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View Full Version : Exploring the T3


WuWei
10-16-2004, 04:53 PM
All this talk about the features the T5 is missing made me realize that I wasn't using the full capabilities of my T3. So lately I've been experimenting.

I'm not an audio visual kind of guy, so today was the first time I ever played an MP3 on my Palm, or tried a Kinoma video. The MP3 was fun, but the battery gauge started dropping as soon as I plugged headphones in. The video was a disaster, with the image only filling part of the screen, the menu not displaying right, and the sound crackly and too loud. Probably if I had installed everything in windows and used the latest version things would have been ok. But I don't have interest in going further now.

The most useful thing is the voice recorder though. I had always avoided it because it seems better to save the text. The voice memo took up a lot less space than I expected however. Based on what other people have said, I can see where voice memos might by good for capturing thoughts, like while driving.

I know some people are deciding whether to buy T3 or T5. Here's my experience in case it helps. My T3 rarely crashes. In fact the crashes I did have seem to all have been from one third party application.

The one bug I can see in the OS is pretty minor; it is some weirdness with the "pick lists" in Preferences. Sometimes when a long list of options is displayed the bottom arrow for scrolling this list is missing. The fix is to flip the graffiti area visible or invisible, or to start with it visible.

As far as hardware goes, I have not had the digitizer problems which others have mentioned (after six months). Based on discussions from this forum though I checked, and sure enough one of the T3's screws fell out. I ordered a set of 4 for $6 and will check the other ones from now on.

The case is metal, solid, and looks good. Personally I dislike the slider. It only saves an inch and is a problem because it does not lock solidly into the extended position. This makes it difficult to use in 320 X480 mode with the cradle or an external keyboard; the device tends to close itself, which is especially a problem if it is configured to shut off when closed.

The battery life is also disappointing. During five hours traveling, with the display turned low and no wireless or sound, the T3 dropped to under 35%. It was shut off during those parts of the flight in which I was requested too, and for most of the time I was driving.

I might make a small shim to hold the T3 in extended position. That would pretty much give me the best of both worlds.

Gero
10-18-2004, 01:25 PM
"I might make a small shim to hold the T3 in extended position. That would pretty much give me the best of both worlds."

Such a good idea!!!! I have previously tried to make something to keep the T3 in its extended position using the plastic binding clips that you slide up a bunch of papers to hold them together securely..

Why hasnt one of the palm accessories developers made a little clear plastic/rubber clib to apply either side of the T3 from collapsing?..

Brando and co, you'd have some custormers for these little clips i'm sure!

WuWei
10-18-2004, 04:53 PM
For the moment I am just using a piece of tape on one side of the Palm. Scotch tape was ok, but I switched to strapping tape since it is reusable. I leave the edge of the tape up, so it is easy to peel off. I pull the tape back, slide the T3 up or down, then lay the tape back on.

It unbelievable how much difference that little bit of pressure helps. The T3 is solid as a rock. Apparently Palm got the pressure just slightly off, so it doesn't take much to fix. When the T3 is extended it feels great, just like having a longer non-slidable device.