Product Description

Adopt a new point of view with the surprisingly compact Palm Tungsten T3 handheld, featuring an extra-wide 320 x 480 high-resolution colour screen, Intel XScale 400 MHz ARM processor, 64 MB RAM and integrated Bluetooth. It also boasts enhanced Microsoft Outlook synchronisation, native Word and Excel file support (including e-mail attachments) and a next-generation user interface.

Measuring 320 x 480 pixels, the extra-wide screen of the Palm™ Tungsten™ T3 handheld is 50 per cent bigger than any other Tungsten™ handheld screen. Plus, text and images benefit from the superior clarity of the screen's high-resolution colour. It flexibly adapts to the way you like to work. Use it with the slider open or closed; in portrait or landscape; left-handed or right-handed.

Tackling everyday professional tasks when you're on the move is no mean feat, which is why the Tungsten T3 handheld is powered by a 400 MHz Intel® XScale™ processor, 64 MB RAM, a SD expansion slot and integrated Bluetooth™ technology. Together they provide abundant processing power for running business-class applications, expandable storage capacity for large files and easy-to-use wireless connectivity.

The Tungsten™ T3 handheld is perfectly in sync with your office needs, thanks to its advanced support of Microsoft Office files and Outlook. For example, you can view Microsoft Office files in either portrait or landscape. Or work with Word and Excel files using native file support, which lets you open documents on your handheld without requiring any desktop conversion or synchronisation beforehand.

Thanks to integrated Bluetooth™, you can connect wirelessly to the Internet and e-mail via a compatible mobile phone. It's also ideal for establishing a cable-free connection between laptops, handhelds and mobile phones over short distances. Moreover, the set-up process has been simplified for even faster device discovery.

Stay in control of your inbox and manage attachments more efficiently with the integrated VersaMail 2.6 software. Send, receive and open Word and Excel files in their native formats. Manage messages with attachments up to 5 MB. Send and receive messages using a Bluetooth™ connection with a compatible phone or via a HotSync® operation. This full-powered e-mail application also lets you work in portrait or landscape, manage multiple POP and IMAP accounts, access SSL accounts, and even send and receive photos and voice memos.

Make any environment more enjoyable when you take along your favourite MP3s, video clips and e-Books. It's easy to organise and move these files from your handheld to your desktop and back again.

The Tungsten T3 handheld comes with the new Palm OS® 5.2.1 software and the latest user interface, which integrates a number of enhancements. Among them is a Status Bar that provides one-tap access to frequently used features such as applications, connectivity settings and screen settings, to name but a few.

The Tungsten T3 handheld also includes Graffiti® 2, the next-generation handwriting recognition software from Palm. Graffiti 2 is very close to natural handwriting, lets you write anywhere on the screen and includes a feature called "ghost writing", which helps you learn it faster.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50646 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Palm
• Model: Tungsten T3
• Released on: 2003-10-02
• Platforms: Palm OS, Mac OS X
• Original language: English, French, Spanish
• Dimensions: .34 pounds
• CPU: XScale 400 MHz

Manufacturer's Description
EXTRA-WIDE SCREEN Measuring 320 x 480 pixels, the extra-wide screen of the Palm Tungsten T3 handheld is 50% bigger than any other Tungsten handheld screen. Plus, text and images benefit from the superior clarity of the screen’s high-resolution colour. It flexibly adapts to the way you like to work. Use it with the slider open or closed. In portrait or landscape. Left-handed or right-handed.

SERIOUS POWER Tackling everyday professional tasks when you’re on the move is no mean feat, which is why the Tungsten T3 handheld is powered by our most advanced hardware to date: a 400 MHz Intel XScale processor, 64 MB1 RAM, a SD expansion slot and integrated Bluetooth technology. Together they provide abundant processing power for running business-class applications, expandable storage capacity for large files and easy-to-use wireless connectivity.

OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY The Tungsten T3 handheld is perfectly in sync with your office needs, thanks to its advanced support of Microsoft Office files and Outlook3. For example, you can view Microsoft Office files in either portrait or landscape. Or work with Word and Excel files using native file support, which lets you open documents on your handheld without requiring any desktop conversion or synchronisation beforehand. WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Thanks to integrated Bluetooth, you can connect wirelessly to the Internet and email via a compatible mobile phone2. It’s also ideal for establishing a cable-free connection between laptops, handhelds and mobile phones over short distances. Moreover, the set-up process has been simplified for even faster device discovery.

HIGH PERFORMANCE EMAIL Stay in control of your inbox and manage attachments more efficiently with the integrated VersaMail 2.6 software. Send, receive and open Word and Excel files in their native formats. Manage messages with attachments up to 5 MB. Send and receive messages using a Bluetooth connection with a compatible phone2 or via a HotSync operation. This full-powered email application also lets you work in portrait or landscape, manage multiple POP and IMAP accounts, access SSL accounts, and even send and receive photos and voice memos.

MUSIC AND VIDEOS TO GO Make any environment more enjoyable when you take along your favourite MP3s3, video clips4 and eBooks5. It's a snap to organize and move these files from your handheld to your desktop and back again.

EASY INTERFACE The Tungsten T3 handheld comes with the new Palm OS 5.2.1 software and the latest user interface, which integrates a number of enhancements. Among them is a Status Bar that provides one-tap access to frequently used features such as applications, connectivity settings and screen settings, to name but a few.

The Tungsten T3 handheld also includes Graffiti 2, the next-generation handwriting recognition software from Palm. Graffiti 2 is very close to natural handwriting, lets you write anywhere on the screen and includes a feature called "ghost writing", which helps you learn it faster.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

The Best Yet
This is my fourth Palm – I had the original 1mb Palm Pilot, a Palm 3x, then a 3c, now the Tungsten T3. Each is a vast improvement on the previous model. The Tungsten has a highly sensitive touch screen (which is much larger than previous versions if opened out fully), a clearer, better defined pixel display and enough memory to keep Einstein happy. I’m still coming to terms with it, but it plays movie clips and I’ve downloaded photos I’ve taken with my digital camera (and they are displayed clearly – 500% better than any mobile phone camera). I purchased the Tungsten as a business tool (I bet they all say that) so the use of Word, Excel and Powerpoint on an extended screen was a major factor in my choice, and I’m not disappointed. It’s Bluetooth enabled, so connects with my laptop, and has a phone-link, Note Pad (for scribbling direct to the screen), Palm Reader (for eBooks), voice memo and RealOne MP3 player. A great bundle and a joy to use. Be aware that prior to full use some patches need to be downloaded from the web to update the software but that’s no problem. The only issue I have with the T3 is that Palm have started to use Graffiti 2 which, if you’re used to the Graffiti (handwriting recognition) on previous Palms, is a real pain. Why change something if it works well? All in all, a great buy.

Just buy the Palm T3!
This is an edit to my initial review a couple of years back - having now used the palm T3 day in and day out for 3 years+, I still stand by my initial review - its an excellent peice of kit. I don't know why the last couple of reviewers had problems with their palms, I have used it since day one on win 2000 and win xp (pro) no problems (and I use mine on several machines as I used to be based in three diff offices). I synch with MS Outlook at work and home, use datebook, and notepad/scribble a lot. Other fav apps: Contacts Pro, Smartlists, Bug Me, SplashId, ZLauncher to name a few (games to many to mention).

I used to use tom tom on it all the time as well (just pair a gps to the T3, install tomtom to the sd card and your good to go). Tom tom uses the whole screen so you get some really good use out of the screen. The bluetooth on my T3 has concked out recently, but for the number of years I have had the T3 I am more than happy with the milage I have got out of it. Its a pity they dont sell bluetooth as an add on SDIO card (like they do with the WiFi), and the add on WiFi card seems stuck on the £50 mark the last number of years which is a pity.

If your reading this beacuse your thinking of buying a second hand/reconditioned T3, its still an excellent buy, still lots of software available, my pda still shows up other people with newer models, because the T3 is still the only model with a sliding out extended screen (i dont know why they didnt carry that idea on, everyone who sees the T3 thinks thats one of the best features of the T3. Main downside is lack of WiFi, although you can still buy the SD WiFi card.

================
original review:

This is my first colour pda. After a lot of research the choice was between the hp2210 and palm T3. I finally decided on the palm and have never regretted it since.

Battery life is good for a colour pda, I usually have to recharge between 2 - 5 days depending on usage during holidays. As I synch between home and office (I have two hot synch cradles - bought one off a mate who's old palm died - the cradles are all compatible as all palm models use a universal connector) I don't have any battery problems.

The extra screen size is a godsend when doing spreadsheets or reading a pdf (as is the landscape view). Excel functionality is limited but acceptable, and doing large word documents is a bit fiddly. Listening to music does require an SD card. Although it wouldn't beat a dedicated mp3 player for playback, quality it is more than adequate.

The pda uses graffiti 2 and I read a lot of reviews saying the first version was better, but never having used it I find graffiti 2 to be excellent.

One of the niggles I have about the T3, is I haven't found a decent hard cover that I can hot synch without taking it out of the case. Throw away the crap grey flap they provide with the T3 and buy a good case plus a few more transparent screen protectors you stick on the screen. Also the manual is a huge pdf - no printed manual :-(

I was quite surprised to find out that palms *do* crash. However, it was 3rd party software I downloaded to it that caused it (mainly games :-) Some of these crashes even required a hard reset, but it was a simple matter of hot synching to get back up to scratch. (if like me you found the backup still caused fatal crashes, create a new profile in the hot synch software and gradually copy over the pdb and prc files together, stored in a 'backup' sub folder within a folder named after your profile name, hot synching in between to find out what program was causing the crash).

Some excellent games out there eg. Popcap games. My wife has started to use the palm too, mainly drawn like a moth to a flame with the extremely addictive games.

I found a lot of reviews claiming the Hp2210 active synch was not reliable, however with palms hot synch I have never had a problem backing up the palm.

I use the T3 for work as well, so I synchronise with Outlook. I quickly found I had to supplement the built in calendar with Datebk 5, which has tons more options.

The variety and number of free and shareware programs for palm is very refreshing, although not very many programs make use of the T3's extended screen. I'm a bit disappointed with the built in database creator (or lack of!), having said that there are 3rd party commercial ones available.

Overall an excellent buy. You couldn't go wrong going for the Palm T3.

Great gadget...and its useful too!
I bought my T3 about three weeks ago, and it's lived up to all my hopes and expectations. I was split between the HP Ipaq 2210 and the T3 for some time. I came to the conclusion that the Palm, both in terms of hardware and operating system, provided a more robust and polished experience.

My primary reason for buying the T3 over the (cheaper) T2 was the screen size, which makes editing excel and word documents significantly easier.

The Dataviz package (word and excel editing) is good for creating smallish documents. Editing larger documents are more fidley, but its still up to the job. Excel functionality is limited, of course, but has most of the popular functions for data manipulation, including standard deviation etc. Unlike the premium edition of the software, however, it does not have spell-check and excel graphing functions - poor effort.

The voice memo facility was also a selling point for me. You can record up to 3 hrs onto the internal memory. The mic is as good as any digital voice recorder available (and I've tested a few). I use it for recording lectures, and even at the back of a crowded lecture hall, it'll do the job perfectly. Voice files can be downloaded and filed on the Palm desktop software. To save space on your device, I'd suggest copying these files elsewhere. Playback on you PC is via Mediaplayer etc.

I bought an MP3 add-on to go with it (basically a 64MB MM card with headphones). RealPlayer One comes on the disc, and does the job of converting CD to MP3 well enough. Playback on the handheld (also via RealOne) is good - via headphones or the surprisingly good internal speakers.

A note of caution, however. Make sure you download the recent Palm update for the T3 relating to SD cards. Out of the box, its likely the T3 will take exception to you SD card, and refuse to write data to it. With the update it works fine.

*(Be warned, if you record voice memo's staight to the SD card, it doesn't work. Better to record to internal memeory and transfer to the card afterwards.)

I've downloaded a number of freeware games and third party software packages (including an upgraded version of the Infinity powerOne calculator). Unfortunately, none use the T3's 320x480 screen. This may be a recurring theme and expect to wait some time before developers catch on to the joys of the T3's screen.

Other key points to note are:

+ve:

Adobe for Palm: - very useful package which condenses huge pdf files to the Palm reader - handy!

Picture veiwer - Should prove useful for digital camera users - simply transfer SD cards to the Palm and you can take a more detailed view of your albums (Ah the joys of a big screen)

Web browsing - Ive been using my T3 with Nokia 8310 (infrared) phone over Orange GPRS network. Overall it has proved hassle free, and navigation through Webpro is easy enough.

Bluetooth - As new products come on stream this should prove useful. Web browsing using a bluetooth phone should be a major selling point (who needs a P800). Hotsyncing is best done throught the cradle, however, if only to make sure you keep it topped up with power (see below).

Video playback - The Kinoma desktop and handheld software do the job well. In landscape mode, widescreen movie trailers certainly look impressive. Screen resolution's a little slow but certainly not painfully so.

-ve:

Battery-life - Use it too much and you can visbly see the juice bleed from your T3. I've had to recharge it pretty much every day so far (bear in mind that's based on heavy useage ).

Versa-Mail - Have been completely stumped as to how useful this software actually is. Downloading emails from my PC are easy enough - but sending emails remotely are a real pain. Using a web-based email account is the only real answer.