While the M130 is an older Palm PDA it's still a qu...ite capable PDA for organizing information for the busy user. The color display is easy to see and use. The setting and adjustments are user friendly and easy to master even for the faint of heart. With just a few minutes even the inexperienced user can be up and running entering important information. What I don't like about the M130 is the inability to synch information between the optional SD/MMC card and the M130 to copy files directly and save them. I also don't like the docking cradle that doesn't allow a secure docking ability when charging that allows the charging process to be disrupted with the littlest movement. Another issue is the battery itself, instead of using NIMH rechargeable batteries Palm chose to use a non-user friendly battery that needs to be replaced by a service center when it needs replacement. I overcame that issue and replaced it myself, but I'm a gadget person and am well equipped to do things like that. Battery life is acceptable, but could be improved because the Palm needs charging after a busy day of use or every other day of light use when the current OEM battery is installed. I installed the extended life battery and receive more operational time. Overall the M130 does exactly what it was designed for and it does it well.
The m130 was Palms midrange offering, though now w...ould be low end. The m130 was one of the first offerings in color, it used the Dragonball processor from Motorola, and w/ 16mb of ram these were realy nice units. The final selling point for me back in the day and still to this day is how rugged they are. I have just about destroyed these guys before, they take the abuse and still function. Everything you need in a pda for still works fine w/ the older palms. Though it will not use the newest PalmOS or be able to use the newest versions of software core functions are still there, Ie PIM,Calander,Reminder,Phonebook,Notes. For the price, unless you need the lastest greatest PDA these are a perfect match. The other beauty of getting older PDA's is that lot of the software is now freeware, and the library of software is so huge.
Alright guys, today I have a Palm Pilot M130 PDA for me to r...eview. I wasn't expecting this one- and I got it from a local sale that was going on. IDK (I don't know) if I envisioned/exaggerated more of what it could do- but I am going to list it again- as it is something that will not work for me. Alright- so I previously had used a Dell Axim X51V, and it was owned for a short time yes, but I owned other devices with Palm OS and was actually very happy with their functionality- so why do I dislike this. Well, with devices nowadays, you need to have WIFI. I understand that I could probably by a card for that- but I decided that with an iPhone, I shouldn't even use a PDA. I was going to see if i could put some of my photos and contacts into it to have it as a data holder- but I decided that i have an iphone for that. The next thing, is the most hard to use, under the screen thing that you write in. This will display on the screen which you have written on the pad below. Now I have had a hardest time writing on that, I generally write good, so this shouldn't be a concern, but I could never get the right things I was writing to pop up. The next thing, is the on-screen QWERTY is unbearably small, meaning that with the stylus you have to get into hard angles so I would probably get carpal-tunnel syndrome by using the keyboard for a long time. And after a day of using, I wanted to clear what I had synced to it, the PDA would not clear! I had to clear all notes and contacts and such by hand which was hard as the screen had hard times even with calibration. Overall, I think I envisioned this as something it really was not. I would get it if you just need a simple pda, but if not save yourself and dont get.
Pros: Good hand feel & button location. The ability to displ...ay the time through the flip cover without turning on the device is a nice idea. I put a 1 GB memory card into it without any trouble. Generic cables and adapters available on ebay cheap! Cons: Older model. Slow. Only 8 MB RAM built in. Only 160 x 160 display, color less than 16 bit, Not very clear looking, but useable. This model has a round bottom and comes with a square cradle, so you have to set it in place just right and not bump it, or it won't charge. (What dingbat thought that up?) Wouldn't hold a charge, so I had to change the battery for a new one. (Also available on ebay cheap! Yeah!) I bought this to replace a palm Z22 that died in a year. I think the older models were built better. The useless standard warrantee Palm provides on new models does not even cover the screen and digitizer. (What else is there to break?) It is better to have an older Palm that works than a newer one that doesn't. And at a fraction of the price! (Anyone want to buy two Z22 Palms with dead digitizers? I didn't think so.)
I bought this model to use as an ebook reader when traveling. The ...SD card slot makes storing books very easy. My only complaint is that the unit will only read files in the root directory of the card. There is a limit to the number of files you can place in the root, so most of my 1gb is wasted. That still leaves me with almost 100 books to read, so I can't complain. Battery life is ok, but not great. For the $20 I paid, it is well worth it and much cheaper than the newer handhelds. I'm using the mobi pocket reader, and getting most of my books from Baen's free library.