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Palm Tungsten T
November 1, 2002
Everything about this new device just feels good. The packaging, for starters. Over the years, we’ve all gotten used to the same old Palm packaging— flat rectangular box, nothing terribly exciting. The first Palm OS device package I saw and actually liked was the one for the HandSpring Treo 180g, but the box for the Tungsten T is truly outstanding. You may think that’s a strange thing to say, but in retail, looks are everything. The Tungsten box is vertical, with a nice clear cutout so that you can see the device in all its glory. Underneath that clear plastic cube is a box with the usual stylus, cradle, AC adapter, software, cover, etc., but even that was well done. It’s new and different, and certainly provides a good start for the overall experience. That’s a good thing, because it wasn’t as easy to get up and running as I would have liked. My situation is a little tricker than most, considering the number of handheld devices I use regularly, but I was absolutely stunned when my laptop (running Windows XP Pro) appeared to hang in the middle of the Palm Desktop software installation. Turns out that it was just a problem with the USB driver, and a simple reinstall went much more smoothly. After entering my own business card, I was prompted to add the code for the six months of free BoomerangIt service, which gives you a chance of having your handheld returned if you ever lose it.
After that I finally had time to look the device over, and I really liked what I saw. As you can see from the comparison photos, it is noticeably smaller than the Clie NR70 I’d been carrying around, and it’s just a tad smaller than my m505 when the Tungsten is closed. For you numbers freaks, here they are: four inches tall, three inches wide, and just over half an inch thick. When the slider is pulled out to expose the Graffiti area, the length is four and three quarters inches. There are four buttons on the front, along with a four way directional pad which has a button in the middle (very useful, as a press and hold will always take you back to the applications launcher). On the top you’ll find the power button, the IR port, a nifty stylus that pops up when you press it, and a SD/MMC expansion card slot. On the left side you’ll find the microphone and the headphone jack. Overall the device feels very good in the hand. It has a nice heft, which means that it’s neither so light it feels like a toy, nor so heavy I feel that I’m back with the Clie NR70.
You may wonder why I’m so excited about the Tungsten T. Sure, it has an incredibly fast processor. I used to think things were speedy with my Clie at 66 MHz, but that’s nothing compared to the TUngsten. While I haven’t seen too much about the actual processor speed, some others have reported that it is actually a 175 MHz processor. I’m not sure, but I do know that when I go from the launcher to an application, it happens instantaneously. Same thing when switching days in the Datebook, switching files in ShadowPlan, or anything else. This thing is simply the fastest Palm OS handheld ever, and I would even argue that it might be the fastest handheld ever. My Toshiba e570, even though it has a faster 206 MHz processor, simply can’t do things that fast. And you wouldn’t believe how fast the Hotsync process goes. When I synced with the four main built in applications, HotSync was over almost before it began. And even transferring a 1.4MB TV Browser database took only three seconds.
But it’s the little things that I’ve fallen in love with. Like the fact that you can set a preference to turn on your Tungsten when you extent the slider, and turn it off when you close it— it doesn’t get much more “Star Trek” than that. They’ve also completely redone the Prefs application, making it much easier to use. Instead of choosing options with a dropbox on the top right hand side, there are four large boxes on the screen: General, Communication, Personal, and Other. The options available in each category are displayed at the bottom of the screen, making it easier to find what you’re looking for. One special note for the “Sounds and Alerts” function— it has three boxes at the top similar to the Prefs application, with Custom, Silent, and All Off as the options. That means that it’s much easier to turn the sound off quickly just before a meeting, but you can also choose all of your own settings if you like. This is something that has long been needed and I’m glad to see that attention is being paid to the details. All of the icons for the built in applications have also been redone, and everything generally looks better in addition to being much speedier.
There are some extra features too, some of which I really can’t test at the present. This is the first Palm OS device to have built in Bluetooth, and since I don’t have any other Bluetooth devices I really can’t report on how well it works. I can say that I’ve tried out the new voice recorder, and it works very well. The sound quality is excellent, and since the conduit transfers recordings over as *.wav files, they can even be played on the desktop, emailed to a secretary for transcription, etc. Thankfully you can set a preference that allows you to save all recordings on a memory card, if one is present. I had 31.2 MB free on my SD card, and the main screen showed a maximum recording time of 135 minutes and 24 seconds. That’s more than enough for almost any application, I’m sure. Please note also that the Tungsten T is able to play MP3s, but that the player software was not ready in time for the product launch. Palm has announced that the player (being developed by Real) will be available as a free download in the near future.
Software Compatibility
I personally have used the following applications without any problems:Conclusion
So am I glad that I ran out and spent $499 for this device? Absolutely. I appreciate the much smaller form factor, the speedy performance, the voice recorder, easy one-handed use with the new Navigator, and even that nifty little clear plastic cover. It may not be quite as function as the old-style flip lid, but it looks great and does a good job of protecting the device from damage while in your pocket or purse—at least until all the cool new accessories come out. And all of you m5xx series device owners, rejoice! The Palm Portable Keyboard, travel chargers, anything at all with the universal connector, should work just fine with the new Tungsten T as long as they physically fit the device. The bottom isn’t quite as rounded as the m505, but most things should work. Just be advised that you should NOT load the old Stowaway keyboard driver; wait until the new OS5 driver is available at either the Think Outside or Palm web site.
PocketGoddess rating for the Palm Tungsten T Handheld: 
