Rumor: Palm m515, m130 Coming in April

Posted By: Ed Wednesday, January 23, 2002 9:50:56 AM

According to someone who recently attended a roadshow of Palm OS devices in Germany, Palm Inc. plans to introduce several new models in the next few months. In addition to the wireless model that has already gotten so much attention lately, the company will announce on March 4 two new color handhelds. Also covered at this roadshow was Palm's plans for wireless handhelds and a bit on OS 5.

The m515 will be a high-end color device that will take the place of the m505. It will have a much brighter display than the m505 but still have the same screen resolution. It will also have 16 MB of RAM.

According to this source, the m515 will completely replace the m505 and Palm will no longer offer it.

The source was able to snap a picture during the presentation on the m515. It shows a side-by-side comparison of the m515 and m505 projected on an overhead. The m515 is on the left and is noticeably brighter than the m505.

On the same day, Palm will announce the m130, a mid-range handheld with a color screen and the same shape as the rest of the m100 series. The source was not clear on how much RAM it will have. It will be able to use the m100 series replaceable faceplates and has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

The source was also able to get a picture of the presentation on the m130. It shows the m130 projected on an overhead wearing a bright red faceplate.

Prices for these models were not given. After being announced in March, Palm expects both these models to be available in time for the CeBIT show in April. CeBIT is the world's largest computer tradeshow and a popular time to release new models.

According to the information given at this roadshow, the wireless handheld Palm will release soon is not called the i705 as was previously reported, but instead named the i700.

Last summer, another anonymous source revealed that Palm was working on a wireless model with both voice and data capabilities that was slated to be released this spring. Reportedly, the Palm representatives at the roadshow said this model has been completely cancelled. It was to have been a GPS/GPRS device.

The Palm representatives at the roadshow also briefly talked about OS 5. They said Palm expects to have handhelds out running the new operating system this fall and described its new user interface as "Be-like". A few months ago Palm purchased the intellectual property of Be. Inc., creator of the Be OS.

Incidentally, the people from Palm made no attempt to keep this information a secret. Someone from the company spoke to this source after the session and asked when the pictures he took would be available on the Internet.

The credibility of this source seems quite high, though I've never gotten anything from them before. The pictures are just bad enough to be convincing. I've spoken to the source several times and they seem entirely sincere. -Ed

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m515

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:06:41 AM #
Looks very interesting, but it'll take more than a m505 with a brighter 'sidelight/backlight' to persuade me to spend more money on Palm products.... what Palm really needs, in my opinion, is some innovation!

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:11:13 AM #
This sucks. Will Palm ever have money for high resolution screens and where would they get them? From Sony?

RE: m515
mikecane @ 1/23/2002 10:54:08 AM #
What about color fonts in *MemoPad*?

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 11:57:44 AM #
Everbody complain...

What?? No cooking capabilities?? (Get back to your paper planner, trolls...)

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 1:04:30 PM #
What? Clie Paint?

RE: m515
costein @ 1/23/2002 3:17:23 PM #
I don't believe it! They apparently haven't learned a thing!...even with the new CEO...
16MB is not on the top priority list of most "Palmers". What ever happened to mp3, higher screen resolution, max battery power? They sure won't get my money just because of 16 megs. I can get that at several companies that are advertising this on the net. What a pity, they shot past expectancies again.

Ta4n,
costein
RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 3:18:39 PM #
whats? multi-color support?

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 3:44:17 PM #
Let's just say this folks, the pictures are highly dubious. I'm a professional photographer and doubt the image is legit.

Here's why: the picture is obviously shot with a point and shoot with direct flash. You can see the shadow on the screen created from the man sitting in front of the shooter. This means that the direct flash would have blown out the rest of the screen to pure white, resulting in no image on the screen. Flash almost always overpowers the projected image.

I know, because I've shot many in images in this sort of situation. The photographic solution is to turn off the flash or to aim an off-camera flash so that it doesn't hit the screen at all. Perhaps, the power of the point and shoot flash was so weak that it didn't blow out the projected image, but I doubt it.

Seems to me it's much like that rumored Apple pda at Spymac.

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 4:45:58 PM #
The source: I just made the pictures with my Sony Cybershot P1 with normal flash. If you don't want to believe it or think it's a fake I cannot do anything about it and don't want to. I know what I saw and heard...

GET AN MP3 PLAYER OK???
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 7:29:15 PM #
High resolution will make a difference on readability..but an mp3 player? cmon! it isnt a toy ok?

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 8:14:38 PM #
> but an mp3 player? cmon! it isnt a toy ok?

***

Let me guess. Back in the good ol' days, you probably thought a DOS command line meant serious work and a GUI was just a toy.

Gimme a break. Let me clue you in.

An MP3 player can be incredibly useful even if you don't listen to music. Yes, I know your imagination is limited but it can be useful for things like audio books, learning a language, old time radio, etc...

RE: m515
ssummer @ 1/23/2002 9:13:08 PM #
Let me just say that I have a ton of MP3s and I am crazy about music, but damn, MP3 playback is *NOT* a higher priority for me than 16 megs of RAM on my Palm. A lot of us are pushing under (sometimes way under) 1 meg free of main memory even with 128MB SD's and memsticks. After really using VFS for a few days you'll be begging for 8 more megs of "straight" memory. 16 megs of RAM is not a waste and those that think it is probably either 1) use only the built in apps 2) are starting to confuse their personal wishlists with actual market demand...

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/24/2002 12:47:39 PM #
palm is still producing organizers. if you speak of an implemantation of things like GPS you are right. - But if you are looking for a alternative for your gameboy, or your diskman,you should stay with...... it is much cheaper.
And there are still a few MIRCOSOFT products which will be able to play such things.....it depends on you

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/22/2002 6:56:32 PM #
The 515 is for real, don't doubt it. The m130 looks awesome as well. These units are going to be shipping soon so keep an eye out

RE: m515
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/22/2002 7:09:13 PM #
wow - big secret (sarcasm). Dude, the m515 and the m130 are FAR, FAR from the "Holy Grail". No big surprises here from our friends at Palm. They "grabbed the baton" in 1997 but did not run very far with it. I expected so much more by now. It's 2002.

Good on you!

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:08:07 AM #
I will not post any bad comments, I like what I see.

Backlit screen useless outdoors?

robrecht @ 1/23/2002 10:08:37 AM #
The picture of the m515 looks like its screen is fully backlit like the IIIc and thus presumably almost useless outdoors.

Thanks, Robrecht
RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
Ed @ 1/23/2002 10:12:25 AM #
According to the source, this is the same screen as the m505's with a stronger sidelight. If so, it will perform as well outdoors as the m505 does.

This isn't the first person to mention that Palm will have an m505 replacement out with a brighter screen. A previous source said last fall the new model would also have a better battery to power the stronger sidelight.
www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=2256

---

News Editor

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:25:48 AM #
Ed, I don't know where you are getting your sources from but the new wireless device is going to be the i705. That was one stupid error to make the whole story a little fishy. There goes a lot of credibility to the source. It is widely known that the name is going to be the i705. I have even seen the box that says so. Why would this poster even try and say that the name is different?

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:32:56 AM #
Because the Palm representative told me so...

-- The source

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:40:24 AM #
I am a palm rep you idiot and I have seen the palm i705

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:45:10 AM #
I am Darth Vader...come over to the dark side..

My friends call me "Bill"

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:53:01 AM #
>I am a palm rep

If you are a Palm rep, why is it called the i705 and not the i700? Makes no sense.

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 11:27:34 AM #
Well, why would it be called i700?

Re: Palm naming conventions
ptc @ 1/23/2002 12:28:31 PM #
Well, if the new wireless Palm is indeed B&W calling it the i700 would match the current naming convention of the m500 series (m500 B&W m505 color). So the i705 would be reserved for an as yet to be released color version. But, the m100 and m105 are both B&W - so it's a different naming convention without any reference to color.. Now rumor has it that the newest color m505 replacement will be called the m515.

Where does this leave us? I guess it depends on what naming convention Palm decides to stick with. IMHO the new B&W wireless device will be named, as previously reported, the i705. Then any future color version will be the i715.

_________
Paul C.

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 1:12:51 PM #
Any information on what the stronger backlight will do to the battery power?? IE, can we expect
really short battery life as a trade-off. I've currently got the M505, and its a good balance
between battery life and screen brightness. If I had the choice of a stronger screen backlight, but
I could only work for say... 3 hours on the plane, then I'd probably stick with the M505.
I realize Palm is probably giving in to the popularity of the screen brightness. Since I've never tried
the Clie or any of the PPCs, I really can't make judgements on how the current M505 compares in
batterylife.

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 1:52:04 PM #
Actually, an i700 could be a European version to the US's i705.

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 3:46:48 PM #
Actually, transflective backlit screens are possible, and are quite visible outdoors. I believe this is the technology used in the Sony Clie T615.

i700= black and white!
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 6:48:31 PM #
I just figured it out:
i700= B&W, will be introduced soon.
i705= color, but very dim. They will use the 505 as a model. Introduced later.
i715= color, readable screen--what we want now. This will be released 3 months after Sony & Handspring have 2 card slots, 32MB RAM, Bluetooth, and XM radio.


RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 9:34:19 PM #
from another I.M.Anon. "I just figured it out:
i700= B&W, will be introduced soon.
i705= color, but very dim. They will use the 505 as a model. Introduced later.
i715= color, readable screen--what we want now. This will be released 3 months after Sony & Handspring have 2 card slots, 32MB RAM, Bluetooth, and XM radio."


That is the most truly sad, funny thing I have read in months.

-a future Sony PDA owner-


RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/24/2002 12:39:40 AM #
He was joking, dillweed.

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
TDS @ 1/24/2002 8:12:59 AM #
Earlier, someone who claimed to be a Palm rep called another user on this sight an idiot. I cannot imagine a real representitive of Palm, inc. logging into a Palm web site and insulting the users. Mr. Palm rep, are you sure you don't just sell Palms at "Office Max?" That does not make you a Palm Rep, that makes you a "Stock Boy".
Doug

RE: Backlit screen useless outdoors?
mikecane @ 1/24/2002 8:48:38 AM #
They were going to call it the i709 but Paramount objected because they didn't want people to nickname it the "Seven of Nine."

screen shots

I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:12:37 AM #
so why is the 130 screen and the m505 in german? and did anyone else notice the "blue chat" icon on the m515? is that a bluetooth chat program. so did the source say where he saw this at? also dont ya think its kinda funny that the m505 only has 700k free
hey ED i'd re-examine this source it seems they've taken a lot of posts and produced products from what we've been saying
noctrop_d@yahoo.com

RE: screen shots
Ed @ 1/23/2002 10:20:29 AM #
> so why is the 130 screen and the m505 in german?

Because the roadshow happened in Germany.

> so did the source say where he saw this at?

Yes, but I'm trying to protect their identity as much as I can. I was trying to not even point out that this came from Germany but I was pretty sure that was too much to hope for. Palm didn't seem to care at the time but I believe in being cautious about keeping people who ask to be anonymous as anoymous as possible.

> also dont ya think its kinda funny that the m505 only has 700k free

No. Why would this be odd? It is probably the presenter's own handheld. That would explain why it is running Launcher III, too.

> it seems they've taken a lot of posts and produced products from what we've been saying

How do you know the mentions of the m300 on the site yesterday weren't from this source? They are a regular reader. Also, they weren't alone at the roadshow.

---
News Editor

RE: screen shots
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 10:54:02 AM #
well that covers thoose bases,
its just i never trust single source leaks, unless they're "offical leaks"
Thanks ED
Noctrop_D@yahoo.com

RE: screen shots
Ed @ 1/23/2002 11:08:04 AM #
I understand people being suspicious. I'm always suspicious about rumors like this myself. If I sounded a bit snappish in my response, it had more to do with not enough caffeine in my blood than anything else.

---
News Editor
RE: screen shots
Quik_Fix @ 1/23/2002 11:18:38 AM #
Hey Ed!

I hear they're coming out with a Folgers springboard module. It uses the power of the HS to activate its micro-brewing technology, and dispenses the gourmet brew out the microphone into a detachable cup. Or you can buy a little thingie to use it alone if your Visor's not available.

Maybe that'll help, eh? :-)

...In accordance with the prophecy...

Quik_Fix
quikfix@hotmail.com

RE: screen shots
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 11:26:10 AM #
No ED the problem seems to be too much blood in your caffine system
Hail-Starbucks (EVIL EMPIRE) TM.
Noctrop_d@yahoo.com

really a coffee mod for the HS i'm all over that

RE: screen shots
I.M. Anonymous @ 1/23/2002 12:27:07 PM #
Bluechat and blueboard icons with the bluetooth symbol in the icons themselves.

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