10-04-2004, 08:00 PM
|
|
Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
|
|
PalmOne Releases Tungsten T5
http://www.palmone.com/us/products/handhelds/tungsten-t5/
PalmOne has released the latest version of their flagship PDA, the Tungsten T5. The first thing you'll notice about it is it is a fixed size rather than having the sliding base that extended the screen from a 320X320 to 320X480 screen.
Some of the key features that may be of interest to Pocket PC users:
� It is priced at $399. For comparison, this is in the same range as the iPAQ 4000 line and the 624Mhz Axim X30.
� It comes with 256MB of memory (215MB user accessible), though it isn't as simple as that. 55MB is in the same PalmOS configuration that they have always had, meaning it is not a file system but a database and only certain files can be placed there. The remaining 160MB can be used as an external storage card. The 55MB of RAM won't be wiped out if the T5 loses all battery power either. The RAM will hold its memory until the T5 is plugged in and recharged.
� It can act as an external USB flash drive for your PC. This is pretty cool and something that all PDAs should be able to do. Microsoft, are you listening?
� The universal connector is gone. This is a blow to users with existing Tungsten accessories, but a fact of life in the world of PDAs. Manufacturers make too much money off of peripherals not to use this tactic of getting users to repurchase items like external keyboards and spare cradles. :|
� Bluetooth is standard but there is no WiFi radio.
� It includes an SDIO/MMC slot, a 416Mhz processor and a screen capable of 64K colors.
� Update: Even though this product won't be ready to ship until November, it still won't have the new Cobalt (OS 6.1) OS from PalmSource that was released on September 28, 2004. No word on upgradability. It comes with OS 5.4.
Ahhh yes.... I recall when we were told we didn't need more than 16MB of RAM, storage cards were complex and unnecessary, no one supposedly wanted to work with MS Office files on that tiny screen, and all of those Pocket PC OEMs were just loading up their hardware with battery draining features, features that today are considered mandatory for any serious player. :wink: Brighthand has written a more complete preview at their site.
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:10 PM
|
|
Mystic
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,911
|
|
Re: PalmOne Releases Tungsten T5
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Ed Hansberry
It comes with 256MB of memory (215MB user accessible).
|
Impressive. I want that much internal in my machine. I can't believe I'm jealous of a Palm device.
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:18 PM
|
|
Intellectual
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 212
|
|
Looks like the Tungsten|E with more horsepower. I still love my iPaq 4150 and still glad I left the Palm camp.  No WIFI ??? That's odd, if this is the top model from them. And no Cobalt ? Ridiculous.
__________________
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:36 PM
|
|
Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 29
|
|
What does this have to do with the pocket pc community? Down with palm!
Sure, palm may have made users happy with a load of ram ... but answer this, palm... What're they gonna use it for... not like palms can handle movies and multi tasking while playing MP3s
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:43 PM
|
|
Mystic
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,887
|
|
Dunno but the extra memory is just the equivalent of a non-removable flash card, no?
So, other than the PDA presenting itself as a flash drive to PCs without the sync drivers, there really isn't anything there.
Last time I looked, 256 MB thumbdrives and SD cards were in the $25 range. And I just saw a 1GB CF card for under $60. So, I can't really say that 192 Mb of added flash storage really rings my bell.
All this does is confirm that Flash RAM is getting dirt cheap, which I already knew. ;-)
Now, a cheap VGA screen-PDA, *that* I'd sit up and take notice...
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:45 PM
|
|
Mystic
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,887
|
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Maced
What does this have to do with the pocket pc community? Down with palm!
Sure, palm may have made users happy with a load of ram ... but answer this, palm... What're they gonna use it for... not like palms can handle movies and multi tasking while playing MP3s
|
Come on, its important to see how the other half dies.
How else are you going to feel important if you don't have somebody to sneer at? :twisted:
(Yes, that was tongue-in-cheek, for the humor impaired.) 8)
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:52 PM
|
|
Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 607
|
|
palm bashing!!! I LOVE IT!!! After this can we go apple bashing too? Lets not let our friends at the multi colored fruit labs feel left out.
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:52 PM
|
|
Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 16
|
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Maced
What does this have to do with the pocket pc community? Down with palm!
Sure, palm may have made users happy with a load of ram ... but answer this, palm... What're they gonna use it for... not like palms can handle movies and multi tasking while playing MP3s
|
I know you are probably talking about the downward direction Palm seems to be going, but you do know that you can do both; watch movies (MPG,DIVX, etc.) and listen to MP3/OGG/WMA in the background on a Palm, right?
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 08:55 PM
|
|
Neophyte
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 6
|
|
Re: PalmOne Releases Tungsten T5
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Ed Hansberry
� It is priced at $399. For comparison, this is in the same range as the iPAQ 4000 line and the 624Mhz Axim X30.
|
Palm OS hardware scales processor speeds as needed. I've noted in the PPC's I've tested that it generally just drops to 200MHz until Media Player is run. Battery life on my Tungsten T3 has been phenomenal compared to the Axim X30. Fair enough, I tend to use Wi-Fi on the X30 far more often than on the T3.
Quote:
|
� It comes with 256MB of memory (215MB user accessible), though it isn't as simple as that. 55MB is in the same PalmOS configuration that they have always had, meaning it is not a file system but a database and only certain files can be placed there. The remaining 160MB can be used as an external storage card. The 55MB of RAM won't be wiped out if the T5 loses all battery power either. The RAM will hold its memory until the T5 is plugged in and recharged.
|
This is a Palm myth. In the old days, yes, dead batteries meant a wiped PalmPilot, but its been a while since that was true. I've left Tungsten T, T3, and E as well as Zire 71 and 72 devices for dead for up to a week before they dump RAM. Power management has been vastly improved to retain a small charge enough to hold data in volatile RAM.
You've also got that backwards. The 55MBs of RAM is application RAM, just like the RAM in older Palm devices. The 160MBs of Flash RAM is both non-volatile and desktop mountable. So, its the 160MBs that won't be lost. True, programs stored in the Flash RAM or on a storage card will need to be copied to the 55MBs RAM to run, but the process is automatic and seamless these days. Palm OS 6.x will change this.
Quote:
|
� The universal connector is gone. This is a blow to users with existing Tungsten accessories, but a fact of life in the world of PDAs. Manufacturers make too much money off of peripherals not to use this tactic of getting users to repurchase items like external keyboards and spare cradles. :|
|
There are so few useful Universal Connector peripherals that this isn't important. Sleds are very uncommon. In fact, there are few peripherals for Tungsten devices overall.
Just wanted to point out a few flaws in your post 
|
| |
|
|
|
10-04-2004, 09:00 PM
|
|
Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 96
|
|
[edit]RobPPC beat me to the punch, but I'm going to leave this here anyway.[/edit]
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Maced
... not like palms can handle movies and multi tasking while playing MP3s
|
Actually, they can. I'm a Palm OS user normally, but have been lurking here for the last couple of months in preparation for buying my first PPC, hopefully a VGA device.
Anyway, I currently have a Palm OS device and I'm able to watch movies without issue. I have the Matrix Trilogy on it at the moment. As for music, I don't typically use it to play my MP3s (that's what my iPod is for) but have done so in the past. I'm able to listen to MP3s and continue working in other applications. So, multi-tasking, although not perfect, does work.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
