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| Tungsten T3 handheld | |
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With the release of its Tungsten T3, palmOne upgraded the top of the “T” branch of its flagship Tungsten line to functional equivalence with the Tungsten C. It has a 400MHz Intel Xscale processor and 64MB RAM. It also sports palmOne’s new upgraded transflective screen. The transflective screen is sharper and brighter than any past Palm handheld. The screen’s color, contrast and brightness make it quite readable, even in sunlight. It’s one of the best Personal Digital Assistant screens available today. Unlike the Tungsten C, the T3 screen allows you to shift the presentation of the display back and forth between the normal portrait mode to a landscape mode by pressing a taskbar icon (both views shown). The T3 has an enlarged screen, as the Graffiti area on the T3 isn’t dedicated, allowing you to use that portion of the screen as additional display area for applications if you choose. The T3 uses Graffiti 2 instead of palmOne’s traditional Graffiti. If you have developed a facility with Graffiti, you will experience some adjustment. If you have not learned Graffiti, the good news is Graffiti 2 more closely emulates normal printing, and you likely will learn Graffiti 2 easily. Like the other components of the Tungsten T line, the 4.3-by-3.0-by-0.66-inch T3 expands by approximately 1 inch in length when in its open position, revealing the soft Graffiti area. The T3 weighs approximately 5.5 ounces, a shade lighter than its predecessors. Like the other units in the Tungsten T line, the T3 operates on the Palm 5 OS (it comes with Version 5.2.1). The T3 includes the standard applications native to Palm OS 5. However, the T3 also includes the newer and better-featured Contacts and Calendar applications. It comes with a substantial third-party software package. DataViz’s Documents To Go Professional Edition 6.0 allows you to view and edit Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files. You also can create Word and Excel files. PalmOne added J2ME support, allowing the T3 to run mobile Java applications. The T3 comes with good multimedia support as well. The software package includes a photo viewer, MP3 playback via RealOne’s Mobile Player, and Kinoma’s Producer and Player software for compressing videos for on-the-go viewing. The T3 can run programs written for OS 5 and most programs written for OS 4. Although the T3 doesn’t have the built-in Wi-Fi capabilities of the Tungsten C, it retains the built-in infrared and Bluetooth capabilities of the other Tungsten T devices, so the T3 can wirelessly sync with a Bluetooth PC and connect with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, allowing autodialing from the handheld’s contact list or using the phone as a modem for dial-up data access. PalmOne representatives said the company has no present plans to offer Wi-Fi connectivity as an available add-on to the T3, but it expects an add-on Wi-Fi card to come from third-party manufacturers in the near future. The T3 offers expandability both through the palmOne Universal Connector (on the bottom) and the Secure Digital card slot (at the top). One of the most significant new software features of the T3 is the addition of a task or status bar to allow instant control for a number of features. The status bar includes search functions, home screen, menus, clock/battery level, the “Attention Manager” to allow fast access to alerts, Bluetooth controls, “Input” to show/hide the active input area and soft keyboard, and “Full-Screen Write” to toggle the ability to write anywhere on the screen. The T3 lists for $399. You can find it for less on the Internet. I checked pricing through CNet’s Shopper.Com and found the T3 offered for as little as $327. With the T3, Palm has brought the speed and power of its Tungsten T line up to the level of the Tungsten C. The decision about which to get becomes a matter of personal preference for specific design and features, rather than power and speed. |
palmOne Inc. Price: $399 Reviewed by Jeffrey Allen, a general practice attorney with an emphasis in real estate, business transactions and litigation based in Oakland, Calif. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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