don't worry too much about upgrading the m500 to OS4.1 There are plenty of horror stories of DEAD m500's after such attempts. Palm has two OS patches you can install over OS4.0 to get the same functionality. Thus flash ROM should not be a consideration (Pro vs m500).

I am happy with my Prism and my wife is happy with her m500. I use a MemPlug with a 128MB CF.

[Wizard of wires]

For the price you can't go wrong. If you pay more that $149.00 you're getting ripped. Sure it's b&w but when you're crunching data who needs colour ? Low price and sooooooooo many software titles to choose from. As for databases I use Piranha and JFile 4 and 5. (No I don't work for Palm.) Only down side I have found is having to have Microsoft Excell and/or Access to be able to generate printouts. Piranha has a matching PC program to view but doesn't have a print function. And that's my 2 cents worth...

[DrMud]

In compliance with PDASRock's request for corrections: he is half right about the 500 case....the back is plastic.
I am not a big fan of the 500 but I agree that in this case the 500 is the better choice. I bought a new Epocrates badged 500 for a friend a few months ago for $124.00 including shipping from PCNation.com.
Doc

[PDASROCK]

Really?? I had no idea, not that I have that much experience with the m5xx series. What about the m505 and 515? Thanks doc, always something new:cool:

[palm boy]

Go with the visor pro. The extra memory will help you a lot and the spring board is much sturdyer for perifials then the SD slot.

[Palm Cow]

I?'d say to go for the Pro. Get all of the accsessories you need for it when you get it, though. The Visors are fazing out. You can get a MemPlug adaptor for SD, CF, maybe MS. They're about direct competitors. Except that the Pro is closer to the SJ20, but that's another story.

[n_sram2k]

hi,
I understand that you wish to choose between m500 and Visor Pro.

Visor pro has the following adv:
1. It stores, recharges, expands and organizes…
2. With 16MB of memory
3.over 50 expansion options available
4. Can perform speedy searches, see 16 shades of gray on your screen, use the exclusive Fast Lookup feature, and view videos and games with a refreshingly fast refresh rate.



However, I am using a M500 and found that it works really well

[little-man]

I would definitely say NEITHER!!!! Go for the Sony sj20. It is the same price or cheaper than the m500, and has twice the memory, twice the screen resolution, and a faster processor. Or if you want color (which is more usefull than it sounds) go for the sj30.

[pda_ngle]

the m500 is a much better unit with the expandable sdio slot ,peripheral range for the m500 is greater and the flashable rom (despite what people say) is a much better thing to have available.

[Palm Cow]

I'm back from vacation in LA! Got my own brand-new SJ20! It ROCKS! I got it for $150 at Radio Shack! SJ20!

[Masculatron]

I'm incredibly happy with mym m500. Its slim, sexy (yes I said sexy, you cannot DARE try to say the clies or visors are more attractive in their square, bulky cases), and versatile. Go m500...its WAY worth it.

[little-man]

well, the m500 looks a little better, but the sj20 can do all your m500 can do and more. Now as for visors, they are downright UGLY!

[Masculatron]

Ok, I'm willing to make 2 concessions, first, the sj20 has more memory than the m500 and it has a better resolution. However, I must say that first off, the memory stick doesn't offer nearly the software the MMC/SD card offers (in terms of atlas, dictionary, whatever).Not only that, but something that I've actually seen make a difference is that the m500 comes with a cradle whereas the sj20 uses a simple USB cord with a connector at the end. And I don't wish to make assumptions about anybody, but in my personal experience, I am willing to sacrifice a couple of MB and a cluster of pixels for a device that is small, thinner, sleeker, and much more attractive than the competition. Because let's face it, when you whip out your PDA, people aren't going to have their eyes caught by the amount of memory you have, but just how sleek your device is. Needless to say I'm a VERY satisfied m500 user. (Save for my one qualm being the fact that the graffiti area doesn't light up when the backlight is on like the m505)

M500 for life?

[toehead2]

No one can say that the m500 cannot have a greyscale desktop. There is an add on program that appears in the preferences that allow you to set the default screen mode to 16 grays, giving you a greyscale desktop.

[little-man]

Masculatron-
The software on the SD card is hardly worth saying, because all of those programs are available either on CD or downloadable. Personally, I would rather have a big memory stick with a lot of those programs on it than have to carry around a bunch of SD cards that each have only one program on them. As for cable vs. cable, it isn't really a big deal, and I am fairly sure that you can buy a cradle if you're really picky. And if you travel a lot, then a cable would be better.
And remember, we aren't talking about just "a couple of MB and a cluster of pixels," we're talking about DOUBLE of both pixels and memory. And most people can consume even 16 mb pretty fast. And the "wow" factor is neat, but I definitely would sacrifice a little bit of that for all the extras that the sj20 has to offer. Anyways, most people aren't impressed with how cool it looks, but just with the fact that it's a gadget that they don't have. And the m500 isn't THAT much prettier than the sj20.

[temujn]

Hi, I want to add my 2 cents worth. I bought a 500 and in less than a month it was dead. I called Palm and because it was under warrenty I got a re-furbished one.
A couple of months later this one was dead. I am not hard on these things and do not use it a lot. Well, I do play games once in awhile :)
I again called Palm and got another one. I am now wondering if I just had bad luck or if anone else has had problems.
I got disgusted and bought an SJ30. Nice!! Bejewled looks great on the screen.
Temujn:( :confused: :)