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PalmOne Tungsten C Handheld

PalmOne Tungsten C Handheld

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No Music, multimedia, etc! Warning for potential purchasers.
Review: In so many ways the Tungsten C is a perfect Handheld, but Palm made one HUGE mistake that will send many people back for a refund (like me).

Unlike all the competing PocketPC models and Sony Clie units, the Tungsten C cannot output stereo sound. The jack that looks like a headphone jack is actually a MONO HEADSET jack like what you would use with your cellphone.

Listening to music and watching home movies and TV shows has been a great feature of the newest PDA's which I enjoy while riding the train or flying. It's really great to be listening to your favorite music while reading the days news or sending email. I just can't believe Palm decided people didn't need this feature.

The MONO HEADSET jack does have some interesting possiblities in terms of using the unit as a IP Phone via WiFi (when that technology becomes available). It also could be used to record business meetings (software included).

The screen, keyboard, processor, size, and Wi-Fi capabilities are really best of breed on this unit. Too bad for the one glaring omission. I returned mine today.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No Camera
Review: We expected to see a built in camera in this model. The increase in memory is nice but the lack of a camera gives us the reason to return this model and wait for the next model in hope that a camera is included.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Product, Don't Even Hesitate
Review: I thought I would chime in here on my experience with the Tungsten C. I decided to upgrade from my Palm V and wanted color. I looked at a number of different models but I had blackberry envy. I didn't actually want a blackberry because I didn't want to subscribe to another service for a monthly fee.

This product works well. The WiFi capabilites rival my notebook computer, the speed is awesome and the web is really accessable although sometimes a little awkward to use since you are paging across a wider page. Some web sites actually detect and format their pages for the Palm and those are wonderful, including Yahoo which has native Palm support.

The display is crisp and beautiful, the keyboard is simple to use and the touch screen display will work most of the time with your finger.

I have photos, .pdf files, word and excel files and I just downloaded my first eBook which are wonderfully acessable.

The battery lasts for at least 3 days with regular use as long as you are not in a WiFi zone, thenit lasts about 6 hours, which is a lot.

For another $35 you can add 128MB of ram, which has proven to be useful for photos and powerpoint presentations although the 64M included is very generous. The system is fast, the transfers are fast and the ability to beam docs across the room is very useful.

I think the case is fine, as long as you don't drop it. There's no reason why this little wonder won't last 3 years or more.

Someone else mentioned the lack of a travel charger, which would have been easy to engineer using the same PS as the cradle. Also it would have been nice if a case was included.

Buy.com had the best price at the time I purchased.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Handheld With WiFi!
Review: This is my fifth handheld. My first two were palm, my third was a Sony, and for my fourth I went back to palm. All four had 8MB of RAM and a 33 MHz processor. When I first turned on the Tungsten C I was amazed at how fast it was. When I clicked on an application it would instantly open, without that 1 or 2 second delay seen on older handhelds. This handheld includes 51 MB of memory, which is very nice for storing applications, movies (using the included Kinoma player), music, pictures and just about anything else. The display is one of the best I've seen, and the high-resolution is really nice. I like the Tungsten T3 expandable display, and was considering getting it, but I realized WiFi was too important. The WiFi is one of the best features of this handheld. I opened the WiFi setup application, it instantly detected my home network, I entered my WEP key and it was connected. Browsing the web on the Tungsten C is not anything like on a desktop or laptop. There is A LOT of scrolling involved, and many web pages take a long time to load, even with cable internet. There are also a lot of bugs in the web browser, and I've had to do many soft resets. I've downloaded AvantGo, which can be used as a web browser, and I never have to reset. The e-mail application, VersaMail, works very well. I just entered my POP3 mail account, and it worked. The keyboard is also a great feature. It is much better than Graffiti, and I'll never go back to a handheld without a keyboard. Palm includes Graffiti2, but I don't even bother using it because the keyboard is so convenient. One thing I've been hearing other reviewers complaining about is the mono headset jack. It would be nice to have stereo, but it's not that important to me. If I want to listen to music, I'll use my iPod. It works just fine for audiobooks, though. The headphones (sold separately from palm) look like ones for cell phones, however, they do not work with cell phones. Overall, this is a truly great handheld. It has a few minor problems, but so does any other electronic device. I've compiled a list of pros and cons:

Pros:

-400 Mhz Processor
-51MB RAM
-Built-in WiFi
-Thumb Keyboard
-Excellent Display
-Comes With Good Array Of Applications

Cons:

-Web Browser Has Too Many Bugs
-Mono Headphone Jack
-No Included Headset

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Signifigant Hardware Problems
Review: Palm's update corrupts the MAC address and renders the WiFi functionality useless. Support does not respond to any of my requests. BUY SOMETHING ELSE!!!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: don't buy it - wifi is bad and you get no support
Review: Please read and re-read another the review that has the title of:
"Don't buy this for the WiFi!" - this review hits the nail on the head. I have been a palm user since 1996, starting with the Palm Pilot Professional model. I have owned the Tungsten C for over a year and a half, and when I updated the firmware (update 3), wifi became completely useless. I've tried to contact palm, but this has gone no where (I was on hold for over 20 minutes before they hung up on me). I am never buying a Palm one device again. There have been many reports of this problem (wifi connection problem that occurs due to firmware update in conjunction with a hardware issue), but Palm One has done nothing - absolutley nothing. They haven't acknowldeged the problem, and they haven't done any sort of customer support service to fix this issue.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this expensive device. There is no one that stands behind it. Something like the Sharp Zaurus would be a much better choice. There are also plenty of Windows CE devices that would fit the bill.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great little PDA but...
Review: is it just me, or does this work and operate almost exactly like a Handspring Treo 90? It looks almost exactly like it (with a few modifications), or is it just me? I swear, I had one of those for over a year and it still works great, and I wanted to get something like it, or at least with the same programs, but I feel as if I just got the same exact thing. The frames are very similar, yet I think I got a little more high tech, not a lot, just a little. I betcha anything someone probably thinks the same way. Of course, I got both of mine refurbished.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Don't buy this for the WiFi!
Review: There's a lot to like about this device, but it falls way short on one of its most advertised features, WiFi, and PalmOne is pretty poor on tech and warranty support. In short:

Pros

-- Nice design & features (when they work!)
-- Fast processor/fast performance
-- Integrated keyboard has great tactile feel and response
-- Well built, sturdy feel

Cons

-- WiFi is very unreliable (I'm only infrequently successful in getting it to connect to my home wireless network, and I've tried every fix in the book)
-- Screen is unevenly backlit, so it appears blotchy, especially at the bottom (my T2 had a much better screen)
-- PalmOne product support is all but non-existent.
-- If you have a problem with a Palm, even within days of purchasing it, expect Palm to handle the problem by sending you a "refurb", in other words a used machine that may cosmetically fall anywhere between new and beat-up.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Let down over time
Review: I wrote the following before having a heart-to-heart with the customer service folks at corporate, and I must say they did listen and were quite understanding. In addition, the online support has improved since the incident described below. My rating would increase, but I am looking forward to moving away from the C. And despite the final words below, I will likely try out a Treo for my next unit...

I have two of these (Cs)-- and both have great features but over time they are problem plagued. One has been replaced/repaired three times, and the other just froze -- it does not recognize stylus tap. None of this would be too bad if Palmone provided basic support for these premium ($499!) units. Instead, they make support and access very difficult. No one to talk to for less than $25 a shot, and promise of $125+ for any repair makes this biggest high risk venture of all. What is more, the most that online folks can tell you (for the $25) is to hard reset -- which we all know by now...
I will replace these, but not with Palm product. I wish they would have a support process as good as the features on their product....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best one out there
Review: I bought the Tungsten C about a year ago, and it has been a great machine. There have been some quirks, but overall its been a great device. For those who gave it a lower rating because of the lack of a standard headphone jack, they should note that you can get headphones (mono) that will fit this unit on ebay, also some nokia cell phone buds will work too. The unit has a built in speaker. The reason for the special jack by the way was for wireless VOIP (voice over internet) so you could make phone calls
through your palm over the wifi.

The wifi feature is what sets this apart from other palms. I strongly recommend the Web Pro 3.0 browser or better, as the one that comes with the unit is not nearly as good. Also, there is a fantastic program that will run on this palm, called plucker that will take an entire website, and crunch it down to a single file that you synch to the palm, so you can read it later at your leasure. The plucker reader has a great scrolling feature for hands free reading.

The power of the Tungsten C is high. I have been able to watch video clips with Mplayer software. Also get software called McPhling. It allows you to get to your favorite programs with a swipe. (No more need to hit any keys!). So with the proper software additions this is a killer machine. I can't wait to see the next version of this palm.

You can also get palm versions of Aol instant messenger, and AOL mail. Another great program that can find lots of WIFI hotspots is called NETCHASER. It sniffs out and lists the names and power strenghth of networks it finds, as well as tells you whether they are encrypted.

Get one and you won't be dissappointed if you get some of the excellent software out there to enhance its capabilities.


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