Palm Tungsten E2 Handheld
by Palm
|
List Price: Our Price: $214.49 You Save: $62.70 (23%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $40.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Palm Tungsten E2 Handheld
Customer Review: Excellent PDA
Summary: 4 Stars
UPDATE: I installed the Phone Link updater from Palm's web site, and can use my Nokia 6102's (WAP) net connection to surf the net. Keep in mind how much data you have -- real net access will eat up, say, 5MB *really* quickly, so keep track of this unless you want huge phone bills (or just get unlimited net access).
I also bought a 1GB SD card (Kingston; it was $30.15 on Amazon -- great deal!); it works perfectly.
Great PDA. I bought mine mostly to keep track of homework, since my old PDAs (2 Visors and a Sony Clie) were dead or dying. After months of deliberation between the E2 and the z22, I picked the E2. I figured that it would hopefully last a while, so I'd get the better of the two.
I love it. The screen is *beautiful*. When I look back at my Clie SL10, I wonder how I was able to stand using it as my regular PDA. Anyway, yeah... great screen. It comes with a photo viewer, which works well. A tad slow flipping through photos on the memory card, but that might just be my memory card (it isn't a particularly fancy one; I think it was the cheapest one they had).
The speaker is... amazing. It's better than the ones on my iBook. It actually has midrange and a bit of bass. There's a headphone jack, so you can use headphones and everything, but it's actually feasible to fill a (small) room with the sound from an E2. I use RealPlayer for music most of the time; it can multitask. Occasionally, when another app accesses the card, the music skips or cuts out for a second, but they's expected. Frankly, I'm amazed that it *can* multitask. When I want louder music, I use TCPMP (The Core Pocket Media Player). It's a 3rd-party, free, open-source media player that also plays videos. Yup... the E2 can do video. I haven't tried RealPlayer for video yet. And yes, you can play two MP3s at once (RealPlayer in the background, TCPMP in the foreground.)
As for other stuff... it comes with Documents To Go 7, with native document support, which means that you don't need to convert documents -- just stick them on the memory card. I haven't actually used this yet, so no word on how it keeps formatting, but if it's anything like it does normally, it's probably better than Pocket Word on a Pocket PC.
It has Bluetooth; I haven't tried it, as I have nothing else to try it with, but it does work (paired it with someone's Motorola RAZR to test it.)
On the topic of connecting to phones -- I haven't managed to get net access via IR via my Nokia 6102 (Cingular), but it can use the Dialer app to dial my phone. So I can dial any number in my Palm's address book... excuse me... "Contacts". [goes off and mutters about how Palm changed all the app names to fit Outlook]. Oh yeah -- I can beam photos from my phone (it's a camera phone) to my Palm. And then put them on my computer.
I'm on OS X; Palm Desktop works well; it's still basically Claris Organizer. There's a "Send To Handheld" droplet that converts photos, videos, etc. to send to the Palm. Oddly enough, it seems to be able to install stuff in the middle of a HotSync. Last time I checked, it wouldn't let you queue up anything to install during a HotSync. Not with this -- it'll go and install it! Really cool.
Anyway, great PDA. If you're really into music, I'd recommend getting a 512MB or 1GB SD card; it doesn't come with one. (I'm using the 64MB one I bought for my HP49g+ calculator... not nearly enough space for music.)
It comes with a universal screen protector, which, after cutting to the correct size marked on the plastic backing, will be very useful for people like me who are worried about scratching their brand new PDA.
One thing to take into consideration is the warranty. It's only 90 days. $50 at Palm's online store will get you a 1-year warranty that includes one screen replacement. If you register the E2 before you buy it, they give you (or at least they gave me) a 20% off coupon, making it $40. Just keep this in mind...
Overall, excellent PDA. Haven't had any problems. It does everything I need, and probably 20 billion things I have no use for. It's cool.
Customer Review: Well designed and thought out
Summary: 4 Stars
This is actually my first handheld, though I am quite familiar with a number of competitive products through my job.
I have been extremely happy with this device for the two months I have owned it. The performance of the device is very snappy, the display crisp, clear and bright, though it is easily washed out in bright light or outdoors. (Pretty much all commercial units have this problem, when you start getting to high cost industrial units with transflective displays, this becomes less of an issue.)
Battery life has been superb, but I should caveat that with my usage level. I doubt I would be considered a hardcore user. My device is probably active (display on) for approx 2hours per day. At this level of usage, I typically go 3 days before I feel the need to recharge (not that the unit is dead.) During a recent 12 day vacation where my usage dropped to perhaps 1 hour or less per day, I never placed the unit on charge.
The supplied applications are great, better than their counterparts in Outlook and synchronization between the two is superb. I initially used the supplied USB synch cable to keep the unit trickle charging, but I was not impressed with the connection this cable makes to the handheld. Removing the cable takes some effort, as the connector is overly secure and does not have a mechanical release mechanism. I grew concerned that over time the connector would begin to wear and become less positive.
Since I use a bluetooth keyboard/mouse, going to bluetooth synchronization was a no brainer. The setup was simple and it works flawlessly. Since I do not leave my Palm in a discoverable mode, and it cannot be woken by my PC, I have not noticed any impact in battery life with BT enabled. My only wish is that PALM had made BT synchronization schedulable, allowing it to automatically attempt a synch at preset times during the day. There is 3rd party software to do this, but it seems a minor issue that PALM could address easily.
I truly appreciate the physical qualities of the unit. Though looking at the dimensions in comparison to an IPAQ or AXIM does not lead to any great expectations, the unit is far easier to stash in a pocket without weighing you down or being two bulky. This leads to a love hate relationship with the cover. I keep my E2 in the thigh pocket of my trousers. The small supplied cover does a fair job of protecting the screen and adds no bulk to the unit. But it does not prevent items (coins, and LINT) from getting to the screen. The coins I can prevent, but the lint is another issue. I find myself cleaning the screen every two hours. If the cover was magnetic or in someother way provided a better seal, it would be ideal. All of the aftermarket wallets I have looked at, while attractive, will add considerable bulk to the device.
I appreciate that the stylus has a nice heft to it, and does not have a push button ejector (these have always appeared to me as a weak link.)
The battery charger connector works better than the synch cable in that I don't feel it is going to wear out any time soon, but the charger itself is massive. I think Palm could have sourced a more compact, folding unit.
I wish there was a vibrate mode, but I am not too torn up about it.
The handwriting recognition (graffitti 2) works far better than I expected, though this is an area I never test on devices I look at, so it may be par for the course.
The non-volatile flash is great. I have made use of the feature only once (on purpose to see how it works) and it is truly wonderful. I needed to reenter the current date and time, but other than that the unit picked up right where I left it.
I have no real complaints about the lack of Wi-Fi or camera (in my opinion the cameras are a ridiculous add on) since I knew these were not standard when I purchased the unit, and not something I was really interested in having.
Based on my purchase cost, (...), the ease of use and physical design, I am very happy with this device.
Customer Review: An odd, disappointing update to Palm's workhorse model...
Summary: 3 Stars
There is a reason, sadly, why sales of PDA's have shrunk each of the past few years -- a crushing lack of imagination and innovation -- while rival gadgets competing for valuable pocket space, like Apple's iPod, have taken up the slack and have seen booming sales as a result.
The Tungsten E was a breakthrough in its time, a beautiful piece of engineering with a high-quality color screen and a rock-bottom price of 199 clams. Its main drawbacks -- it's paltry 32MB Ram and it's lack of built-in wireless capabilities -- could be fixed with add-on cards.
But two years is a long-time in electronics land. Since then, Apple released the iPod mini, which will store the contacts most people use Palms for, plus hold 4GB worth of tunes, for the same price. It's also far smaller than a Palm.
Meanwhile, folks who want the more sophisticated functions that a Palm can deliver -- like medical imaging etc. for docs, photos, sophisticated calculator, email and web surfing on the go -- found the Tungsten E outclassed by Blackberry's, upgraded cell phones, Palm's own Treo and the like.
So it was odd, and frankly disappointing, to get a look at the new, pricier Tungsten E2. I'd love to see the market research that suggested they could raise prices with a minimal feature upgrade while the competish has been eating their lunch. After a two-year wait, they didn't even increase the 32 MB memory. They merely made it non-volatile flash (something they should have done long, long ago). At a time when Apple is selling a 1GB shuffle for $149 and flash memory is dirt cheap, it's mind-boggling why Palm would choose to link the E2's fabulous hi-res screen to low-rent memory.
As for what you still don't get: There is no phone, no camera, no thumbpad, no WiFi. This is close to a pure PDA, though it can display pictures and double as a poor-man's MP3 player.
The added bluetooth -- odd why they went that route instead of the far more common WiFi -- does nothing unless you have a compatible bluetooth phone or computer.
As with the E, the E2 still is a great design. Clean, simple, portable, shirt-pocketable. No keyboard, but I've never been a thumbpad fan.
MS Office functions are also included -- Word, Outlook, Powerpoint. Why you would use them, however, is a bit bizarre to me. Who wants to spend the time coding in a Powerpoint presentation with a stylus? Yet, if this is important to you, it's here. And having your email with you can be a plus...
Here's a basic product guide:
Mono Palm Zire -- Bargain basement model with 7.2 MB of Ram, upgraded from hobbled 2 MB original model. About 100 smackers. Often offered free as bundle deals with new computers. Good starter model for the price, but designed to leave you wanting more. Includes rechargeable battery. Memory can not be upgraded. Horribly skimpy black-on-grey screen.
Tungsten T2+, etc.: Deluxe models that feature, in some cases, larger screens/Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/thumbpads with dropdown graffiti screens. All unnecessary features in my book, especially given their much higher prices.
Zire 72: Similar to E2, but with a low-rent camera attached.
Treos: These models should be seriously considered if you are a thumbpad fan, or if you want your PDA to also be your phone. But let's face it, how many people can afford spending several hundred smackers on a PDA?
BTW, when comparing, I've found you can generally ignore the speed of the processor. For most Palm functions, the reaction time is near instantaneous, or at most a second or two lag.
As for PocketPCs, some of them are now very attractively priced and are worth checking out. I've yet to use one extensively, so I'll stick to what I know -- Palms are simple, easy to use and almost guaranteed to improve your productivity. It's like having a backup for your brain. And who doesn't need that?
Customer Review: Excellent no-frills Handheld
Summary: 4 Stars
I had always resisted buying a handheld because I didn't think I'd use it for anything, but as I started managing more and more of my personal data electronically through address books and phone dialing lists, I decided the time had come. After reading countess reviews of different PDA models, and suffering a great deal of sticker shock (600$ for a PDA? Who the hell can afford that?) I settled on the E2. My criteria were:
*I wanted something with bluetooth so I could use my Motorola v551, which also has built-in bluetooth, as a modem.
*I wanted basic PIM features: contact list, calendar, task list, etc.
*I wanted email capability
* I wanted a reasonable price
I must say, on the whole, I am extremely pleased. The E2 is an excellent, no-frills device that delivers on all the above points. The good stuff:
* The PIM features are generally easy to figure out without referring to an instruction manual.
* Graffiti is a good deal easier to use than I thought it would be
* Navigation is very, very intuitive, whether you do it using the stylus or the four-way navigation key.
* I have seen people complain about the metal casing, but I find it very attractive and sleek, even if it does hold fingerprints.
* It's conveniently sized-tiny enough to fit comfortably in my front pocket.
*The battery life is astonishing-I've been fiddling with it almost continuously for days, and it still doesn't need charging.
There are some negatives as well:
* The device has a very tiny amount of on-board memory, so while it comes bundled with MP3 and audiobook software, you're not going to be making much use of them without a memory card. Ditto for any extra software.
* The palm memory cards are basically overpriced MMC cards, which you can purchase at any electronics store for a noticeably lower price.
* There is no cradle or case, and no extra stylus in case you loose the one that comes with it.
* Palm needs to stop wasting valuable space by etching a writing area at the bottom of the screen-why not just write anywhere on the screen, like the windows handhelds, and give us some more viewing space?
On the whole, this is an excellent entry-level, no-frills handheld, and a good choice for someone who has never used a handheld device before (like me). It doesn't have a lot of fancy extras, but it's ease of use, long battery life, and solid feature set make up for this.
A word about using this device with a phone to send email or access the internet-if you plan on doing this, make sure you go the palm site and check before you buy to make sure your phone is supported. You will need to download the latest phone drivers as well. Make sure your phone has bluetooth and that you also have data service on your phone plan. Establishing a bluetooth connection with the phone was easy and took seconds-configuring the phone and the palm to send and recieve email was not. There are a multitude of settings, many of them not very well explained, and if something goes wrong, it will be difficult to figure out if the phone, ISP, or handheld is at fault. It took me the better part of a day to get versamail to send email through the phone's GPRS service. If you are not technically adept, it may be easier for you to either buy a Wi-Fi card, or to pass on this and buy a more expensive model with built-in Wi-fi. I'd also note that data speeds over a data phone connection are very slow-fine for sending email, but not good for accessing the web. If you want to surf the web on a handheld, spring for wi-fi.
Customer Review: Palm Tungsten E2
Summary: 2 Stars
I was very excited about Palm products and had narrowed my choices down to the Tungsten E2. I had previously owned a Palm back 8 years ago and was relatively pleased but could see with time where there was room for improvement.
My 1st dissapointment with the E2 was that they tell you it's compatible with Vista, this information I got from the Palm Company. After receiveing the E2, I could never get it to work with my Laptop/Microsoft Vista, yet it worked perfectly with my home computer which is windows XP, I was fine with that but dissapointed just the same.
I tried to get versa-mail and was told by tech support, the palm has to be compatible with my existing mail sysytem, which is Yahoo. They informed me that it could work with a Google gmail account. I opened a gmail account with the intent of closing my Yahoo acct., I was still unable to get the acct. set up. And when I worked with tech support because I was unable to get this to work, he said (the guy in tech support) That they were having issues getting it up and running, we were on the phone for at least half an hr and got no where.
The bluetooth feature was not compatible with Verizon wireless, verizon indicated I had to use thier equip. for bluetooth compatibility, so that left me flat in the cold in that area, because my phone svc. is thru Verizon Wireless.
The features mentioned above were primarily why I purchased this product.
I also purchased from Palm software called Ultrasoft Checkbook, when I had problems with that Tech support, sent me to the sellar of the software which I purchased thru Palms website (SWC), after talking to them they sent me instructions on how to touble shoot myself. I finally got the software to work.
The E2 on several occassions simply blacked out on me, I called tech support and they explained that this would occassionally happen, but could give no reason as to why. They also informed me that after 30 days of support on all Palm products, that the were going to start charging 25.00 per phone call, I was appalled as I only had to call them 3 times, in 3 weeks. But the Tech support person explained that this was something new that was being put into place and they were letting everyone know.
I am so disenchanted with this product, I have returned it to Amazon, and would hope that they would not represent Palm products on thier site, but I suppose that is being unrealistic, but I am not pleased with the product in it's entirety or the support that they give.
The 3 positives are that the E2 has a long battery life, and that the E2 Palm does hold a large amount of data, and the software they offer is nice, if you order whats compatible and can get it to work.
In my closing, I would like to say that Palm is still rather behind the times in the sense that technologically they have fallen short on compatibility with other applications out there, I feel that this has been a case of bait and switch in the sense that you are promised all of this capability, however once purchased you find that it's not as compliant with all of the other applications and you get resistance from Palm when you call them about these issues, I was sent from one person to the next, because no one knew how to fix the problem, and the customer get's quite frustrated. Palm needs to go back to the drawingboard and give customers the aplications they are compliant with and that way thier advertising does not seem so misleading.