Stay connected, put this Palm in your hand.
Written: Mar 17 '03 (Updated Apr 22 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: QWERTY keyboard, responsive OS, comfortable size, familiar Palm functions, mobile phone capability.
Cons: Poor phone functions, headset only for mobile calls, very little memory, No Bluetooth or LAN.
The Bottom Line: This is a good connected PDA with a poor mobile phone slapped on. Long time Palm users will love the added convenience of a mobile phone.
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| aashok's Full Review: Palm Tungsten W |
I recently swapped this Palm Tungsten W for my Sony Ericsson P800 , with a coworker for evaluation purposes. After a week, I think I am ready to get my P800 back. This is another instance where a popular PDA maker has tried to add mobile phone functionality to its well reputed lineup. Research in Motion is another company that has taken the same approach with their Blackberry 6710. I prefer to start with, very good mobile phone functionality. Good PDA functions including connecting / sync to a PIM, expandable memory / applications, Bluetooth and LAN connectivity, digital camera etc are needed, but secondary in importance.
Through out this review, I have purposely brought up differences and comparisons with Pocket PC devices. This is because, in the various ad mediums, Palm continues to compete and compare their products with Pocket PCs. The more accurate comparisons can and should be made with devices such as the Handspring Treo 270, RIM Blackberry 6710, Sony Ericsson P800 and Nokia 7650. I can almost replace a notebook with my h5455 PPC. I can’t say the same for any Palm device.
Included in the box.
· Tungsten W handheld
· USB hotsync cradle
· AC Adapter
· Handsfree headset.
· Two application CDs
· Instruction Manual
The Layout.
On the top, jack for the headset, infrared port, stubby antenna, stylus, indicator light.
On the right, Power on-off / Backlight on-off button, expansion slot.
On the front, Large LCD touch screen, QWERTY keyboard with function keys, 5 way navigation button, dedicated keys for date book, address book, email and Mobile wireless on-off.
On the back, reset button, SIM card slot.
On the bottom, Universal Palm connector.
What is HOT.
· Tri Band GSM/GPRS. I prefer using GSM network enabled phones because of worldwide coverage and a larger product selection. It is a shame that the US was slow in accepting this versatile standard and only relegated the 1900mhz band to GSM. I have found the quality of coverage and reception to be superior overseas in Europe and Asia, where the 900mhz band is prevalent.
· Documents-to-go application allows you to open, edit and create files compatible with Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Palm claims that documents can be opened and accessed quicker than on the PPC. This is not the case. I found access times to be very similar on both platforms.
· Familiar functions for Palm enthusiasts, Graffiti data entry, address book, date book, to-do list, notepad, calculator, find, home etc. This being my first experience with a Palm device, it took me some time to get used to the Palm OS 4.1.1 and its functionality. But after a day, I was quite comfortable with it. I found it to be fast, responsive and easy to use.
· Access corporate email from behind firewalls, or pop email from the web. Initially I set it to retrieve my personal emails from my pop server. I took it to my operations manager at work and found out that I could set it to retrieve even my sensitive work emails from secure servers behind firewalls. This feature is a big asset for professionals who need to read time sensitive emails while traveling.
· Browse the wireless web. The browser was a bit quirky and seemed to freeze up. It seemed to happen too often to write off as carrier and network issues. Palm and my mobile carrier blamed the problem on each other.
·A bright, 16bit, 320x320, 65,000-color, TFT LCD display works well even outdoors.
·QWERTY keyboard allows quick composition of emails and SMS/MMS messages. I found this feature quite valuable when I needed to quickly reply to time sensitive emails. Even though I am very comfortable using graffiti, I found the keyboard to be refreshingly convenient.
·Universal PALM connector provides quick connection to many peripherals and add-ons.
·Alarms and other notifications done by vibration, audio, or LED alerts.
·Palm claims 10 hours of talk time. In my typical heavy usage, This Palm started sweating after 6 hours, and croaked after about 8 hours of talk time.
·Expansion slot accepts SD/MMC cards. This can be used to add either memory or functionality.
·Small size and weight. H4.8” x W3.07” x D .65” Weighs 6.4 oz. I found the whole package and layout to be comfortable, intuitive and easily transportable.
What is NOT.
·You are limited to using the headset for mobile calls. Palm should have added a conventional speaker and microphone setup on the back of the unit. This would have allowed you to hold the unit up to your ear to make/receive calls. I missed a few calls because I was caught fumbling trying to locate and attach the headset while the phone was ringing.
·33Mhz Motorola Dragonball VZ processor. Although this may be sufficient for many Palm applications, it is not in the same class as the 400Mhz processors commonly found in Pocket PCs today.
·8MB flash and 16MB SDRAM. Again, this is not in the same class as Pocket PCs. My first iPAQ PPC H3765 came with standard 64MB memory. You definitely need more memory for resource hungry applications that display images, play MP3/MPEG files and large PowerPoint slide shows.
·No Bluetooth or LAN connectivity. I cannot wirelessly connect or sync with my desktop server or access my broadband internet with the Tungsten W. These technologies are quickly gaining acceptance in both corporate and consumer applications.
The Bottom Line.
This is a good connected PDA with a poor mobile phone slapped on. Devoted Palm users will love the added convenience of a mobile phone. However, Palm should stop comparing and competing their products against today’s Herculean Pocket PCs.
PS: A note to die hard Palm fans: I have tempered my preference for the Pocket PC platform by trying to be as objective as possible in my evaluation and review of the Tungsten W. So in return I request you to temper your comments and refrain from making any death threats.;)
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 499.00
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