Brighthand Reviews the Palm Tungsten C

Ed Hardy · 04-30-2003, 11:49 AM

Following up on his preliminary review from last week, Brighthand’s Editor-in-Chief brings us his full review of Palm’s latest handheld, which offers a 400 MHz processor, 64 MB of RAM, and built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking.

Read the full review at http://www.brighthand.com/article/Pa...gsten_C_Review

ucfgrad93 · 04-30-2003, 02:19 PM

Great review Ed. I just wish I had a home WiFi network or the school I teach at did so I could justify $500 for it.

kculp · 04-30-2003, 03:38 PM

I would have to say that I have been looking for a handheld for about 3 months and was headed for the Toshiba e755 model. When Ed posted the first review, the specs blew me away and I bought the Tungsten C soley based on that "first look" story a few days ago.

Anyway, I do like the model and Ed's review covers most of the weaknesses. I had to install a signal booster on my WI-FI network. This was frustrating. Add $100 to your purchase if that is on your mind. A booster is probably not needed with commercial access points where the signal is stronger. Users won't be happy if you are going thru more than 2 walls with the Linksys router (BEFW11S4). If you are on the same floor you may not need the signal booster (Linksys WSB24)

There is a slight pause when clicking on a web link on the T|C. This isn't a weak signal issue and I think some folks are inpatient with the pause. The T|C first turns on the Wi-Fi radio and then sends the signal. I am not sure. Remember, this slight inconvenience is buying you nearly 8 hrs of web time on WI-Fi!

Great screen. Small, but this is by far the one to give Sony a run for the money. Even with the light turned down! Keyboard is nice, I didn't really need it. Perhaps I will appreciate it more in the future as I go thru the learning curve.

Also, I don' t like not having a dedicated button for the drop down menus. Some programs do not automatically drop down with a top program bar tap. But, I love the WWW button! Wish the mail client had more user help for configuring.

There is no way to charge this thing without a cradle or USB cable as I don't see a power in jack. I am having trouble with an off-brand Belkin cable, but it works with a little wiggle once in a while. I hate the included Palm Cradle because it has a power unit. Why couldn't it be powered by USB?

I like the unit. The sound wasn't a critical issue for me, but it does seem like they missed a significant group of people who would otherwise buy if the jack was STANDARD and STEREO. What would this have cost? Under $1 in production!!! Yes, PocketPCs are definitely ahead on this point.

The T|C has excellent power from the battery and the IPAQ and TOSHIBA models aren't even in the same ball park. This alone pushed me toward Palm. Also, Documents to go version 5 far exceeds what my PocketPC could do with Microsoft documents. Microsoft is too conservative and definitely not competitive in developing this on the PocketPC. I would ideally have waited to see PocketPC 2003, but just had to move on and they could be late to the market. At least with the Palm T|C we should be able to upgrade the OS. I don't know this for certain, but makes sense.

Size is far better than the Toshiba and IPAQ too WI-FI models. If weight and productivity matter to you, wireless connectivity and included software, this unit should be at the top of your list.

I don't ever want to carry my notebook thru the airport again and as a professor who gives presentations on the road at conferences this unit is perfect. I will be getting Presentations to Go.

Ken

abosco · 04-30-2003, 08:38 PM

Good review. There was a typo where you referred to the Tungsten C as the Tungsten T. It's right next to the screenshot of Graffiti 2.

I'm happy to say that I think Palm SG priced their latest high end model right. When was the last time we could say that?

altema · 04-30-2003, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kculp
There is no way to charge this thing without a cradle or USB cable as I don't see a power in jack. I am having trouble with an off-brand Belkin cable, but it works with a little wiggle once in a while. I hate the included Palm Cradle because it has a power unit. Why couldn't it be powered by USB?

I like the unit. The sound wasn't a critical issue for me, but it does seem like they missed a significant group of people who would otherwise buy if the jack was STANDARD and STEREO. What would this have cost? Under $1 in production!!! Yes, PocketPCs are definitely ahead on this point.

They could have let the cradle be USB powered, but the port could not supply anywhere near the current of the provided 1 Amp power supply. I have both a USB charger and the standard cradle, and the cradle charges nearly twice as fast. My old Belkin needed to be held in a certain position to charge, so I gave it to a friend with an M130 and it fit his perfectly.

The mono jack was a deal breaker for me, especially since the speaker is on the back. The T|C is a fantastic business device, but I think I'll get more personal enjoyment out of the T|T. I can always give it to my wife when something better comes along!

cecina · 05-01-2003, 04:12 AM

So that the Toshiba e740 runs less then 2 hours with WiFi on and the Palm Tungsten C can run all day on WiFi has to do with the bigger sized battery (only?).

Am very surprised that a PDA with integrated (battery sapping) WiFi can run around 8 hours (Palm) or even all day (Ed)!!!!!!??????

ibookman · 05-01-2003, 08:22 AM

Great review.

I would like more info on its video capabilities. I would like to get the Tlc to use as a photo and video album. Is video playback good enough for this or is the image too choppy?

Thanks

NickC · 05-01-2003, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kculp
There is no way to charge this thing without a cradle or USB cable as I don't see a power in jack. I am having trouble with an off-brand Belkin cable, but it works with a little wiggle once in a while. I hate the included Palm Cradle because it has a power unit. Why couldn't it be powered by USB?

Ken

If it's the same as the m515 and TT then it can be charged via USB with the correct cable. It will charge via this from a PC, or from a USB power adaptor (charging plug with a USB socket).

imported_argent · 05-01-2003, 09:50 AM

I have so many mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, that's a heck of a nice handheld.

But on the other...

I still don't see why a Palm needs 64M of RAM. Programs that operate on large files should be using VFS, and you shouldn't have anything in RAM but programs, small databases, indexes, and caches. If you need more than a couple of meg of heap, split the heap off into a separate 16M bank... and then top it off with a big chunk of directly addressed flash for *really* fast VFS access and Jackflash-style automatic backups to make it hard-reset proof.

I'd much rather Palmsource work on getting OS 6 out than messing around adding features to what we were assured was going to be an intermediate step release between the 68000-based OS 4 and the native-ARM OS 6.

Ed Hardy · 05-01-2003, 09:50 AM

I have the Proporta Complete Data Power Pack which lets you recharge your handheld from a USB port, wall socket, or cigarette lighter and it works fine with the T|C.