Comments on: Rumor: More Info on the Palm TX and Z22

My main beef is what's on the inside.

http://vtbsd.net/winhelp/

Oh yeah, how about a cradle? Every Palm I've ever owned has had a cradle.

http://vtbsd.net/winhelp/

Where are the 1GHz processors???

Intel's upcoming line of processors is expected to be able to run at 1 GHz, though they're not out yet.

Metal or mostly metal cases are available on the iPaq hx4700, Palm Lifedrive, and other models.

And yeah-there aren't any CPUs that can realistically be used in a PDA that clock faster than 624MHz-and seriousy-what do you need that much power for, given today's software and Palm OS? PalmOS was fast on a 33MHz Dragonball, and it pretty much blazes on a 312Mhz Arm 9 chip (going by my experience with a Zire 72).

adding more to my post above, if you're near sighted, you're not gonna be able to see the letters imprinted on the Palm handheld casing. Else, ppl looking over the lucky Palm user's shoulder may still be hard pressed to make out the words, especially if there's alot of movement from the user. I just noticed that my Tungsten | T3 is no longer that. It just says Tungsten | - because the 3 and the verticle line for the 'T' got rubbed off after all this time.

#2
I always found headphon jack position to be a trivial issue. Didn't take long for me to adjust to my T3's side jack

Otherwise, I'll say not likely on #1 to #3. They already shafted VR and digicam, what's another 2 features? #4 may be possible, as they finally included BT 1.2

"Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake? Anyone can make an error, but that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
-Grand Admiral Thrawn

the secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse

My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71 --> Tungsten T3 (with 4 of 6 screws still remaining) ~?~> zodiac 2?

And that's not really OT. z22 and T|X talk is on topic if ya ask me. I'm shocked. I didn't notice that the z22 does have a whooping 32MB of RAM compared to mid-level models and treos.
But the issue is, this isn't like hardrive capacities. They gotta be in powers of 2 increments and with PDAs, we're stuck with 16 (), 32, 64, 128, and 256 flavors due to PDAs limited size. Since they're dealing with the cheaper NVFS RAM instead of the nicer real RAM, cost and power consumption shouldn't be too big of an issue now. Hopefully, this'll mean 3 things:
-all new PDAs will have at least 32MB of RAM
-we can start seeing high end models expanding into 256MB
-the next pOS treo will have 64MB of RAM

As long as the basic colro pOS PDAs have decent battery life, that shold be enough to grab some Sharp folks away from their wussy monochrome digital diaries

-Zeek

I'll probalby end up moving to this TX from my T3 eventually, but I'll have to wait out the the price until it drops down to closer to $300. At $299 I would have been waiting at the store on Oct 12th. I was waiting at the door on release day for my PalmIII, PalmV, m505 and TT but they haven't given me reason to do that since.

Frankly, I'm gonna assume the T|X will cost $450 until the official MSRP tells me otherwise

Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem - Henry Kissinger
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Gee...maybe I ==should== apply for a job with PALM as some wags have suggested!

What goes around, comes around.

Giggle.

Pallets/lookup tables/colormaps make up the difference.

You can have your 16-bit apps - just castrated a "little".

Moreover, I think the non-volatile RAM is a good idea for the beginner PDA user...especially people who would always let the charge run out (e.g. my wife who never keeps her cell phone charged, and her friend who *always* has only about 30 seconds charge left on her Clie!)). No real need for an SD card then. Well, in theory, hopefully the OS will be stable and not prone to hard resets.

Not having a camera is a dissapointment. I probably won't buy one as a result, but it's a good product.

For $399, it's yet another stupid, misguided device release on Palm's part.

As it is, I am still waiting for a camera model. With Dell dropping their low priced models, I expect to hold on to my Zire 72 for a long time or until it breaks. I am disappointed that Palm is not sticking with their camera models. The Zire 71 was a real winner. I am disappointed that Dell didn't drop their prices by $100 per model to reflect cost savings of keeping the same design for so long. I am really disappointed in HP which expects me to pay $500 (list) for a camera model when they don't even have the good sense to put a VGA screen on it.

The TX is a little bit better value than the T5 or most other PDAs, but I am not buying this junk. Prices on phones, desktops, video game systems, and all sorts of other electronics go down as features and power go up. I am not paying more a PDA with the same old same old.

My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71 --> Tungsten T3 (with 4 of 6 screws still remaining) ~?~> zodiac 2?

Timothy;

You make some valid points. I'd guess that Palm is going to try and consolidate the Zire 31, Zire 72 and maybe even the T|E2 into a single model for next spring."

I would be one happy camper if Palm put an improved camera in this TX model and offered it for $300 list next Spring when they drop the price of this camera lacking TX to $250. Better have a microphone for video recording though. The Zire 71 I had lacked that microphone, so I know they might try again to do without it. But, if Palm is planning such a camera with microphone model for Spring, why doesn't this TX have the microphone that they already have plans to put in the same case just 6 months from now? No, I fear they are dropping the camera models altogether. Hope I'm wrong.

2. A huge aggravation, coming from the slider T|Ts and the LifeDrive. My T5's stylus tip tends to come loose and wobble after extended periods of writing and it's just a pain to have to unscrew the tip when you have your hands full of something or are trying to look up a number while you are walking/standing.

3. It costs SO little to implement. The Palm V did it in the previous MILLENNIUM. My $10 rechargable flashlight and my $15 cordless phone have charging LEDs. Why can a flagship $300+ Palm PDA not have one?

4. This has not been an issue at all, certainly not with FrankenGarnet and this price point. 320*480 is fine for nearly everyone. Don't expect VGA screens on a Palm device until someone does a non-smartphone running Cobalt or PLinux.

"Some of the minimalism that Palm's initial devices embodied"="still lacking some basic features users are asking for". Most of us long-time users not asking for gigs of storage, voice recognition, GPS, OLED VGA screens etc. Just a slim unit with dual wireless, 320*480, good build quality & OS stability, a voice recorder, vibrating alarm & a charging LED. Palm scatters all of the above features in various models throughout their lineup but we want that stuff in a SINGLE device in the $300-$350 neighborhood.

I think the LifeDrive is a device you need to get used to concept for a while before rushing in and buying one. I can truely see it as a candidate (together with a IR/BT keyboard) for a laptop replacement.

Not quite. If the battery has died, then you can't turn it on--then, when you hook it up, you don't know if it's properly charging, because you can't turn it on. Besides which, there are situations where a power supply only provides enough juice to charge the device while it's off, in which case turning it on would stop the charging and burn off power. That's why you need a charging LED. Plus, an LED would let you see at a glance when the battery was full, rather than having to turn it on and check the percentage.

* 4150 is bigger then LifeDrive and heavier - look at the specs..
* Although 4150's VGA screen is an Eye candy - it still less useful then a 4GB storage (buying 2 or 4GB storage will top additional $200 on your $600 machine..)
* 4150 is as slow as the LifeDrive (if not slower) and that is without the HD

You're deeply mistaken about many things. For one thing, the 4150 doesn't have a VGA screen. For another, it was one of the thinnest and lightest models available.

Perhaps you're thinking of the iPaq hx4700--but that would still be incorrect. The 4700 is wider than the LD, but thinner (0.66 vs. 0.8) and lighter (6.6 ounces vs. 6.8). I won't bother with the speed issue.

The iPalm sounds like a perfect fir for you. Haven't seen one in stores but anxiously waiting:

http://www.churchoflivingfaith.com/images/ipalm.jpg

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

"NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!"

There are a few cool Linux devices, specifically the Zaurus series from Sharp (Had flash memory, VGA, and sliding keyboards before either Palm or PPC), but Linux on a mobile device is a difficult sell. The fact that every manufacturer feels the need to go with a different UI makes compatibility and software base a pain. I'd still love to play with one, but most people will probably find them way too limiting.

Real RAM is a "scratch" medium which your Palm's CPU (or every other computer system that has been built since the 1970's) can work with very rapidly. It is possible to directly read and write each single byte of RAM directly and virtually instantly (ie. within a limited number of CPU clock cycles).

Real RAM has traditionally been a "volatile" medium, meaning that the data that is stored in RAM can only be maintained as long as a live electrical source is attached to it.

Newer technologies, such as Ferromagnetic RAM (FRAM), are capable of maintaining their information for a relatively long period of time without being hooked up to a power source. In theory, FRAM is just as quick and easy to READ as traditional RAM. However, it may take somewhat longer to WRITE to FRAM.

Flash ROM is a purely non-volatile medium of storage. Barring exposure to traumatic conditions, such as a static discharge, Flash ROM can maintain its data for up to 20 years or more without any electrical supply. Flash ROM has a limited number of lifecycles: you can only re-write a single cell (byte) of Flash ROM a limited number of times before it wears out. A worn-out Flash ROM cell will take longer to write to, it will have a shorter data retention time (ie. less than 20 years) and as it wears out after even more use, it will start to fail to store any data correctly at all.

Flash ROM cannot be written to in the same way as RAM -- the computer has to go through a special procedure, and it takes a significant length of time to write the data.

Depending on the implementation, it may be possible to read data out of Flash ROM just as quickly as it is possible to read data out of RAM, in which case it is possible to execute program code directly off of a Flash ROM chip, or else it may be quite a bit slower, in which case it would be necessary to copy the program code out of Flash ROM and into Real RAM before it could be executed.

The ARM class of microporcessors, which is used in every modern PDA (both Windows Mobile and Palm-powered) requires a certain supply of Real RAM. It is simply impossible for it to operate exclusively from Flash memory. (Techno-speak: the stack, the allocation heap, etc. cannot be implemented using Flash memory. It is impossible. Period.) All of Palm inc's current products apparently include exactly 32 MB of Real RAM.

In order to do anything useful, a device such as a PDA has to have an operating system. Without an operating system, the PDA couldn't do anything at all -- it wouldn't even turn on. If the operating system were not kept in nonvolatile memory, then accidentally forgetting to re-charge your PDA would result in rendering the PDA totally, permanently useless. The operating system is typically stored in some sort of ROM memory. In order to boost execution speed, the current line of Palm, inc products takes a copy of the operating system out of ROM, and saves it in Ream RAM. Every time you reset your PDA, it takes a fresh copy of the OS. The OS requires approximately 16 MB of the Real RAM. That leaves 16 MB of Real RAM left.

The form of memory that you are probably most familiar with is the storage space where you can install programs, store documents, etc. Traditionally, this memory space had been kept in Real RAM, and the data was kept valid by leaving it connected to tbe battery all the time. If the battery ever died, then your programs, documents, etc. would all be lost.

In newer devices, the programs, documents, etc. are all stored in a non-volatile medium such as Flash or a micro hard drive; when the time comes to run a program or load a document, the data is copied out of the non-volatile storage and into Real RAM. Then, when you leave the program or close the document, the copy in Real RAM is checked for changes, before being written back to the non-volatile storage.

Obviously, with the newer devices having only 16 MB of Real RAM available after the OS is loaded, there is not enough space to copy everything out of non-volatile memory all the time -- sometimes, the storage memory space can be 64 MB or more. (Note that the expansion memory, like an SD card, or the archive section of the T5, is something else entirely. You;re better off thinking of that storage like a hard drive.)

So, when you try to load something and the Palm sees that Real RAM is already full, it is forced to look for something in Real RAM to close and archive back in the nonvolatile area. That's why, with the never Palm devices, you may see a noticable delay between the time you tap an icon, and the time that the program actually starts to run.

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Waiting for a TT successor

http://www.out-law.com/page-3239

-Zeek

-Zeek

G1, G2, Fitally, whatever. Why LIMIT things like this?
We've seen hacks for stuff like this for years and years.

I have been told that I may need to uninstall my Microsoft Outlook 2003 to enable the newly installed Microsoft 2002 to work.........??
Thanks in advance for you help.

First of all, was the Circus Sh!tty employee "helping" you named Jeff Kirvin? That might actually be your main problem... Palm software problems are usually either VERY simple to solve (if you know what you're doing) or IMPOSSIBLE to solve without high level (developer/Level 2 tech) knowledge. If it can't be solved in 10 minutes by an experienced Palm user, you're probabluy fcuked.

Right click on the HotSync icon in the taskbar. What checkmarks are there? You should have one by Local USB and none by Local Serial. Fix that and try HotSyncing. If that doesn't work, post SPECIFICS on what you've done so far (I assume you named your Palm in the initial setup) + have tried uninstalling + reinstalling the Palm Desktop + HotSync software.

Also, right click on the HotSync icon in the taskbar and choose (left click) on custom. Do you see your Palm's name?

Finally, right click on the HotSync icon in the taskbar and choose (left click) on View Log. What does it say?

One more thing: feel free to post anything you want to Palminfocenter as long as it's related in some way to the topics being discussed. Chances are someone here can help you and chances are you're not the only one reading that has the same questions you have.

TVoR

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Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
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The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

Most recent Palms have had reasonably stable G1 libraries hacked. To expect ongoing support of a 10 year old text entry system that Palm LEGALLY can't support might be asking too much. Donating to a hacker with the request for new device support might help, but I feel there are so many kludges currently in PalmOS 5 it will be difficult to maintain legacy support. We need to get PalmOS 5 reverse engineered, cleaned up and repackaged as a ROM upgrade. In other words, we need someone to finally FIX PalmOS. Ain't gonna happen. Stick with a stable PalmOS 5.2 device and avoid the headaches, hkklike.

get the TX or LD's BT working reliabily on a CDMA phone

Despite the grand intentions of the protocol, Bluetooth implementation in REALITY is usually PURE SH!T. Trust me - I've been struggling with various Bluetooth devices from the beginning and long ago realized what a pathetic scam Bluetooth is. Bluetooth is everthing Wi-Fi is not. Every question about incompatibility sees the manufacturers pointing the finger of blame at "the other guy". No one takes responsibility for the failure of devices to work together just as long as even a SINGLE device can be piared to the hardware in question. ("See? It does work! Goodbye!." CLICK...) To be honest, Palm's Bluetooth setup is one of the most straightforward I've seen. (As well it should be, since Palm wasted so much of their time and resources on it under Yankowski's Reign of Error. Palm really thought Bluetooth - rather than Wi-Fi - was The Future.) The walkthrough screens on Palm's initial Bluetooth setup make Sony etc. look like a joke. Yes they could be better about exposing init strings etc. for power users, but remember: carriers don't want customers using their cellphones as modems. Palm needs to be careful not to pi$$ off the carriers, since carriers (not end users) are now its bread and butter.

or want to get a multi-account VersaMail setup up and running with no crashes.

The short answer is that VersaMail is beyond repair and you should just shell out for a better email client like SnapperMail and end your misery ASAP. Isn't your time (and sanity) worth more than the $25 - $60 SnapperMail will cost you? Stop fighting it just on the principle that Palm should have provided you with a stable email program for free. But if you want to know the uber-secret way to fix VersaMail, here it is:

‚₵‚Í‚ ‚È‚½‚̃oƒgƒbƒN‚Æ�«Œð‚·‚邱‚Æ‚ð–ñ‚ ‚é�]‚Á‚Ä‹È‚°�A“}‚ðŠy‚µ‚Ý‚È‚³‚¢

[I am NOT responsible for any adverse outcomes related to doing this.]

Or you might want answers straight from the horse's mouth to the HARD-HITTING questions concerning the future plans of Access or the years of abuse/negligence of our favorite mobile platform.

You expect PalmSource to publicly admit Cobalt was a pile of buggy, slow, unstable crap and that PalmLinux won't be ready until 2008? Why would they do that to themselves? Developers and end users are already skittish - making that kind of statement would trigger a stampede, with EVERYONE running wildly away from PalmOS, screaming and sobbing hysterically.

If you want help on any of the above matters, friend, then you're completely out of luck.

That's why I provide the service I do. ;-O

TVoR

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823