Wait for the next Tungsten - or buy T|C?

[roy328]

The last palm (in fact, clie) that I owned is Sony N710C, which I haven't used it for a year due to its low speed in loading photos and other applications. I am interested in buying a new palm (or clie).


I wish to buy a palmOne Tungsten C or Tungsten T3. But I do really worry about the battery failure of T3, as I could seen from the comments of T3 users. The things that I do not like T|C are that, 1: its ugly look; 2: it lacks bluetooth.

Currently the palmOne is now giving a free 128MB SD card as a gift upon buying a T|C or T|E. As I could recall from my past experience, whenever a successor (or new model) is to be out in the market, its predecessor would be sold with other gifts.

Does this 128MB SD card gift give any signs of new model of T|C or T|E? If it is going to be released in 2-3 months, then I would be pleased to wait, since I expect the new Tungsten C (hopefully called C2) would be equipped with a better appearance and functions (say, BT).

Please provide comments!!

[Yorker]

Well I shelled out and puchased the Tungsten C, having seen the T5 come out and been underwhelmed. Previously I was using a TH55, but the lack of support from Sony and the fact that it kept messing up my wireless access point led me to change.

Other things to consider (apart from your list) are:
The audio is poor (no stereo)
Keypads aren't for everyone, personally I love it though
It is the older iteration of software - but is stable
Wi-fi speed is superb
Likewise processing is lighting fast
Battery life is good

As for a new model, I've been waiting for a long time for palm one to introduce a better wi-fi model and I'm still waiting. Not even the whiff of a rumour has appeared so I'm not optomistic.

[roy328]

So Yorker, you suggested me to buy a Tungsten C?

I have tried using that thumboard (from my friend's T|C) and feel comfortable using it.

The tungsten C is almost out for 2 years, so that's what leads me to think the emergence of its successor.

[zenlon]

Without having access to any more information sources than you, MHO is that I would be surprised if they introduced a successor at all with the Treo 650 out. I realise that one is not necessarily a replacement for the other, but that's what I think.

[Yorker]

So Yorker, you suggested me to buy a Tungsten C?

I have tried using that thumboard (from my friend's T|C) and feel comfortable using it.

The tungsten C is almost out for 2 years, so that's what leads me to think the emergence of its successor.

I don't know your particular connectivity requirements so can't say for sure,
but I have not been disappointed with mine despite it's age.

[Antoine]

If you can hold out until March, just wait. If not, the TC is a good buy and may meet your needs quite well.

[roy328]

d-roC, you mean it's better to wait till March? What's so special about this month? Is there any news about the upcoming models of Palm that you could share with me?

I was wondering whether there are REALLY no cobalt devices released by palmOne in the coming year, as the company spokesman has just told the press.

[SoS]

If you can hold out until March, just wait. If not, the TC is a good buy and may meet your needs quite well.

hey d-roc.....you know something we don't?? At the moment, I doubt if we'll ever see another p1 pda!!

[Antoine]

No, at this point I havent asked my sources anything. I'll ask after Christmas to keep me from wanting too much. What I do know is that palmOne usually releases in April but there is usually an announcement of new products in March.

However, it is logical to think that there will be a replacement to the TC and T3 this Spring as they have both been notably absent from many advertisments regarding palmOne's offerings. Also, the T3 is apparently end of life and seems that the TC would follow suit. My guess last year was that palmOne would not upgrade the TC until Cobalt could run on it. That should be the case with Cobalt 6.1 now released, 6.0 was an ooh-gly shell of Cobalt. I would also think that palmOne has a score to settle with the many media and fans who said that they are dead in the water. Spring is my best guess. If palmOne doesnt have something happen then, they will most likely be dead in the water.

[SoS]

d-roc...I hope you are right!!

steve :)

[roy328]

I suddenly have another idea - would it be great to buy a T3 now?
It costs me around slightly less than 300 to buy a new one.

[tapf!]

I have a TC and i think its a great PDA. Good Keyboard (better that Ux50!), WLAN, 400Mhz and 64MB Ram.

Fabian

[BetweenTheLines]

No, at this point I havent asked my sources anything. I'll ask after Christmas to keep me from wanting too much. What I do know is that palmOne usually releases in April but there is usually an announcement of new products in March.

However, it is logical to think that there will be a replacement to the TC and T3 this Spring as they have both been notably absent from many advertisments regarding palmOne's offerings. Also, the T3 is apparently end of life and seems that the TC would follow suit. My guess last year was that palmOne would not upgrade the TC until Cobalt could run on it. That should be the case with Cobalt 6.1 now released, 6.0 was an ooh-gly shell of Cobalt. I would also think that palmOne has a score to settle with the many media and fans who said that they are dead in the water. Spring is my best guess. If palmOne doesnt have something happen then, they will most likely be dead in the water.

Handheld Computing Buyer's Guide Holiday 2004 issue page 9:

"Palm, who does the majority of their design work stateside, has ridden the Treo 600's wave of popularity and has a completely redesigned T5 and some exciting new consumer-targeted Zire models shipping soon. These machines, as well as the updated Treo 650, were not available for review at press time but will be reviewed in detail in the next issue of Handheld Computing. -DM"

I say wait until March to see if Zires with WiFi are released. Sorry WiFi card does not cut it. If not, time to start thinking about a PPC. If the are 640x480 it would be a bonus.

I checked the front page and "DM" probably stands for "David MacNeill" who is a contributing writer on page 6.

Just my observation.

[Antoine]

Very nice observation BTL :)

[roy328]

Just notice something from the letter by PalmSource

"Palm OS® Cobalt version 6.1 is already finished, and the software is in the hands of licensees. We expect devices based on it to ship in 2005."

It's very encouraging for me to wait

[The Palmster]

I would also think that palmOne has a score to settle with the many media and fans who said that they are dead in the water. Spring is my best guess. If palmOne doesnt have something happen then, they will most likely be dead in the water.

Why are we constantly foreshadowing the death of PalmOne? Notwithstanding all the negativity on this site when the T5 was first introduced, the T5 appears to be quite a hit around here. The highest rated threads are Lance's T5 compatibility list and his first thoughts on the T5. Together, these threads have almost 50,000 views and close to 650 replies (mostly from satisfied T5 owners - including ME!).

Although I'm using the built-in Bluetooth in the T5, I frankly would have preferred no Bluetooth and instead have a cradle or two included inside the box. This whole wireless thing is, in my opinion, overrated. Those that bought the T5 wanted the PDA functionality, the memory, the processor speed, the beautiful screen, landscape capability and the M515 form factor (or as close as you could get). Wireless was just an added bonus. If you're really into wireless and this is critical to your usage, then get the Treo 650, otherwise the T5 is a gread PDA and I think it will carry PalmOne through to next winter. How's that for a prediction!

I doubt the T3 will be upgraded. The T3 line is dead. No more sliders...Yeah!!!!!! The T5 is PalmOne's top of the line PDA and the Treo 650 is its top of the line PDA/Phone combo. The only thing I expect to see in the spring is an upgrade to the lower end models, i.e. the Tungsten|E and the Zire line. Maybe wifi will be added to a Zire model for those of you who want wireless capability without the phone plan. The upgrade to the top of line products, the T5 and Treo 650, will have to wait until winter 2005.

Those are my thoughts.

[frioman]

We have a select few who are in fact the power usesr and want always the most bang for the buck. The T5 is straight return to zen. To the Kiss theory in fact giving a user the basics but better and easier than before.We have to remeber that 90 percent or more of PDA users are not power users. and that the true mobile worker is not nescarrily connected .I for one came from the so called darkside after several ppc and there inherent os way of doing things .This was for me a little to time cunsuming
to try to customize or even to do basic functions like looking up a contact or hand writen note. true mobile profesional wants to get data fast and to input data fast. Palm os gives you this. people complained about the T5 Plastic body and the lack of Wifi and no voice recording funtion. But lets Really be honest how many of us really did use that function. Speaking for myself iseldom used it . Wifi, i had a ppc with wifi and guess what barely used that also, why because being a true mobile worker iam always on the go cant stay to long in one spot to even use it. Theres also a new trend now to charge something even for those so called free spots. Plastic body well gues what every one has it now ,Dell,Hp,asus,toshiba at least in this department Palmone really did a nice job spicing it up to look and feel like metal, take a look at the latest HP units plastic but just basic plastic really makes these units look like crap. Oh and the LED charging light i cant see how they missed this. Until i cracked open te T5 and saw what was it like in the inside, i was amazed that they were able to get this much in there it is really cramped in there. but still they should at least included that but you know what, i dont miss it any more.lets really think about this in the T3 what did the LED light do except flash for alarms and stay on all the time while charging it didnt tell you if its was fully charge. You still had to turn it on to confirm this . Vibrating alarm never ever used it . if your moving about with the palm in your jacket pocket ya gonna never feel the dam thing vibrating any way. Unless your that kinda guy lakes to wear tight form fiting clothing.....LOL.. And this is comming from a guy who booed the dam unit when it was first annouced. Now iam saying wow this is relly basic but dam it works realy realy well.
PS. Forgot to mention i return a two week old TC and bought the T5 and before that i sold my T3 to buy the TC. TC is Really nice pda but to thick and no reg. ear fone jack. and the palm 5.2 seemed old compared to the newer units. now if you can get a OS upgrade on the Tc then in my opinion it will negate the Ear jack size and that the fact that the output mono

my humble ramblings

[Antoine]

@ ThePalmster: I dont predict gloom and doom for the PalmOS (at least not right now) nor for palmOne (who does need a product refreshing more than just twice a year). I agree with you in your assessment that there are more non-power users, than power users. PalmOne seeks to market to them and I applaud them for it. The issue (I cover it every few weeks in articles I do at bargainPDA.com) is that the market has matured faster than their products have, and if looked as in compairson to the auto industry, palmOne is like a manufacturer who has had a best selling car, but has relied more on its name than bringing a complete feature set to play. This doesnt mean that it should have all teh bells and whistles, but that when they do hit a home run (re: Zire/Zire21, m515, T3) it comes very slowly. If they moved a tick faster, maybe, just maybe things would work.

As for palmOne and Cobalt: from speaking to reps at P1, it was not ready enough for them to devote time to using it in the Fall 04 releases. PalmSource did have Cobalt done, but it wasnt ready. The 6.1 release is ready and we can expect to see devices using it from PalmOne at some point next year. My guess is Spring - March announce and April release (since they have not yet taken my advice of doing a thrice a year release cycle). From playing with the Cobalt sim, it seems to be just what an updated TC and T(x) needs. My guess is that the next T will be a T7 that will truley be a top of the line device. The next TC would probably have just WiFi, keeping with P1's philosophy of making sure to have solutions that hit a specific area.

Sorry for the length, but I just wanted to make sure that I was understood in terms of why I said what I said. PalmOne knows that they need to make a splash. The Treo650 was a splash, the T5 was a ripple. I expect P1 to make a few splashes and maybe a ripple in the Spring.

[phsv]

Buy when do the P1 products realeased when they are announced in March from past release dates?

Because if I remeber correctly, just becuase they are announced in March it didn't mean that they were available at that time, right?

Thanks.

[mareuter]

I went from a T3 to a TC and haven't regretted the move at all. I find the keyboard to be much better to use (and faster) than constantly opening the T3s slider, and the WiFi and battery life are excellent.

What I discovered about my own Palm usage habits was that I wasn't inputting information 'on the fly' (while out and about) because I had to get out the T3, open the slider, and battle with Graffiti2 to input the info. Since the TC keyboard is always at my fingertips I find that I'm more likely to pop it open and make a note of something.

If that resonates with you, think about the C. On the other hand, there's nothing quite like playing Legacy on a T3... :)

Peace,

Mike

[Antoine]

Buy when do the P1 products realeased when they are announced in March from past release dates?

Because if I remeber correctly, just becuase they are announced in March it didn't mean that they were available at that time, right?

Thanks.

Right, they usually announce in march and release in April. With the exception of teh m505 debacle where by most accounts the release time was pushed earlier, I think that this normal mode will still hold for palmOne.