Palm Tungsten T

The next major release of Palm after Palm V has many droolable features. A slide in/slide out data-entry area makes it more compact and easier to carry. A five-way navigator button with a dial and button in the center lets you navigate, select menus and applications. Some third-party applications may not work with this button though. It also has a neat reflective TFT color display with 320x320 resolution and over 65000 colors that gives a very sharp and clear output. The screen can be backlit and brightness controlled using the stylus. We noticed an angular reflection on the screen when seen from the sides though.

Other good features include the new Texas Instruments OMAP 1510 processor, and Palm OS 5.0, which cause a dramatic performance increase over pred ecessors. It has an ample 16 MB memory. Plus a memory expansion slot for MultiMediaCard or SD expansion cards. The Tungsten is Bluetooth ready, and supports popular Bluetooth cellphones like Nokia 6310 and Sony Ericsson T68i. However, full use of Bluetooth will take time since there are still only a handful of devices. You can also record your voice and the playback is quite clear. Hotsync was fast and easy, and the cradle connects to the PC through USB. Given the performance and most features, it’s definitely worth buying. But features like voice recording might be a gadget freak’s dream, and not really for serious users wanting to improve productivity. 

Anil Chopra