As is the case with any Palm device that has a sealed battery, the first thing you have to do is let it charge for a couple of hours. But, before I did that, I took a chance and turned on the Palm m505 to see if the reports about the color screen were true. I felt a slight twinge of disappointment when I realized that the reports I had read appeared to be accurate. Under the fluorescent lighting in my office, the colors appeared very washed out (more on this later). However, I was determined to give this product a fair shake. The battery wasn't charged, and I didn't have any decent software loaded to give the color feature a good test. Therefore, I decided to reserve judgment.

Setup problems
While I was waiting for the Palm m505 to charge, I upgraded my HotSync software using the CD provided. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get the HotSync software to recognize the USB port on my laptop. After several unsuccessful attempts to perform a HotSync, I reluctantly turned to the manual and began reading (ugh!). I found the cause of my problem on page three of the booklet entitled, "Read This First." In fairness to Palm, this information was also clearly identified on the outside of the box and on a separate flyer inside the box.

My laptop is running Windows NT, which along with Windows 95, doesn't recognize the USB ports on my laptop. A similar problem exists for users of certain older models of the Macintosh computer. I could scarcely believe what I was reading. Every Palm handheld I had ever purchased came with the appropriate equipment for my operating system, until now. The only option I had left was to invest an extra $30 in a serial cradle if I wanted to HotSync with my laptop. In fairness, Windows NT is an older operating system and the USB interface is far faster. You can't support older operating systems forever and still offer new capabilities.

Comparing the screens
Ever the optimist, I pressed on hoping things would get better. It appeared I would be able to use my desktop computer to HotSync since it was running Windows 98. After upgrading the HotSync software on my desktop PC, it did indeed work with the USB cradle. The HotSync time is much faster than with the serial connection. Now I could load some of the bonus software that was included on the CD. I loaded PhotoSuite and the sample pictures and video file. I also loaded a few color games so I could give the screen a real test. I started the PhotoSuite application and loaded one of the sample pictures, as shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B

This sample picture was included with PhotoSuite, though this photo of the screen doesn't do it justice. Click picture for a larger image.

There's no doubt the screen is color, but it's not nearly as bright or vibrant as I expected. At first I thought I would just increase the contrast but quickly found out that you can't adjust the contrast on the Palm m505.