Palm Tungsten E Handheld PDA

I really like this palm. Its my second after I bor ...

Posted Jul 5, 2004 - I really like this palm. Its my second after I borrowed an old m100 for a few months. The reason I chose this PDA is because I didn't need a lot of stuff to go with it, or added on to it. I don't need a camera, and if I wanted to type, I'd get a laptop. This is not a multimedia center. It will do video, music, pictures, office docs, and games, but don't expect too much. If you're dreaming of all the "cool" stuff you can do if you purchase one remember what Palm has always done well; a streamlined OS, as well as applications. If you want to surf the web, get a computer. This does business and school stuff very well. I also use it as my mp3 player, and sounds really good, (in some ways I like it better than the RCA lyra RD1021 we have). I used it last semester to keep my school stuff in order (using a program called "Due Yesterday"), and as an MP3 player while I studied. I also use the Word and Excel features often (which is a nice touch). If you're wanting a PDA for multimedia, I wouldn't recommend a PDA at all, mostly because you'll be diapointed, and the "new car smell" will wear off quickly. If you need to get organized, and have some music, and pictures and stuff along the way, I highly recommend this PDA. Its the best for the money. This PDA although does not fit many of the standard palm accesories. I personally like that I don't have to use one of those lame cradle cords. It uses a USB connection that our MP3 player uses, and so I don't have a ton of stuff on my desk. The USB also will SLOWLY charge it up. I bought a palm because I just wanted it to work, to be small, to play music, have lots of 3rd party apps, and to be expandable (memory -- it has an SDIO slot). I wouldn't hold your breath about internet surfing, checking email is cool, but the processor and screen just aren't big enough for general web stuff. The color screen is nice, but isn't quite bright enough to use outside or in a sunny window for long periods of time, as the sunlight washes it out. But it works good enough for me. Again, its great for students, and anyone else who needs to get organized. The contact manager and calendar are really nice, my wife and I are able to coordinate our schedules nicely. Its very thin, and makes a great mp3 player. (And if you use the RealPlayer audio format, it still sounds great and you can fit two to three times as much on your SD card). When I bought it Pocket PC's were still pretty bulky, and so were the Clie's. Things are different now, but this is still a great PDA at this price point.

95% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

The color screen is incredible. Date/calendar, add ...

Posted Jan 2, 2004 - The color screen is incredible. Date/calendar, addresses/contact and todo/tasks applications on this version of the operating system ( 5.2.1) are great compared to earlier Palms. Can load some applications and files directly into an SDIO card (not included with the handheld) via the Palm Desktop (version 4.1.2). Graffiti2 is a lot easier to use then the original Graffiti. Size is small. No way to turn off backlight to conserve battery life. No way to configure Hotsync icon in Graffiti2 area to sync via infrared. No travel charge available to plug directly in a wall outlet (the charger supplied with the handheld is bulky); however, the usb hotsync cable does supply a trickle charge to the handheld (takes about 9 hours to fully charge via the usb hotsync cable compared to 3 hours using the bulky charger). The biggest problem is the battery life--I had to charge at least once a day. I used my Tungsten E for about a week before switching back to my Palm M500 (my wife now uses the Tungsten E). Battery life is more important to me than a color screen and a fast processor speed. When my M500 finally dies, I'll buy another Tungsten E for my own use.

91% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

My previous PDA was an old b&w Visor, so this colo ...

Posted Feb 11, 2005 - My previous PDA was an old b&w Visor, so this color screen is pretty nice. Unfortunately, I've noticed something wrong with it when comparing to my wife's Tungsten E: my screen is very noticeably darker, even at the highest brightness setting. Her screen is much brighter, with very accurate color. With mine, it's darker and everything has a slight tint of yellow on it. My other complaint is the power button. After just a couple months, I've noticed that I would have to press it harder for it to respond. In four months after owning my Tungsten, the power button stopped working all together. It just stays down and cannot be pressed. Good thing my center button in the joystick still works in turning on my Palm and I found a software that will shutoff my Pal, but it's still incredibly annoying. Lastly, I read that the rechargeable battery inside will surely die within 2 years of ownership. It can be replaced (if you dare to do it), but 3rd party vendors sell a replacement battery for around $80-$100, so that is definitely not worth it. It's just sad that in 1.5 more years, my Palm will be dead and I would have to spend more money to buy a new one. Other than these three major complaints, I like my Palm. :) It's fast and stylish. I don't mind the lack of a cradle, as the cables work just as well. If someone can fix those three problems above, then the Tungsten will be perfect.

90% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

This is my third venture into the Palm line. The f ...

Posted Dec 26, 2004 - This is my third venture into the Palm line. The first was an M100. I must have exchanged this product five times before getting one that worked - for a while. I then was given a Zire, that didn't work for long either. I only use a PDA for keeping track of my daily schedule and phone numbers. When I saw a friends Tungsten with the color screen, I had to have it! But, just as the others, I have encountered too many problems. The latest is that it lost most, not all of my contact list. Again, no response from Palm, but they do keep me updated on all of their new products by e-mail. I'm done. Not sure what I'm going to replace it with yet. But I know it will be better!

89% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

This is my first PDA. I researched online and in-s ...

Posted Feb 11, 2004 - This is my first PDA. I researched online and in-store for a month before buying this one, two months ago. It had all the features I wanted, except the ability to connect to my email accounts right out of the box. I haven't yet bought an expansion card so I can load music, but it's only a matter of time. I like this SOOOO much better than a (paper) day planner, of which I own two and never use. Being more technology-oriented, I found this product to be just what I wanted. I use the calculator more often than the other calculators I have at my disposal. I am even reading the original story of "The Wizard of Oz", a nice little bonus I located while fiddling around. Not having any past experience,I don't find the battery life to be poor, as some other reviews have noted. I treat it like my cell phone, and plug it in to recharge, when needed.

84% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I love my palm!! It was definately the best deal f ...

Posted Dec 22, 2003 - I love my palm!! It was definately the best deal for the money. Other than a slight annoyance with the positioning of the USB link at the bottom (which makes it hard for me to stand the unit up on my desk for easy viewing), I have no complaints. I've had this unit for 2 months and I am becoming more and more dependent on it to stay organized and on top of things.

83% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

With the Tungsten E, Palm accompanied their usuall ...

Posted May 30, 2004 - With the Tungsten E, Palm accompanied their usually great product with a hotsync/charging system unlike anything on any other Palm device. Then, realizing that it was too expensive to make accessories for just one product line, they failed to support it. There is no such thing as a cradle for the Tungsten E. NOBODY makes one. To charge/sync with the cables that come from Palm requires a separate cable for each function laying across your desk because Palm makes them as separate objects and then doesn't fit them into a cradle to organize them in your workspace. They're always falling off the desk and you have to crawl around on the floor to hotsync. Better cables are available elsewhere but should come supplied. Constant errors during hot sync. Battery life is about 1 hour of user time. I have to charge daily as opposed to weekly with my old Handspring Visor. I realize color display takes more energy than monochrome but this is rediculous. My contact with customer service has pretty much been, "That's the product, tough." Still, operating functionality is great. Its just the charging/syncing functions I have a problem with. But I wouldn't buy another one.

82% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I purchased this hand held as an upgrade to a Hand ...

Posted Nov 20, 2004 - I purchased this hand held as an upgrade to a Handspring neo that I used to have and the difference between the two is night and day. I love the color screen on the E and the fast response time whenever I tap an icon. I recharge the battery about once every 4-5 days but have not found this to be much of a problem, especially since I only have to leave it plugged into the charger for about 30 minutes at a time. The absense of a cradle for charging/docking is actually a good thing because it cuts down on desktop clutter. I found the desktop software very easy to use and a breeze to navigate. I would recommend the E to anyone looking for a no nonsense PDA that gets the job done very well.

82% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I am very pleased with my Tungsten-E. I did find a ...

Posted Feb 26, 2004 - I am very pleased with my Tungsten-E. I did find a travel and car charger on ebay that were inexpensive and work great. Made a big difference. Also, does charge while plugged into computer, although slowly. I had a Visor Edge before this and am so pleased with this. Very versatile. 32 ram is great especially being able to increase it via sd card. I would recommend this to anyone that really doesn't need web or email access.

80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Why did I buy Palm Tungsten E? Had Sharp organizer ...

Posted Apr 20, 2006 - Why did I buy Palm Tungsten E? Had Sharp organizer (with key board same size as palm E), it was very good. Sharp is not manufacturing it anymore so looked out for PDA's. Palm E is my first PDA style organizer. Got for $105 including leather case, car & USB chargers at Sams club. How does it Work: Works very good. I like Word-to-go, Excel sheet colors, bright color visible in sunlight. Most often I use it for calander, memo section and 'contacts' . The format - display of contacts is not that good. Wireless transfers: No blue tooth but my cell phone has infrared also. So I can transfer images, small audio-video files, without cables easily (even though it takes a couple of minutes). MP3-Audio-Video: Sound quality of Mono-Speaker is okay. Sound quality of Stereo-headphones is GOOD :). Downloaded kinoma video player but not all files can be played. Stores upto 1 gb in SD card. Did not try 2gb SD cards yet. Internet Browsing: Downloaded Avantgo for browsing day-to-day web pages. But am not impressed with display of pages. Also since I store email passwords etc, in my E, I don't feel secure doing a hot sync (downloads) through LIVE websites. Try high end -more$$$- PDA's for browsing internet. Last but not the least: Mr.Battery is non removable. Charges quickly and looses power at the same rate..quickly. But my car charger (got as part of package) and USB charger (charge from office desktop!!) do some compensation. GPS-Navigation: Not Compatable. Rich or hi-fi people can look out for PDA that is compatable with Navigation or GPS devices like tomtom such as Palm LifeDrive etc. Also, I can dial my cell phone from a distance of about 10 feet using "phone-dialer" in E. Exciting right! But its useless. Battery is the main weakness. Others are perfect. You may also consider taking 1 yr extra-warranty (for $5-10 more at wholesale clubs, and about $20 at retailers like Bestbuy, CC). happy hunting. I definately recommend for casual, first-time users,daily users in low budget. If you get Palm Tungsten E2 for almost same price as E, then go for it since its somewhat tomtom capable, has bluetooth and has Intel processor inside.

80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

this is a great product for organization, office o ...

Posted Nov 11, 2003 - this is a great product for organization, office on the go, and gaming. the mp3 capapbility is a plus and the expansion card slot provides for endless possibilities. the design is like that of the palm V, which adds some curve and style rather than the boxy feel of other pda's.

79% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

I had a handspring visor for 3yrs and NEVER had pr ...

Posted Jan 11, 2004 - I had a handspring visor for 3yrs and NEVER had problems until I upgraded to this Palm.This has given ERROR messages of ALL types after hot syncs. I deleted or upgraded 3rd party software STILL get error messages.. NOT worth the hassle, time and frustration...Rather have my money back.

78% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Overall I have enjoyed this palm and all of its fe ...

Posted May 21, 2004 - Overall I have enjoyed this palm and all of its features with a cheap price. If you're looking for a handheld with lots of capabilities, but aren't looking to spend a lot of money, this is the palm to buy.

77% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

This is my first Palm. I researched on various sit ...

Posted Jun 1, 2004 - This is my first Palm. I researched on various sites for months before I decided on getting the Tungsten E. I've read good reviews and bad but overall it was still my choice. I love the documents to go feature (word, excell etc) the MP3 player, and the movie player. I can even view photos too. This is a very handy product. I have not had any problems with it as yet except that after hot sync I got messages, but that was easily fixed. Overall Im happy with my T/E. Thanks palm!

77% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Battery life is not acceptable - from other review ...

Posted Apr 6, 2004 - Battery life is not acceptable - from other reviews I see that recharging daily is necessary, unlike the once a week the company suggests for us users that only turn on their PDA three to five times a day; and the 'data retention for 5 days after battery loss' is a joke, at least to me. How about 6 hours? Maybe I'm too used to simply opening up my Dayplanner and accessing info, not happy with trying to turn on the Tungsten E and getting nothing...nothing. I think maybe I got a dud - nobody could sell this as a dependable tool if this is typical.

74% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review