Palm Tungsten T3

Reviews: Electronics

Digital Cameras | PDAs | Communications

Palm Tungsten T3

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Richard Poelling
Kurtis
Palm
Mar. 11, 2004

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Quality Check

The power button located at the top of the unit can be very hard to push in to turn the unit on and off. Although that is not necessarily a bad thing, since you don't want the unit popping on all the time wasting your batteries, it can be a bit annoying. Using the stylus to accomplish this task was helpful, but I still would like to be able to depress the button with my fingers without having to dig for it.

The T3 does include a key lock functionality to keep the unit from turning on when a button is pressed. You have the option of having it always on, manual, or always off. In the always on mode, turning the unit off will activate the key lock. Pressing any keys on the face of the unit will have no effect, only by turning the unit on with the power button and then tapping a deactivate key with the stylus will the unit become usable. The manual setting only enables the key lock when the power button is held for more than 2 seconds. I like the idea of this functionality, but it is too clunky for my tastes. I didn't really have any problems with the unit turning on at unwanted times anyway...

The included face protector worked very well. The outside of it is able to withstand blows from various objects while being carried around. The molded lower half is able to keep the navigation keys safe from accidental activation. Though the protector worked well, hard pressure on the lower half of the protector did cause the unit to come on several times. The inside cover of the protector is made of a very soft material which, unlike the Tungsten E, will not mar the finish of the PDA over time.

I noticed on several occasions while testing that the stylus would have trouble popping out. I would depress the top of it, and the spring mechanism wouldn't engage. Although this problem was not permanent, it did occur often enough to annoy me. This could be a problem in the long term if the spring mechanism should fail. A stuck stylus will just get really annoying. I found myself using my fingers for quick tasks and bypassing the stylus altogether. Since I am uncertain as to how much use this particular unit may have received prior to my possession of it, I think this may be a wear issue which should be kept in mind. (Palm only sends loaner units for review...)

I would have liked to see the T3 come with a screen protector (the sticky kind that go on the display). Most PDA's will take lots of abuse; a screen protector can extend the life of a PDA significantly. There are screen protectors available for purchase from Palm's website though I am uncertain how many are compatible with the T3. This would have been a major component I would have liked to test, since there are a number of things that could go wrong with a screen protector and the T3's expandable screen. There appears to be room between the screen and the sliding unit which could make room for such a protector.

The display on the T3 is top-notch. The display when closed has a viewable area of 54mm x 59mm. Expanded, the viewable area goes to 54mm x 80mm. The T3 uses a TFT display which can support more than 65,000 colors, according to Palm's literature. I found the resolution overall to be excellent. The added ability to expand the screen and view images in landscape dimensions was the most helpful. Many pictures which seem small when viewed in standard format were much easier to look at when viewed in landscape and under more proper proportions. I got good resolution with images that were saved at 1600x1200. The colors were crisp, with some pixelation on straight lines or text.

Like most other PDA's on the market today, the T3 will alert you to an appointment by beeping. This beep can be soft or loud. The T3 has also included vibration as an option. The unit will vibrate similar to a cell phone when an appointment is due. The function is only useful if you have the unit in your hand or else are physically touching it. Just sitting on the desk, I was unable to feel any vibration coming from it. The alarm on high setting is another story... I was able to hear the T3 beeping in my bag, 2 rooms away.

Since this was a demo unit, I am unable to tell just how old the battery was. The unit did have good battery life though. The T3 stayed powered up for much longer than the Tungsten E when not in use. Enabling the Bluetooth did not adversely affect the battery life either. Charging was quick using the power adaptor plugged into the cradle. I was surprised to find out that the T3 will also charge, although much slower, in the cradle without the power supply attached.

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Page 5 of 7

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions & Getting Started
Page 3: User Interface
Page 4: Testing
Page 5: Quality Check
Page 6: Software
Page 7: Tungsten T3 Photos & Conclusion

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1 User Comment

1 - Posted by Guest on May 19, 2005 - 1:43 am

I would like to know if the T3 has the same memory as the T5. That is, will the memory be wiped if I run the battery down all the way? I have a bad habit of doing this to my electronics.

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