Palm Tungsten T3 Handheld

I know... I know... If I'm so happy with my Tungsten C, why did I buy the Tungsten T3? Well, the screen... the screen on the T3 was the deal sealer... no doubt about that. If you're remotely interested in PDAs, the screen will severely tempt you although the price may back you off a bit. I am willing to say that the T3 has the best screen I have seen on any PDA to date!

I got the T3 for $325 approximately. More on the price a bit later.

Looking at the rest of the specs of the T3 seems also pretty impressive. In fact, the internal specs match that of my Tungsten C. So far it sound like all roses... right?

Why then am I somewhat disappointed with the Tungsten T3 as it is now? (this is before installing a third party fix for the software glitch).

UPDATE: PalmOne has released a patch that corrects the SD slot problem and the software slowdown glitch! However, at this time, you have to install it yourself and has not made it out to the new T3 as of yet... although it should be soon! When the new ROM software appears in the sold models of the T3, I will bump this up to 4 stars and a recommended device.

Second Update: Now as you read this review, all T3s should have the updated software... unless you bought it used, then you should check the software version number as described by PalmOne

Third Update: I never got around to moving the T3 to a 4-star product... I still don't believe the T3 is a 5-star product. The Tungsten C is closer to a 5-star product in my estimation than the T3. That said, the T3 is still a superior PDA to what currently available in the market in the $250-$350 price range

Quick Comments and Overall View

On paper, the Tungsten T3 looks great for a Palm. Heck, on the outside... well, looking at that large gorgeous 320x480 screen is enough to create PDA lust in anyone remotely interested in PDAs. The main strength and selling point of the Tungsten T3 is the screen. I will even say BEST SCREEN EVER IN ANY PDA RELEASED UP TO NOW!. On paper, the unit has a massive 64MB of RAM (52MB available to user), voice recording, fairly compact design, and a host of minor improvements and minor design changes from previous Tungsten T/T2 models. On a first look, it seems that unit is everything most people would want out of a Palm PDA at a reasonable price for the features.

Since PalmOne has solved the original software glitch, the speed of the T3 is only slightly slower than that of the Tungsten C and the battery life has improved significantly as well.

My feeling is that the people who would be most interested in the T3 are going to push this unit to its limits. As long as you don't buy a model that was made prior to December 2003, you should be fine. If the model was made before December 2003, then make sure the software patch was installed... if it isn't then install it!

I would not highly recommend the T3 since PalmOne has solved the major glitches in the system.

Pros:

2) THE SCREEN! 320x480 HI-RES SCREEN!
2) 64 MB of RAM (52MB available for use)
3) Built-In Voice recorder
4) Stylish
5) Collapsible design
6) Graffit 2
7) Stylish, professional look
8) Excellent stylus
9) Universal Connector
10) Software package including Documents-to-Go 6.0
11) Built-In Bluetooth
12) Intel XScale (PXA255?) 400MHz processor
13) Palm OS 5.2.1
14) SD/MMC card expansion
15) Reasonably priced if you need the features!

Cons:

1) A bit expensive for most users since most people probably won't need most features of the T3
2) Battery life averages 3 hours for first run T3. Current T3s average about 5 hours.
3) Despite 400MHz processor, doesn't perform close to the Tungsten C model which has almost the same base hardware! This is due partly to a purposely slowed down processor and a software glitch. Note that models made in 2004 and later solved this problem!
4) Issues with SanDisk branded or SanDisk made SD cards
5) No headphones included in package
6) Sensitive voice memo button
7) Hard to depress power button

Prices

The MRSP is $399 for the T3. I paid $325 after Dell Home Software and Peripherals after 10% off and a $35 off $400 coupon with free shipping and handling and no sales tax. This is also before my 4% ebates discount. I then inputed the required information from this model into the Palm Pays Back program at www.palmone.com/palmpaysback site under my email/id epinionsgo@hotmail.com to earn some Palm bucks.

You can read on how ways to get a better deals on electronics in my epinions review The Art of Buying... Getting your money's worth!.

Details

The design is similar to the older T and T2 model although with some major style changes. The T3 retains the collapsible slider design that hides the lower 1/3 of the screen (the old Graffiti area). The dimension of the T3 are 4.3 x 3.0 x 0.66 inches when collapsed. The height of the unit extended is 5.1 inches. The weight is 5.5 oz. The T3 is taller and slightly thicker than the T and T2 and a tad lighter. The slider mechanism seems to be on par with the T and T2... my unit slid easily and gave a solid click sound when extended.

The unit retains a similar style to the T and T2 with some cosmetic and functional changes in some areas. The shape of the 5-way navigator is no longer circular but oval in shape. The four application button are still on each side of the navigator... er... kind of. Actually, it's more accurate to say that the application buttons surround the navigator. This makes it even easier to use the T3 with just one hand. You still have the charging LED which is on the top left side of the unit. There is an increase in the number of speaker holes on the T3 (3 rows of holes instead of 2). You'll note that the upper part of the slider section is cut a bit to exposed a little more screen (for displaying the status bar). The T3 has a silver color and uses a metal casing (aluminum I believe).

The left side of the handheld has the microphone hole, the button to active voice memo recording (can be remapped to another application and the button is bigger than the T and T3), and the 3.5 mm (standard sized) headphone jack.

The top of the unit houses the much harder than it should be to depress power button, the SD/MMC slot with a built-in cover, IR port, and hole for the stylus. The bottom of the unit holds the universal connector. The back of the unit has the standard holes for accessories that utilize the universal connector as well as two small holes at the top of the unit for the new flip cover (which is okay but not great). The stylus is still the solid, thick, nicely weighted and balanced collapsible metal stylus found in the T and T2.

Inside the Kitten

The T3 is listed as having 64MB RAM with 52MB available to the user. The processor is the speedy 400 MHz Intel XScale processor (either a PXA250 or PXA255 processor are the most likely candidates). The unit has an internal vibration motor for alarms and alerts. The basic hardware specs are similar to the Tungsten C internals.

Performance... Where is it?

If this is the first time you have played with a Palm OS 5 handheld, it will seem fast... faster than Palms in the 90s, 2000, and 2001 were. After PalmOne solved the software glitch in the T3, the speed jumped close to the level of Tungsten C. It is just a tad slower now. There is no stuttering of audio of video playback at all now... even with video playback while an MP3 is being played in the background.

Unfortunately on first run model of the T3, there is a slowdown in he processor. There are two possible reasons for the slowdown. The people at Palm decided to purposely slow down the Intel XScale processor to prolong the T3's battery life (although the slowdown was supposedly slight... 375MHz instead of the full 400Mhz). So out of the box, you are not going to be able to match the speed of the Tungsten C without a software hack to overclock the processor! The other reason is a flaw in the software causes the processor to slow down up to another 25%. Palm has issued a fix for this and you should install it if you got an older T3.

Now as to why Palm decided to use a top end PDA processor and then slow it down for the sake of battery life? The gorgeous screen puts an enormous drain on the T3 and slightly slowing down the processor helped to give you a decent battery life. Most people probably wouldn't notice the minor slowdown.

I did find information of a software program that allows users to "overclock" the T3... well, supposedly it brings it back to the full speed of the processor. Note that if you overclock the Tungsten T3 processor close to the original 400MHz speed, your battery life does shorten quite a bit. Now I just have to download the overclocker and try it out... which I still have not tried out as of yet. (Note that the overclocking program does not run on the Tungsten C according to the writer of the program)

As of Friday, November 7, 2003, PalmOne released a firmware and ROM update to the T3 that addresses the software slowdown (no need to install T3Optimizer now) and the SD card problem. The T3 now reaches its maximum speed of 375MHz for most applications and has the same benefits as using the T3Optimizer patch made by third parties.

Screen and Colours

The highlight of the T3 is undoubtably the screen. It is the best screen I've seen in any PDA to date. 320x480 resolution is enormous for current PDAs especially for a PDA under $400. The only PDAs with screens this big were the ultra-high end Sony models like the NX and NZ series. The T3's screen performance matched those of the Tungsten T2, the Zire 71, the Tungsten E, and the Tungsten C. You get a transreflective screen capable of 65,000 colors with a continuously on backlight (although brightness can be changed through the status bar instead of holding down the power button). The display is easy to read although it can wash out in direct sunlight at certain angles.

Colour reproduction is good to excellent. Blues are a tad darker like in the other models that use a similar screen. Reds, yellows, and flesh tones displayed rather well on the screen

Same issue with the digitizer on Graffiti2, I wouldn't set the writing area (accessible via the preferences screen) to include the whole screen. It you want to use Graffiti2, stick to the virtual Graffiti area although it still has a few problems. Setting the writing area outside of the dedicated Graffiti area often plays havok with other programs on your Palm... especially in delaying taps and strokes on your screen because the Palm is trying to figure out if you wanted to write a letter or select something on the screen. Unfortunately, the delays are more pronounced than on the Tungsten C and a little worse than the T2... due mostly to the problems with the T3 processor.

Note that few programs actually take advantage of the additional screen size/real estate. That should change rather rapidly.

I should say that these days, there are some really nice screen on the e800 series Pocket PC PDAs from Toshiba... and HP upcoming iPaq HX4705 should be equally interesting. These models have 4 inch half-VGA screens!

Graffiti2

Personally, I like it and got adjusted to it fairly quickly. The major difference in Graffiti2 from Graffiti 1 is the use of two stylus strokes to write certain letters. An "i" was written as a straight line down in Graffiti 1, but it is now a straight line down then you dot it (remember to dot your i's) in Graffiti2. A straight line down in Graffiti2 is an l but if you dot it, it becomes an i and if you cross it, it becomes a t. However, I know many long time Graffiti users will have more difficulty switching to it since they are so used to the original Graffiti. Unfortunately, you cannot switch back to the original Graffiti system. I am unsure if this was due to the lawsuits with Xerox in the past or if this was part of some settlement... even an effort by Palm to avoid future legal problems. By the way, the Graffiti2 system is based on Jot.

The virtual Graffiti area shows your penstrokes although on occassion, there is a slowdown while writing in it. It's a minor quirk that may be due to poor software implementation of the virtual Graffiti area or continuing problems with the speed of the T3 processor. You do need to get used to the Graffiti area in landscape mode however.

On the Universal Connector

It's nice to know that your other Palm peripherals will be compatible with the T3. The stowaway keyboards are quite comfortable to use with your Palm PDAs. Heck, peripherals that connect through the universal connectors should work with the T3.

Of note, the wireless/Infrared keyboard by Palm is decent although it doesn't keep up with a keyboard that connects through the universal connector. By the way, if you use the T3 mostly in landscape view mode, and you want a keyboard, you have to look at the InfraRed keyboard instead of the traditional one.

On SD slots

Well, the Secure Digital (SD) slot accepts thumb sized flash card media called Secure Digital Cards. Palm OS 5.2.1 can use SD cards with up to 512MB of memory and can be used to "extend" the memory of your Palm... note that this is NOT the same as having more RAM! Not all Palm programs can be stored on the memory card and be used from there. You must have a certain amount of free RAM available to run programs stored on your memory card... which is why I made the 2-4 MB free RAM comment earlier. There are a few other SD card peripherals out there which include a SD Bluetooth card and a SD VGA camera available as well. You can also use MultiMedia Cards (MMC) in the slot as well. These are flash memory sticks that are the same size as SD cards but are slower and have a limit of up to 128MB of memory.

The price of a 256MB SD card usually falls about $65 for a SanDisk branded card (although I would avoid SanDisk branded or made SD cards now).

There was a major issue with SD card slot. Currently, many users have had their SD cards fried in the T3... i.e. destroyed or made unusable. It seems to happen only to SanDisk manufactured SD cards (The cards are rebranded to various manufacturers/sellers) especially during certain functions. It seems to occur most often in writing large files to the card while in the Palm (like backing up the internal memory). I now stopped using any expensive SD card in the T3 until Palm issues a fix (well, okay I do use a cheap 64MB Lexar branded card in it). Even with the cheaper SD cards, I test it first in the Tungsten C or Tungsten E first to see who made the card! Note that if you installed the patch from PalmOne's web site, the SD card issue has been resolved as far as I can tell. The patch was released Nov. 7, 2003.

On Palm OS 5

Palm OS 5 is extremely efficient and fast OS especially on the hardware it is on which is still weaker than most PocketPC hardware or at best equal to PocketPCs. If you compared the Tungsten C whose hardware profile matches many high end PocketPC models, the Tungsten C speeds through most applications with the slightest of ease. The Tungsten T3 is not nearly as speedy as the C model (as detailed above) but it is still much quicker that older Palm models from more than a year ago.

There are hardly any delays when looking up information to performing multimedia functions.

Overall, the T3 uses the latest Palm OS 5 version which is Palm OS 5.2.1 with additional tweaks and an update to the interface. This incorporates a few tweaks from the original Palm OS 5 and introduces colored screen schemes to the Palm PDAs and the replacement of Graffiti with Graffiti2(or should I call it Jot instead). Running programs specifically designed for Palm OS5 has never gotten me a crash or fatal exception error. However, a handful of Palm OS 3 and 4 programs have crashed Palm OS5 to the point I had to press in the reset button. Note that you should not use hack programs from Palm OS 3 and 4 on a Palm OS 5 handheld, you frequently will get the fatal exception error and reset your handheld. Any program written specifically for the Sony's Hi-Res standard is not compatible with Palm OS 5! My understanding was that the Hi-Res mode used in Palm OS 5 came from HandEra (if they still exist) and not from Sony. Case in point... the game Galaxa written specifically for the Sony Hi-Res models doesn't work correctly in any Palm OS 5 PDA from Palm or Sony.

Without a dedicated Graffiti area, a virtual Graffiti system was implemented. Whether the virtual Graffiti area was being used or not, you still had an excellent and very thin/small status bar that takes the place of the silkscreened buttons traditionally found on a Palm. The status bar is an excellent touch and should be included in all future Palm handhelds.

5-way Navigator

Note that the built-in applications support the D-pad pretty well. The problem is that most programs not built with the Tungsten lineup and Zire 71 in mind don't utilize the left and right directions of the pad/joystick as of yet. None of the compatible Palm OS 3 and 4 programs recognize left and right presses on the pad/joystick. Just make a note of it so it doesn't surprise you.

Multimedia, Speakers, Voice Memos... what's left?\

Well, the T3 isn't a great multitasking multimedia machine from what you've gathered so far in this review. However, when performing one application at a time, the T3 is more than adequate. MP3 playback is clear and rather loud through the built-in speakers. In fact, this might be the loudest internal speakers in any Palm model to date. Through the headphone jack, the sound is also clear and pleasing although the loudest setting is a bit lower than that in the Tungsten E in my opinion. With the standard RealOne application, there aren't many function or additional features for MP3 playback and as of now, I haven't found a way to turn off the screen and maintain MP3 playing like in the high end Sony PDAs. I wished there was a hold function.

Kinoma player has smooth playback for the most part although there is the occassional slowdown. As I already said, the kinoma playback is closer to the Tungsten E than the Tungsten C. I do feel that the T2 performed better with Kinoma.

You'll also note that the system sounds are more pleasing to the ear. The sounds were updated for this model, the Zire 71, and the Tungsten E. I have to recheck the T2 but I cna't remember if it had updated sounds as well. However, like many of the Tungsten models, there is the occassional crack/pop/hiss noise when playing back system sounds.

The Voice Memo feature is adequate. It is easily activated by depressing on the voice memo button although the button is too easy to depress if not protected. Voice memos are clear but there is some instability with the voice memo program. Like the Tungsten C, there are times that the voice memo program will crash the T3 and lead to at least a soft reset (and usually a hard reset). At worse you lose the voice memo you were recording. Regardless, it is an annoying problem that I didn't experience when using the T or T2.

Bluetooth?

Well, the best that I can say with Bluetooth is that it connects with most cell phones with little problem. I have not tried accessing a DeskJet 995 with this as of yet. It a nice feature to have but I'm not particularly a big Bluetooth user to begin with.

Battery, O Battery, Where Art Are Thou?

This is before the PalmOne T3 patch: The first time I ran the battery down from being fully charged was in the plane flight back from Las Vegas. On a mix of MP3 playback and playing Monopoly at the lowest screen brightness setting (MP3 in the background), I got a warning 2 hours into using the unit. The unit shut down in under 3 hours. Say again... that's it... that's all the juice in the system?! Note that MP3 playback by itself got me a little less than 4 hours of uptime in further use. 4 to 4 1/2 hours of Monopoly time although this was not continuous use but on and off over a 36 hours period.

It looks like the screen and the processor (despite being overclocked) takes a massive toll on the battery. I didn't even use my Bluetooth connection. Even worse, when I used the wireless keyboard with the T3 fully charged, the total uptime was about 2 1/2 hours!

Note that models with the latest T3 patches installed have dramatically longer battery power! Although the battery power is still shorter than other PalmOne PDAs, the T3 gets up to 5 and sometimes 5 1/2 hours of continuous MP3 playback. I got gains of 20-30% after the T3 patch. Note that T3 sold today should have the latest software patches installed already!

There is an additional external battery that attaches through the universal connector. However, this is a $100 option! This option a little more than doubles your battery life.

Software Improvements

The PIM software has had major improvements from prior versions on previous Palm models. It looks as if Palm renamed most of their PIM applications to match that of Microsoft Outlook applications. That made it easier for MS Outlook users to sync the Tungsten T3 with Outlook. In fact, the improvements goes so far as to have interactivity between applications. The Contacts screen allows you to input birthdays which will show up in the Calendar automatically. The Tasks (old To Do list) can be assigned times that also appear in the Calendar. You can even add location information to your appointments. Overall usability of the old PIM apps has been extended greatly.

Palm has also included Documents to Go Professional Edition 6.0. In addition to having an updated and cleaner look, this version can read and write into the original MS Word and MS Excel files... that's right no conversion needed! However, if you want to keep the formatting of the original file intact, it is better to convert the file through the DocSync technology/program. The direct modification of Word and Excel files often causes formatting problems when opened on the main computer. Also note that Documents to Go also supports the Full Screen and Landscape display modes... and does so quite nicely. It was very hard to go back to my Tungsten C after using Documents to Go's WordToGo and ExcelToGo in landscape mode!

Palm's photo display program has also been updated to use Full screen mode.

The Tungsten T3 and E models have IBM's Java Virtual Machine installed. We'll see if this pans out in the future.

Other things in the box?

Well, you get the flip cover, the HotSync cradle, and software CDs.

Software on the CDs include:

Palm Desktop Software with Microsoft Outlook conduits for Windows based systems (Mac users don't get the conduits), Documents to Go 6.0 Pro Ed, Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS, PowerOne personal calculator, RealOne Mobile Player, Handmark Magic Dogs, Handmark Mobile DB, Handmark PDA Money, Kinoma Player and Basic Producer, Palm Reader, VersaMail v2.6, Telephony/SMS, Phone Link, Phone Link updater, Palm Dialer, BlueBoard, BlueChat, Palm Web Pro.

Anything else I should consider buying with the T3?

Consider buying a 256MB SD card for storage space (not made by SanDisk!), a real protective case, and earphones/headphones.

A 256MB SD card should run anywhere from $40-$65 and will allow you to store 2 hours worth of MP3s. Heck, a 512MB is now reasonably priced and may be worth the investment. Note that you should not be buying a SanDisk branded card and remember the current problem with the SD card slot on the T3 that still needs to be resolved.

A quality case is worth $35+ and will be more protective that the flip cover. At least you can live with the flip cover compared to the hard, clear polycarbonate plastic cover on the T and T2. Note that buying a case will help with accidental turning on of the unit from light pressure on the voice memo button.

Palm doesn't include earphones/headphones with the T3. You have to buy your own.

If you desire a keyboard, you're better off with the Infrared keyboard from Palm (there is another manufacturer of a infrared keyboard but it was a poor option). That will run around $60. Unless you use the T3 is portrait display mode only, the Infrared keyboard allows you to edit documents in landscape mode as well! Otherwise, the keyboard using the universal connector would be a better and faster choice for portrait display mode editing only.

Comparision Palm OS PDA models

The Palm I currently use? Well, that's the Palm Tungsten C with 64MB or RAM and integrated Wi-Fi support. This is still my favorite Palm PDA.

The Palm that I am most likely to recommend for the next few months is the Palm Tungsten E model although I am trying to get my hands on a Sony TJ35 model to see how well that stacks up. The E is a great powerful model at a excellent price.

A Palm that I have recommended is the Palm Zire 71 with 16MB of RAM and integrated VGA still camera. It is still a great model but not the deal the Tungsten E is... maybe an updated model with more memory is in the very near future? Zire 72 anyone?

This Palm OS PDA is another unit that should be considered Sony's CLIE TG-50 PDA with Bluetooth and thumb keyboard

The Tungsten T2 is another decent model to consider although pricier. At $70 less than the T3 (and heavily discounted after that), the T2 is a more stable PDA at this time.

You can look under my profile page in the PDA section for additional PDA reviews that include excellent models like the Sony CLIE SJ-33, Palm Tungsten T, and other models as well.

I had a chance to play with the UX-50 which seems like an excellent but extremely expensive PDA... although I don't like the screen much. I will not be writing a review but you can check reviews from other members on epinions and from www.palminfocenter.com and www.brighthand.com to get a better idea.

My predictions are that the Zire 21, Tungsten E, and Sony's TJ-35 will be the most popular models for the year and near future.