19 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
New to Handhelds? What I Wish I Knew Before Buying a Tungsten|E
Date of Review: Mar 7, 2004
The Bottom Line: If you're new to handhelds, and need a simple contact list and datebook, get the Zire 21. But for more functionality, more memory, and color, invest in the Tungsten|E.
I bought my PalmOne Tungsten|E about a month ago. Of course, before I made my purchase, I read a variety of reviews at Epinions. While they were all useful, most seemed to be directed toward a different reader: one who is already a handheld computer user.
You see, this was to be my first handheld. In the end, I bought two Tungsten E's, one each for my wife and me. Overall, I am very pleased with the Tungsten|E.
Right off the bat, I noticed the lack of a user's manual. I'm used to browsing through a quarter-inch thick postcard-sized book before diving into a new project. As it turns out, it's a PDF file on the included CD. Even without the manual, getting started with your new PDA is as simple as loading the included CD.
The CD installs an application called "Palm Desktop". Palm Desktop acts as a link between your desktop or laptop computer and your handheld -- known to PDA-ers as a "conduit". From there, it's just a matter of connecting a USB cable and pushing a button to get you up and running.
Which brings up the first of three "I wish I'd known that..." items.
I wish I'd known that there is no cradle available for the Tungsten E, at least none that I've been able to find available online. While not necessary, a cradle sure would be nice. Without a cradle, you'll connect a cable from your computer's USB port (on the back of the computer, in my case) to a smaller port at the bottom of the handheld. A "cradle" for a handheld is a "docking station" that sits next to your computer. So, the USB cable goes from the computer to the docking station. Then, instead of connecting a cable from the computer to the handheld, you simply set the handheld in the cradle.
Where that comes into play is that Palm recommends you "HotSync" -- synchronize and backup your handheld's data -- daily.
Like I said, not a dealkiller, but a cradle would've be nice.
The Tungsten E runs on the new Palm OS5. If I'd used Palm's before, this might have been a factor in making my purchase. But, in fact, I didn't really care. But Palm OS5 is my other "I wish I'd known that...".
I wish I'd known that software for Palm OS5 is not yet widely available. And that much of the software designed for earlier Palm operating systems won't work on OS5!
The display on the Tungsten E is 320 pixels by 320 pixels and color. This is a big plus, especially for the new handheld user. Why? Because it looks a lot like the display your used to on your regular computer.
From looking at friends' handhelds, those that weren't in color (like the other model I was looking at, the Zire 21) looked, for lack of a better term, primitive... kind of like the last generation of cell phones or old calculators. Having a high resolution color display is definitely the way to go.
However, you'll want to protect your nifty keen color screen. And as a fellow new user, take my word on this, buy a packet of those flimsy screen protector sheets. The Tungsten E comes with one, but if your like me, you can count on messing it up!
And protecting the screen is the third "I wish I'd known that...".
I wish I'd known that the matching hard case for the Tungsten E is forty bucks! It comes with a flip cover that protects the screen... only.
Are any of these reason enough to regret purchasing Tungsten E's for my wife and me? Absolutely not!
Bottom line: I am convinced that I got the best value for my $200 in this PDA. If you're new to handhelds, and need a simple contact list and datebook, get the Zire 21 for $100. But for more functionality, more memory, and color, invest in the Tungsten|E.
