Palm Tungsten T2
CNET Editors' Review
CNET Editors' Rating
- Reviewed by: Roger Hibbert
- Released on:
- Reviewed on:
The good: Compact design; 32MB of RAM; excellent screen; integrated Bluetooth.
The bad: No Back button; low maximum volume; battery isn't replaceable.
The bottom line: This refresh of the first Tungsten-series Palm takes a good product and improves upon it.
The only outward difference between the T2 and the original Tungsten is that the latter is silver and black rather than charcoal-colored. Like its predecessor, the T2 is compact and pocket-friendly, ... Expand full review
The only outward difference between the T2 and the original Tungsten is that the latter is silver and black rather than charcoal-colored. Like its predecessor, the T2 is compact and pocket-friendly, measuring just 4.0 by 3.0 by 0.6 inches, but it's a tad heavy at 5.6 ounces.
Palm includes a number of homegrown applications to do everything from syncing to e-mailing to browsing the Web. The Pictures app lets you view images or slide shows on your Palm, and it supports JPEGs without conversion. VersaMail 2.5 is a solid e-mail client, and Palm Web Browser Pro is a lean, fast browser also found on the Tungsten C, but both of these have limited appeal if you lack the Bluetooth phone and a data plan to access the Web. You also get the staples, such as Palm Desktop 4.1, Chapura Pocket Mirror 3.1 for syncing with Outlook, and Documents To Go 5.0 Professional for handling all of the various Microsoft Office files. RealOne Mobile Player is included for listening to MP3s or RealMedia files, and the T2 also has voice-recording applet for taping memos on the go. But the best included software is Palm's Quick Install and Kinoma's Player and Producer. Quick Install is an improvement over the software installer supplied with Palm Desktop. It uses a Windows-like interface where you drag and drop software into a screen for installation. It can even unzip files automatically, and you don't need Palm Desktop running to use it. Kinoma Video Producer converts movie files (with sound) to a Kinoma Player-compatible version that you can watch on your Palm. Of course, support for MPEG and MPEG-4 files without conversion would be better, but it's a start. The Tungsten T2 offered good overall performance. With its 144MHz Texas Instruments OMAP1510 processor and 32MB of RAM, the unit has no shortage of resources. We found that videos and games played smoothly. Music sounded full and clear, but the maximum volume was not loud enough, and we noticed that the track skipped every time we opened or shut the slider during a song. The voice recorder captured relatively clear and intelligible voice memos. We liked the original Tungsten's screen, but the T2's is better. The display has a high, 320x320-pixel resolution and can produce 65,536 colors, on a par with the best handhelds'. Because the new screen is transflective, it looks good in both bright and dim environments. Images appeared well saturated, and colors were accurate; large text was bold, while the smallest fonts were well defined and legible. Compare to other handheld devicesCompare selectedUser ReviewsSee all user reviewsMost recent user reviewsShowing 3 of 35 reviews stars "That update to the tungsten t" By narn3049Pros: READ SUMAMRY Cons: READ SUMMARY Summary: I have used my original T since 2002 and was honestly impressed with the general quality of that device- many phone and pda devices have passed my ownership then, and I kept ahold of this machine. It basically is a really good update to the T i once used. i ... Expand full review stars "Cool looks..." By Wolfie2k5Pros: Compact design, color screen. Cons: Obsolete, <sigh> Summary: I've had my T2 for about 3 years now, and it's obsolete - supplanted by the T3 and T5 units. SpecificationsSee full specsQuick Specs
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