Powerful, Yet Affordable! Get the power you need to perform at the top of your game with a sharp, high-resolution color screen, 32MB memory, and a fast ARM processor – all at an affordable price. Outstanding Color Show off your presentations, spreadsheets, photos and videos with crystal clear clarity on the easy-to-read, high resolution 320x320 transflective color screen. Word, Excel And Powerpoint Compatible. Take your office with you to meetings or on the road. Create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatible files right on your handheld and leave your laptop at the office. Word To Go Edit a report on the plane in native Microsoft Word format. As soon as you land, quickly email1 it to your colleagues or sync it to your computer when you're back at your desk. Or, create a new Microsoft Word document on your commute home. Sheet To Go Edit a native format Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or create a new spreadsheet in a meeting, then beam it to a colleague. Retain your changes and file formatting when you sync the spreadsheet back to your computer. Slideshow To Go (Windows only) Rehearse your PowerPoint presentation on your handheld and make last-minute changes. Sync the file back to your computer or use Margi Presenter To Go3 to display your revised slides with the original formatting and animation intact.
1 quality rating = 0
Great software, great idea, but the hardware wears out too fast, in less then a year of normal use, this PDA is useless, ohh, one more Made in China product!! crap!!!
I wont buy again thats for sure!
Do your self a favor, dont buy this S$#t, unless you get to know it was made in America, Europe or Mexico, some nation that makes products employing people with real salaries.
2 DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU WANT A LONG TERM HANDHELD!!!
I bought a Tungsten E about 8 months ago...the unit started not being able to hold a charge for very long at 5 months. The battery went completely dead 2 months later. You cannot replace the battery yourself without soldering it and Palm will only replace the battery if you pay 125 dollars plus shipping!! I will never buy a palm ever again.....
3 Like it a lot but unreliable
I like the Tungsten E a lot. The 32mb and the color screen are great features. I don't use it for MP3 playing so I don't need the add-on Card that others may need. The backlight stopped working about 2-1/2 months after I received the unit. The warranty is only 90 days and its out for repair, so I was "lucky" it stopped working properly after only 10 weeks of use instead of after 12. The customer support is difficult because you have to spend a lot of time troubleshooting and nothing helped. I think the company has a lot of problems with reliability on this model based on the reviews. If they can only improve that, otherwise, I think this model meets almost all your needs for addresses, calendar, and reading office documents with the included Docs to Go 6.0. I recommend one purchase this model from a retailer like Best Buy or Circuit City with a two-year extended warranty (which I ordinarily don't buy) so long as you don't have to go through a long repair process through them (i.e., if they just give you a new one). You'll save a lot of time that way, but make certain that's how the retailer's warranty works.
4 Great buy for the casual user
The Palm Tungsten E is ostensibly an entry level Palm meant for users who are looking for something fairly quick and easy to use, but with more power than some of the lower priced models that may be out there. While it does not have the same features that some of the higher priced models have, such as wireless technology, or quite the hardware. But, again, these features come at a much higher price, making the Tungsten E much more accessible.
I've owned the Palm now for 4 months, and feel that it was well worth the expense. Prior to this, I owned a Palm 105 (the older monochrome "entry level" Palm), which saw a lot of use and survived very well. Happily, I was glad to have upgraded to the Tungsten E. Currently I use the Tungsten E much the same as I did the Palm 105, except I have many more applications that I can run on the Tungsten E, as well as many more features to utilize. My personal day planner has become much more expansive, allowing me to sort many different events and with more customization that I previously had. The color screen is very vibrant, and gives a level of detail I simply did not have before. The Tungsten E is also very readily portable, more so than other models, and I carry it everywhere. I would highly recommend purchasing some kind of holster for the Palm, particular one of the belt clipped soft pouches (as opposed to the hard case offered by Palm).
There are a few downsides to the Palm that need mentioning. Firstly is the high pitched whine that can sometimes be heard while the Palm is operating. I do not know if this is a design defect with this model or not, but it can be irritating sometimes. Since I do not hold my Palm closely to my face, the sound is mostly drowned out by background noise or is low enough not to be a persistent nuisance. However, it can be a bit hard on the ears sometimes. Secondly, the screen is very sensitive to disruption, and I have found that even rubbing the Palm against something accidently can cause a strange "mark" to appear in one of the corners. This goes away once the Palm has been turned on and off, and it has never been persistent, but I would caution potential users about this, as it may be more problematic with time. The 4 buttons for quick access to certain features alternatively are too sensitive or not sensitive enough; turning on occassionally with the slightest touch (which can be solved by the key lock feature), or not turning on unless you depress the button just right. But, these are the only 3 problems I've noticed in the 4 months I've owned and used my Palm.
Overall, this is a great buy for individuals who need a day planner, contact organizer and task organizer. It is very easy to use, has many great features and is really handy for day to day life. I've been very satisfied with the Tungsten E and would recommend it to others if they are looking for a Palm to purchase. I would also say that I've never had a problem with Palm themselves, but have heard about their customer service problems as well. So, it is something to be aware of (though, I think the problems may be a bit overstated).
5 LEMON LEMON LEMON LEMON
I know the US has a throw-away attitude, things are built to break...but this is rediculous, this PDA only lasted a YEAR and I feel lucky reading some of the other reviews that it even lasted that long!
I bought this when it first came out, a first year lemon for sure, why else would Palm now be offering the Tungsten E2?
I've scanned over a few other palm models in the same price range and below...but all I see are more angry reviews...does -anyone- build a quality PDA for a fair price?
Doesn't look like it, I'll be buying the cheapest replacement PDA I can find, in anticipation of it breaking.
6 Missing some basics
I upgraded from a mono Sony clie (which I loved) to the E recently. The color is phenomenal - but I had a few surprises about basics that I never considered before buying. I am an accountant - it has no calculator. It has no cradle - my desk is a scene of organized chaos - and without a cradle upon which to stand it ABOVE the piles, it gets hidden under them. And without a cradle, I constantly have to turn it on (when I can find it) to view it. Both of these issues are fixable, with more money, and more time (the cradle is not yet available.) Just annoying...
7 Be Warned!: Works, then Fails
Potential buyers should be aware that my friend and I both bought Tungsten E's, she in the US and I in Canada, and they have both stopped Hot Synching with the computer after about 3 months of use. The beauty of PDAs is that they can 'talk' to the computer; what point is there if that's not possible? The fellow at Staples (where I bought the unit) said that there was batch of Tungsten E's with faulty motherboards. I cannot vouch for that but, if that's the case, these units should recalled. The PalmOne website is useless as far as this problem is concerned; some users have complained about the same problem but Palm has not posted any solutions. And don't try to call Palm after 90 days --- they charge you $40 for the privilege. I tried a hard re-set as a last resort after backing my data to a SD card; the PDA simply crashed completely. Could not put it on how hard I tried. The unit is back at the shop. This is my first PDA and I must say that you get 'addicted' to the system. So I am really ticked off about this. One other thing, why don't the manufacturers employ user-replaceable batteries in these PDAs? Once the batteries die you have to replace them expensively or toss the unit out. Looks like a scam to me.
8 I so wanted to like this item....
I wanted Palm to succeed so badly. I had a Palm back in 1996 way before anybody I know had one. I loved it. I thought they were the answer to my prayers compact, portable and reliable and with instant back-up at the push of the button. So I decided to upgrade my Palm, but these Tungstens are very different.
I could list many things but let's begin with the graffiti on these Tungstens; it's all different from the old Palms more difficult to master. I just gave up and started typing in the information which is infinitely slower with the stylus. The stupid machine is crash prone and I am always rebooting it. The design is also bulkier and heavier than the old Palms. It doesn't fit into my shirt pocket like my old Palm.
I am very disappointed and I am now looking to buy a windows based handheld like the Compaq.
9 Reliable
My husband has had his Palm Pilot for 3 months and have had no problems and no complaints. For the price, this is a great unit and one of the best features is the event reminder which sounds an alarm. Visual display is just as good as the more expensive models. I highly recommend it if you are looking to save bucks and want a reliable model. Has a classy sleek look too. However, the metal case that is purchased separately is very difficult to open. Recommend the leather case.
10 Mine works fine
Boy, the reviews below are scary, so you should check out the reliability of this unit before you buy - maybe I should of too, but I will admit I didn't.
But I got lucky - mine works fine. It comes with a good selection of software and has become my constant companion. Syncs with Outlook just fine with the supplied software, and has handy alarms for appointments.
The screen and color display are excellent - if you turn down the brightness of the screen (which is pretty bright at the default level), the battery will last longer without recharging. I just plug mine onto my computer at work each morning with the supplied USB cord, and it charges there. I don't think Palm tells you this, but it is always charged that way. You can't replace the battery yourself, so I do wonder how many charges it will take before it dies.
Adding and removing software I found to be quite easy and the array of software both free and for $$ is quite extensive.
There is sufficient memory here to run a good number of programs, but expansion cards are available. Check the deals if you buy to see if you can get one here or at Palm for free.
Keep in mind that the Palm Wi-Fi card will not work with this unit, so if you want Wi-Fi, move up, or buy an add on, but you'll pay $120.00+/- (not made by Palm).
Subject to the reliability issues which I know nothing about, this is a good basic PDA that I have found to be very useful at a reasonable purchase price.
11 Worked great for three months but then...
Pros: The PalmOne Tungsten E has a nice screen which displays an attractive color image. JPG images look nice. For the price you get some nice features like an MP3 player and video player. The sound quality, through headphones, is o.k. and I find the video quality to be no better. Never-the-less, they are still fun features to have.
Cons: After three months (almost to the day), and thus just in time for the warranty to expire, the power button stoped functioning. In searching the PalmOne site forums I found another person who had the same problem. The response from PalmOne was to send the unit back for an expensive ($125) repair. No thanks. I can still power on by using one of the hot keys and allowing the unit to power itself off after a designated period of time.
Features like a color screen, MP3 player, movie player, etc. are nice to have but if the unit fails to function in the most rudimentary of tasks - powering on and off by way of the power button - then it's not worth the money. I regret having not thoroughly researched the Tungsten E before putting it on my Christmas list. That's a rare mistake for me and one that I will not repeat.
Think carefully before you buy a PalmOne Tungestn E.
12 Absolute garbage...
Not to repeat thousands of others experience, but straight out of the box my Tungsten E won't hold a charge more or less at all. Charge it full, let it sit on the desk turned OFF for four days and it's lost everything. Genuine piece of garbage. As others have said customer service is non-existant.
NEVER BY A PRODUCT FROM PALM. PERIOD.
Follow that advice and you can't go wrong.
13 Whining noise
I would give this handheld 5 stars - it has all the functions I need plus a nice bright screen if (and that's a big if) I could actually use it. After 90-day warranty expired, my unit started making a horrible whining noise that is coming from the screen - I don't even want to turn it on anymore, because I can't stand the noise. I don't think I'm buying another PalmOne product, just because they let so many people down by refusing the fix this defect. Just do a search on google to see how widespread this problem is. As far as I am concerned this kind of thing is next to stealing. (Knowingly releasing a defective product, taking customers' money and refusing to replace the product when the problem shows up) You may get lucky though. My girlfriend has had this same model for as long as I had it and it's still quiet.
14 Expense function
Please be advised that in "Add-in" Expense module, the milage rate ($0.290 / mile) is a fixed number and can not be changed. There is no fix or work around for this and none is planned.
15 Works well, until it starts to MAKE NOISE
This model is inherently flawed, and Palm admits it. They are not, however, offering to replace the defective units.. and they say that since this headache-causing sound is not a major defect, it need not be repaired. So if you haven't read about it yet.. this thing makes this horrible noise that will cause anyone with a decent set of ears to get a headache within 5 minutes. Some are worse than others, but I know for a fact that it is a defect because my girlfriend and roommate both have the same model as me. My model is the worst, my roommates is not as bad, and my girlfriends makes no noise what-so-ever. So I call up Palm, and they keep me on the phone for an hour or so, and then say I can pay 125 dollars to have my 160 dollar unit replaced. AWESOME. I have completely lost respect for this company.. I don't think I will be buying a PALM brand PDA for a while.. and I was just about ready to buy a Treo. Time to seriously reconsider. Caveat emptor
16 A short comparison
As a new PDA user, I was unsure whether to buy the Zire32 or the Tungsten E. Luckily, my fiance wanted a PDA as well, so I bought both to compare. Is the $50 or so difference worth it?
For me, it is. The biggest reason is the Tungsten E has a clearer and more detailed screen. The extra memory is useful and the software package is much stronger with the presence of Documents to Go. In my mind the form is cleaner and I like the placement of buttons better.
But really, it is the screen that wins it. Going from the Tungsten to the Zire is like going underwater. Unless you are strapped for cash, I'd recommend the Tungsten E as the better first PDA.
17 AN EVEN BETTER VALUE THAN THE ZIRE 31(read that review too)
THIS IS A GREAT HANDHELD. I AM A "REGULAR" AT THE PALMONE STORE, THIS WAS MY SECOND PALMONE IN TWO MONTHS (nothing was wrong with the other i just felt like an upgrade.) Right now i currently have a Zire 31 and a T-E. This screen is AWESOME!!! The screen is almost 2 times bigger than the Zire 31 with much better resolution. (160 X 160 compared to 320 X 320)The memory IS 2 times larger. I like having the 4 quick buttons instead of two. I also dont use the keypad lock anymore because i have a slim leather case that blocks the quick buttons from being hit and the power button is on top. I also like that you can xhange the star icon on the screen to be a favorite program instead of hot sync.
18 DON'T BUY THIS WORTHLESS PIECE OF JUNK
I only used my Tgunsten E about 20 times before the battery stopped holding a charge. Now it only works if it's plugged into the wall. Palm Support was no help -- and for a mere $125, I could send it in for a new battery, which is hardly worth it. This PDA is a rip-off, a worthless piece of junk that anyone looking for a useful PDA should avoid.
19 Palm has gone downhill
Here is the e-mail I just sent to Palm regarding my experience with the Tungsten E:
As an owner of two previous Palm units (IIIxe & Kyocera smart phone for Sprint), which both worked flawlessly, I guess my expectations were a bit too high for your latest products as well as the customer service I required to resolve the never-ending series of problems I have encountered. First, I received a duplicate order due to a malfunction on your website, despite my calling your customer service the NEXT day to cancel. After receiving the duplicate order, I requested the documentation (some special #) you require to send back the order, but I have yet to receive that special # from your firm despite my sending the request two days ago. Second, I have yet to receive the MP3 audio pack that was part of my order. Third, I have had nothing but problems with the Tungsten E, including 1.) the software installation freezing at the end of installation (yes, I disabled my antivirus software), 2.) no expense or calculator function loading on its own, 3.) loss of all my expense records, 4.) this is the worst: the ALARM DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY. After spending considerable time trying to figure out what the alarm problem could be, I discovered that many other Tungsten E owners have experienced the same problem (e.g., see post # 20156665 by lorioka in your help forum). I logically deduced that PALM sold me a defective unit, so I called your technical support number and had a very frustrating conversation with someone I could barely understand (due to such a heavy Indian accent). He then referred me over to your Palm One store to get the unit repaired, issuing me a service request # 1-99361166. I then called that number and waited on hold for HALF AN HOUR, at which point your phone system disconnected the call. I then called another PALM number, in quite an angry state, only to wait for another 10 - 15 minutes. I finally hung up, in total frustration, because I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO!
If you're at all curious, I am NOT exaggerating any of these events. This has been one of the worst buying experiences I have ever had. While I really LOVED my previous palm pilots, I am now looking at your competitors' products, as I just cannot imagine this situation getting any better.
I would like to return my Tungsten E (both orders), as well as the soft cases I also purchased. I hope someone in your organization can provide happier ending to this sad, sad tale.
20 Very Disappointed
I just purchased this handheld PC two days ago and it froze up on me and it is still stuck on the page with the time and calender. I really liked it at first, because it had all of the features that I was looking for and the price was just right, but now I cannot turn it on or off or either use it for that matter. I am very disappointed and this is not a good product at all, especially since I bought it brand new at the store.
21 Problems from day 1.
My Palm Tungsten-E is about 1.5 years old. This is my experience with it.
The battery run time has never been good but now it dies after 3 days even if I don't turn it on. The clock looses its time too and needs to be reset when it dies. It needs to be plugged in and a reset done (push the reset button in the back) before it starts again.
It also had to go for repair during the first 3-4 months. They also charged me ~$40-$50 for the first repair, otherwise I would have had to wait several weeks to get it back. The replacement unit they sent back was warped and the screw heads were partially stripped. The case and pen don't fit right.
I can't even find any place that will sell a spare battery for this thing.
The touch screen also has stopped responding on the right side. It's not the calibration. It does not help. It's probably because the case is warped and applies pressure on that side.
Sync software is poor and needs to be reinstalled often. It tends to duplicate files lose fields and make of mess of my phone book. It adds more work that its worth. Both palm desktop and outlook sync are unreliable. (Latest version of win-XP & palm). It's also poor with mac sync.
Maybe I will switch to a pocket windows machine with replaceable battery. Or better yet, I'll go to paper phone books, it saves time and it does not loose data.
22 Be careful about extended warranties
I am generally satisfied with my new T|E.
PROS
Fast processor
Attractive metal case that feels sturdy
Very clear color screen
Good form factor
MP3 and expansion options
CONS
Poor battery life (turning off "beam receive" will help a bit)
No option for a cradle
Must purchase separate charger for use outside USA
I considered buying an extended warranty after seeing the problems people had with their devices in other reviews. However, I decided against it after reviewing the "terms and conditions." Since most people experience problems with the battery, the extended warranty I considered is no good. For example it states under exclusions (items not covered):
(8) DAMAGE CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE BATTERIES OR REPLACEMENT OF DEFECTIVE BATTERIES
Other exclusions to consider:
(30) ANY DAMAGE TO RECORDING MEDIA INCLUDING ANY SOFTWARE PROGRAMS, DATA, OR CONFIGURATION/SETUP INFORMATION RESIDENT ON ANY MASS STORAGE DEVICES SUCH AS HARD DRIVES, CDROM DRIVES, DVD DRIVES, FLOPPY DISKETTES, TAPE DRIVES OR TAPE BACKUP SYSTEMS OR MEMORY STICKS, AS A RESULT OF THE MALFUNCTIONING OR DAMAGE OF AN OPERATING OR NON-OPERATING PART OR AS A RESULT OF ANY REPAIRS OR REPLACEMENT UNDER THIS CONTRACT; (31) ALL SOFTWARE, INCLUDING CUSTOMIZED OR PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE, AND THOSE SOFTWARE ERRORS THAT CONFIRM IMPROPERLY FUNCTIONING OR DEFECTIVE SOFTWARE; (32) LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA AND/OR THE RESTORATION OF SOFTWARE AND OPERATING SYSTEMS
Well, that excluses almost any problem you are likely to experience with your Palm device. So, be careful before you buy useless extended warranties.
23 The whine from the screen is driving me crazy!
Two weeks after I bought my Tungsten E, the whine started. Palm says that this is normal and there is no reason for a refund. Now, the whine is worse and louder and my Palm is out of warranty. Don't buy this one, even though the price is getting so low.
24 Great, except for the power management system
I've been using an "E" for a year now. Just after purchase at Circuit City, the screen was smashed. Arranging for the repair by phone to Elbonia was excruciating but the turnaround time to/from the San Antonio repair facility was less than one week. I needed mine for an upcoming trip and so bought a replacement (with extended warranty). The returned unit is just a spare and I can't vouch for the durability of the repair.
I've never had the "alarm problem" and aside from an occasional high-pitched whine (which comes and goes) my unit functions well.
My only real gripe is the power management system; the battery won't withstand heavy use on a transatlantic flight; the charger is way too heavy, has a lousy form factor, and is 120V only. So the PDA is way too dependent on being near my laptop, since I am abroad a great deal.
The killer app for me is my Ultralingua dictionaries but I also do a fair amount of programming using CASL. The E has plenty of memory and its capacities have encouraged spending for various software. Softick is a good way to mount the unit's SD card as a PC drive ... Real gives a nice free MP3 player ... overall the use of memory cards is still something of a hack for the operating system. Its a bit like 70's computing.
Its been sad watching Palm blow its potential markets (wasn't it there in our hands first for things like mp3?) and stiff its customers in so many ways but I depend very heavily on my device.
For anyone still using, say, a IIIe, this thing will be revelatory.
25 A fantastic PDA
Hello, and I've used a PDA for four years now. I was very fond of my B/W Handspring Visor with 8MB...but when I went to a color screen, I was in love. This is a great product. It is packed with all the requisite applications, has a tremendous amount of memory (and I use some big work-related applications on my Palm), and the other programs on this PDA are really value-adding. I am a heavy palm user, so I recharge mine about every 2 days. Big deal...you just plug it in for an hour or two in the evening when your're not using it.
Pluses: GREAT screen...very readable. A lot of built-in memory. If you want more, spend $20-30 extra to get an SD card. They're cheap. Good apps, and the newer handwriting recognition program is even better.
Negative: battery doesn't last as long as a black-and-white model....but what do you expect. Also, the battery is apparently not replaceable. What is this, a throw-away device? FYI, you can go to www.gethightech.com to buy a replacement battery...if you're not afraid to solder two wires together (It looks very easy.)
26 Tungsten E- Battery Life is terrible
I just wanted to put in my two cents about this unreliable product and the company who is ripping off customers. I bought mine from PalmOne.com and I am having the same problems that seem to be address by more than one person on this site. They do not back up their products at all. My product had problems the first week, and because I did not realize that I only had 30days warranty on an open box item, they would not fix the item without me paying another $75.00 which with a little arguing the drop to $50.00, but by that time I was in no mood to give them any more of my money. It is clear to me that this product has a defect that the company must address. I personally have lost trust in ordering any electronic devices on line, due the the bad experience I had with palmOne. I just want to add to the rest of the poor reviews by saying... do not buy this product.
27 Warning!
I purchased two of these PDA's less than two weeks ago, and both are officially dead. Neither will charge, despite different types of resets, replacement units, horrible customer service, etc. From my experience with Palm and the forums hosted on their own site, many many people have had issues very similar to this. There is talk of filing a class action suit. Buyer beware!
28 Best, reliable and simple device
I bought the Tungsten E from Amazon and have been happy since. I needed a small handheld to help organize my life that we getting chaotic with school, work, kids games and other commitments. This does just what I need. No train up on software, so simple to use it was intuitive. I also use the Documents-to-Go software to carry important documents from work that I wanted to review and read at my leisure, a great comfort.
Buy this from Amazon. My Palm developed a bad battery, Amazon sent out a replacement before I had time to return my original; I was never without my Palm. It was easy than returning to a store downtown.
29 Palm let's me down
I've had palm PDAs since they came out and swore by them. My latest Tungsten E turned out to be a big disappointment. Not all the software on the CD works properly. VersaMail does not sync properly with Lotus Notes for us corporate mail users and I don't have the time to patience to chase down patches. After 1 year the right side of my screen no longer responds, apparently this is a common problem from what I read on the forums. The warranty here in Canada is only 90 days and you only get a reburbished model. The battery runs down like crazy too. I've also been waiting for the WiFi card that never materialized despite a year of waiting and promises on Palm's behalf, that turned out to be a good thing.
When the sceen totally dies I'm heading to Pocket PC. Don't waste our money on this one.
30 Nice PDA, BUT..........
I purchased this PDA to replace my now dead CLIE T615C which was great. The first one I bought (from Buy.com) had the alarm problem that others have mentioned. I called Palm support which is now outsourced and horrible who told me to do a hard reset and try again...same issue after the hard reset after which time I sent the PDA back to Buy.com. I bought my second one from Palmone.com. I figured I'd be better off buying it from "the source" directly. Same alarm problem, hard reset and all. The alarm only sounds a fraction of the tone so you can easily miss it. The alarm only works properly when the unit is turned ON. I have several peers with the Tungsten E and EVERY ONE OF THEM HAVE THIS ISSUE. I emailed Palm support with this info, figured maybe there is a firmware or OS update. Their response?....do another hard reset and if it does not work return it for another. %()&^%$!!!!! Not this time!
All in all, aside from this, I actually happen to like this PDA. OS 5.2.1 is a nice upgrade from OS 4 from my Clie. The screen resolution is excellent. The MP3 player sounds great with nice headphones or buds. I have NOT had the "noisy screen" issue.
The lack of a cradle and 2 seperate cords for charge and sync I consider only a minor inconvenience. I use a Krusell leather case so I don't worry about the fingerprints others complain about.
Oh, and for the record I downloaded a program called "emerald sounds" from freewarepalm.com. This replaces the system MIDI sounds so you can put a louder and longer tone into the alarm so you are more likely to hear it.
One more thing; if I had to rate Palms support now I would give it ONE STAR and that would be generous. It has gone down the tubes since the days of my Palm IIIxe!! But then again, Sony's PDA support is/was notiously poor as well.
In the end, the Tungsten E is a nice PDA for $190-$200. I wonder if the more expensive Tunsten or Zire's have the alarm issue???
31 Defective. Palm support worthless.
Bought a Tungsten E for my wife to replace her aging Clie T615. When an alarm is supposed to sound and the PDA is turned off, you hear a clipped sound -only the last instant/or tone- of the alarm. It's as if the sound starts before the PDA turns itself on. So alarms become worthless. Went to the store, changed it for a new TE and it had the same problem. After repeated hard-resets, and describing the problem to Palm support, they suggested I do *another* hard reset (i.e. they don't have a clue). I've seen at least two other references to this problem on the net.
Careful and watch for this.
32 Good features, poor reliability, shameful warranty
For it's price the Tungstan E has great basic set of features for business use. It was attractive to me because I am starting a new business and preserving cash. Did I pay attention to the warranty - well no. Let the buyer beware. There are reasons things come with only 90 day warranties.
Literally on the 91st day the unit would not turn on after it sat on a shelf for a week. No combination of actions suggested by Palm, soft resets, hard resets, holding buttons, charger in, charger out, etc. could make the thing come to life. At $125 for hardware repair it just wasn't worth it to send it in.
Further, was surprised that on the PalmOne support website, when someone complained (rather vehemently)about the same problem I experienced, their response was "Looks like its index cards 4 U :>)"
So, I don't think I will buy another Palm. I got 90 days of use out of it. The Sony Clie I had previously performed well for over a year before it had it's unfortunate accident.
33 Useful and Easy but Not Reliable b/c of inadequate battery
When it works, it works well, but I do not recommend the Tungsten E because the battery is not adequate to handle even minimal use.
My teenage son and I each got a Palm Tunsten E a few weeks ago. They are very easy to use, the screen is crisp, and we're hooked on the convenience. He has beamed homework assignments and after-school activities to mine, and downloaded several games, a dictionary, and some music. I'm keeping track of four people's schedules with the calendar's color coding - I'd tried for years to use a different color pen on the kitchen calendar or maintain color-coded calendars on the desktop computer, but neither was convenient. On the T/E, it's a breeze to put in each person's recurring appointments in his/her color, and I can immediately see who's where when, make updates, add notes, etc.
HOWEVER, and this is a BIG however, the T/E is not reliable. The battery runs down after only a few hours of use (that's my guess of the total of a lot of short uses), needing a recharge every night or two. I exchanged my first one for a replacement after less than a week, because the salesperson and I thought mine must be defective (he said he hadn't heard of any battery problems). The replacement is no better - the battery indicator on the new one and on my son's are both down to 1/2 the afternoon after an overnight charge. It's my understanding that Palm uses the same battery as on models with less capability, so it seems that the battery is inadequate for the Tungsten E.
The battery is supposed to last longer if you turn down the screen brightness (harder to see), use fewer alarms and turn down the volume (but alarms are part of the usefulness!), turn off beaming, and make a few other changes. Of course with frequent charging having the battery run down shouldn't be a problem - but what use is a PDA if you're tied to a charger???
Furthermore, after less than a week, my son's started up with only the left-half of the screen showing (it was ok on the next startup), and mine is starting to emit a very low but still audible whine. I've read a lot of reviews describing these problems as well as the battery issue and units that died just out of warranty, not only on Amazon.com but also on user groups linked from Palm's web site.
I couldn't find online information on the battery's lifespan, but called Palm tech support and finally got someone who said it should last "at least two years". Palm's warranty is only 90 days, which doesn't show much faith in a $200 product - and if the battery dies after six months, that two-year estimate is useless. The battery is not user-replaceable, and sending it in for a replacement if/when it dies costs almost as much as a new PDA. With an extended warranty ($30-$50) and an SD card (at least $30) to access some functions that won't work without it, a $200 PDA is closer to $300, and it's not reliable.
Bottom line: I'll be first in line for another one when I hear that they've put in a battery that is adequate and reliable, but for now I'm going to return mine and go back to pen and a paper calendar, and my son is going to buy an extended warranty for his.
34 Great for healthcare professionals- buy the warranty.
I haven't had my Tungsten E very long- but the range of software available for the Palm (and Clie from what I understand) is great- especially for someone in medical school. You can upload clinical calculators that some of my fellow classmates are unable to get on their pocket PC. My brother is a computer science guy and he says that "yeah, the pocket PC has a lot of bells and whistles, but a lot of the software doesn't work on them." One of my friends regrets her pocket PC purchase for this reason. I can't afford to buy a new battery if something goes wrong- so I sprung for the extra year warranty for $20- and my credit card company will give me an extra 90 days on top of that through its Buyers assurance program. I am very pleased with it so far.
35 I have purchsed (and returned) 2 of these
I purchased a Tungsten E after my Sony Clie got dropped too many times. Received it in the mail, charged the battery as directed, ran the setup. Turned it off for the night, and the next morning could not power it on. Plugged it in, and it had lost all my information and I had to run setup again. This happened several times so I returned it and got another one. (What was I thining?!) The second one did the exact same thing. So, I am returning it and I am not sure what I will do next. But I will NOT be purchasing another Tungsten E.
36 Great little palm product
I have owned my Tungsten E for a little more then a year. Since then I have purchased all kind of options and upgrades (Hard case, car charger, external battery, dash mount holder, dual charge/sync cable and of course SD cards). I liked the product so much; I purchased one for my girlfriend. Her Palm M500 was not powerful enough. I REALLY like the built in MP3 player. I am listening to it right know using my computer speakers. While driving, I place the E in a dash mount holder and plug my cassette CD adapter into the headphone jack and listen to my music. Better then a CD player... no skips!!
If I had one complaint/wish, it would be for Bluetooth &/or wireless networking built in. That's in the T3 model, but at a lot more in price. Also, a user serviceable battery would be useful, although I have had no problems with mine.
In Canada, my unit came with a 1 year warranty. If you purchase it, make sure you get at least 1 year coverage.
37 This is so COOL!!
I think this product has great memory!!! It works Great, but the first day i got it it it didnt make a anouying beep( which I don't think it should) and then in a couple days, it started making this wierd sound. But other than that it works great!! I totally recemend this!!!
38 Still One Star Too Many - RETURN IT IF YOU CAN!!!!
I have or am currently experiencing all the emotions posted regarding this particular handheld. From the early excitement when first received in December 2003. To frustration with the first out of warranty problems (yes battery related). And now, even after accepting it has a dead spot on the screen (where the 8 would be on the calculator) the realization that I can't turn it on or off even though the battery is fully charged is the final straw. I will never EVER EVER purchase a PALM again. Palm has lost touch with its customers (evidenced by the flimsy workmanship and warranty) and has instead spread its defect to one alternative (Handspring). Where did all the alternatives go?
39 thin but amazingly usefull!
My Tungsten E is amazing for school and many other things! I have done many projects on its documents to go and I got A's on most of them because I listen to lots of my favorate music with realone while doing them. I dropped my school planner and used the amazing Tungsten E. Playing games on its bright high resolution screen is way fun and watching movie trailers is always entertaining! If it is playing games,listening to music and watching movie clips or doing big projects that are a big part of your grade you just need to have this amazing device!
40 Trust me on this one...
When my mom(I am 13)gave me this brand new handheld, I could hardly wait the 3 hour charge period, but I managed. I previously had a Tungsten W, and used the keyboard with ease. The only thing that would keep me from changing to the Tungsten E would be switching to Graffiti. To my surprise, the Graffiti is very easy to learn (I am writing this on the handheld for a little extra practice). I bought a 128 mb card with the palm, and can easily download and listen to Mp3 songs. The installed speaker is clear, but not very loud. If you plug in headphones, it is clear, and can become VERY loud! Overall, this is a great handheld at a GREAT price! If you are woried about many other reviewers telling stories about this Palm dying just out of warranty, you can buy it from PalmOne and pay an extra 50 bucks and get 12 more months for a total of 15 months of warranty!
Trust me on this one guys, this is the one.
41 DANGER! Buyer Beware...
I've owned my Tungsten E for less than a year, and I am very displeased with it's performance for a variety of reasons, but most of all because of its defective battery system. The unit always had a problem holding a charge for more than a day or so, but now, it literally will not work at all after being away from its power cord for more than a few minutes. This, of course, renders the unit completely worthless, since it only works when plugged into the wall. Oh, and by the way, Palm sells this product with only a 3 month warranty (as opposed to their usual 12 month warranty). But don't worry, their phone operators will be happy to speak to you about any problems you might have for a standard $25 fee. I will never buy Palm products again, and would advise you to consider the same.
42 Buyer Beware!!!
I've owned my Tungsten E for less than a year, and I am very displeased with it's performance for a variety of reasons, but most of all because of its defective battery system. The unit always had a problem holding a charge for more than a day or so, but now, it literally will not work at all after being away from its power cord for more than a few minutes. This, of course, renders the unit completely worthless, since it only works when plugged into the wall. Oh, and by the way, Palm sells this product with only a 3 month warranty (as opposed to their usual 12 month warranty). But don't worry, their phone operators will be happy to speak to you about any problems you might have for a standard $25 fee. I will never buy Palm products again, and would advise you to consider the same.
43 Great PDA, great price
I bought Palm Tungsten E two months ago. And it's a great yet low-priced PDA.
The screen is bright and clear. Text, images, and video displayed on this 320x320 pixels screen is good and shows photos as they're looked on CRT monitor.
This product come with a CD with plentiful and useful software such as Real Player for playing MP3 files and Kinoma Player for playing converted avi movies. The mono-speaker is not loud enough to play alarm sound. And you can't expect much from this mono-speaker to play your MP3s. But the stereo-audio-jack on the top side of this product is good. You can plug your computer's speaker or headphone in it to play the MP3s. So if you want to make your PDA as a MP3 player beside an organizer, I recommend you to have a headphone to be plugged-in anytime you want to listen to your MP3s.
The internal memory is enough for data and applications. But if you want to store some audio or video files, you should have additional SD or MMC card in your memory slot.
The handwriting recognition is good. This unit uses Palm OS 5, the newest OS for Palm, and Grafitti 2. It recognizes your handwriting much better than the old version Grafitti.
You can download applications and eBooks for your Palm from the internet. They're thousands eBooks can be downloaded to your Palm, and most of them are free! The applications for Palm is vary. From bible, image editor, games, scientific calculator, e-wallet, and many more!
I would recommend this product to everyone who's looking for PDA without Bluetooth, WiFi, and camera.
44 My trust in Palm is gone
I really like the design and the features of this Palm. I would give this handheld 5 stars if I didn't have an ongoing issue with the battery life. I've had this handheld for 10 months, and about 4 months ago (long after the pathetic 90-day warranty expired), the battery stopped holding its charge. I can literally sit and watch the battery life drain within a matter of seconds...and this is right after it has charged for 8-10 hours! Needless to say, this makes the handheld totally useless. I've since found out that you can only get the battery replaced by sending it back to the manufacturer...which cost more than half of what the handheld is worth.
This is the second Palm I've owned in a two year period. The first one had a completely different problem that made it totally useless after 8 months. I was very hesitant about getting another Palm, but I ignored the red flag and bought the Tungsten E...which has proved to be a big mistake.
Since my experience with Palm's warranty and customer service have been so terrible...not to mention the fact that both of the Palms I've owned didn't come close to lasting a full year, I can never trust anything associated with Palm again.
The biggest lesson this experience has taught me is to look very closely at a product's warranty...and to seriously consider buying the extended warranty.
45 Piece of Junk
I read all of the reviews for the Palm Tungsten E and thought that my experience would be better. Well, it was not. The Palm worked magnificently for the first 2 or 3 days. Then a fatal error occurred and the machine could not be reset. There was nothing that I could do. All was lost. My new machine was dead, gone, no more. That was disheartening. The best part of the Palm is the software for scheduling. It is easy to use and really great. Unfortunately, the actual Palm is a piece of junk. I am going back to a pencil and paper for the scheduler. Also, the MP3 player in the palm is really substandard. Buy a real MP3 if that is what you want or if you really care what your music sounds like.
The Tungsten E is jack of all and master of none when it actually works. When it does not, and most likely yours will fail too, you will want to toss it against the wall. Hopefully it fails before the anemic warranty runs out.
Save yourself, DO NOT BUY THE PALM TUNGSTEN E.
46 Fine Basic Machine
I previously owned a m500 palm but was in need of an upgrage. I work in the medical field and need my handheld to run some basic operations (epocrates, med calculators, etc). I also use my Palm for the calendar, shopping lists, phone #. The Tungsten E fulfills my needs just fine. I like the color screen and it is much faster. I synchronize with my outlook and have had no problems.
A word of warning- If you are running an older palm, do not just try to add all your older programs on the start-up on the new Palm. Older programs cause some glitches. Instead find the palm folder on your computer, label as "old palm" & synchronize with just the new programs on the disk. Then add the old ones one at a time. I had to hard reset my Tungsten E and start over. I learned the hard way.
If you are looking for a handheld with all the "bells and whistles" you will be disappointed with the tungsten E. Take a look at the HP Pocket PC's or the higher end Palms for the bells and whistles (be prepared for some sitcker shock)
47 BEWARE - The TE has digitzer problems
I have used two different Tungsten Es during the past 12 months so please consider my words before you buy even one of them. The device is great during the first few months. Then the screen starts to emit the infamous whinning sound. In BOTH of the TEs that I have owned, I had digitizer problems. The digitizer ensures that when you tap with a stylus anywhere on the screen, that the device will in turn respond to the tap. Initially, I noticed that I had to press harder into the device for it to work whenever I pressed on the right side(facing it)of the screen. With my first TE, the entire screen eventually failed to respond to any tapping by the stylus although it turned on OK. Now after 5 months with my second TE, I have the same problem. Currently about 25% of the lower right screen is unresponsive to tapping and I expect the whole screen to eventually fail. I have discovered other notes on the Web of users also having problems with the TE's digitzer. Palm knows about this problem and has done nothing to fix it. Also, Palm Support is unreasonably priced and just plain AWFUL. Buy this product if your plan is only to have a need to use it for 3 months, otherwise invest your money in a different PDA.
48 Good PDA for the money
I have had my Palm Tungsten E for a little less than a year now, and for the most part have been pleased with this entry level PDA. Let's start with the good. This PDA is incredibly slim, even with the flip cover, and fits nicely in your pocket. The screen itself is just the right size, though a 320x480 screen would be better for movies/viewing documents. The PDA loads programs from the internal memory quite fast, though AvantGo seems to run slow sometimes. Be sure to leave at least 4mb free however, or else this PDA will start to run slow.
I bought a 128mb Kingston SD card for this palm, and it works great. Programs do take a long time to open from the card, though once open run fine. Hotsyncing to the SD card is painfully slow, I would recommend that you get a program such as Card Export which makes this process a lot faster.
The screen as I said before is a good size, and is usually easy to see. When in the sun or outside, it can be difficult to see sometimes. Battery life is good, I charge mine about every week and a half.
Now for the con. For some strange reason this palm emits a low beeping/whistling sound at times. While not disruptive or that loud, it is strange and I have been unable to remedy it. The speaker doesn't work well at all, sometimes it doesn't work until you hit it a couple times. Sound quality through headphones on the other hand is good.
The screen gets scratched very easily so be careful. Also, the metal casing is a fingerprint magnet, and it is difficult to wipe them off. At times the palm freezes up and you have to reset it, but this is a rare occurence.
Overall this is a great entry level pda, and I would recommend to people looking to become familiar with PDA's. If you plan on using this for games, or watching movies, don't get it. This palm is made for basic use and not much else.
49 Don't buy unless you're rich & have lots of spare time
The product itself would be great if it were reliable. After a few months (after the stingy warranty expired), my battery died. This was a big surprise, since my PDA was plugged into the charger about 90% of the time. The replacement battery is only available at Palm and costs about $125 plus about $40 more for shipping, etc. Add in your time to fuss around with this. What a rip off! I chose a Tungsten E, because I am retired and didn't have the money for a more fancy brand. I cannot afford a new battery. To discuss this matter with Palm, one must pay $25 just for the phone call. No thanks. I have signed up for a class action lawsuit and am planning to contact my Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I hope you do too if you already own one. Once the battery is replaced, it will most likely die again in a short period of time, since the product is clearly defective.
50 Is the Tungsten E Right For You?
Despite reading several flaming reviews about the poor reliability of the Tungsten E, I went ahead and bought one anyway. Why? The low-cost and gorgeous high-resolution colour screen did it for me. It made me instantly forget about my trusty Palm V.
I've had the device about four months and it's working well. My screen lost its retina-burning intensity after a month or so, but it's still quite bright. Other users have noted that the screen makes a high-pitched whining noise, but I have to put my ear right up to the screen to hear it. (Note: I can't hear dog whistles either.) I also haven't had any problems with alarm notifications, but I use DateBk5 rather than the built-in Calendar application.
I like the Tungsten E because, compared to older Palms, it has more memory, an expansion card slot, speedier performance, and a bright, crystal-clear colour display. If you're upgrading from an older Palm, you can buy a Tungsten E, do a HotSync, and you're back in business. (Well, almost. Like me, you may have to spend a few minutes cleaning up your address book because the new Contacts application supports more fields than the old Address Book application.)
If you do install a SD memory expansion card, you can use Kinoma Player to view movie files stored on the SD card -- which is just plain silly to me but might appeal to those Paris Hilton fans out there who enjoy watching short movie clips.
You can also play music files stored on an SD memory card using RealOne Player and standard headphones. You'll need about 1 MB per minute of MP3 music so you should buy a 256 MB or 512 MB card to ensure that you have enough room for a few hours of music along with your other data and application files. But really, you are better off just buying an iPod for music and using the SD slot for something else (like the Merriam-Webster dictionary or Britannica Concise Encyclopedia).
You don't need an SD memory expansion card to transfer digital photos and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) files between your desktop computer and your Tungsten E. Digital photos and images embedded in Office documents are rendered surprisingly well on the Tungsten E's tiny screen. While you cannot edit images, you can edit text in Office documents. You can also zoom in and scroll on any part of a PowerPoint document but complex pictures with small text are pretty much unreadable on the handheld.
You can also buy a digital camera or wireless card for the expansion slot. But if you're planning to do so, you're better off putting the extra $200 towards the purchase of a different handheld entirely or a Treo or Blackberry cell phone with built-in Wi-Fi (for e-mail and web browsing), Bluetooth, digital camera and voice recorder.
The simple AC adaptor with the Tungsten E restores a full charge very quickly and takes up a lot less room in your luggage than a cradle. In a pinch, you can charge up the battery using the USB cable (usually used to HotSync) plugged into your desktop computer but it charges up very slowly.
The 90-day warranty is shameful, of course. I've been told that margins on entry-level handhelds like the Tungsten E are so low that PalmOne cut its warranty to 90 days to allow retailers to make money selling extended warranties. If true, it's a dumb strategy. PalmOne obviously knows about the reliability problems of the Tungsten E. And they know many consumers are not buying extended warranties. That's a sure-fire recipe for a big batch of unhappy customers. Based on the reviews I've read here, I decided to buy a 3-year extended warranty for about 20% of the Tungsten E's purchase price.
The bottom line: Buy the Tungsten E if you're upgrading from a older Palm or buying your first handheld, but buy an extended warranty for your own peace of mind.
51 Junk PDA!
This PDA is a joke! Don't waste your money on this PDA! Don't buy this product. You'd be better off writing notes on your hand instead. I bought this item in April 2004 and it stopped working after 7 months. I tried to turn it on one day and poof...nothing. If I had known that it had so many problems...I wouldn't have purchased a PALM product. I would just buy Sony!!
52 Pretty upset right now
I've had my T/E for almost 1 year now. Up until last month, my only complaint was that it didn't have wi-fi.
Now it's completely dead. It worked fine for about 10 months and suddenly one morning it wouldn't turn on. After trying a bunch of different resets, I finally got it back on, but then it wasn't quite right after that. It would freeze after 5 minutes and I'd have to reset it again. This continued for a few days. I searched all the FAQs and forums to no avail. The only thing that I did just prior to the start of my problems was I set the AutOff function to turn off around 3am. That's the first time I had ever tried that feature. When I woke up the next morning, it wouldn't turn on.
I hate that I paid $200 for a product that lasted less than a year. And I hate that Palm expects me to fork over $125 to have the thing repaired. That's just wrong.
I am a veteran user of Palm devices and after 10 months of using the Tungsten E, I would NOT recommend this product.
My next PDA will be a Sony Clie.
53 All round Excellent Budget Palm VS other Palms
Having read many reviews already I'll summarise the good and bad points as compared to the more expensive Tungsten T3 (which I also own. I am not going to argue palm vs pocket pc here!
Overall : Buy the E rather than the T3/T2/T!
Good :
1. Screen 320x200 - fantastic colour screen.
2. PRICE - the cheapest colour palm I'm aware of.
3. Mp3 playing through SD card - Excellent.
4. Fast processor (very similar to T3 when I compared it with video)
5. Does almost everything the T3 does except voice record (which I find extremely USELESS!)
Good or bad:
1. USB instead of cradle. Doesn't bother me except that charging it requires a separate plug.
2. Battery life easily lasts my usual day but needs 2nd daily charging.
Bad:
1. Potential problem with poor sounding speaker (my brother sent it back to palm and got it replaced no probs). I use headphones for music anyway. T3 has much better speaker.
2. No wireless/blue tooth (who cares?)
3. Slightly bigger than T3 (but then you don't need to "open" it to use graffitti which I find annoying in T3)
4. Plastic smudgy casing that everyone complains about.
5. I had problems with my charger plug (palm replaced it)
6. T3 has RESET button big enough for it's stylus, you need to use the back bit of the E's stylus to RESET (very annoying).
7. T3 buttons are better and stylus is MUCH cooler!
I've had the palm now for 6 months and apart from the charger cable playing up (probably because I was using it while charging) - I've had no problems with this palm. I have noticed the battery life may be worse than when new. The casing does scratch and smudge as advertised by many users. I have not noticed the buzzing problem some others have had.
Overall I stand by the E. as the best overall palm for value and features.
That's if you're going to buy a palm... the pocket pc debate continues... (:
54 No cradle is a problem
I was flabbergasted to discover (to my dismay, after I bought) that there is no cradle for this device. I will jury-rig something, but I find the omission inexcusable.
55 You pay the same for less
After purchasing 3 different PDA's before I found one I liked, I decided that Palm series PDA's were not worth the money.
The clincher for Palm for years now has been that they have a lot more software available for their Palm operating system. This is, rather, a very ridiculous argument considering that unless you want 15 different card games or an inefficient money management program, than purchasing a Palm OS PDA is ridiculous.
Palm OS PDA's come with slower processors, the good programs must be downloaded to be used, and features like 801.11x wireless capabilities are only available in high-end models. (Okay, some come with cameras that have worse resolution than my $15 web cam) The software that is installed on them operates well, but does not have as user-friendly of a interface as MS Windows Mobile 200x (especially sense most people are accustomed to Microsoft software already).
It is true that MS Windows Moble 200x/Tablet PC Edition have fewer programs available, but the ones that are available are a lot more efficient and user friendly. The good programs for this operating system are already installed such as: MS Pocket Word, MS Pocket Excel, MS Messenging (like outlook), File Explorer, Picture viewer, and Windows Media Player. These programs are also a WHOLE LOT easier to synchronize and use with other MS desktop applications (for obvious reasons). Other cool and useful programs can be downloaded for free or a small charge like: Adobe Acrobat, Powerpoint Viewer, and AOL Instant Messenger.
Bottom Line: You can buy a Pocket PC for around $250 or so that often has wireless, a digital voice recorder, and an INCREDIBLY easier sync system with other MS applications.
If you like paying the same for a crappy 320x320 camera and having to settle for programs that often have to be downloaded or purchased to sync with basic MS products (if you can figure out how to download them at all) and have no wireless capability then PalmOne is for you. Otherwise BUY POCKET PC!!
56 The Tungsten E Massacre or PDA $50 per month
I won't even delve into the entire PDA debacle, just my recent Tungsten E experience. I saved several dollars by buying a blemished model from a clearance outlet, but actually I would be having the same bad experience if I had bought it from the manufacturer. I really enjoyed my Tungsten E for the 94 days that I've owned it. Our service manager and I bought matching units to exchange/beam customer data between the two of us. As office manager I extensively used the calendar datebook and the alarm features--until last week. I had been doing various paperwork and had hardly taken it out of my bag all week only to power it up to nothing. I assumed it was my fault for not even looking at it for several days, but when I hooked into the charger I knew immediately that I had lost all my data as the generic Palm screen came up. So I re synced whatever customer information I had typed directly to desktop, made a half hearted attempt to recreate my calendar and tried to put the experience behind me. Only the experience is still in front of me. I used the PDA the following week, being sure to plug in as soon as warning screen came up, then barely 7 days later,PDA charged all night, used it maybe 30 minutes or less during the day, only to find a dead PDA that evening. Now it is obviously a battery issue--under the worst of circumstances the battery is advertised as holding material for at least a week, this didn't even hold the information for 5 hours. Next, 90 days is a weak warranty for any $200 product, but I may have eecked out a repair had I realized it was the hardware malfunction instead of user malfunction, but now 94 days after purchasing my PDA I am faced with an additional $125 (bringing the cost of a $199.00 PDA to $265 plus all shipping charges)to fix my new PDA. I resisted the urge to laugh when the Palm website screen suggested that it might not be worth it to repair my Tungsten and I might want to explore a new model. My last model cost me $50 a month for it short 3 month life, could they really believe I might want to purchase a more expensive product from a company that barely stands next to it's product, much less behind it? My brother has a HP that really seems to be a sharp and reliable model, compared to what Palm wants me to pay the additional cost of another brand seems more than worthwhile.
57 Great Bang for your Buck
After owning a Palm PDA from every generation (from the very first Pilot) I`d have to say the E proved to be very trustworthy considering the incredible abuse I put it through. I bought mine in downtown Miami over a year ago and it worked very well considring I never bought an aftermarket case and it was pretty banged up (except for the screen which the included flip cover protected surprisingly well)
A couple of days ago it fell on the cold hard floor again only this time it must have reached its maximum stress point and the screen split in two. Considering that a replacement screen costs about 100$ and you have to pay for shipping both ways, and after reading many horor stories about palm customer support, I decided to buy a new Tungsten E from Amazon.com I don`t know if my new unit will be plagued by low battery life and hardware issues like so many reviewers have stated. It`s hard to imagine a company that turns out a lesser quality product as time goes by (since it should be the other way around).
I experienced only one major flaw with my device and, after reviewing several message boards on the net, it appears that this defect is very commonplace: The screen tends to become increasingly noisy as time goes by. The noise is a high pitch buzz that reminds you of your ears ringing after a loud bang. It bothered me a bit when I was reading at night but eventually I got used to the noise and payed no attention.
I recommend this PDA only if you don`t want to spend the extra money to get a handheld costing hundreds more and if you don`t mind not having Wifi or Bluetooth capabilities. Otherwise it performs very well, has a fast solid processor, enough memory for palm apps (32mb) and you can always add a SD card and fill it up with movies, mp3s, files or anything you like.
58 Unreliable - Two Hardware Failures in 11 Months
I have a Palm Tungsten E that was given to me as a Christmas gift last year. It has gone bad twice in the last 5 months. Hardware failures - the first was an unreliable clock. and now in the replacement unit, I have an alarm that doesn't sound properly. (A Palm Pilot is not very useful to me if I can't hear the alarm!) Their sham of a warranty on this product is 3 months and I could not convince them that it was a bad way of doing business if they did not replace the unit 'cause I would tell all my friends about it. Hope all of you out there heed this advice and avoid this unit.
Too bad. I really like the feature set of the Tungsten E. But an unreliable handheld is an unlovely creature. I have missed a number of meetings due to the Tungsten E's unreliability and that makes it unacceptable.
59 Regrettable Purchase - get an iPaq or Axim next time
I've always been a Palm fan and purchased a Tungsten E about 9 months ago. I saw multiple reviews about the short battery life and expensive battery replacement options and thought "that can't happen to me." Well, it has. My battery has died. I've read that Palm charges $125 to replace the battery. Fortunately, I can get a replacement battery on the 'net for "only" $40 and if you are comfortable with soldering a circuit board you can do the replacement yourself.
Regardless, I feel it is unacceptable to have such a limited battery life, and then charge such a high price for replacement.
Next time, I'll buy a Windows CE device.
60 Maybe this will help with the warranty issue
Based on the reviews I have read here, I have decided to definitely pass on this product. The wealth and depth of feedback, plus the fact that people DO return to the site to give feedback 6 - 12 months AFTER purchase does attest to the quality of this forum.
I don't mean to speak out of turn or raise hopes falsely, but as regards the 90-day Warranty, has anyone attempted to avail themselves of the "Purchase Protection" (or similarly named feature) that ofen comes with a major credit card? These features typically state that that the manufacturers warranty is doubled up to 1 additional year, if the item was purchased entirely with the credit card. I just looked at one of mine (Visa), and see that although there are exclusions, hand-held devices appear not to be excluded - YMMV.
Just a thought for those who find themselves with a toasted T|E outside the 90-day warranty mockery offered by Palm.
61 Tungsten E Help
It is true that Palmone offers worse than terrible support. One should boycott them on the basis of the 90 day warranty and outrageous costs for support and repair. That being said, if one is seduced by what a Tungsten E can do beautifully when it works well, the following 2 links are frequently extremely helpful when Palmone is not. I had a problem with my digitizer and was given excellent FREE advice.
See:1) www.pdastreet.com/forums
2) www.palminfocenter.com
62 Palm Tungsten T3 is great
I bought a refurbished 'blemished' T3 for an outstanding price, and the sharp and bright screen delighted me after squinting at my Palm m125, which had performed flawlessly for me for several years.
I love the T3. It is somewhat more fragile than the m125, and I have dropped it once onto pavement, ripping the very thin metal layer at one edge. The metal skin looks very solid, but appears to be micro-thin metal plated onto conductive plastic, unless I miss my guess. I had to polish away the metal 'snag' left from my relatively minor drop accident.
The screen cover does not offer much protection and I liked the top-flip cover of the m125 a bit better.
I love the mp3 player capability, but found that loading my 256Meg ram chip was painfully slow. I had to invest in a separate USB interface box, which serves well for my camera memory chip too, and is about ten times faster. Working through the Palm, each 3 meg mp3 tune was taking at least 10 minutes to load!
Display of photos is still not great but screen quality is much better than the old 160x160.
I am debating buying another T3 as a gift, I am that pleased with it.
63 Two T|E's, One Year, No Problems Whatsoever!
My wife and I each have a Tungsten E, both purchased almost one year ago and used almost daily. We've had none of the problems reported by the other reviewers here. Each T|E has performed flawlessly. No problems with the buttons, display, software, or anything else. I haven't found any software, other than some really old stuff, that was incompatible (and that old software seems incompatible with all recent Palms). We've had no problems with the Palm Desktop software (WinXP) and no problems synchronizing with our desktops. Further, we like the new version of Graffiti. In other words, we have almost nothing to complain about.
However, it is safe to say the batteries run down fairly quickly between charges. This has not been a major issue for us. While we use our PDA's many times each day, each use is only for a few moments. However, there have been times when we wanted to use them for longer periods of time without being plugged in. We solved this by purchasing inexpensive external AA battery packs, offering eight to nine hours of almost continious use without a recharge (search on the internet for "Tungsten E battery pack").
A friend's T|E once had many of the same problems reported here (crashes, freezes, blank screens, reset issues, and so on). His problem was traced to the installation of hacks and software which radically changed the function or appearance of the operating system. Once most of these were removed, his TE immediately performed much more reliably. Perhaps this is a solution for some of the other reviewers here.
Note: I wrote the above in October, 2004. We're still using those same T|E's today (May 2005), still with no problems whatsoever.
64 Graffiti grumble
I upgraded from m515 only to find that they changed the hand-scribe language called Graffiti for this model due to a lawsuit. The new Graffiti is inferior. If you are used to inputting data using Graffiti, you may be very disappointed like me with this model. It has a hard time understanding me.
In addition, the larger processor was a disappointment. It still is not powerful enough to move quickly through the screens of HandyShopper, the best application ever written for Palm in the opinion of many, including me.
I find myself reverting to my easier to use, more pleasing m515. Probably my next model will be WinCE.
65 Best Palm PDA for the $
Not much to fault with this unit. Great internal memory, and I added a 256mb card for photo and other large files, you will need it especially withthe MP3 player, It has good battery life. After initial early use the battery drained quickly, but it seems to have seasoned with use and lasts longer now. If you don't need (or want) wifi connectivity, this is the one.
66 Dissapointing
I bought the Palm Tungsten E for my 14 year old son last christmas...Everything was working just great until June ...so it only lasted 6 months!
He took good care of it but suddenly it locked up and there is no way we can start it again even to reset it!
So , what's the deal? only for 6 months!!!!
And buying that online makes it even dissapointing because I can't get a possitive answer from them. I never have had any problem with the site, but with electronics , that is not a good idea to buy them from internet.
67 Amazing product
Fantastic product. no complaints!
this is a very fast palm pilot with plenty of memory.
the video player, kinoma, however, hasnt been tested because i have no clue what kind of video format it plays.
pictures load fast, music plays well, runs 3d games great! Instant switching between programs.
one bad thing is that the programs and/or music skips when running simultainiously. not complaining though because i have a separate mp3 player.
i highly recommend buying a 128 Mb sd card(not that you need it) it comes in handy for storing pictures and sound files.
i got mine from BestBuy for about $25.
Great product Palm!!!
68 Completely Undependable
The functionality of the Tungsten E is fine, a four or maybe five star rating, but I have given these devices a poor rating because they are utterly undependable. I have had two Tungsten E's in the last year and both have mysteriously simply stopped working within about 6 months. I didn't drop them, didn't mistreat them, just one day they refused to turn on, reset, or anything else (and no, it was not an uncharged battery). These Tungsten E's are merely the latest in a series of probably a dozen Palms that I have had over the last several years, EVERY ONE OF WHICH DIED in a similar manner, some after two months, with none lasting more than 13-14 months of light use.
After my past experience with Palms, I wised up and bought my Tungsten E with an extended warranty, but the bottom line is that at this point I don't ever want another Tungsten E or any other Palm device, period, even for free. I don't want another piece of junk that consistently craps out after a few months.
I have tried to stay with the Palm OS and away from the Windows stuff, but have finally given up. Farewell Palm!
69 Does not compare to a Sharp 6000L PDA
You should seriously consider the Sharp 6000L...With built-in WIFI, USB Host support, SD and CF and an amazing 4 inch screen, all that plus a keyboard built-in (of course it supports any USB keyboard as well.)
I switched to linux based 6000L and never looked back. In the review they talk about watching a movie on the SD card, well, throw a 5GB Microdrive in the 6000L and watch abpout 12 full length movies.
Do yourself a favor, take a look at the 6000L first before going the WINCE route...You may find the WINCE is still more your style and that's cool. But I am betting you'll not only find the 6000L a better PDA...you'll probably stop needing your notebook as well.
70 A MUST if you're want an affordable but high-quality PDA!
I am a college student who's always dabbled in PDA's. However, I'd always get tired of going through the hassle of encoding every single event/important detail when I could easily do it on a paper organizer. However, I got hooked on the Palm m505, a great model but quite outdated.
I looked online for so many hours for the perfect PDA for me. Since I am in school, price isn't exactly a flexible factor so I narrowed it down to the Tungsten E and a low-end Sony Clie. However, I'm both a Mac and PC user so using a PDA that I could integrate with both computers was the most practical. I however fell for Sony's marketing ploys and ended up buying it impulsively! It was a huge mistake. The low-end Clie was bulky, outdated (Palm OS 4), and had limited support. I quickly sold this and bought myself a Tungsten E, which I should've picked in the first place.
The first time I took it out of its plastic covering(which was kind of cheap looking), I was too excited to wait the whole 3 hours of initial charging. When it was done though, I immediately turned it on and fell in love with the beautiful, crisp quality of the screen. A Graffiti user, it was hard at first to configure the Graffiti 2 but once I got the hang of it, I was set.
The handwriting recognition (even in using the virtual keyboard) of the Tungsten was amazing. I didn't need to keep repeating strokes over and over again unlike my Palm m505 or even the Clie. The included applications were great. I could bring my Powerpoint presentations wherever I wanted (and it has a special timer feature that would prove to be handy whenever I was to present with a strict time schedule). I also had the very beautiful Os 5 Calendar interface, which perfectly integrated and color coded my events along with my To Do's.
It's perfect for games too because the screen is not too bright and not too washed out (unlike the Clie). Battery life is not bad although it could better.
This is a beautiful PDA and absolutely worth every penny. Don't let the little complaints outweigh its great possibilities. If you're in college, a yuppie, or even a soccer mom, this is great for you. :)
Recommended
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250
Recommended for: Students - Stylish and a Best Value
71 Technical Problems with no technical solutions . . .
This is my first handheld device, and I enjoyed using it until about 5 weeks after I had purchased it. At this point the hotsync operation ceased to operate. The thing is now useless for anything except as a calendar, and I can get one of those for a fraction of the cost. The tech support isn't very helpful - the thick Indian accents make the technician difficult to understand and they just read through the same list of trouble shooting techniques that you can find for yourself on the PalmOne website. At this point I have spent around 8 or so hours trying to get it to work without any success. This product is nice when it works, its just a matter of whether one wishes to risk the cost and pain of getting a product that does not work.
72 Differences to other Palm devices
If you are considering this device, please be aware of several differences from many of the other palm organizers currently available.
1. The screen on this unit seems to be much softer than the other palm units I have owned. In my opinion it is too easily scratched.
2. The warranty period for this unit is only 90 days. After that you might as well buy a new unit.
3. This unit uses the OMAP processor. I have encountered several software vendors whose products will not run on this unit.
73 First time user
I'm a new PDA user and purchased my Tungsten E about 2 months ago. I was definitely a "paper-girl" and attached to my day-timer planner so this was a bit of a transition for me. I did a lot of research online and was hesistant about this model because of all the negative feedback online about the screen freezing and basic malfunctioing after three months. Circuit City, however, offers the same model at the same price and for about $30, they'll also sell you a 2 year warranty for the PDA (which also covers malfunctioning screens, etc.). I thought the extra insurance was worth it after plunking down 200 bucks. So far though I haven't had any problems. Consumer Reports had also given this model high marks for this price range.
The features of the Tungsten E are great for the price. It's very user-friendly, even for first timers like myself. I prefer to sync the device up with my Outlook calendar, contacts, tasks, etc., but there is Palm desktop software that comes with the PDA that has it's own calendar & contact software (so you don't have to use Microsoft). The "Documents to Go" feature is wonderful, Word & Excel docs are very easy to transport (I think you can also purchase additional software so you transfer pdf files). The high res screen is fantastic, but as some of the other reviewers have mentioned, it does suck the battery power. Something I wasn't used to - when the device uses up the battery power, you have to do a re-boot and more times that not, all the information in the system is gone so always back it up somewhere! This device would be even better if it came with a cradle to sit in. The USB connector is handy, but the cradle would make it more user friendly, especially if you're syncing it to a computer a majority of the time. Unfortunatley you can't even purchase a cradle via the Palm store as an added accessory. Cradles are available with their more expensive models.
Overall I've been very happy with the PDA. FYI - when you register your Palm online, you'll get a coupon for 20% off any accessories orders placed through the online Palm Store (really worth it if you need to buy a case or anything else for your PDA).
74 Warranty ......What Warranty ?
I bought my Tungsten E after it came out in Oct. of 2003 and I enjoyed it until August of 2004.
The screen was fried. Squiggley lines throughout. I called PALM and I find out that the Tungsten E has only a 3 month warranty.
What is that !!! I have owned 2 other PALMs and I had no idea of this 90 day warranty........SHOCKING !
I will buy another PALM because I like the OS, but it will not be a Tungsten E. Why pay for a repair at $125.oo .
PALM is losing my confidence and oh by the way the support in INDIA is horrible. They staff reads scripts off the screen, that is sad. What has happened to the quality Support Palm was known for.
75 Is Palm peddling problematic pda's?
I have been a loyal Palm customer for several years now and am looking to upgrade from my M515 model. I was seriously considering the Tungsten E but after reading alot of these reviews I am having second thoughts. Too many of the reviewers say they are experienceing the same problem (palms dying after several months of use). It sounds as though Palm is aware of the design defect in their Tungsten E (hence only the 90 day warranty). This is nothing new. Palm was sued in a class action lawsuit a couple of years ago due to design flaws with their M515 model(it would not hotsync with usb cable after awhile). It took a lawsuit for them to acknowledge their mistake and provide a solution (for awhile they gave out free comport cables to those customers who knew to contact them). Even then, they didn't inform their registered M515 customers (such as myself)to let them know. When I just happened to contact Palm almost a year after the lawsuit, they wanted to charge me $25 right off the bat and even more to send my palm to them for diagnosing. They made no mention of the fact that they were well aware of my common hotsync problem and it's recommended solution. I happened to find out that info myself by researching on the internet to see if there was a much cheaper way of fixing my hotsync problem. Palm would have charged me $25 (and more) to tell me to go out and buy a new $10 hotsync comport cable. I FOUND THIS INFO FOR FREE ON THE INTERNET!!!!!! I say all of this to say that maybe it is not a wise decision to purchase the Tungsten E until such time that Palm acknowledges their obvious design defect and fixes it. Anyone up for getting the class action lawsuit started? Amazon is a wonderful retailer but they can not make up for Palm's defective products or their sorry customer service. Not one to be deterred, I am going to see what other Amazon customers have to say about Dell & Sony Clie PDA'a and computers.
76 Durable little workhorse
I work for the local Police Department and have used the Palm Vx since it came out. I had looked at other PDA's when my 2nd Vx started going south, but just did not see the need for all the extra doodads. The Tungsten E plays a little music, shows a few pictures and does them all acceptably well for a PDA. What it excels at is keeping the information I need at my fingertips. I use the thing on a daily basis and in all kinds of conditions. I have never had it go down from Humidity, heat, cold etc.... (I wish my Nokia phone were this dependable.... :))
I keep my department's general orders, municipal codes and an extensive phone list. I have several spreadsheets and even a few pictures of wanted suspects (In addition to the requisite family pics) My calendar is ridiculously full. I strained the capacity of the Vx, but have not even touched it here! I have managed to switch over without ever picking up a manual - the only learning curve involved was the writing recognition has been simplified.
I highly recommend the Tungsten E - for folks who want what a PDA is essentially designed for.... an information storage device. There are other PDA's that have cameras, better video or music.. . but then the devices designed for those purposes are SOOOOOO much better, why???? Of course, I do intend to get Scrabble and the Dictionary card add-ons, and maybe one so I can bore folks with pics of my kids from infancy on!!!!
My one wish is that there was still a scroll rocker (Of course... maybe there is and I just never read the manual :))
Hope this was helpful.
77 Last Chance for Palm
I've used the Palm Professional, M105, M125, M130 and the Tungsten E over the last several years. Purchased the Tungsten in late January 2004. The first problem was the Navigator not working unless it was pressed several times (right out of the box). After attempting to get an answer out of Palm for several days, I was informed that was normal until it was used for awhile (didn't say how much for how long). Yesterday, the power on/off stopped working. It can be turned on by using other buttons but now I have to set the feature that turns it off after no use to one minute. I've spent the day reviewing specs/features and I'm moving to the land of Dell. Why? This thing cost $199.00, only carries a 90 day warranty and it was handled as gently as a newborn baby. I compared this with an Axim last January and can't believe I missed the difference in features and warranty.
78 WOW! THIS IS HORRIBLE.
STOP. Don't buy this. If you like the palm os software, get a clie. I had the same power and screen problems that other reviewers listed, as well as the horrendous customer service. Unless the warranty is good, remember that cheap goes with nasty.
79 dream machine for coaching stats.
i used this product with software from "digital scout" to keep statistics for my softball team last season. it worked wonderfully. sometimes dugouts get dusty, and crowded and things get dropped on cement floors, and the tungsten-e worked perfectly. with the software i was able to easily keep bating averages,pitching stats, fielding errors, and even where the oppossing players hit the ball not only in this game, but in other games earlier in the year, at the touch of a button. it also made after game interviews much easier and more credible, when the local paper covers your games. the color was great, i could see it both in the dugout and in the coaching box in bright sunlight. i was really glad i sprung for the extra 50 or 60 bucks to get this model over some of the non-color products that would have run the software.
80 1 star is too much!! Read this
Battery life is very short, software is slow and when it goes out of charge you lose all the data (except what's in the memory card) and you have to reinstall the software. On top of that BE AWARE that if you have any problem after 90 days, you will have to buy a new Palm (if you like the idea) since the repairing costs are $125+$39.99 + taxes. To call the Technical Assistance you have to add $25. My Palm after only 8 months does not turn on anymore and since batteries are non-user replaceable Lithium, my only option is to buy a new PDA, NEVER AGAIN IN MY LIFE A PALM.
A lot of other clients had my same problem and this could really be a defective product.
I want to underline the outstanding quality of Amazon's Customer Service, not responsible for the insulting low quality of this product. It will be a great pleasure for me to keep make my purchases on this site and I suggest it to all my friends.
81 Easy to use
I am not the poster child for computer literacy, however, one does not have to be Bill Gates to understand and operate this PDA. I bought it from a national store chain and am very pleased. It has a really crisp, clear display in very bright colors, its software was ridiculously easy to install and use, and only took me 5 minutes to get it working after I charged it up. Its price is really good too. I am soooo glad I purchased it.
82 Why am I only seeing complaints about the warranty at Amazon
I had the same experience as a number of the other reviewers. *Loved* my Tungsten E but it died after 8 months (while my old Palm IIIE is still working just fine, thank you!). Since then I've been doing searches to figure out whether to buy another T|E or not and mostly I've seen reviews where people raved about their T|Es -- but they were usually folks who had just bought it. Only on Amazon have I seen that a lot of people have had my experience.
Why is that? Are people just more likely to go to Amazon to air their complaints after 6 months because they're loyal users of the site? Or is there some other more nefarious reason? At any rate, I thank the reviewers on this site. I'm not sure I have the energy to go figure out what other PDA to get (my life is a little too crazy and I can't afford to spend more time dithering in indecision about this) but I have realized that it may be worth it to pay the full freight at an electronics store and buy the extended warranty, while I keep a look out to switch companies the next time I get a new PDA.
83 Incompatible with docking stations!
The software did not "update" my old Palm software so after I had THOUGHT I'd installed it, I had to uninstall the new software, uninstall the old software, reinstall the new software, download the extra software, sync with the new software, and then I tried to sync my data. Several hours later with no luck, Tech Services said, "many of our customers find they have to remove their laptops from the docking stations and connect directly to their laptops EVERY DAY in order to sync." If you have the time for this inconvenience, it looks like it might have been a very nice handheld. Not me!
84 NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT
I have never experienced worse customer support. It cost $25 bucks just to talk to someone not to mention they don't have a toll free number. So you have your phone bill plus the $25 plus the added phone bills to call them back when you have waited 2 days at home for their promised phone calls back! I am so angry but have no choice but to hope that one day when I finally get my tech support phone call that they can fix this stupid thing because I also have the palm infared keyboard that is also not working! NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A PRODUCT BEFORE RESEARCHING THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE! NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY PALM PRODUCTS. Definetly learned my lesson. Ready to go back to pen and paper!
85 Very Disappointed
I purchased my Tungsten E at the end of January and by middle August it had already died. The screen became frozen and it stayed that way. I called customer service and after attempts to reset the device I was told to send it in along with $125.00 for repair. For an additional $75.00 I could purchase a new one! Additionally, who ever heard of paying a flat rate for repair without a diagnositic? Apparently there is little concern about producing a quality product and even less concern for building customer loyalty. That was $200.00 of my money that went quickly down the drain.
86 It simply did not work!
I warn you!! As reviewed by other people, mine also stopped after 3 days.
87 No problems.
I have no idea what these people are talking about. I've had no problems in the 7 months i've had it. Great colors. Fast processor. MP3 player.
88 What a disapointment
The first few weeks i had the E, it was the greatest pda i had ever gotten. It did alot of the things i liked and i was always seen with it. But even at that time i still had my doubts about it, mostly because of the crappy batery power. I would charge the thing all the time. I went on airplane trips and i couldn't even use it the whole time. After about 3 and a half weeks. i picked it up and turned it on. then i started playing a game, all of a sudden, i get the palm logo. i try to reset it, and it would turn off, then turn back on to the logo. this irritated me alot. i thought, maybe it will stop when the battery power lowers (knowing that it won't take long since the battery power sucks). Eventually it stopped but i couldn't turn it on again. Fortunately i could still return it and get a Dell Axim X30, 312MHZ pocket pc for the same price. I have to, buying an E was not a smart idea. i read the reviews on Amazon but i didnt think that it would happen to me. To some people, it stopped after a few months, to me, it stopped after a few weeks, you do the math. Now i know why they only have a 90 day warranty.
89 Fantastic but for Battery
This would be a fantastic product for the price in terms of features, if it weren't for the battery. (I included an extended warrenty as part of my consideration to buy.) In the first 2 days, I ran the battery down 4 times and of course recharged. The screen is bright and easily read but that is probably part of the battery problem. Turn down the brightness right away and it is still bright. I love the music capability, but again it uses up the battery fast. Also hot syncs seem slow as compared to my old Palm 505.
Obviously Palm wants to build in forced replacement or they would come up with replaceable batteries. Don't buy this without an extended warranty. You can get 1 year from PalmOne and longer from some stores.
90 No quality, no support, and no luck.
There is a reason why just about everybody is singling out the warranty (or lack there of) when they review the Tungsten E, they break! Total failure! But I'm one of the lucky ones. Mine lasted 8 months before it just stopped working. It won't turn on, won't reset, and won't sync back all the important information I entered into it that day. Let's not forget the less than helpful customer support! You would think they would be more helpful at $25 per call. On the plus side the "E" is nice looking but the case is so prone to marring that even the cover provided with it scratches the case. I put a piece of clear Scotch tape across the top to prevent this. It worked pretty good and didn't look too bad. Get familiar with the reset button on the back of the machine, it will become your new best friend. The "E" has no cradle to rest in while it recharges or syncs and I kind of missed that. I do love all the software that comes with it. The Palm Desktop is really nice! But I'm afraid the Minuses far out weigh the Plusses. I would recommend a better Palm or possibly a Windows based PDA.
91 My Palm stopped after 5 months
I should have followed the reviews on this forum. I bought the Tungesten E at the end of February for $199.00 through Amazon.com. It was good while it lasted. However, it stopped giving any signal at the end of July, almost exactly after five months. I am not sure if it is the battery or something else. I tried to reset it (the only advice I got from Palm) but nothing came up. I did not have an extended warranty and the 90-day warranty period had expired. Palm One customer service advised me that they could repair it for a $125.00. I refused! I will never buy again or recommend it to any one.
92 Really Like My Tunsten E, and Thank you Reviewers
I got my Tungsten E in early July, and am really happy with it. However, I do wish I had read these reviews before buying it. So far, it's been working great. But it's only been one month, and some of these reviews (Es breaking down after 4 or 5 months) got me a little worried.
Well, I had bought my Tungsten online from the PalmOne store, and didn't realize that the warranty was only for three months. After reading these reviews I gave them a call and spent the $50 for their extended warranty, which extends the limited liability waranty for 1 year, and also gives one screen replacement and phone tech support for one year.
So maybe that's a viable solution (or preventative measure) for some new owners. The extra $50 hurt (esp since it cost only $200), but having to replace a 5-month-old myself would hurt more.
I also checked out Best Buy's extended warranty policy. $50 buys you two years extended protection.
So, older and wiser, I will now always get my electronics stuff from a local store, or at least check into warranty info.
Thanks for the reviews.
93 No guarantee
I loved my Tungsten E at first--at least for the first 4 months; then it quit working and I had to perform a soft reset periodically. Lo and Behold! There is a REASON this is one of the 3 Palm PDAs that only has a 90 day warranty as opposed to a ONE YEAR warranty. It quit about 10 days after the warranty was up. Now, I have to perform a soft reset every single time I start up, which makes it highly impractical for whipping out and entering a Dr. apt or phone number on the spot. I am very unhappy because all this info will be lost unless I purchase ANOTHER Palm product. I suppose a solution would be to take my chances with another Tungsten E, which I am happy with WHEN IT'S WORKING, and purchase an extended warranty. Or I could buy a Tunsten T3 for an additional $200 and get the 1 year warranty. Or get another brand and lose 6 months of data. So annoying.
94 Don't think it won't happen to you, it will
I am foolish. I read all these horrible reviews about the product and thought "Maybe it won't happen to me, it won't break down, maybe it only happens to very few people". I was wrong. I had the product for 98 days. It worked perfect and I loved it, it was the best electronic I had. I liked it more then my mp3 player, my car stereo, my digital camera. It could do so much and was useful, easy, and fun. But on the 98th day at school, I turned it on and all it showed was that Palm Logo. The screen light kept flickering then after 10 seconds didn't light up. It just stayed there. I tried turning it off, taking out the batteries, and everything, but none of that worked. Still showed that Palm Logo. I thought it would stop after a few hours, so when I got home I took it out and it was still like that. I tried to soft reset and hard reset. Nothing worked. So after a week, it was still like this. I didn't bother to waste my time to call Tech Support, and plus I hear they charge you money to call them after the warranty. Eventually the logo stopped showing and it was nothing. So I gave the support a try... Palm refuses to do anything about it. Their forums weren't helping or their email or phone support. What a piece of junk. Well I sold it on eBay(even though i said it didn't turn on) and some stupid people still bought it for $75. I used that money to buy a Dell Axim X30, 312 MHZ Pocket PC. Same price, $199 and I have had it for 5 months and it still works perfectly. I have heard nothing bad about it. I traded that one up for one with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth intergrated and now its extremely functional. Until Palm gets their act together, go with the Pocket PCs. A little more expensive but better, more reliable, and more functions. I also plan on filing a lawsuit against Palm.
THERE IS A REASON IT HAS A 90 DAY WARRANTY.
95 Great upgrade and alternative to other Tungsten models
I first started using a Palm in college, initially owning the Palm IIIe (ahh, the good ol' days). Anyway, we were all provided with handhelds at work, but was disappointed when handed the Tungsten T model. What's up with the fold-open style case and hiding the writing area? The plastic shell cover? The thing was one big inconvenience. So I decided to ditch that version and buy the Tungsten E, which I had seen in stores and read good reviews of, and I am quite pleased with my decision to do so. It's much more ergonomic, the screen is great, speedy, and HotSync-ing without a cradle really hasn't been that big of an issue, since I usually keep it in my coat pocket and not on my desk anyway. My wife and father (both using older model Palms) tried out my new 'E' after seeing my quirks with 'T', and upgraded their handhelds too because it's really a great value!
96 What is your problem
Just get it from Best Buy or a or a local electronics store, you'll get a 1 year warrenty, and if it crashes, refund or get a new one.
If you are stupid enough to think for ONE second that the used pda that PalmOne sends you will not have problems, the PDA they send you is "USED", by fact, its exactly like your old one! Take my advice, and buy one from your local electronics store.
I hope this helps the future buyers of the T|E, and other PDA buyers.
97 chowdhary
i acquired this palm tungsten e from my school for course related work. i used it barely a few days and and then, it doesnot work anymore. its great looks, good memory, good backlite features, but NO RELIABILITY. The hardware has gone packing. waranty is 3 months - woefully bad.
palm one will need to do their hardware 'home-work' better - i wonder how such an un-relaiable product is sold in dozens (or is it so?).
overall, palm one has poor hardware put out to users.
98 Think about this: Why do they offer just a 90 day warranty?
Purchased in December 2003. By April 2004, battery would not hold a charge for more than a few seconds even after overnight recharging. Useless. I checked the warranty: 90 days. So I'm stuck with a $200 piece of junk that I had just started using.
Generally speaking, if a company has confidence in its product, it will offer a fairly long warranty period. If they offer just a 90 day warranty, there is generally a reason why. In my opinion, Palm has no business taking $200 from a customer for a product that they has so little confidence in. So I'll look at another company for my hext handheld. What you do is, of course, up to you.
99 Great PDA for the Money
I can't think of a PDA that's a better deal than the T|E. If you want a PDA that would replace your laptop (poorly), than get something else (a Pocket PC perhaps). If you want a good PDA with a nice color screen and a few bells and whistles, this is a good choice. I use Intellisync to integrate it with MS Outlook. Between the price of a T|E and the Intellisync software you're still talking about less than $300. It'll play MP3s and show off your kids pictures. Not a bad deal.
100 Good Product with Great Features
I purchased this product from Amazon.com almost 3 months back. Its quite an amazing product to keep. I tried almost 100% of its features and is very user friendly.
1. I used IrDA between my Palm, Laptop(IBM) and T610 cell phone. It works great. I am having 100's of contacts on my palm and can sync with Laptop and T610 with in seconds. I tried using IrDA by making data call through my Cell Phone, it works and easy to setup. One thing I observed with Palm is, it eats lot of battery while using IrDA. I think its obvious.
2. Office Tools such as Word, Excel, PDF are good. I can read these documents quite cleary. It's an helpful feature to download some office docs to review or some personal docs also.
3. Avantgo on Palm : This is one of my most frequently used application. It's quite to read news,tech data leisurely and also for driving directions.
4. Calendar, tasks, contacts and other palm applications are very user friendly.
5. 320x320 pixel resolution screen, 32MB internal memory, SD/MMC slot are very good features. I like the resolution of this product.
6. I didn't get any problems in USB sync and IrDA sync. They work fine for me.
7. Multimedia: RealOne and Kinoma performance play is quiet good, eventhough I use them rarely.
8. I like Graffiti in Palm, it works good
9. Palm Tungsten E body is very studd. I like the structure and buttons (power
10. I tried some games on this palm, I feel performace of the processor is suffient for these applications.
Cons:
1. Not having support for 802.11b SDIO add-on cards. I think PalmOS should look into to support the drivers/patch with sadisk or any other company.
2. Alarm is very low and there is no step wise in volume.
3. Versa Mail is not a stable application, if we change some settings, it stops downloading mails from server. It sucks.
3. Palm OS doesn't give WebPro (browser) for this Palm. We have to buy this application for ~$30. It's not good.
4. While doing sync one or two times, palm got freeze. After hard reset, it works fine.
