The Bottom Line: If you need an organizer that works and can withstand heavy day-to-day use, look no farther. The m125 maybe a no-frills machine, but it definitely gets the job done.
Well, a lot has changed since I wrote my review of the Sony PEG-S320 (http://www.epinions.com/content_43962437252) a few months ago. A few months ago I praised the PEG-S320, and I still do – it’s a great machine. But, in that same review I bashed the Palm m125 for no flash memory and small screen. So how come I am not using my PEG-S320 nowadays and am heavily using my Palm m125?
There are a few changes that came down the pipe that made me switch over. The first is that I am now traveling a lot more for business than before. This brings into play two things – my need to travel without bringing extra hardware (power cable) and the need for a machine that is durable. The second is the announcement of PalmOS 5.0 – mainly that the OS will not be supported on these old machines. And the last is the price drop of the m125.
Like the S320 the m125 has: 8MB of RAM, an expansion slot (SD/MMC rather than MemoryStick), 160x160 pixel screen, and PalmOS 4.0. What I really miss when using the m125 is the JogDial. I really wish that it had the JogDial. Technically, other than the smaller screen and the lack of flash memory the two are identical.
So what does the m125 bring to the table that the S320 can’t provide? It brings replaceable batteries and durability. When I used my m100 I liked it a lot because it had a plastic digitizer screen – which seemed and was indestructible. I could take the machine and drop it from ungodly heights and it would still survive. The screen is slick to write on and through all my use it never scratched. The S320 on the other hand has a glass screen (like most other organizers) and this is not as durable as a plastic one. I take more care when I carry my S320 around with me. The m125 is different, I don’t feel the need to leave it behind because it is precious – it is just so durable that I can carry around anywhere with me.
The replaceable batteries are a good thing for me since I have been traveling a lot lately. Although the rechargeable battery in the S320 is nice and will last for weeks on end, I just feel more secure when I know that I can replace the batteries in my machine. Sure, I can take my travel charging cable with me when I take the S320 with me, but it’s just nice to be able to pop the hood on the m125 and swap out the batteries.
The announcement of PalmOS 5.0 is also important to keep in mind. Since it will run only on newer StrongARM processors, this means that all previous PalmOS machines will not be upgradeable to the new OS. So, the need for built-in flash memory is nullified – if I can’t upgrade to 5.0, then I don’t need that flash memory. Yes, there are other uses for the flash memory – like storing databases in it because it is non-volatile, but I can already do this with an SD card in the SD expansion slot.
Talking about the SD expansion slot, this was still a requirement when I looked at the m125. I did not want any machine that did not have a way to expand. The SD/MMC slot fit this requirement just fine. Actually, I’m finding that the SD card I/O is quite a bit faster than MemoryStick I/O and this works out good because I like using PiDirect II to store programs on my expansion card and use them directly. It is much more responsive on an SD card than it is on a MemoryStick.
The price of the m125 is at around $199 retail now, which puts it in around the price of the Sony Clie S360 (the successor to the S320). That is still a bit pricey for the m125 because the newer Sony S360 comes with 16MB of RAM built onboard compared to the 8MB on the m125 – but I find that the screen (though a bit smaller) and the replaceable batteries make up for this quite easily.
As with my m100, I sometimes feel that the m125 is a little toyish in looks, but I’ve come to love the way that it looks. The m125 feels more substantial than the lightweight m100 – there is a solid feeling to the m125 compared to the m100. The change from serial to USB for HotSync’ing is a nice upgrade from the m100 to the m125. And the m125 comes with the Universal Connector that Palm is using now. That means that any peripheral that is built for the Palm m5XX series can also be used with the m125.
The m125 is now my day-to-day PDA. I love having it with me. The machine has enough in its design to look and feel fun. It also does all that I need so that I can use it for business. It is durable enough for me to take anywhere I go and not have to worry if I’m going to break it. And the SD/MMC expansion slot allows me to expand the machine with all sorts of things – including a BlueTooth expansion card.
Times change and so do opinions. I’m glad that I had a chance to revisit the m125 machine because it has become the most useful PDA I’ve used. I highly recommend this machine.
8 MB memory--stores thousands of addresses, phone numbers, appointments, and to-do items New Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard expansion slot for addition...More at Amazon Marketplace
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