Palm Tungsten E Handheld Review

Bottom-Line: The 320x320 16-bit full-color, TFT screen, small size & light weight, and Outlook conduit make the Tungsten E the affordable Palm to own. 

Through the years I have owned two (monochrome) Palm handhelds.  Each had it strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately I gave them up and went with the (color) Pocket PC handheld with its color display and compatibility with the Windows XP OS.  I found that such an arrangement just works better for me because I use Microsoft Office exclusively, including the Outlook, which I use extensively.

But the company I work for uses the Palm Tungsten E handheld for the executive suite set, I guess because it makes them feel better about playing so much golf on company time.  But, be that as it may, I was forced into getting a Tungsten E in order to test Symantec Antivirus for Handhelds' functionality and usefulness on the devices.  My prior experience with Palm devices colored my initial impression of the little handheld, but after familiarizing myself with it, I must say I am impressed; Palm has managed to make the Tungsten E quite a useful tool in the Windows environment.    

The Tungsten E ships with the Palm OS 5.2.1 with Windows ActiveSync and Graffiti 2. Graffiti is the Palm OS's method of inputting characters onto a PDA via the stylus.  And via Graffiti 2, most characters are input with two, not one stroke on the stylus meaning you can lift the stylus off the screen between strokes.  Also, you can input Graffiti characters anywhere you want, not just in the Graffiti pad area, however, I find it easier to use the Graffiti specific pad.

The $130.00 (approximate retail cost) Tungsten E represents Palm's low cost answer to the far more expensive crop of Pocket PC class handhelds which typically cost three to four time more.  But functionality was not compromised; through third party and native applications Palm managed to give users of the Tungsten E complete access to Microsoft Outlook, email, contacts, appointments (calendaring), and notes.  In addition, via Documents-to-Go I can create and or edit Microsoft-centric documents such as Word and Excel, while Adobe Acrobat for the Palm O/S allows me to Acrobat files.        

Features:

• Low (Affordable) Price
• High resolution color screen
• USB 2.0 Connector
• 32MB of internal RAM (28.3 MB available after installation of included software)
• Documents to Go 6.0!
• High speed processor
• MP3 playback and video playback capabilities
• Heavy gauge brushed steel-bodied stylus
• Secure Digital Card (SD) slot
• Graffiti 2
• Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery

Palm gave the Tungsten E a beautiful 320x320 16-bit full-color, TFT screen.  Because it's a TFT screen I am able to view the screen in almost any kind of lighting conditions.  This is a VAST improvement over the earlier monochrome screen found on the earlier Palm's I have used. The color is soft and extremely easy on the eyes, but the screen is also sharp and always in focus.  

The Palm Tungsten E is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery, but no charging stand; there is instead a small power block that can be plugged in everywhere for convenience.  Nominal standby battery power is outstanding lasting on average 2 days before I need to plug the unit in.  I use the unit sparingly so I can't really speak to continuous use juice, though I don't think six hours is out of range.  

Tungsten E & Windows XP

One can synchronize the Tungsten E (via a USB cable) with a Windows XP desktop via ActiveSync which includes an Outlook conduit for communicating with Microsoft Outlook even if you get your email from Exchange via a Palm OS application called VersaMail.  The VersaMail application also allows you to pull in mail from POP3 and IMAP clients such as Yahoo mail. 

Add to this the ability to synchronize (Outlook) contacts, calendaring, and notes and you have the recipe for a very inexpensive Pocket PC alternative that is every bit as useful as a PocketPC PDA.  Of course the Tungsten E is not a one for one replacement for a Pocket PC but it is certainly a great substitute.   

My Viewpoint

All-n-all the Palm Tungsten E is a somewhat viable replacement for any level Pocket PC PDA.  The 320x320 16-bit full-color, TFT screen, small size & light weight, and Outlook conduit make the Tungsten E the affordable Palm to own for the everyman.