FIGURE G

The Palm m500 Leather Zippered Case has room for your SD cards.

There's also a Deluxe Leather Carrying Case priced at $39.95 that can carry both a Palm m500 series handheld and the Palm Portable Keyboard. It's pictured in Figure H.

FIGURE H

The Deluxe Leather Carrying Case can hold both your m500 series handheld and the Palm Portable Keyboard.

Speaking of the Palm Portable Keyboard, this is a must have item for many enterprise users. This engineering marvel is a full-sized keyboard that folds up to just about the size of the Palm unit itself. There's already a version of the keyboard that's compatible with the m500 series, as shown in Figure I.

FIGURE I

A Palm m500 series-compatible Palm Portable Keyboard is available.

The cool thing is, since this means it's compatible with the Universal Connector, it will work with all future Palm devices. When the time comes to upgrade your device, you won't have to buy a new keyboard to continue writing documents, taking notes, and managing email while on the move.

For business travelers, a number of travel accessories are available as well, including a charging kit and serial and USB HotSync cables.

PalmPak Travel Cards
On the subject of travel, Palm, Inc. has chosen CitySync (at http://www.citysync.com), Lonely Planet's digital city guide series, as the featured travel guide for its PalmPak Travel Cards. The PalmPak Travel Cards will fit into the new SD expansion slot, meaning only a minimal amount of the handheld's memory will be required to operate the guide. As you travel throughout the world on business, you can access the eighteen CitySync city guides covering Europe, the United States, and Asia-Pacific for reviews of must-see attractions, hotels, restaurants, and events, as well as transportation options, safety tips, background information, and quick tours. It's pictured in Figure J.

FIGURE J

CitySync provides great travel information.

Conclusion
Reaching out to the enterprise market is extremely important to Palm, and the features and peripherals they've designed for the Palm m500 and Palm m505 are a clear indication of that. Either one of these devices would make a fine addition to any business environment.

It's also evident Palm is responding to the wishes of the consumer, by finding innovative methods of combining an appealing form factor with a color screen and expansion capability. The creation of a Universal Connector is also strong proof that they're paying close attention to what we want to see. With innovations like these, Palm is sure to remain king of the mountain in the handheld industry.

Steve Niles is Senior Editor for ZATZ Publishing. He is also an independent filmmaker and freelance writer. For more information, visit http://www.sn-films.com.