The 16MB Expansion Card also brings a lot of advantages, as you can just pop it into the expansion slot and extend the memory of your handheld. You can use it for storing software, ebooks, pictures, video files, documents, or whatever else you can think of.

Things will get really interesting, though, when companies begin developing proprietary software and placing it on SD cards. You can use your personal digital assistant to store all of your personal data, and when you need to, you can pop in your company's proprietary SD card to access your corporate data without taking up valuable space on your device. This may even turn into a security feature for companies, as they can require sensitive information to be stored on an SD card that you'd then check at the door before leaving the office at night.

Colorful applications
As I just mentioned, the Palm m505 has a clear, bright color screen. I've been using a Palm IIIc for some time now and have become a color screen addict. While I've considered upgrading to a Palm V for its pleasing form factor, I didn't want to give up my color screen. With the Palm m505, I won't have to make that tradeoff.

A color screen can be valuable to an enterprise user for a number of reasons. It's easier to see, and business travelers will find it ideal for viewing maps and images. PowerPoint-like presentations will come alive, and you can employ creative use of color in some text-based applications.

Universal connector
The Palm m500 and Palm m505 are the first devices to feature Palm's new Universal Connector for hardware add-on modules, Internet connectivity software, and HotSync connections. Now, you might be saying to yourself, wait a minute, how universal can this connector be? A week earlier Palm released the Palm m105 with an incompatible connection, and a few days after that Handspring released a new product with yet another connector.

Well, Palm promises that the Universal Connector featured on the m500 series will become the new standard across all future releases from Palm, Inc. This comes as great news to us at PalmPower's Enterprise Edition. In fact, in his editorial in the February 2001 issue of PalmPower Magazine at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200102/ppeditorial0201001.html, Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz called for an improved (and standardized) HotSync interface. Perhaps he was unconsciously channeling Palm's development team.

The Universal Connector bodes well for the future of enterprise installation, as one day all devices throughout the office (assuming everyone buys from Palm) will have a standard HotSync connection.

Wireless connectivity
Wireless connectivity is key for any handheld device to be truly useful in the enterprise market. Palm shows they understand this, as they've included Palm Mobile Connectivity software with Web clipping technology and the MyPalm mobile portal application in the box with these devices.