Brighthand Reviews the Palm TX

[Ed Hardy]

Palm's latest model, the TX, is its most ambitious new handheld in a long time.

This isn't because it's full of cutting-edge features. It certainly is not. However, very few mid-range models have ever offered much innovation.

Instead, for the first time in much too long, Palm has come out with a handheld that's easily capable of competing on price.

For years, Palm has asked people to pay a premium for the Palm OS. Part of me can't criticize too much because it worked for a long time.

But not any more. Too many have started to wake up to the value offered by Dell's Axim series, leading to drops in sales of Palm's handhelds.

That's why the TX follows a new path. At $300, it has features that are quite competitive with the comparably priced Axim.

And web sites like Shopper.com can show you where to find it for even less.

Don't get me wrong, the TX isn't an obviously better value than other handhelds. Instead, when comparing it with the mid-range Axim, many people will find the choice to be a difficult one.

Dual Wireless

The most significant thing about the Palm TX is the fact that it is only the second handheld from this company to offer both WiFi and Bluetooth wireless networking. And the first one, the LifeDrive, cost almost twice as much.

WiFi lets you connect to HotSpots, whether they are ones you have set up yourself, ones that your company has set up, or ones at coffee shops or bookstores.

If you get a Bluetooth-enabled phone, you can connect to the Internet from virtually anywhere.

While more widely available, Bluetooth's speed is much slower that WiFi's. Still, it's fast enough to send and receive email.

Of course, the Palm TX comes with the applications you need to take advantage of your Internet connection, once you have it.

I'm fairly well pleased with its Blazer web browser. Palm has been working on this application for years, and it keeps getting better. It lets you view pages as they would look on a regular desktop computer, or in a different version that's better suited to a handheld's small screen.

I'm quite impressed with VersaMail, as it offers virtually every feature I could want on any email client, whether it be on a handheld or a desktop.

Memory

Like all of Palm's recent models, the TX has what's called NVFS memory. This is one of the best things to happen to handhelds in years.

Unlike older handhelds, the data it's storing isn't erased if the battery runs completely down. All you have to do is plug it back in and you're good to go.

The TX has about 100 MB of internal storage. You'll probably want to get an SD card for holding additional files, though. Fortunately, the prices for these have dropped considerably. Heck, I saw a 256 MB card for free the other day, after a mail-in rebate.

You should be aware that this mid-range model lacks the "drive mode" capabilities of Palm's more expensive handhelds.

Part II of this review discusses:

• Software
• Performance
• Battery Life
• Peripherals

[Timothy Rapson]

I have read so many good reviews of the TX. I have yet to see a poor review of it.
As a Zire 72 user, I would like to have 100 MB of RAM (OK, not actual RAM, but it works like RAM so I could load huge PDFs.), NVFS, virtual grafitti.
But, if I would give up my camera, microphone, a tiny bit of pocket space, and worst of all -- FITALY. I can't use a PDA without it.
I saw one at BestBuy last week and they look great. The case color is very attractive and the stylus feels great.
I would not use the WiFi that is such big feature in a unit this cheap. I am surprised to see it already discounted so deeply. I guess Palm is really pumping out a serious supply of these.
I still expect Palm to offer a version of this with a camera and microphone by Christmas. Am I the only fool who still does? If they don't they are missing a great opportunity. I saw a VodaFone today that had a 3.2 MP camera with 2X actual optical zoom. Wow! Moto has a phone coming with optical zoom. If Palm could include that.....well I just can't do without FITALY.
Still, compare this TX to the mid-level Axim X50 that list for $400 and Palm has (as you note in the review) its most competitive model in years. Add to that, this is Palms most glitch free model release in some time......that reminds me, I forgot to check how long it would take the TX to do a soft reset while I was at BestBuy. This is one of the chief detractions in the T5 and Lifedrive.
Ed, if you still have your review unit, could you tell me how long a soft reset takes?

[2XS]

I miss a conclusion, so I will do:

It?s just a great device!

gr33tz 2XS

Compare this to the Dell X51v, and it loses. When Palm has a unit that is at least EQUAL to the other products on the market THEN we can think about them again as a major player.

Let's be honest, No Treo no Palm, Inc. Fact it their handhleds are no longer their primary product.

[madmaxmedia]

Nice review!

The loss of drive mode shouldn't be a big deal, since the 3rd party app Card Export does the same thing.

I would be curious how the 312MHz CPU compares against older 400MHz XScales (like T3 or TC). I think the new one is supposed to deliver better performance per clock cycle, resulting in better power consumption.

Try opening say a 500KB-1MB native Word document with either, something like that would be a good test (I'm expecting them to perform near identically.) There shouldn't be a discernable difference launching apps and stuff like that.

I saw the TX in a store recently. I think it's a nice unit, at the (finally) right price. I wish they could work on the form factor a bit, that slab shape with the sharp edges could probably be improved. The old m series weren't that much smaller, but looked a lot sleeker with the tapered ends.

[Ed Hardy]

Originally posted by donbmcd1
Compare this to the Dell X51v, and it loses. When Palm has a unit that is at least EQUAL to the other products on the market THEN we can think about them again as a major player.

Of course it compares poorly to the Axim X51v... because the TX cost $200 less. It compares very well to the $400 Axim, though, and for less money.

[big_raji]

What the #!@$* is with the $399.99 Canadian pricing?

$300US = $350CDN

Their conversion rate is gouging us by an extra $50 bucks.

Why do companies always do this? Sony was notorious for this as well...

Bah.

[pocketfactory]

The TX really strikes a cord with me. I fell in love with the review model so much I bought one for myself. It's the T|5 done right!

As for the Axim X51v argument, I agree Palm comes up short, but as Ed pointed out...since you're going to be paying upwards of $500 (sans coupons) for an X51v , the argument is moot.

Until Dell drops the price on its overpriced PDA, TX is the best overall value in standard PDAs. OS preferance aside of course.

[ackmondual]

Originally posted by donbmcd1
Compare this to the Dell X51v, and it loses. When Palm has a unit that is at least EQUAL to the other products on the market THEN we can think about them again as a major player.

Let's be honest, No Treo no Palm, Inc. Fact it their handhleds are no longer their primary product.

Agreed with Ed here as well. The T|X is $200 less. Even with coupons, the T|X would be as low as around $250. For the x51v, as low as $380, but you'd need a good amt of patience to get the latter that low.

The x51v also has:
graphics accelorator - (which is actually being used by several games and video apps. Kudos for that)
VR -
VGA screen - x2 the resolution. The bit with the "soft buttons" isn't a big deal, but still a shame none of the less.
cradle with spare batt charger - in addition charge cables

And other stuff I can't think of... so in the end, u're getting what you're paying for

Ed, and company... You can get a 51v for about $350 with coupons and discounts. Few if any pay list price. Let us be HONEST when we compare prices. It is $350 for the Dell not $500, and it is $260 or so for the Palm, not $300.

For the $90 extra bucks which is better, the Dell of cource, but the Plam is WAY closer to competative then they were, but the fact is they are still not a top line machine at a competative price.

Better then they were, YES, closer to competative YES, but still NOT at the front of the line, like they were 3-4 years ago.