Palm Computing recently released its latest volley
in the hotly-contested "Handheld Computer War." The Tech Section Chief Geek,
Kevin Martin, was so excited about this device that he went out and bought his
own. Kevin gives us a thorough overview of the device, its features, and what
you should expect from this shiny new gizmo. Though not for the faint of
heart, this thorough review covers all the essential information on the
Tungsten.
Palm Computing, the home company of the Palm OS, has
struck again with a shiny new device designed to woo the power user and
professional alike. Palm's newest device is called the Tungsten T. The
Tungsten is loaded with all of the features that its target market is
seeking. The most obvious feature is its subdued grey finish. As its name
implies, the housing for this device is made out of a tungsten-steel alloy.
This alloy is attractive, light, and very durable while resisting dents, dings,
and scratches. Since recent problems with my Visor Prism included cracking and
chipping, a metalic case was high on my want-list for a new device. Fortunately, Palm doesn't stop with a pretty housing. Palm, in an effort to
design a handheld that is compact, yet powerful, added a new dimension to Palm
PC design. At first look all you see is the screen and its basic buttons.
 Though this is great for pocket
space and bag use for the ladies, this design presents the question of "Where
is the writing area?" When released, Palm OS devices will accept text
directly on the screen. All modern devices (Tungsten included) need a writing
area for Graffiti input. Palm fixed the size vs. writing area by making
the lower buttons slide to expose the writing area.  When first revealed, many people I
talked to were concerned about the durability of this sliding unit. Indeed,
this
was one of my own concerns, but Palm's solid-state design convinced me quickly
that this would not be a problem, and to date has not been. The Tungsten T comes loaded with other less-than-visible features. These
include a 320x320 high-resolution screen showing 65,000 different colors. For
those of you who don't understand what 65,000 colors is, it's about how many
colors
the eye can distinguish correctly. Some Geeks call this "True Color." This
makes images loaded onto the device look crisp and clear and life-like. My
pictures of my lovely friend Yafit appear more life-like than they have ever
been on a handheld. Also included in the compact case is IRDA 1.2 compliant
Infra-Red for communications with other IR devices (PC's, other handhelds,
phones, etc.), an expansion slot that can handle Secure-Digital cards or
MultiMediaCard expansion cards, Bluetooth, and the infamous Palm universal
adapter for connecting to other external devices.
Perhaps some of the more impressive features lie out-of-sight. Most notably,
this Palm is powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP processor. The OMAP is a
faster, more energy efficient version of the Strong-ARM processors. This
processor makes a tremendous difference in application launch time. Also out
of sight is the stylus, which features a spring-loaded top. To get your stylus,
simply press it in, and the top springs out for easy access. When stored, the
stylus is flush with the top of the unit. Other nifty, but not visible
features, are its 16MB of built-in memory (only 14MBis usable), and its
lithium-polymer rechargable battery. Lithium-polymer is a new formulation of
Lithium-Ion which provides enchanced life and unique shaping abilities. The
Li-po battery is not required to fit dimensions demanded by Li-Ion's cell
sizes. This allows Palm to mold the battery into unusual shapes, utilizing
space more efficiently.
Though publishing constraints require me to be brief, the Tungsten-T comes
with the standard Palm software package, which includes syncrinization with
Outlook, Act, and several other organizer software packages. Also included on
the Essentials CD is free software that allows you to carry, edit, and view
Office documents, Acrobat PDF files, databases, and web pages, among other
things. The Tungsten, along with its software, supports voice-memo recording
and playback for those little notes you need while on the go. Coming soon for
the Tungsten is MP3 player capability. Imagine having your 50 favorite songs
playing anywhere you go!
I am thoroughly impressed with my Tungsten T and its 256MB SecureDigital
memory card. If you are looking for a high-end Palm Computer and are willing
to pay the MSRP of $400 for it, then this is the machine for you! Watch this
section this fall for my retrospective "Living with the Tungsten-T." Also,
watch later this spring for my "Living with the Handspring Prism," where I will
go into detail about my ups and downs with my previous PDA.
Photography of Kevin Martin's Tungsten T by John Cordiano
Photography Editing by Jonelle Thackston
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