Rumor: Tungsten T3 with 320x480 Screen

Pictures and a few details of a possible Tungsten T3 have been posted to a tech website in China. The pictures show a possible Palm Tungsten model with a slider design and a 320x480 pixel high res+ screen and Bluetooth.

UPDATE - Oct 1: As expected, Palm released three new handhelds today. Check the article for details and reviews.

Rumor Tungsten T3The website eNet.com.cn has published a series of pictures. The model has the same retractable slider design as the Tungsten T, but when extended it reveals more screen area instead of a dedicated graffiti silk screen.

The pictures reveal that the handheld runs Palm OS 5.2.1 and has 64mb of RAM with 51mb available to the user. It also has built in Bluetooth wireless. The processor type and speed are unknown, though the back does show the TI OMAP logo.

The pictures also show that the screen can be rotated horizontally to a landscape mode and back to portrait with the touch of a button. The front buttons of the handheld have been slightly redesigned and show a more circular design around an enlarged 5-way navigator.

Rumor Tungsten T3Rumor Tungsten T3

Thanks to the many that sent in tips.

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It's cool...

bchiu @ 7/18/2003 11:04:16 AM #
Only Wifi missing... otherwise it would be the perfect Palm (for me).

RE: It's cool...
xelnaga8080 @ 7/18/2003 11:08:07 AM #
Have to agree, only missing Wi-Fi. If its a fake, it is a pretty good one. This one smells real.

"Life is a Cookie"
RE: It's cool...
Massman82 @ 7/18/2003 11:13:33 AM #
Almost positive this one is real, though I think it is a long way off if the T2 hasn't been released yet.

Clie NX60 - emailMassman82@PDArcade.com/email
RE: It's cool...
twizza @ 7/18/2003 11:15:08 AM #
Massman82
This looks to indeed be real. But knowing PalmSG. We either wont see it until March (next product run) or we will see this rushed to production by the time right after the holiday season. Usually Palm releases in Latewinter/spring and mid-fall. if they can work the kinks out before that latewinter/early spring time then we really could see PalmSG trump Sony (again? I consider the Z71 a trump)

RE: It's cool...
JohnKes @ 7/18/2003 11:17:34 AM #
Looks real! I could not see any pixel discontinuities that would indicate Photoshopping.

RE: It's cool...
a3 @ 7/18/2003 11:55:02 AM #
Well IMHO this is the reason why the T2 is delayed... this is not the T3, it is the revamped T2

_______________________________________
Already a Tapwave's Helix fan.
RE: It's cool...
Knives78 @ 7/18/2003 12:16:33 PM #
Maybe by next March the Bluetooth will change to Wi-Fi *quickly offers prayer to Tech Gods*

RE: It's cool...
kev @ 7/18/2003 12:19:39 PM #
well, they'd have to call it T3, what with the movie and all...

RE: It's cool...
kriegsfalke @ 7/18/2003 2:07:44 PM #
I don't need WiFi on al PDA. For me Bluetoot is more important in my work.
It would be nice if Sandisk would get the SD-Card on the Market.

RE: It's cool...
Lidocaineus @ 7/18/2003 3:55:37 PM #
Amen to that Krieg! I think people who lament over WiFi on PDAs have never actually used BT and WiFi on the same device; I have, and BT always seems better suited to whatever task at hand, mostly because I'm *never* near a WiFi access point when I'm actually using the PDA in a environment where I'd pull it out!

I never understood the WiFi fanatics on PDAs. If you want to check your mail with WiFi, you are most likely in a place with tons of computers. If you want to surf the web with WiFi, again, you're most likely in a place full of computers. Want to check your email on the road with WiFi and... whoops. Well I guess you could always pull over at a nearby Starbucks and sit in the cafe while I'm zooming past you in a car accessing an IMAP server over BT through a GPRS radio.

In fact, I so rarely use WiFi on any PDA with it available that in my next PDA purchase (whenever that is), WiFi will not be a requirement in the least.

RE: It's cool...
SteveNYC @ 7/18/2003 6:16:13 PM #
I agree completely. I've used Wifi on my Handera 330 and while it was interesting, I stopped using it because it was complete overkill.

Who's truely going to use that level of speed on a PDA? It's certainly not worth the power demands that WiFi makes. Sure, if I were downloading attachments, the speed of WiFi would be welcome, but the processor speed on most PDAs can't handle that kind of data flow. I think Wi-Fi in the consumer PDA market is completely hype. I work in an MIS shop and have a couple of guys that have Toshiba PDAs with WiFi built-in and both say they hardly use it.

My complaint would be more along the lines that there are no bluetooth cell phones in the CDMA market. Sony-Ericsson was going to come out with the T608 for Sprint and it was rumored that a "rev. 2" version of the T606 for Verizon might have Bluetooth. But with Sony-Ericsson leaving the CDMA market entirely, both are in doubt.

But this T3 looks so sweet. It looks like they reallyt did it right.

RE: It's cool...
Selbstlade @ 7/19/2003 1:34:00 AM #
"I never understood the WiFi fanatics on PDAs. If you want to check your mail with WiFi, you are most likely in a place with tons of computers. If you want to surf the web with WiFi, again, you're most likely in a place full of computers."

I guess you're not a college student nor do you work at a company who's campus is wifi saturated? In college environments, wifi coverage areas are often set up in libraries, open lawns, student unions. Why walk into a computer lab (assuming one is nearby and open) just to check your email? Furthermore, privacy is not guaranteed when you're operating on a public terminal. That's why many students own wifi notebooks (For example you can then VPN to your own private network). In a company environment, just because computers exist in a wifi coverage area doesn't mean you can walk into someone's office or cube and use it.

Selbstlade

-----

Palm Professional, Palm IIIx, Cassiopeia E-105, Sony Clie SJ-10, Palm Zire 71.

RE: It's cool...
Lidocaineus @ 7/19/2003 4:21:45 AM #
I was a college student and have since graduated recently, and having actually *deployed* some of the network infrastructure while there, I know plenty about campus connectivity. However, give me an application that WiFi works better for on a PDA versus Bluetooth.

What you are clearly referring to is portability with your laptop, not portability with your PDA, just like I was comparing in the original post. When I say that when you're in a WiFi spot and there are tons of computers around, usually that means you can use one of them. If for some reason you can't, how is a PDA going to replace the functionality of a computer? And what exactly does that have to do with anything WiFi / BT related? My point was that WiFi does work on PDAs, but it's inherently limiting since PDAs themselves are so highly mobile and are very often in places where WiFi is nowhere to be found.

Tell me, what is the difference between using WiFi or BT to check your mail once you have it all set up properly? Or look up an address? Or do some light web surfing? There is none, on a PDA. The only difference is that with BT, you are the access point. You can leave campus and not break the connection. WiFi is constrained to bubbles. Perhaps large bubbles (such as the case with certain campuses), but do you live in one completely, all the time?

I'll be the first to admit that there are some hurdles prior, such as proper data service plans and a connectivity device, but after that, bluetooth is a much more complete solution to what a PDA's functions are. It's strange; WiFi should be the niche device for PDAs, while BT should be more of the standard, but people seem to have it backwards in their heads. I can only attribute this to (again)

1 - lack of experience with BT
2 - the pervasivness of WiFi

I have serious doubts about your experience with BT, because, as another person posted, those who have used both have realized that WiFi on a PDA is not all that useful once the uber-factor has worn off, even in very well covered areas. What you do on a PDA is very different from what you do on a desktop or notebook, and 99%of those functions do not require high bandwidth or constant connections. What they do need is access when you need it, at a moment's notice. WiFi cannot always provide that.

And one more time, I'll say it; WiFi on a PDA is *not* a negative, it just shouldn't be as important as people are making it out to be, unless you only use your PDA for TCP/IP connectivity (BT is much more than that) and not PIM functions (such as sending phone numbers to be dialed to your phone), you only use your PDA in WiFi access areas, and you never use your PDA for connectivity anywhere else.

RE: It's cool...
El Barto @ 7/19/2003 6:49:33 AM #
I also completely agree with Lidocaineus.
I am living in Berlin and here we have complete GPRS coverage in the subway. So I am using my m505 in conjunction with a T68i and a BT SD-card e.g. to read the news via AvantGo.

Very nice! And Wi-Fi is not missing.
RAMdŽd @ 7/19/2003 1:56:08 PM #
Yes, there are some who would really like to have it.

But give me Bluetooth. WF has too many penalties for most of us. Let it come on an SD card or a drifferent model. Most buyers of most PDAs will never miss WF, so let Palm and others design a separate one for them.

Can't wait to see if this makes it to market.

______________________________
An armed society is a polite society.

RE: It's cool...
mikecane @ 7/19/2003 7:53:40 PM #
BT requires a BTed cellphone. Some of us (ahem, me!) *hate* cellphones. Hence, WiFi is for us. By the time this appears, I expect at least two WiFi SD cards to be on sale. So the point is moot.

So WHERE's the WiFi?!
mikecane @ 7/20/2003 9:59:00 AM #
Given the delay of the WiFi SD cards, it seems to me Enfora should have this OUT NOW and rake in the dough!

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=5213

RE: It's cool...
mj6798 @ 7/20/2003 1:39:58 PM #
Maybe by next March the Bluetooth will change to Wi-Fi *quickly offers prayer to Tech Gods*

God, I hope not. WiFi is useless for me on a handheld--when I'm in range of an AP, I usually have a real computer around, and WiFi sucks battery power.

Bluetooth is perfect for hotsyncing, for talking to a cell phone, and for gaming. Bluetooth is also far easier to set up. And if you want to use it like WiFi, there are cheap Bluetooth/Ethernet access points out there.

RE: It's cool...
xelnaga8080 @ 7/20/2003 10:46:10 PM #
I would have to say I would love Wi-Fi. I currently have no location that can service Blue-tooth, and were looking at wi-fi for our network(Students&Teachers with wifi laptops). It is not a speed issue, just the fact that I want access to our network. I personally would love for my PDA to replace my laptop, and wi-fi would be a step in the right direction. I would settle for a wi-fi SD Card however. I currently own a Tungsten T. I can see the potential of Bluetooth, but wi-fi would be better in my situation and don't wont the bulk of a Tungsten C, plus I want sterio. Just a thought. Bluetooth is cool, just can't use it. I could definately use wi-fi.

"Life is a Cookie"
RE: It's cool...
kriegsfalke @ 7/21/2003 6:33:20 AM #
Don't mess it up. Wifi is not a competitor for bluetooth. Also Bluetooth is not a competitior for Wifi.
Both wireless Networks have their goal. Wifi is great if you are in most time near a AccessPoint. But it is useless if you are on the road and need to check your e-mails, read the news or to write SMS. This is the right place for bluetooth.
I think Sony follows the right way with the UX50/40 Handhelds. Just Bluetooth for the People who don't need Bluetooth an Both for the Tech-Junkies ;-)

Wi-Fi and BT are indeed competitors...
RAMdŽd @ 7/21/2003 2:08:40 PM #
...not for function, but for space.

W-Fless PDAs certainly outsell those with W-F, and BT enable PDAs probably outsell W-Fless as well.

I don't want to pay size or cost penalties for W-F, but I do find BT to be very useful.

So make the PDA for the majority, and a separate version (as they have with the W and C.

When the day finally does come that there are no penalties for including it, then by all means, toss it in.

______________________________
An armed society is a polite society.

RE: It's cool...
atrizzah @ 7/21/2003 7:50:15 PM #
Just because some of you dont want WiFi doesn't mean its useless to everyone. I'm planning on getting a Tungsten C, because we have plenty of WiFi coverage at my college. Why do I want it? Because I dont want to have to lug a laptop around campus just to check email, visit websites and such. Ideally, I'd also like to be able to access my computers files through FTP while I'm around campus so I can edit documents and do programming anywhere on campus.

To me your beloved Bluetooth is useless. I dont own any Bluetooth enabled devices. In fact I've never even seen one. I'm not bashing Bluetooth, I love the idea. I'm just trying to make the point that there's no reason for you to bash WiFi.

Personally, I'd favor something like the C, but with Bluetooth as well, in case I find a good use for it.

Peace Out
Alan

RE: It's cool...
alanjrobertson @ 7/22/2003 5:56:15 AM #
I think your viewpoint in part depends on where you live. From what I've seen/read, it appears that WiFi has taken off to a massive extent in the USA, with widespread coverage in businesses, colleges, and shops (eg Starbucks). Bluetooth on the other hand has a much smaller market penetration, mainly due to the prevalence of CDMA mobiles.

In Europe on the other hand, WiFi has been slower taking off (there's certainly no coverage anywhere at my university), whereas mobile use is widespread - a vast percentage of the population own one (>95% of students I would guess) and they're all GSM mobiles. Many GSM mobiles now come with Bluetooth connectivity built-in, therefore for European users it's arguably more useful to have a PDA with BT rather than WiFi.

However, as others have already mentioned it's not a competition between the two standards - they've been designed for different uses. In view of the increasing power of PDAs though, lots of people use them at times as a laptop replacement - therefore they are fulfilling two different roles and probably need to have both WiFi and BT connectivity.

Cheers

Alan

RE: It's cool...
pbratland @ 7/27/2003 11:56:31 PM #
I get a great deal of use and functionality out on my Tungsten C with WiFi, because when I do travel I carry a small AP from Dlink and and can finally do my email on the road, I just plug into one of my customers network connections and I don't even need to wait for my laptop to boot. Bluetooth is nice if you are do little text emails, but WiFi is required for Attachments and large emails, it is also great for doing a sync. Can't do that very quickly with Bluetooth, at office or on the go.

RE: It's cool...
dieter_dk @ 8/17/2003 8:07:00 PM #
I use a Tungsten T with bluetooth conectivity to various gadgets - and in my opinion, the WiFi unit and the T fit two different categories. Which is probably why Palm chose to make and market them as such. The TT with bluetooth is ideal for road warriors, connecting to GSM/GPRS for data, Bluetooth GPS units, etc. Look at http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=4642

The Tungsten C fits the bill for campus type usage, wharehousing, etc. - kind of like a laptop replacement (which is why it comes with a keyboard).

Of course it would be smart with both in one unit - then we could have the best of both worlds - but bluetooth and WiFi would still serve two different purposes!



Why slider now?

gidora @ 7/18/2003 11:10:49 AM #
Let's lose the slider. With the bigger screen, it makes less sense to have a compact "alter ego" that you constantly have to bust out of.
RE: Why slider now?
jjsoh @ 7/18/2003 11:34:22 AM #
Whether this rumor is real or not, I agree. (But I'm hoping that it is a fake.)

Although I love my Tungsten|T and how the slider gives it a more compact feel, but after daily use since the day I purchased it (at launch), I'm getting tired of opening/closing for jotting down small notes. Are there any T|T owners that still like the slider?

I think I'm done with moving parts on a PDA, unless it's to open the screen, at least for now.

Jim

RE: Why slider now?
stellaboy @ 7/18/2003 11:53:52 AM #
go to palmgear.com and get graffiti anywhere, you'll never need the slider again. it's the best ap for the tt.

RE: Why slider now?
cmoney @ 7/18/2003 11:56:29 AM #
I like the slider. Or rather, I like having the smaller form factor that the slider enables. I have Graffiti anywhere and it's great for quick notes. Mostly though, I use the TT for viewing information that I enter or sync through a computer, so I don't find myself opening the slider much at all since I bought it.

RE: Why slider now?
ogun7 @ 7/18/2003 12:18:21 PM #
I agree let's loose the slider. Having to open and close the slider can get aggravating, they should ol allowed the T|T to be thinner, like the V or m500 series. palm just doesn't have any continuity in its industrial design. They need to hire Jonathan Ives over at Apple!!

RE: Why slider now?
flevy @ 7/18/2003 12:34:29 PM #
Ditto. Fit this machinery in to a Palm V-like form factor and it's what I have been waiting for. While that form factor doesn't work for a unit with a camera or a keyboard it should work well here.

RE: Why slider now?
TTrules @ 7/18/2003 12:37:46 PM #
I owne a TT, and wish that it did not have the slider. I get tired of opening and closing it all day long. If the new TT has a new 320x480 screen I hope that it is just a fixed display, no annoying sliders!

Trade the Slider for a Slimmer Design
CADJedi @ 7/18/2003 12:43:43 PM #
Frankly the novelty of the slider has worn off for me.
Basically everytime I use my T/T I NEED the grafitti area whether is entering data or just for navigation... I don't need the extra step of
sliding it open EVERY time!

I would like to see all the functionality of the T/T... PLUS the 320x480 screen with virtual grafitti... PLUS more memory... PLUS a thinner/sleaker
form factor and NO slider. That would be a great PDA!

PS: did I mention Virtual Grafitti, NO Slider, and SLIMMER Design?... ;-)

But hey, thats just my .02 cents!


RE: Why slider now?
bkirchhoff @ 7/18/2003 12:48:18 PM #
I also agree that we need to loose the slider. That being said... I really like the Blackberry style keyboard available in the Tungsten C. The single biggest surprise with my Tungsten T has been how much I utilize the SMS Messaging capability in conjunction with my T68i (however scratching out a text message during a meeting with Graffiti is anything but subtle). I was really hoping that a future Palm device would offer the Tungsten C form factor with Bluetooth & Wi-Fi combined.

RE: Why slider now?
maven @ 7/18/2003 1:53:22 PM #
Ok, I don't own a T|T, so don't flame me... but if you don't like sliding your unit open each time you want to use it, whats to prevent you from ALWAYS leaving it open?

RE: Why slider now?
gidora @ 7/18/2003 2:21:09 PM #
Why not leave it open all the time? Cause it looks incredibly dorkey. I have no less than 4 hacks installed to make the slider less obtrusive on my TT.
1. NewPen - freeware graffitti anywhere
2. SlideFree - to access silkscreened buttons
3. OKey - to access drop down menus
4. EZ KB - for instant keyboard access
But they don't all work together nicely and it is a hassle in the end. Let's not even get into cases and accessories. There's a cottage industry out there dealing with the hasssles of the sliding mechanism.

RE: Why slider now?
Lidocaineus @ 7/18/2003 4:02:12 PM #
I guess I'll be the only one to state, "Who cares?" :P

I rarely open the slider, because OKey and NewPen cover 99% of my input requirements into the T|T. I've even written pages of notes without opening it once. I am not the biggest fan of the slider, however, I *LOVE* how much more compact it gets when closed. That will be the big disappointment for me if the slider disappears.

Maybe they should make two models, one with the slider and one without?

RE: Why slider now?
statik @ 7/18/2003 4:11:50 PM #
Take a close look at the size of the screen in open mode. It looks like all of the softkey buttons will still visible, even when you have the slider closed.

Coupled with G2, this meens there would be no need to open the TT slider at all unless you need the extra real estate.

I love it!

RE: Why slider now?
mikecane @ 7/18/2003 4:34:39 PM #
The slider will be gone next year when the *Zire* gets that screen.

But, of course, by then, every CLIE will have the screen too.

RE: Why slider now?
robrecht @ 7/18/2003 4:38:26 PM #
This deserves to be repeated:

"I rarely open the slider, because OKey and NewPen cover 99% of my input requirements into the T|T. I've even written pages of notes without opening it once. I am not the biggest fan of the slider, however, I *LOVE* how much more compact it gets when closed. That will be the big disappointment for me if the slider disappears."

Palm, don't listen to all the whiners, bring the T3 to market as quickly as you can. Do you need beta testers?

Thanks, robrecht

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