Palm to replace buggy devices

Beleaguered handheld maker Palm plans to replace some of its newest handheld units after owners complained of glitches while syncing Palm m500 and m505 devices with a PC.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Palm confirmed the problem in an e-mail to CNET News.com, but the company did not say how many units were affected or what the cost of replacing the devices would be.

"Some Palm m500 and m505 handheld customers have reported difficulty in performing the HotSync function on their devices," the company said. "Some customers who experience this problem and who report it to Palm Technical Support will have their units and their cradles replaced through Palm's exchange procedure."

Under Palm's rules, there is no cost to the owner for replacement. Owners must send in their handheld and wait five to seven business days to get a new device and cradle.

Palm owners have been complaining of problems for some time, participating in online discussions on several Palm enthusiast Web sites regarding whether Palm might recall the units.

The problem is the latest challenge to the handheld maker, which last week saw the departure of CEO Carl Yankowski after months of turmoil that included the botched launch of the m500 series, a glut of inventory and a free-falling stock price.