Customer Reviews
Aweful! Don't buy it! 
2003-03-31
I own this thing for a year. After first 3 mo of usage it stopped hotsynching. Well, my Palm had a warranty, so I received a new "refurbished" unit. It worked for about 10 months, then I had this problem again. Had to change USB to a different cradle. It worked for a month, and then my PDA died all together. It will not start no matter what! Needless to say, I lost all the data, and as a small business owner, it was a major problem for me. STAY AWAY FROM THIS THING!
Great for a year, then no Hotsync Twice!!! 
2003-01-17
My boss and I both bought 505s at the same time. After one year mine would not hotsync. After several days working with support, I was told it must have taken a static electricity charge and will not work. It was just out of warranty. Palm offered me 20% off of a new PDA. Two weeks later the same thing happened to my boss. After investigating we learned this is a known problem and happens frequently. It was a great tool while it lasted. Without hotsync, it is worthless to me.
Good Device, but one serious problem 
2003-01-08
Overall, I like my m505. I had no problems with it until yesterday, when it stopped hotsyncing with the USB cradle. I researched this on the web, and it turns out it's a known problem caused by static discharge.
Palm will exchange the device (and the cradle), but you
get a refurbished palm pilot. This means that somebody else used and abused it (and ultimately zapped it). There have been quality problems with these.
More to the point, it's just a temporary fix... the problems can and do occur again. Check out the horror stories on the web, particularly at places like palminfocenter.com
The good news: This doesn't seem to affect the serial interface. That's what I use now. It's slower, but more reliable. And for a tool such as this, isn't reliability the most important virtue it can have?
HotSync problem! 2002-12-15
Do not buy this product. HotSync problem due to electrostatic discharge. Shoddy help. I lost my back-up file on my PC after they suggested I uninstall the software (and uninstalled my personal data). This ESD problem is not easily fixable and they will not simply replace your handheld. Would stay away from Palm. I am going to get a PocketPC.
I've used it for a year with no problems! Good PDA. 
2002-12-15
I got my m505 in December '01 and have used it for a year now. I upgraded from a Palm IIIc and synching with my old data was a no brainer. I've had virtually no problems for the past year, and couldn't live without it for business as well as personal use (Date Book, Memos and Contacts are my primary uses, I'm not a game ...).
Only problem I've had (I've noticed this in some other reviews) has been that of the power button protruding enough to be pressed when stored in your brief case, thus running the battery down. It's happened to me once in the past year, although I had a portable charger with me. When I recharged it my data was still there! (Not sure if this is guaranteed and it WOULDN'T have been the case with my IIIc.)
Overall, I'm VERY satisfied.
Good Buy 
2005-09-04
I bought this new to replace my Palm organizer that was stolen a few years ago. I haven't had any problems with it and I've had it for about three years now.
2nd Palm, 2.75 Years w/m505 2004-08-13
I've owned this since late 2001. It replaced a 4-year-old Palm Pilot Professional (1MB mono, AAA batts). It has been very solid for me. I am hooked on the simplicity of the Palm OS. I don't need a notebook computer in my pocket. I need an all-in-one-place-and-go-anywhere life organizer--calendar, address book, Scrabble (extra!), with ability to sync to desktop @ home and @ work; beam entries between this and my wife's m130. I also have add-on of SplashID for password-protected storage of PINs, passwords, web-logins, and other sensitive/private info. As a result, every piece of critical info (13+ categories of addresses, work/personal appointments, etc.) is always at my fingertips, and always safely backed-up on the Palm Desktop.
Battery life has been fine for my usage levels. Backlight is dimmer than newer models, but it does the job (I'm not playing DVD movies, for cryin' out loud).
Only problem I'm currently having is that a small section of the screen (approximately a .5"x.5" square) has "died" within the past 6 months--losing all touch sensitivity....so I have to work around that.
My office IT guy says PalmOne will come out with next generation of models this fall, so I'll wait for that selection before replacing this one.
Perfect for almost anybody! 2004-06-25
The Palm M505 is a neat little PDA. It's features are perfect for students to business people. There are many positive elements to this little Palm.
The Palm M505 is the perfect companion for a student. It's small size and low price makes it perfect for somebody on the run and someone in need of a durable, compact Palm Pilot. In it's life, my Palm has been dropped numerous times, gotten soaked in water, and gotten thrown into the bottom of a backpack countless times. Again, it is perfect for anyone in need of durable database.
AWESOME CHRISTMAS PRESENT!! 2004-01-04
I got this awesome palm piolot with a keyboard and it is great! I bought games and put a cool "Documents to Go" program on it. I write stories a lot so I can use it for that, and I can also write school things on it if I'm in the car and my handwriting won't be sloppy! This is very cool. I am 12 1/2 and this is one of the best palms I have ever used. You should buy it!
Time Bomb 2003-07-22
I got this model for myself because at the time, it was the best model available. It worked really well for quite a while, and I even told my dad to get it for my mom for Christmas. So far, she has had no problems (knock on wood). Mine bit the dust earlier this year after over a year of problem-free functioning. It just quit syncing. Nothing changed at all. It just stopped syncing one day. I went through numerous attempts to solve the issue through email technical support with Palm. Nothing worked. I didn't want to call them because I didn't want to spend money on tech support. Turns out they won't charge you because they know there is a problem with the unit! They sent me a reset card which didn't help. I called them again and they were going to make me jump through more hoops. I pulled out the attitude and said NO WAY. They finally agreed to take the unit back for repair. They turned around the unit quickly and it was fine for a couple months, and it just quit on me again. They are obviously having VERY serious issues with this model, and I feel as if I have suggested a time bomb for my mother. It's not worth the hassle to get this Palm. I don't know if all Palms are this problematic, but I would avoid any Palm model that begins with a "5." I'm sure they are all duds, and once you begin to rely on a PDA there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING more bothersome than having to go through these issues. You are left without a PDA for who-knows-how-long and you feel vulnerable. It's just not worth it.
