Designed for mobile business use, the Palm Tungsten W combines the features of a cell phone, a personal information manager (PIM), and a laptop in one device. The wireless Web browser provides access to the Internet from any location and uses class 10 GPRS radio for fast downloading. The useful Web clipping service lets users cut out important data--such as stock quotes or flight times--quickly and save it to the desktop. The Tungsten W also lets users keep in touch with corporate e-mail, allowing access to up to eight different POP and IMAP accounts. For faster correspondence, this handheld is equipped with SMS for sending instant messages to those with compatible wireless devices.
Familiar Palm applications--Excel, Word, and PowerPoint--make it easy to create or open documents on this handheld. This Palm device also features the standard PIM features: an address book, date book, calculator, memo pad, notepad, and to-do list. The Tungsten W has a built-in keyboard, making it faster and easier to type documents, e-mails, or instant messages. An additional five-way navigational button allows for one-handed or stylus-free navigation. A high-resolution color screen offers a crisp display for documents or Web pages.
For phone use, the Tungsten W offers more advanced call-management features, such as five-way conference calling and the ability to make notes for each caller and set redials and reminders. The phone's hands-free headset lets you send e-mail or view or edit a document while taking a call.
This device has a Palm Universal Connector for attaching peripherals, and a Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard-compatible expansion slot for adding more memory. The rechargeable battery offers 10 hours of talk time plus additional standby time on one charge. A HotSync cradle is included for recharging the battery or for synchronizing the Palm's data with a desktop PC.
Mobility. Messaging. Communication. Integrated Tri-band, international, high-speed GSM/GPRS wireless radio. New Low price $299.95* when you activate your Tungsten W with AT&T Wireless. *Save up to an additional $120 after activation rebate. Activation form and instructions ship in box
1 Becky (in Atlanta)
I wanted a PDA Phone w/Palm OS. I did lots of research and finally I purchased my "like new" Tungsten W from Amazon's market place for its "relatively" attractive price. Within a month, the phone failed (Palm OS was OK). I have to send it in to for repair. Somehow, my serial number was associated to a different model of Palm. So they sent me a wrong one and I have to do the exchange again. I was very unhappy about the mix up and delay.
Because it did not come with a headphone, so it took some time for me to research and finally picked "Ternary Flip Cover", which allow me to use the PDA more like a regular cell phone. However, the answer button stop working after 4 or 5 months. It is getting very cracklely when I use the phone. I just ordered a Nokia head phone from Amazon a few weeks ago but it won't ship until May.
It only came with a USB cable rather than a cradle. (Not sure if a new one comes with a cradle?) The little plastic parts are broken off. I once tried a charger from Belkin but I was disappointed that it did not fit the Tungsten W very well.
My Tungsten W frustrates me increasingly. It is locking up a lot when I try to use the phone. In turn, it drops my calls. It even reset itself quite often. I am tempted to switch back to my old Motorola but I love the Palm OS. I am torned.
In a nut shell, I would give the Palm OS on Tungsten W 5 stars, but I only give 1 star to the phone.
2 Reply to feedback's
leesea...
AT&T and Cingular in merge, it work great. the speed is fancy on Web Pro 2.1. If complain about Palm 4 OS, simple get Tungsten W 1.0 update to get 4.1.1, it improve much better and less problem and fair speed.
A wireless customer....
Your "MINUSES" are some wrong.... There is pop-up notification of SMS messages. There is graffiti area, if install Jot which allow you to do graffiti on screen, keep practice and it getting much comfortable. I still like use keypad than rather graffiti. :)
"You have to delete the SMS outbox and inbox messages one by one"
It's pretty normal for almost every mobile, stop whine about it, you should be happen if you accident delete whole thing.
Only thing I complain about these Tungsten W... the software from website at PalmOne offer Update Tungsten W 1.0 which avaiable only on Mac OS 9.x, not OS X support, so, I had to go to my friend's PC (Windows XP) in order to get whole Palm OS update on W.
3 Worked, but not Durable
I bought this device because I wanted to have a PDA and phone in one single unit. It worked well for a while, then the ear jack slot would not work. So I was constrained to use only the PDA function. Within about 6 months of use, I observed the battery would run down quickly. Presently, I cannot get it to come on; and I bought it early 2004. During the time it worked, it was cool, but it appears it cannot take the kind of rigors expected of such a device. Believe me, I am not a careless person.
4 Run and hide. Don't let the palm man get you!
I bought one of these things 4 months ago. It broke. Palm won't fix it. Palm want's 100 bucks to replace it. Palm wants me to use a on line form to pay up front and start a repair order. Palms on line repair order cgi script doesn't work (makes you wonder who does the programing on the palms. Palm says write back to us and we will start a SRO (service repair order). Did that about 4 weeks ago, haven't heard a word.
In short
The worst warrenty and the worst support of any company I have ever delt with.
5 Dont Wait- BUY THIS PALM PILOT!!
This is the best Palm Pilot on the market today. This is reccomended to all long time Palm fans. Yes, it is a mobile office! Just to show the mobility of this product, I am writing this entire review on the thumb keyboard! The Hi-Resolution screen is absoloutely unbeatable. I LOVE THE PALM TUNGSTEN W!!
12/19 UPDATE
I am only a 12 year old boy, and now I admit my general compliments were a bit premature. The contact between the SIM receptors on the palm is FAULTY. The door is loose and if held screen side up, sometimes it says the sim could not be found, so then the phone turns off and it has to find the sattelite all over and blah blah blah. On my previous Samsung flip-phone,the SIM holster held the SIM to the recievers, something those stupid engineers at Palm should have immitated. The only reason to open your wallet for this Palm is for the phone, and if that gets busted, why not save a couple hundred bucks and get the much faster better OS running Tungsten E. Amazon wont let me take back my 5 star rating so just let me say I give 2 stars.
6 The Palm Tungsten W as a phone is lousy
The phone reception, although loud, is often scratchy. The sim card can only be used on the Palm phone. Consequently if you have a problem, you may be out of a phone. The service for the Palm Tungsten W is mediocre at best.
7 Good choice for heavy pda users
I'd wanted a telephone/pda combo for a while. When the Tungsten W was first released, I immediately wanted it. It had so many features I wanted: thumb keyboard, hi-res color screen, internet access, and compact size (compared to my Palm IIIc). However, the drawbacks kept me from purchasing: no internal speaker for calls, only works with AT&T in the US, and high cost. Also, the bad reviews, coupled with the release of the Treo 600, kept me from buying.
However, when my job forced me to switch to AT&T and the Treo 600 was perpetually unavailable, I chose the Tungsten W. All I can say is that I am so happy that I did! The screen is amazing, the internet works really well, and I can get my emails with attachments while out of the office without a hitch (try that with a cell phone). The phone has great reception and the headset keeps me out of trouble while driving. Yes, it is a pain to have to look for the headset, but I usually leave it attached to my purse and plugged into the the pda.
I've found software tweaks while surfing Tungsten W forums to customize it to my needs. The older processor does not bother me--it is plenty fast enough compared to the IIIc. This device is the best one for people who need data and pda functions to have just as much importance as cellular functions.
8 It's a great all in one device
I own this divice and it's been great for me. For those looking for the best cell phone features or the best palm features look to buy them seperately. But if you need a device that does a good job at both, look no further. The only con for me is that it doesn't have wi-fi access, but I can access the internet from anywhere via AT&T GSM service.
9 Much better that reviews indicate
The product is far better than reviews lead you to believe. As a planner, the product is all one could ever hope for unless you are looking for extra frills (camera, mp3 player). The ability to see web pages in real perspective and send and receive e-mail at this price also makes this a great product. There may be better products, but not at this price. Other palms may have internet access but you will be limited to certain locations (wi-fi, etc.). I have been able to get on line everywhere.
10 leesea
Tungsten W is an obsolescent device and I DON'T recommend it for following reasons: 1)it is locked to AT&T which does not offer good GSM service in as many areas as other providers, 2)it has an older version of Palm OS4 which PalmOne is not going to update, 3)it has a slower chip running at 66mhz which is tied to the OS which has been superseded by new versions. The later two points make it not a good PDA.
In addition PalmOne does not have good customer support and didn't even offer me a trade-up to Tunstgen C or Treo 600.
11 Great Device
You have to be tech saavy to use this device, and you have to know the equipment to buy to make this a useable and efficient device. It is for advanced users, and the best all in one device on the market.
12 Unlocking Palm Tungesten W PDA
If you want to switch to different GPRS/GSM carrier for your Palm Tungesten W, contact BongoWireless (of Canada) to get your device unlocked for $100 - and you will be able to use your device to work with any GPRS/GSM providers around the world by popping in purchased SIM card inside the back of Palm Tungesten W. Also, please read Palm Support's email response regarding the AT&T for USA and elsewhere in the world:
Hope it helps. - RJR
==============================
Hello,
Tungsten W handhelds sold in the US are SIM locked to AT&T. The Palm Tungsten W is SIM card locked to AT&T in the United States because of our business relationship with AT&T.
There are International versions of the Tungsten W sold in other
countries, such as the UK. These versions may also be purchased over the internet through certain companies. Please understand that these products are not supported in the US, though.
Thank you,
PalmOne Support Specialist.
13 Note regarding phone connection after auto-power off
Mr. Horne in the previous review was mis/uninformed. One alternative is to disable the idle power down feature. This is helpful while browsing the internet. Otherwise, even when the W is off the phone/radio remains on to receive calls. Perhaps the previous reviewer didn't read the T. W documentation and was a bit hasty in blowing his horn.
14 Lots promised, little delivered. Wait for the next wave...
While it's something of an improvement over ealier Palm phones, the Tungsten W is not yet the ideal phone/PDA replacement.
This is a nice PDA and a just OK phone. I was hoping Palm would do better with this. At the very least they should have included a Mic/Speaker so I don't have to grab the headset everytime a call comes in.
I wouldn't have spent my own money on this thing, I would have probably gone for the Blackberry.
Since I'm already an AT&T customer, I can switch my SIM card from the Palm TW to my phone when I need a real phone. I'd prefer something more seamless; perhaps having the W only receive calls when my cell phone is off.
PLUSES:
Nice screen
Great battery life
MINUSES:
Only works with AT&T service.
No pop up notification of SMS messages
Requires use of headset
(or extra-cost flip phone cover)
Should have speaker and microphone built in.
Because headset plug is non-standard I haven't been able
to find an over-the-ear headset to replace earbud.
Slow processor
Processor limits unit to older Palm OS
No graffiti area. Must use thumbpad.
Typical worthless Palm cover included, very few aftermarket covers yet available
15 headset troubles
I've had the Palm Tungsten W since back in April 2003. I only have voice service. The unit has a very slow processor (33Mhz), which is fine for most applications, until I try viewing pictures with the included Photobase software. It takes about 20 seconds for a picture to load (which is incredibly slow when trying to view a slideshow). But the biggest complaint I have about the Tungsten W is Palm's choice to use the special 3-conductor Nokia 2.5mm headset jack, instead of the more common 2-conductor Universal 2.5mm headset jack. Anyone who owns this unit will testify that the included handsfree headset is a pain to deal with. Unfortunately, the product selection of Nokia's 2.5mm headsets is limited, and do not include over-the-head headsets, which is the type of headset I'm after. I've had to purchase a clumsy adapter (available at AT&T Wireless stores) in order to use Universal 2.5mm headsets, but everytime the adapter plug rotates in the Tungsten W's headset jack, the Mobile phone application comes on. This is a pain when I am trying to write a note or enter a phone number, and all of a sudden, the wind blows, rotating the adapter's plug just a few degrees, and now the Mobile phone application is on. In addition, if the adapter plug is rotated to certain angles, I cannot hear anyone speaking on the phone at all, so I have to rotate it back a tweak. Such a pain !! And it could all have been avoided if Palm had gone with the common Universal 2.5mm headset jack instead !!
16 Is Palm, Inc., losing it's way??
This is my fifth Palm device, starting with the original Pilot. My employer contracts with AT&T Wireless for our mobile service, so the prospect of reducing the silicone baggage was appealing (formerly carried Palm Vx, Blackberry, and Sony Ericsson T68i).
Unfortunately, the device has been a disappointment. The ergonomics are dreadful in comparison with the Blackberry, or a Nokia phone. The lack of notification when a text message (other than SMS) is a deficiency. The phone is unsafe to use in a motor vehicle, so I've had to activate a second, in-car phone & number. The original, largely Grafitti-based input functions common to previous Palms are much easier to use than the Tungsten's choice of the tiny mechanical keyboard or the tap-to-select on-screen version.
The device is very choosy about where it charges. I have three cradles, plus the travelling adapter with 110V and 12V (cigarette lighter) connections. One of the three cradles won't charge it, and it refuses to accept juice from an auto cigarette lighter, either. I have not found the battery life to be a problem, as described in one of the other reviews, though.
Web surfing is OK, some sites won't allow it access, but for what I use it for, it's acceptable. Being GSM, though, there are parts of the country where there is no coverage - I know this from my prior phone.
Finally, after five weeks' ownership, the annoying wired earpiece necessary to use the phone feature hooked on an obstruction once too often, and evidently damaged the jack. Now, the whole shooting match has to go back to Palm for repair.
All in all, I'm afraid I've pushed the technolgical envelope too far this time.
17 So close, but so far....
This was almost a dream come true, but there is a "feature" with this guy that makes it absolutely useless as a phone - when it powers off after three minutes, people can't call you. Simple as that. What use is a phone where people can only call you while you're fiddling with it?
If Palm had allowed the T | W to remain connected to the GPRS when powered down, I would've given this little beauty a 4 star rating. For my uses, however, my old cel phone and Palm IIIxe are *INFINITELY* superior...
18 Not bad ... but
I researched for months, was a Palm V user for years and was familiar with OS software. Was also a current AT&T mobile user, so I liked the fact I could take the SIM card out of the back of my mMode phone and keep my number. It's also nice to be able to leave the palm at home and put the card back in my phone when I don't need the bulk (ie, out on weekends). Phone works well and integrates with contacts very well. E-mail has been a problem, as AT&T does not support instant notification of e-mail like Palm i-705. I've spent a lot of time with Palm and AT&T trying to get it to work consistently and still have problems. If your looking for blackberry-like instant notification this is not for you. AT&T does have office on line (sends text messages every time you get an e-mail) but it has not worked well with my Pop3 (internet based email server) and AT&T support has been less than helpful as nobody, including palm has had much experience with interacting with each other (bugs not worked out). They told me to wait for technology to catch up ... we'll that's why I purchased the thing in the first place. Picture's nice, keyboard is convenient. Documents (excel, word, powerpoint) view better and will not mess up formating when you make changes and e-mail (big plus to pocket pc). The cost of internet service keeps me from browsing the internet like a pc. Overall, it has similar features to the Palm V address book, calendar, and syncs well with ACT! database.
19 NOT GOOD FOR PHONE USE...
It's a good PDA, but not as good as the Tungsten/T & not good for wireless phone, especially with the SMS features.
These are following cons that I encountered with Tungsten/W:
1) You cannot delete the call history.
2) You have to delete the SMS outbox and inbox messages one by one.
3) You cannot send the SMS messages to a group of contacts, you have to do it one by one.
4) It's very difficult to write a SMS messages using the qwerty keypad.
5) It is not a MMS ready and cannot play polyphonic ringing tones.
6) There is no time indication in the SMS messages inbox.
7) You cannot answer the phone without the earpiece.
8) You have to charge it everyday, the talk time & standby time is not long as what the manufacturer claims.
9) Doesn't have a bluetooth & speakerphone.
I hope Palm Inc. will do something about this or else they won't get a bigger share in the PDA Phone market.
20 I like it
This is the first Palm-like device I've ever owned and I like it. Actually, I love it. I still can't figure out how to "alt-tab" but not sure if that's even possible. I was very surprised at how well it surfs the web and the earpiece produces very clear sound. It does everything I need, docs, spreadsheets, e-mail, phone. To top it all off, it feels and looks like high quality, nice shiny finish. No complaints here.
21 Would be great if it was not for only AT&T....
Sharing the sentiments of a previous poster, I too was duped into purchasing one of these devices. I like the device itself and find it to be a nice system. It's very quick, and the user interface is crisp.
However, I travel internationally all the time. I bought this unit to replace my dual-band Treo 270. It's not that the Treo was not cutting it; it's that I wanted a tri-band PDA. Imagine my surprise when I called in to get the unlock code and they told me, nope, you can't have it. I quickly asked for my RMA number.
Too bad. If Palm would recognize that the market for cell phones is a commodity-based one, with people using SIMs so that they _can_ switch phones easily (thus the idea of a SIM card in the first place), they'd get a lot more sales. I hope AT&T paid them a good bit of money for the exclusivity. If not, ...they are losing sales. Like mine :-(
22 Close but not all the way there.
I recently purchased the "W" and found it lacking in some respects. I have to add that there were no major flaws and the unit worked as advertised, but it needs some improvements. The ear bud only phone is actually quite good and the conference features are great. It lacks a way for you to insert a "wait" in dial strings, put pauses (using commas) work fine. A speaker phone or a more stowable ear bud would have been better. I keep thinking that if I loose the ear bud, I can't use the phone. The keyboard is great, but missing are some of the navigation buttons forcing you to use the stylus. As a PDA it's not bad, but lacks all the innovations found in other units. Blue tooth is extra and even if you get the blue tooth card you can't use a blue tooth ear piece. Wireless connectivity, through the net is it's best feature. You still have to "pull" down mail and other updates, but it's suprizingly fast.
In short, I gave up my old PDA, but still keeping my other cell phone around.
23 sweet
Add OS 5.2 and new processor. this will be the best on the market.
24 A DISAPPOINTMENT
I bought it yesterday and have returned it today!
All features other than the integrated gsm phone/ wireless service are same as the earlier model Tungsten "T". So presumably one would pay the extra buck for the advantage of having a phone/pda combo. Right? Unfortunately the ONLY service provider with which it can work with is AT&T. As per the words of a Palm tech rep., "This is a SIM lock device"! Meaning that the only SIM card that would work is the one that is provided in the box by AT&T. It is not like a normal tri band GSM phone in which you can put in a SIM card from any wireless service provider and you can use it in the coverage areas of your service provider. So only two group of people can use this deivce. Fristly, those who do not want to use it as a phone and only want to use it as a PDA. To them I would say why dont you get a nicer PDA like something from Sony, or HP, or the Palm Tungsten T. And secondly those people who are willing to subscribe to the AT&T serivce plan. I dont live in US and have never been a coustomer with AT&T, however I know firstly that limiting a deivce to only one service provider is purely logic deprived, in general for all users and particularly for users who travel abroad and want to use SIM cards from local serivce providers. And the other fact is that the reviews on AT&T wireless service are far from satisfactory. So in short this Tungsten model has no advantage over the Tungsten T. As a PDA it may be good. But then why pay the extra $$$$ for having a phone/pda combination.
