Tungsten Handheld

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The Tungsten series was Palm, Inc.'s line of business-class Palm OS-based PDAs. With the purchase of the Palm name from PalmSource, Palm has dropped the Tungsten name from newer offerings. As of 2006, only the Tungsten E2 continues to use the Tungsten name. Palm's other business-class model continuing the Tungsten line is the TX.

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[edit] Details

The Tungsten series, first introduced in Fall of 2002 with the Tungsten T, was part of Palm, Inc.'s move away from arcane model numbers, Palm OS 4, and ageing Motorola processors. While the Zire was the same old PDA in a white plastic case, the Tungsten T was a wonder, bringing the Palm line up to date to compete with increasingly popular and powerful Sony Clie and Windows Mobile competitors. Since then, the Tungsten line has been palmOne's "prosumer" line, catering to business users and hobbyists willing to pay the price for higher performance.

All of the Tungsten PDAs have a few attributes in common. Tungstens all have high-quality color screens, metal-toned or metal cases, and often have high-end features like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Since many businesses have prohibitions on the use of digital cameras, Tungsten handhelds never had a built-in camera since the Tungsten T's debut. Tungsten handhelds cost between US$199 and $399, and, despite being marketed as business-class devices, are also widely sold through consumer outlets. All Tungstens with the exception of the Tungsten W run under Palm OS 5 "Garnet" on an ARM-compliant processor. They all have high-resolution (at least 320 x 320 pixels), 65,536 color LCD screens, metal or metal-toned enclosures, an SDIO slot for memory cards or accessories and non-user-replaceable lithium-ion batteries. They all use a five-way navigator pad, in the shape of a rounded rectangle or circle, and have four buttons for built-in applications. Palm Universal Connector was used by the Tungsten T, Tungsten T2, Tungsten T3, Tungsten C, Tungsten W, for docks and accessories. The Tungsten E used a mini-USB connection. The Tungsten T5 and Tungsten E2 used an Athena Connector. All Tungsten handhelds include Dataviz's Documents To Go office suite and some version of Kinoma Player with the exception of the Tungsten W.

[edit] Models

[edit] Tungsten E

Palm's Tungsten E is the simplest and cheapest of the Tungsten series, and as such has been the most successful. It has 32 megabytes of memory, a Texas Instruments OMAP (ARM) 126 MHz processor, a 2.5 inch (64 mm) LCD screen, and runs Palm OS 5.2.1. It is 4.5 by 3.1 by 0.5 inches (114 by 79 by 12 mm), and weighs 4.6 ounces (131 g). It has a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a single tiny speaker. It uses a mini USB connector not supported by most dock accessories. (It is otherwise a standard Tungsten; see above.) At introduction, it was US$199.

The Tungsten E, released in October 2003, was intended to replace the aging Palm m515, one of the last holdouts from Palm's old product line. (As it was released at the same time as the Tungsten T3, it includes the enhanced "agenda view" for quick viewing of to-do items and upcoming calendar items.) While opinions vary on how well it did so quality-of-manufacturing-wise, the Tungsten E has been one of Palm's strongest sellers since its introduction, to the point where its simple slate form factor prevailed over the Tungsten T series' previous slider form factor in the development of the Tungsten T5 and the TX.

It was superseded in April 2005, when palmOne released the Tungsten E2.

[edit] Tungsten E2

The Tungsten E2, introduced on April 13, 2005 replacing the similarly named Tungsten E, has 32 MB of memory (29.7 available), a 200 MHz Intel XScale processor, 320x320 Transflective TFT color display, and runs Palm OS Garnet v5.4.7. It is 4.5 tall by 3.1 wide by .59 inches thick (114 x 79 x 15mm) and weighs 4.7 ounces (133g). It has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, a longer lasting battery than the Tungsten E, has Bluetooth capability, and a single speaker on the back. Much like the Tungsten T5 and Treo 650, it uses non-volatile flash memory, this time in the form of Non-Volatile File System, meaning that the data will be preserved if/when the battery runs out. It uses standard SD memory cards and is also compatible with a wi-fi card (sold separately). It uses a standard Athena Connector port supported only by some new accessories. When it was released, its retail price was US$249. In October 2005, the price was reduced to US$199. The E2 suffers from some so-called design 'features' and bugs; unlike other models, the FIND function is limited to only the first eight matches, and the calculator incorrectly finds percentages at half their actual value (though this was fixed in units shipping after April 2006). When asked about these issues, Palm has informed customers that they regard this a low end product, making these shortcomings "design features" rather than faults, and as such Palm will not correct them.

The Tungsten E2 also has the ability to use WiFi, but only as an add-on SDIO card made by PalmOne. PalmOne's WiFi cards are manufactured by Sychip. Encryption is restricted to WEP, the E2 does not offer WPA or WPA2.

[edit] Tungsten T

The first Tungsten, the Tungsten T, introduced in November 2002 and known during development as the M550, was the test balloon for both Palm OS 5 and the entire Tungsten line. The Tungsten T was designed by Palm engineers based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. It has 16 megs of memory, a Texas Instruments OMAP (ARM) 144 MHz processor, a built-in microphone, and runs Palm OS 5.0. It is 4.0 inches (102 mm) tall, 4.8 inches (121 mm) tall with the slider extended, by 3.0 inches (78 mm) wide by 0.6 inches (15 mm) thick, and weighs 5.6 ounces (146 g). It has a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a single tiny speaker. (It is otherwise a standard Tungsten; see above.) It sets itself apart from other PDAs physically by having a sliding lower portion; the bottom third of the casing can be slid up and down to cover or reveal the touch-sensitive Graffiti writing area. At introduction, it was US$499.

Many of the features in the Tungsten T are Palm firsts, in response to Sony's successful Clie series. It was the first Palm PDA to use a version of Palm OS 5 and an ARM processor, which meant that it had the software and processing power for high-quality real-time video playback and mp3 playback. It was the first Palm PDA to have a 320 x 320 resolution screen, what is known as "hi-res" in enthusiast circles. It was Palm's first PDA with built-in Bluetooth. It was the first Palm PDA with a microphone, for recording voice memos.

The slider was the real innovation and what made it a critical success, though. When open, the Tungsten T looked like a normal slate-shaped PDA, but the bottom portion, with the five-way controller and four buttons, could slide closed, covering up the Graffiti writing area. This made it much smaller for keeping in a pocket. Palm's reasoning behind the slider was people spend more time viewing data rather than entering data. Thus, they chose to hide the data entry medium while not in use to make a more compact device.

One drawback to the slider was that the Tungsten T was notorious for needing frequent manual recalibrations of the digitizer after about a year's use. A software patch issued by Palm was helpful for only one of two problem. The other problem was that the ribbon cable between the mainboard and the digitizer had connectors that would change their resistance over time. The only way to (temporarily) correct this problem was to disassmble the PDA and remove and reinstall these connectors.

The Tungsten T was succeeded by the Tungsten T2.

[edit] Tungsten T2

The Tungsten T2, introduced in July 2003 for US$399, was simply a minor update to the Tungsten T, and had exactly the same form factor. (Save for the label and the T|T2's slightly lighter case color, they are superficially identical.) The memory was increased to 32 megabytes, the screen was replaced with a superior TFT LCD of the same size and resolution. Since it is much like the Tungsten T model, PalmOne did not deliver this model to some markets, such as mainland China or Brazil.

The Tungsten T2 was discontinued in April 2004, having been succeeded by the Tungsten T3.

[edit] Tungsten T3

The Tungsten T3 was the third T-Class Tungsten device, sporting 64 MB on-handheld memory (52 MB usable), a 400 MHz Intel PXA255 processor, and a new 320x480 transflective TFT touch-screen. It was the last product designed by the Palm engineers in Arlington Heights. One of the most apparent improvements of the T3 was the rendition of Active Input Technology with Virtual Graffiti 2 with Virtual Keyboard with the typical Tungsten line slider. With many other additional features, the T3 was released with the same $399 retail price tag as the Tungsten T2 until the release of the Tungsten T5, when it was reduced to $349.

The machine runs Palm OS version 5.2.1 and has an in-built speaker, as well as a microphone for use with the included voice recording software. Like the Tungsten E, the Tungsten T3 came with an enhanced On-Handheld PIM Suite which categorized all appointments and tasks on the front Calendar (formerly Date Book) screen. The Enhanced PIM Software also has an improved Task suite which can categorize Tasks by either urgency, category, etc. The Tungsten T3 comes with Real Player for Palm OS Handhelds (called RealOne Player for Palm OS Handhelds at the time of its release) in addition to having a 3.5mm Stereo Jack, making it a digital music player when in combination with a Secure Digital (SD) flash memory card. The machine has 5-way navigation buttons, and a Palm Universal Connector with which it sits in the included USB cradle unit, used both for charging the PDA (at the mains supply or through a desktop computer) and for synchronizing the Palm's data to a PC or Mac (software is included for Windows and Mac OS X, but with the pilot-link software, the unit synchronizes perfectly with a Unix machine).

Early criticisms of the Tungsten T3 included it physically damaging SD cards, and its rather modest battery life. Palm addressed the Secure Digital Card problem by releasing a Firmware Update. After the "SD Card Patch" was applied in early and later release of the Tungsten T3, no other criticisms were known to have risen from the Tungsten T3's use.

Shortly following the early 2005 release of the Tungsten T5, the Tungsten T3 was discontinued. Many power users branded the Tungsten T3's discontinuation without a true successor as a disappointment. Since the Tungsten T3 was discontinued, not a single new Palm handheld subsequent to the Tungsten T3 included a vibrating alarm.

[edit] Tungsten T5

The Tungsten T5, introduced in October 2004, is combination of the Tungsten E and Tungsten T3, the first to have a 416 MHz Intel PXA270 processor and sports a 320x480 TFT 16-Bit Color Screen instead of a 320x320 Color Screen with a hard input area. It still retains the shape of the Tungsten E, but is slightly thicker. It is the first Palm PDA to have 320x480 pixels all revealed without a "slider," as used in the Tungsten T3, though other brands have had sliderless HVGA displays for years. It is also the first to have 256 MB of memory (versus 64 MB in the Tungsten T3), 161.2 MB is configured as a Flash Drive),and 63.8 MB is available for applications. 31 MB is reserved for the OS. This results in confusion as the memory is not equally usable.

While the Tungsten T5 was meant to be a replacement for the Tungsten T3, it is missing several features from the Tungsten T3 such as a charge-indicator LED, vibrating alarm, included HotSync cradle, and built in microphone for voice memos. Handheld aficionados and Palm OS loyalists have often criticized the Tungsten T5 for its plastic casing, which is considered out-of-place for a $400 handheld. The palm T5 case however is not entirely plastic. It is composed of a plastic case with metal panels sandwiched on the top and bottom. Contrary to many assertions in reviews of the T5 the metallic colored panels are in fact metal. (many users prefer a metal case for a $400 handheld, but technology experts fear that a metal casing might cause heat issues since processor speed has increased year after year[citation needed]). Power users also criticise the Tungsten T5 for its Tungsten E-derived form factor. A more serious issue is the Bluetooth support on the T5. The speed of the Bluetooth connection can only be set to a maximum of 128Kbps. This makes HotSync via bluetooth comparatively slow and severely limits its utility with high speed cellular data services.

At the time of its release, the Tungsten T5 (alongside with the Treo 650) was plagued with memory inefficiency problems, third-party application issues, and device driver crashes, due to the new Non-Volatile File System.

Tungsten T5 owners are urged to check out the Tungsten T5 1.1 Update, which addresses the memory inefficiency issues alongside other operating system-level problems.

Issues/problems with the power-on switch have also been discovered, where it will not switch on unless a menu button is pressed or sometimes an SD card needs to be inserted. This is a known issue at Palm, but no fix is forthcoming. The best recommendation is to download a freeware program which can re-map the power button to one of the more reliable hardware buttons.

In some countries including Australia the Tungsten T5 was withdrawn early as the Palm TX offered much desirable WiFi which had been standard on many of non-Palm PDAs in the market.

[edit] Tungsten W

The Tungsten W (known as the i710 during its development period), introduced in February 2003, is a bit of an odd duck in the Tungsten series, and has little to do with the other Tungsten handhelds. The only smartphone (PDA/cellphone hybrid) in the Tungsten series, instead of running Palm OS 5 on an ARM-compatible processor, it used Palm OS 4 with a low-power Motorola DragonBall processor, to increase the battery life. This trick certainly worked since the combination of using a highly advanced lithium polymer battery and energy conserving electronics yielded a phenomenal battery life. Likewise, it had a thumb-sized keyboard, more like the Treo 600 than the flagship Tungsten T (This form factor would be reused in the Tungsten C).

The Tungsten W focused more on its PDA half as opposed to its cellular telephony half, the focus of the succession of the Palm i705 and Palm VII. Unlike either the Palm i705 and the Palm VII (which both could only make data connections over the Mobitex pager network), downloads and uploads were done using comparatively-fast GPRS connections. It didn't actually have a microphone and the speaker couldn't be used for phone calls; instead, you'd use an included ear bud and microphone loopset for voice calls. A flip cover was released that allowed the user to hold the handheld like a normal phone and talk on it, although it did obscure the screen. (In the US, it was sold exclusively by AT&T Wireless, and all Tungsten W handsets sold in the US were locked to AT&T Wireless's service. Note, however, that Canadian W's are not locked to any service provider and can operate with T-Mobile SIM cards). Because the Microphone was absent, the Tungsten W wasn't appropriate to be used as a telephone, as its focus was to be a PDA that could connect to the internet and read e-mail through a GPRS connection. The Tungsten W doesn't qualify for the Smartphone Classification since you can't hold the Tungsten W like you would with a telephone device.

It has 16 megabytes of memory, a Motorola DragonBall 33 MHz processor, a built-in microphone, and runs Palm OS 4.1.1 (upgrade to 4.1.2 is available) with special enhancements for its hi-res display. It is 4.8 inches (121 mm) tall by 3.1 inches (79 mm) wide by 0.7 inches (18 mm) thick, and weighs 6.4 ounces (181 g). It has a standard 2.5 mm cellphone loopset jack, and a single tiny speaker. The bottom half is a thumb-sized keyboard for typing, and it has no silkscreened Graffiti input area. (It is otherwise a standard Tungsten; see above.) At introduction, it was US$419 before service provider subsidies.

The Tungsten W was succeeded by the Treo 600 after Palm purchased Handspring and became palmOne.

[edit] Tungsten C

The Tungsten C, introduced in April 2003, was at the time of its release palmOne's only handheld that allows the user to access the internet wirelessly through 802.11b Wi-Fi without the use of a card or other external device. There are programs that support this such as an AOL version for Palm. However, accessing the internet through it can be considered somewhat handicapped, as it has no Flash support. Its 320x320 pixel screen is also sometimes considered too small to view the World Wide Web practically, although some conclude that PalmOne built it mainly to be a portable email device. However, recently there has been a rise in "mobile" and WAP versions (simplified and condensed to fit the screen) of popular websites such as Google,Yahoo, imdb.com, superpages.com, and Wapedia, as well as "web shrinking" sites such as Skweezer which have have added to this function's usefulness. The web browser is PalmSource Web Browser 2.0. Novarra Web Pro 3.0 can be purchased as an upgrade.

Other details are its 400 MHz Intel processor, 64 MB of memory (51 MB available for programs), built-in thumb keyboard, a "five-way navigator," a Secure Digital/Multimedia Card slot and a 2.5mm headset jack, capable of voice recording and monaural sound output with a proprietary earbud headset (sold separately). MP3 playback or VOIP are not officially supported by the Tungsten C, however most such programs (such as RealPlayer or PocketTunes) work very well. There have also been third-party applications and hardware that work around the Tungsten C's Mono Handicap. For instance, a special adapter can be purchased from PPC Techs to convert to a standard 3.5mm jack that splits the mono output into left and right channels.

The Tungsten C is no longer in production—it's superseded by the LifeDrive Mobile Manager and the Palm TX.

[edit] See also

[edit] Competitors and contemporaries

[edit] Other Operating System Ports

[edit] External links

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