Palm Tungsten E - Hits The Ball Right Out Of The Ballpark!
Written: Feb 08 '04 (Updated Feb 08 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Everything...
Cons: None...
The Bottom Line: The Palm Tungsten E is simply the best for the price.
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| soupcraze's Full Review: Palm Tungsten™ E Handheld |
The Palm Tungsten E is the low-end model of the Palm Tungsten series PDA's. However, this model clearly demonstrates quality, and not an "economy" quality. The Palm Tungsten E has the performance that you'd expect from an excellent Palm device. It's fairly comparable to the Palm Zire 71 since that is the high-end Zire. The Palm Tungsten E has some better performance quirks but lacks the digital camera. But on the bright side, it has much more memory and also follows the Tungsten design. Here's what I found after using the Palm Tungsten E.
-Price-
*The Palm Tungsten E costs about $199 in most stores, but can be purchased online for slightly less at about $180 or so. The Palm Tungsten E proves to be a pretty popular PDa since it's very widely available. It comes to being cheaper than the Palm Zire 71. I think it depends on what you're looking for when it comes to deciding between the two. The Palm Zire 71 has a built-in digital camera but has considerably less memory. It also has a different interface than the Palm Tungsten E. The Palm Tungsten E resembles the other Tungsten series PDA's. Even though it's a lower cost PDA, it has excellent capabilities. It is fast, has Palm OS 5.2.1, lots of memory, and a beautiful color screen. For what you pay for, you get one hell of a device. This is exactly what you should expect from a quality manufacturer like Palm.
-Performance-
*For its price, the Palm Tungsten E is a powerful device. Palm didn't make it skimpy just because it's the lowest-end Tungsten model. It proves to be highly suitable for just about anyone whether it's a student that needs a powerful handheld, or a businessman for that case!
PROCESSOR
*The Palm Tungsten E runs on an ARM 126MhZ processor. This is considerably more powerful than many other Palm devices that run on processors that have speeds of around 33MhZ or anything else within that ballpark. It's the same processor used on the Palm Zire 21, but the Palm Tungsten E is a significantly better device. Palm OS 5.2.1 is a very efficient operating system, so the 126MhZ will be more than enough for most users.
OPERATING SYSTEM
*The Palm Tungsten E runs on Palm OS 5.2.1. This is the latest and best version of the Palm operating system. It runs very efficiently on the Palm Tungsten E. It's very easy to use, and using the 5-Way navigation on this device allows you to navigate it with ease. Palm OS 5.2.1 is better than version 4.1 or anything earlier which you still find on some Palm devices available on the current market. Once again, Palm managed to keep the Palm Tungsten E ahead of the game by keeping it up with the latest operating system.
MEMORY
*One nice thing about the Palm Tungsten E compared to the Palm Zire 71 is that it has considerably more memory. The Palm Tungsten E has 32MB of memory of which 28.3MB is actually available for storage. The Palm Zire 71 is more lacking since it has only 16MB. The Palm Tungsten E also allows for up to 512MB of extra ROM via memory flash cards. Once again, Palm did a great job since they put on so much memory on such a low-cost unit. This proves to be ideal for those who store either a lot of data or have many programs.
THE SCREEN
*The Palm Tungsten E has a beautiful full-color screen. It's a 320x320 16-bit screen. Like other Palms, the Palm Tungsten E has the familiar graffiti area which allows you to write with the stylus, and also use the short-cut buttons on it. This also allows for easier navigation as well as writing. It's a TFT screen which allows you to read it in almost any kind of lighting conditions. This is a far cry from the monochrome screen found on the Palm Zire 21 and other older PDA's which still have those. The color is awesome, there's no arguing that :P
BATTERY LIFE
*I borrowed the Palm Tungsten E for a day. I used it from a full charge all the way to death. I got about 4 or so hours of usage on the Palm Tungsten E before it started to die off. This is pretty good I think since it allows you to get quite a lot done. The Palm Tungsten E is powred by a lithium ion battery. So one convenience offered by it is that you can plug it into the charger when you get the chance. Overall, I think that the Palm Tungsten E is pretty good and should be sufficient for most users.
MULTIMEDIA
*Another nice aspect of the Palm Tungsten E is that it can play MP3s. It has a headphone jack which allows you to listen to your favorite songs. Using a flash memory card, you can hold a lot of songs. Though I wouldn't solely use the Palm Tungsten E just for that. I'd rather buy a portable MP3 player since it's cheaper when it comes down to getting storage for the price. Well, when it comes to images, the Palm Zire 71 edges it out. I feel that the Palm Zire 71 is geared towards students and younger people who wish to have more fun than to do work with their PDA. The Palm Zire 71 has a digital camera which the Palm Tungsten E. Even though the Palm Tungsten E offers overall better performance in my opinion, you should consider the Zire 71 if you really want the camera very badly. But for most part, the Palm Tungsten E does pretty well when it comes to multimedia.
*Overall, the Palm Tungsten E proves itself to be an excellent performer. Somehow, it's just unbelievable that such a PDA can be made for such a low price. Well, Palm did it. They did a pretty damn good job with the Palm Tungsten E!
-Ease of Use-
*The Palm Tungsten E uses the same interface as the other Tungsten models, and offers an overall better interface in comparison to the Palm Zire 71.
NAVIGATION
*The Palm Tungsten E is an easy to navigate device. First off, it runs off of Palm OS 5.2.1 which is considerably easier to use than Windows Pocket PC which is offered by a lot of other devices. Then the Palm Tungsten E utilizes the 5-Way navigation system which allows you to conveniently surf your PDA. The 5-Way navigation is better than what you find on the Palm Zire 71, which has a worse type of control compared to that of the Tungsten. The Zire 71 still has the 5-Way navigation, but it's more clumsy. One thing that I really wish that the Palm Tungsten E had is a built-in QWERTY keyboard. However, that's a lot to ask for. You don't find that on most PDA devices. You usually find it on considerably more expensive devices. You can always buy the full-size keyboard and connect it to that. But the Palm Tungsten E does use Graffiti 2 since it has the graffiti area at the bottom of the screen. This allows you to write efficiently by using the stylus, and the short-cut buttons also make life a little easier. Then there are also short-cut buttons at the bottom of the PDA. These access the calendar, contacts, tasks, and notepad. It's a very user-friendly interface that the Palm Tungsten E has.
SYNC
*The Palm Tungsten E can easily be synched up to the computer via a USB link. The software that comes with it is pretty effective. I also do like the Palm Desktop which I use with Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition. One thing that I didn't like is that it doesn't come with a cradle. But for many users, they just don't need it. Overall, it's very easy to synchronize the Palm Tungsten E to a computer with the included software and sync cable. Also, the Palm Tungsten E has an infrared port. This allows you to beam data to and from other devices and also to computers which have infrared ports.
*Overall, the Palm Tungsten E is a very easy to use device. It combines the user-friendly Palm OS operating system with a superb interface on the PDA itself. If you're technologically challenged, the Palm Tungsten E isn't all that difficult of a device to use. That's the beauty of Palm!
-So What's NOT Hot-
*The Palm Tungsten E really can't be beat for the price that you pay, but anyway, here goes.
CAMERA
*Though it's not a big deal, the Palm Tungsten E doesn't have a built-in digital camera like the Palm Zire 71 has. However, for most this doesn't matter. The Palm Tungsten E still offers better performance than the Palm Zire 71. But for the younger people, they might want a camera more than the expanded memory. So if that's you, you might want to consider getting a Palm Zire 71 over the Palm Tungsten E.
*Yeah... For $199 or so, you get more than you expected with the Palm Tungsten E!
-Looks & Styling-
*The Palm Tungsten E is a pretty cool looking PDA. It has a nice silver finish which gives it that expensive and professional look. It's different compared to the Palm Zire 71. But if you want something that has a bit more "Wow" to it and also looks more powerful, then the Palm Tungsten E is a pretty handsome piece.
-The Verdict-
*All I can say is "wow!". The Palm Tungsten E is a superb PDA that has a price that you probably wouldn't believe. Even though it's the lowest-end Tungsten series PDA, it definitely doesn't act like a low-end device. It performs just like how any high-quality Palm should. Whether you're a student who is looking for something better than a Zire or Zire 21 or a business person on a budget, then the Palm Tungsten E will give you exactly what you need!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199
Recommended for: Gadget Lovers - Trendy and Hip
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soupcraze
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Member: Soup Enthusiast
Location: Chicago, Illinois
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I enjoy many of life's passions... Music, medicine, people, and life itself.
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