Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Duncan, BC, Canada
Posts: 7

Prism vs Palm505?

Thought I would start this thread to get opinions. I am buying a Prism on Friday, but was considering a Palm505.

Your investment in Modules aside, what are your thoughts?

Arnold

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 604

I own a Prism. I don't own a M505, although I've played with one at CompUSA and read a half-dozen or so reviews. The trade offs are pretty straightforward:

Prism:
Pros: Much brighter screen. Better expansion options, at least for now, via the Springboard slot.
Cons: Size (it's a bit of a brick), screen barely visible in direct sunlight outdoors. There have also been some reported problems with the case - the paint rubs off at contact points.

M505:
Pros: Size, size, size - much smaller than Prism. Screen is visible outdoors, as I understand it.
Cons: Screen rather dim, particularly if backlight not used. Fewer expansion options (other than memory). Not backward compatible with other expansion options (i.e., older keyboards, etc.)

Stuff I don't know: relative battery life, general reliability, etc. Remember if you compare battery stats, the M505 stats are probably with the backlight off. Given what I know about the screen, most folks are going to leave it on, so the numbers may be misleading.

You might want to throw one of the new Sony color devices into the mix too. They are getting great reviews, particularly for screen quality.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Here
Posts: 213

The thin form factor of the 505 is nice, but I really dislike the screen on that unit. The Prism is so much more vivid. Outdoor reading is better with the 505 but, who does that? A construction worker with t a PDA? Net, I prefer the Prism.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 106

I too own a Prism, and one of my customers purchased the m505. When he saw how bright my Prism was his first question was "How can I make mine that bright?" Keep in mind I keep my Prism at about 35% brightness. He was kind of disappointed, but he did like the m505 form factor. I couldn't believe the size of the SD cards. Anyway I am not willing to give up size for strained eyes. IMHO bright is better.

Ethos

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 380

This is my opinion only and not meant to step on any Prism toes.

I actually own both (as well as the Sony N710C and various others). Since I got the m505 (on the day they came out), the Prism has not even left its cradle. Yes the Prism backlight is better in a moderately lit room. But it really isn't that much better. The sidelight on the m505 is about the same as the Prism backlight at one-third to one-half brightness. In a dark room, there is no difference unless you want to use the Prism as a flashlight.

Where the m505 shines (literally) is outside. In sunlight (or very bright interior light), the Prism display completely washes out. It is unusable. OTOH, the brighter the light, the better the m505 gets.

There is no comparison on size, and the m505 synchs faster (yes I have measured it).

If you want to use specific SpringBoard modules, than the Prism is the only choice. Personally, I already have a digital camera, MP3 player and GPS. I don't really want them hooked onto my PDA like an out of control, electronic Swiss army knife. The only SpringBoards that I was ever interested in were for memory. The m505 does that just fine in a much smaller space. There will be peripheral expansion for cameras, GPS, and wireless networking in SD-IO slot at some point in the future, but you shouldn't make a buy decision today based on peripherals that don't yet exist.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, the m505 has reduced the Prism to a test/debug device that generally doesn't leave my desk.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 40

quote:

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Originally posted by bradhaak
I actually own both (as well as the Sony N710C and various others). Since I got the m505 (on the day they came out), the Prism

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You can have my PDA when you pry it from my cold dead hand! <g>

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 832

"A construction worker with t a PDA? "

I work field service in the industrial and commercial segment, so yeah, us construction workers have PDA's too. Some of us even have a Prism. The direct sunlight reading is passible (barely), but adequate enough to retrieve a phone number or make a quick note.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Arlington, TX
Posts: 334

I don't see how anyone would like the m505 or Sony screen over the Prism when viewing indoors. The Prism is so much more vivid' even at low brightness settings. The colors on the Palm and Sony look washed-out compared to the Prism. I do like the form factor of the Palm and Sony.

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Rick

www.visorsolutions.com

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

If you don't care much about Springboards then I think the Clie is the way to go. The screen isn't that much darker than the Prism's and you get the benefit of seeing it outside well and the higher resolution.

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Matt Nichols
[email protected]

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Here
Posts: 213

quote:

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Originally posted by dampeoples
I work field service in the industrial and commercial segment, so yeah, us construction workers have PDA's too

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 380

Covering lots of ground in one post -

SassKwatch - The Sony is very cool. The screen is amazing with the higher resolution and the brighter backlight. The brightness is very close to Prism quality and with the higher resolution and trqnsflective technology (for sunlight viewing) makes it a slam dunk. The MP3 player is surprisingly functional. The jog wheel is great. If it was as small as the m505, I would never use anything else. When size isn't an issue I always carry it.

george_vc - I'm not a construction worker, but I use my PDA outside for an hour, a couple of days a week. I like to sit outside at the cafeteria and read books on my N710C or m505. Please note, I didn't include the Prism in this list since I want to be able to actually see what's on the screen.

gadgetguru - I have never seen anyone say that they liked the m505 screen better than the Prism indoors. I (and many others) have said that when you balance all lighting condions, the m505 is more usable across the board. This is because the m505 is perfectly usable indoors. As a matter of fact, I have never found a lighting condition where the m505 wasn't perfectly acceptable. The Prism is beautiful indoors and completely non-usable outdoors. Note - I don't consider having to shade the screen with your hand and turn away from the sun to be able to possibly make out a phone number to be usable.

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: toronto
Posts: 85

I have been reading all these posts about not being able to read the prism outside...Do I have some sort of 'super' Prism or something? cause' I seem to have no probs using it outside..I can see it fine...sure the thing is pretty reflective and works well as a mirror outside but with a simple angle change I can see the screen, play games, watch tealmovies..everything.

I mean of course it looks better indoors in the dark ,,but for me my prism is just fine outside.

Oh ya, the 5 or so palm 505's I have seen and used - the screen is terrible...just terrible...backlight, sidelight whatever...it looks like a prism screen with the brightness on 10% or so - and thats when the 505 is almost cranked out

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[ DYSfunction8.com ]

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 106

quote:

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Originally posted by Crustytrusty

Oh ya, the 5 or so palm 505's I have seen and used - the screen is terrible...just terrible...backlight, sidelight whatever...it looks like a prism screen with the brightness on 10% or so - and thats when the 505 is almost cranked out

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 380

quote:

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Originally posted by ethos

On the plus side I love the m505 size. Today I would not be willing to sacrifice the screen for size.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 110

I too would put the Clie into the equation. VTL's post sums the m505 vs. Prism issues up quite well. It depends on how you use it - I prefer the Prism, but then I don't use it outdoors, and I do view images (no more plastic sleeve in my wallet for family photos, and I can hold scores of them now!) so vivid color is quite important. On the other hand, I am definitely aware of its brick-like form factor - it's a big lump in a suit jacket, I can tell you that. I also think the m505 memory expansion solution is a bit better - SD cards can be huge in memory and small in size, and per MB seem cheaper than flash. If I used hardware springboards - MP3, digital camera, etc. - I might feel different about that, but I think even among us Prism owners few use those modules.

I think the Clie is better than the m505, though. To me they're equal on most respects - I think most people won't notice the size differenc - but the Clie screen is both high res and better lit. And it seems roughly equal in price - CNet Shopper shows equivalent deals on the two units. Anything you heard about the Clie being slow appears to have been cured with the addition of OS 4. I tried it out a 610 (OS 4) and 710 (OS 3.5, still on sale at CompUSA) side-by-side yesterday and found the 610 to be just fine, while the 710 had an annoying lag when switching apps.

But I'm keeping my Prism. Even the high-res screen on the 610 can't match my standard-res Prism - the Clie is just too dim and colors are too washed out, even at full brightness. And this comparison was run under quite bright indoor lighting.

Keep a look out for a new color Visor. If PDAGeek is right and BestBuy is selling the Prism for $300 next week, a new color Visor is sure to be coming soon.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Arlington, TX
Posts: 334

quote:

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Note - I don't consider having to shade the screen with your hand and turn away from the sun to be able to possibly make out a phone number to be usable.

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Rick

www.visorsolutions.com

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 380

quote:

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Originally posted by gadgetguru


Just tilt the top of the screen away from you and the Prism screen
magically becomes fully readable in direct sun light! AWESOME!!

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Prism in sunlight at any angle - BARELY READABLE.

m505 in direct sunlight without worrying about angle - AWESOME.

Sony N710C in any light - AWESOME.

I understand the need to defend what you have spent a lot of money on, but to call the Prism awesome in sunlight says that you haven't used a device with a transflective display (or else have a different definition of awesome than the one in my dictionary ).

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: toronto
Posts: 85

You know what i think? I think that since I have used all of the mentioned devices...and no matter what anyone says...outside+PDA screen = not good....not one device I have seen looks "awsome" outdoors...or do *I* have a different definition of the word 'awsome' hehe

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[ DYSfunction8.com ]

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 380

Oh crusty one - You have your opinion and that's fine with me ( poor misguided wretch that you are).

To me the transflective displays are nicer outdoors than any of the backlit devices are indoors. This is my opinion based on personal use and preference. If you don't think that they are 'awesome', that's cool. The point of the post (he said pointedly), was that calling the Prism awesome in direct sunlight just demonstrated a lack of familiarity with the units that were made to look good in direct sunlight.

Personally, I will never buy another color device that doesn't have a transflective display. I just got a new HP Jornada 568 the other day. It has a 240x320 transflective display with an edgelit cold cathode tube to provide the side light. This an extremely bright white light. This is the best display that I have personally ever seen in any lighting conditions (personal opinion disclaimer).

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Arlington, TX
Posts: 334

When was the last time you looked at the Prism in direct sunlight
using the method I described? I have been using it the last two days.
It may not look as good as the Sony or m505, but it looks better
than trying to view it flat like I have been! Now there is no question
about which one I would like. The Prism wins over the m505 hands down.
I haven't used the Sony outside, so I cannot compare. The colors on the
m505 and Sony are washed out inside and side lighting does not cover
the screen uniformly causing shaded areas. %99 of my viewing is inddors.
Therefore, the Prism wins with me. Plus the others don't have NEAR the
expandability as the Visor line.

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Rick

www.visorsolutions.com