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Palm T/X

steamboat26

steamboat26

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 25, 2006
1,123
0
Arlington VA
I am seriously considering buying one of these, but I'm not 100% sure. I like the idea that its basically an ultra-portable, scaled back, less powerful computer, with bluetooth and wifi, but I need some convincing. I also like the fact that on palm's website, you get a free wireless keyboard when you buy the t/x.

Any positive/negative feedback or comments about the T/X?
 
Only thing I can tell you about the Palm T/X is I bought one, a week later sold it.

Why? Well, I did not like the palm OS on there, I just did not feel comfortable to me. Was it a neat device, sure. You could play movies, look at pictures, connect up to a wifi network and all that. Ok thats good. Really though, I just hated that I was carrying an extra device and I didn't really bring myself to use it like I should have.

I now carry a Moto Q and love the damn thing. I dunno, good luck with your purchase. It may be what you are looking for.
 
i have a palm zire 72 and was thinking about upgrading to a T/X. but palm isn't committed to PDA's anymore, the wifi i think is limited to web and WPA. so eventually you won't be able to use it anymore. $300 seemed too expensive for me to jump on a dying platform. i had hoped palm releases something new soon but all we got was this foleo thing.

if i can get a T/X for ~$150 then I go for it because that's what it's worth to me. i would use it for 3-4 years then.

in genreal i can say i love my palm zire 72 and the T/X is even better. syncs perfectly with my mac, use it as a video viewer for podcasts, listen to audiobooks, have fun games on it, does all my organizing. it's just that $300 are not justified since i have a working PDA. there are sometimes deals out for ~$229. maybe i buy on of those eventually.

best thing is you go to a office depot or staples and you try if you like the internet browsing. office docs and pdf's work quite ok on my zire, so on the T/X it should be good.
 
I saw a few on ebay for $180 buy it now when I was looking a few months ago. I got one but I have not used it like I should and it's really becoming a wasted investment for me. Everywhere I would use wi-fi and such, I have my computer.
 
I have a T/X, but probably not for the same uses as most of you.

I was a PDA guy, once. I had a Sharp SE-500 back when the Palm Pilot Professional was becoming the emergent PDA. It had a geeky flip+swivel cover that kinda went click-clack-click whenever you opened or closed it. It was fun. :D

Over the years that evolved into a Handspring Visor, to a Sony CLIE, and ultimately I found myself not using a PDA so much. You know why? My cell phone! Back when I was a PDA geek I had a Nokia 5190 cell phone which was too big to fit in a pocket, so I always had my phone clipped to my belt. Now that my phone is pocket-sized, I have the phone and keys in one pocket, wallet and coins in another... and there's really no comfortable place to put a PDA (or an iPod, for that matter).

So I've basically learned to live without a PDA, and I sold the Sony CLIE.

That said, I did buy a Palm T/X at a good price, refurbished, about a year ago. I use it to keep tabs on geocaches, so I essentially use it as an offline web browser. I also love a good game of AcidSolitaire or Bejeweled -- great for bus or car rides or long waits at the doctor's office.

I like that the PDA has NVRAM so that settings and apps aren't lost when the battery dies. Those early PDA's used AAA batteries that lasted a month at a time, but today with color screens and wireless they only last a few days between charges. Losing all your data due to a dead battery was annoying and was one of the reasons I learned to be less dependent on my PDA data, and, eventually, not dependent on a PDA at all.

The WiFi on the T/X is a cute feature, but in practice I hardly use it. Like Steve Jobs said, you're browsing a mini-internet, and it's slower to boot. For me, the novelty of being able to check Gmail from my pocket was just that, a novelty. I have no REAL need to have Internet access "everywhere". I have found the WiFi reception to be rather weak, and it doesn't even work with my Apple Airport Express for some reason.

I do like the big screen of the T/X, great for reading e-books.

Overall I'd say, it's a good little unit, and if it meets your needs, all the better. But for me, if it weren't for the one redeeming use (storage of geocache data), I wouldn't have bought it, as I've learned to live without PDA's altogether.
 
I have a TX and love it. iPhone as a replacement? You're joking right? The Palm does way more because it has tons of 3rd party applications, the iPhone is basically a phone/browser/ipod. Apple blew it on not making the iPhone capable of being a PDA.

I use the TX for Pocket Quicken, Word & Excel Docs, Outlining, along with the superior contact management available on it through Dataviz's Beyond Contacts. I used to carry a planner and a laptop. Palm replaced those with something that fits in my pocket. I am sad about the state of the PDA market and it makes me worry about this class of device which is so powerful, yet so small.
 
steamboat26 said:
What is the deal that you were mentioning about the wifi being useless in a few years?
Click to expand...

i think the wifi is only a/b not g and only supports web and wpa security. next time the update the webstandard maybe the palm can't connect anymore. no way to upgrade it. palm did this with their palm wifi card for older palms. it supports onlt web encyption. so if someone has a wpa protected web you're out of luck. also the question is how long you can browse the web with a 480x320 screen when most web oriented devices nowadays have 640x480 or 800x600 screen.
 
I've owned my Palm T|X for about a year and a half now, and I use it most every day, but I'd agree with most or all of the comments (both positive and negative) voiced so far.

I would especially reiterate notjustjay's comment about the T|X's Wi-Fi capability as being "cute", but not all that useful in practice. I almost never use it, and the built-in web browser (Blazer) sucks (as does Opera Mini). And there's the other issue already mentioned about its lack of support for some of the newer wireless security standards, which makes it unusable on some wireless networks.

On the other hand, Black Belt is right about the wide selection of 3rd party software. I use mine all the time to watch movies (using TCPMP), and that's not a use that I had even considered when I first bought it.
 
I use my Palm TX quite a bit. I love to use it for taking notes and such during meetings and the software for scheduling your schedule is good I think. I like that I can now use my NEW MacBook Pro with the Bluetooth to sync it to the palm wirelessly. (That especially helps me to keep items synced with my MacBook Pro.) The web browser can be good and bad. I personally do not use it that much but I would recommend it if you plan on using it as a complement to your computer.
 
I use the WiFi when I need to. It sure is handy to be able to pull something out of your pocket and pull that info off the net you need - like a phone number or the price of a book on Amazon. It's WAY better than trying to use my phone internet.
 
I like mine, too, and use it daily. I keep all my client's info on it, including their formulas and last visit date (I'm a hairdresser who does a LOT of colour work). It syncs seamlessly when you DISABLE the palm desktop stuff and just use MissingSync from Mark/Space.

The WiFi is actually half decent, the blutooth works great. Documents can be a little iffy, as can Blazer, the builtin web-browser. I too canNOT get Opera Mini to work right. If Firefox made a true mini-version, I'd be one happy camper.

I don't like the OS. I had a Compaq before, and much prefer the Win portable OS, as I like multithreading. The way Palm handles multitasking is a joke. Seriously, a bad joke.

If HP/Compaq made a decently priced PDA, with BUILT IN WiFi and blutooth (rather than needing addons/sleeves) I'd probably go back to one of those. Just for the OS.

Oh, and there are some great 3rd-party apps for the Palm T/X.
 
I can't function without a PDA. I bought a TX at launch, and while it's not perfect, it is the best model out there right now, and the most solid one anyone's released in years. (Sony and Handspring's old models were better though.)

I think the most annoying issue with it-at least with mine-is the audio has background hiss to it through the headphone jack, like you'd hear in a Dell laptop (or apparently the new Macbook Pros :mad: ). So in that way it's worse than an iPod for media, but on the other hand I like having a built-in speaker (since I mostly listen to podcasts).

But anyway, for the basics the TX is very solid. The PIM apps work great, I use Documents to Go multiple times a day and it's solid (and works better on the TX than the E2). There's a bunch of other little programs I use frequently too. It is possible to restore the original Graffiti to it...

I wouldn't buy it from the Palm store unless you really think you're going to use that keyboard. Amazon and Newegg have it for around $265ish.

Also, if this is for Mac OS, you'll want to get The Missing Sync from:

http://www.markspace.com/
http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_palmos.php

I haven't personally used it (I'm on Windows right now mostly), but I've never heard anything bad about it. Palm's Mac software is terrible-I wouldn't even install it. The Missing Sync totally replaces it, and syncs with iCal, the address book, etc. Looks like the new version even has a built-in video encoder (though you can also use free tools for that, if you want to use the TX for video).

I also bought a cradle for it, which I think was $25ish from Amazon.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Wi-Fi. The included Blazer browser is okay. There are a handful of other browsers you can get too (Avantgo's client works as a web browser in addition to doing offline content.) Honestly I'm not sure I'd think the iPhone would do all that much better of a job, since I'm not sure it supports tabs or multiple screens.

I don't really use it though, since I just don't find a need very often. I'm usually not far from a full computer.

Regarding the iPhone, I'm really disapointed it won't have real application development. Could have developed into another PDA line (even though of course they can't call it that), but seems kind of limited in usefulness now...maybe if they added Word and Excel support, but without that...
 
I like mine

I really like the wifi on the T|X. Since I use gmail I can check my email from anywhere in the house, even (especially!) in bed. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night for a quick email and Woot! check.

I use it at work to sync my calendar and phonebook, and home for casual surfing.

I also feel a lot more comfortable surfing at free hotspots with the TX than my laptop.

Fred
 
I hadn't really thought about it, but I bet I would use my TX's Wi-Fi more if I had wireless at home. Would be easier and faster than walking to a computer (or having to have a computer running).
 
sorry to revive this thread, but I just found this pocket pc:
Hp Ipaq RX 4240 (link to hp)
I have been looking on google, and there are no comparisons between the two, despite the fact that they are both the same price point.
But its a tough call- I have heard that each OS- palm and windows mobile has its advantages. The palm has more memory and has a lot more reviews out there (seem generally mixed), put the HP has faster processor speed and a user replaceable battery. They both have SD slots, wifi and bluetooth, so its hard to decide.
Does anybody have an ipaq that can weigh in on this?
Also, I have yet to see anything regarding mac compatibility (i would assume no, but just in case does anyone know?)
 
steamboat26 said:
sorry to revive this thread, but I just found this pocket pc:
Hp Ipaq RX 4240 (link to hp)
I have been looking on google, and there are no comparisons between the two, despite the fact that they are both the same price point.
But its a tough call- I have heard that each OS- palm and windows mobile has its advantages. The palm has more memory and has a lot more reviews out there (seem generally mixed), put the HP has faster processor speed and a user replaceable battery. They both have SD slots, wifi and bluetooth, so its hard to decide.
Does anybody have an ipaq that can weigh in on this?
Also, I have yet to see anything regarding mac compatibility (i would assume no, but just in case does anyone know?)
Click to expand...

It's Mac compatibility would be the same situation as with the Palm TX-you need to buy that Missing Sync software.

I've tried a few Windows Mobile devices, and they were all terrible. One crashed multiple times a day (always when it was off)-once wiping out my documents. Another just randomly woulnd't sync some calender info, making it really dangerous (because I wouldn't know some stuff was missing, since other stuff was there).

You can't compare clock speeds on those things, because Palm OS is way more efficient. A 312Mhz Palm based unit will generally be faster than a 624MHz Windows one. While I wish Sony still made them, the TX at least works with a relative minimum of fuss, so to speak.
 
its good, im posting this right now from my T|X.

WIFI is 802.11b, but hey, every router out there supports b/g hybrid mode! in fact, its default mode in most router.

It does need a modern browser tho, blazer is ok with most pages, just hard to preserve the page structure. wait for minimo....

screenshottimesck9.png
 
How did you get that OS X-like skin? That's pretty awesome. Does it work okay? Do anything weird?
 
Looks like the consensus is a palm t/x.
How full featured is the web browser? Does it support any plug-ins? (I realize that this is a stupid question, but palms website and the numerous reviews provide very little insight into the capabilities of the browser on the t/x)
 
Wolfpup said:
How did you get that OS X-like skin? That's pretty awesome. Does it work okay? Do anything weird?
Click to expand...

it works fine, just a bit slow compare to classic UI, but smooth enough for everything.

the status bar is a skin from http://www.1src.com/freeware/index.php?cid=59 , the app used is mykbd,

other part is modified with Palm Revolt, you can download OSX skin from same website.

Looks like the consensus is a palm t/x.
How full featured is the web browser? Does it support any plug-ins?
Click to expand...
AFAIK, no plugins. and as a browser, it has no flash, no embed video, etc
It just does normal HTML, Javascript, CSS good enough. also worth mentioned are cookies, animated GIFs
 
I've had mine for about 1 1/2 years. I thought it was a great deal, as it has built-in wifi & BT. But, the email client is very limited, as is the browser. The browser is useable, but you have to live with formatting issues. No plug-in's that I'm aware of. Screen is very nice. I've used it for notes, and simple spreadsheets.

I'll be replacing most of it's functionality with the iPhone, except for a few apps (games, sat tracking, and a couple of HAM utilities). I'm really looking forward to a real browser. AND no stylus :)
 
i know out of the box, it supports mp3s, but i was reading somewhere that a program allowed you to use wmas and unprotected aacs, but then when i went to the website for the software, they seemed to indicate that they don't support aacs (or maybe it was vice versa :confused: ). Can someone shed light on this situation?
 
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