Today, Palm has announced the first two devices in their Tungsten family. The first device, the Tungsten T, is immediately available. The second device, the Tungsten W, will be available sometime in the first quarter of 2003.
The Tungsten family of handhelds is targeted at the mobile business consumer. These devices are the first Palm handhelds to provide native support for bluetooth connectivity allowing the Tungsten to connect to the internet when used with a bluetooth enabled mobile phone. The Tungsten features a 320 x 320 pixel hi-resolution screen, a move away from the traditional 160 x 160 Palm screen. The Tungsten family incorporates Palm's new 5-way navigational key. The 16 MB of internal RAM can be supplemented via a SD slot. The SD slot may also be used to add various SDIO peripherals.
Tungsten T
The Tungsten T is the first model to be released in the Tungsten family. The T is the lower of the two Tungsten models announced today. The 'T' is smaller and thinner than most of the Palm handhelds which have been previously released. The T measures a mere 4 inches by 3 inches. The T expands an additional inch, exposing a hidden graffiti area. The Tungsten T is the first device manufactured by Palm that will use the new version 5 of the Palm OS. It will also be the company’s first attempt at using Texas Instruments's OMAP (Open Multimedia Applications Platform) 1510 chip, a 144MHz processor. It is hoped that the new processor will improve audio and video capabilities in the device. The Tungsten T is currently available for $449.
Tungsten W
The Tungsten W has been announced, but Palm would only confirm that availability would be forthcoming. The Tungsten W will support GSM and GPRS for voice and data connections. It will feature a thumb-keyboard to ease use of the device when used for email and other business functions. Unlike the Tungsten T the W will use Palm OS 4.1 and the Motorola Dragonball 33 MHz chip. Anthony Armenta, a Palm product manager, defended the use of the older OS and slower processor by saying that "The focus in development was really on getting wireless connectivity and the application suite right with the Tungsten W." The Tungsten W is expected to carry a retail price tag of $549 without service activation. It is expected that the Tungsten W will become available sometime during the first quarter of 2003.
Editor's Take
While the announcement of the Tungsten W and the release of the Tungsten T is exciting news I'm not sure if these devices do enough to close the widening gap between the Palm OS and Pocket PC. When the Tungsten family was conceived, and rumors first began to circulate about these devices I was encouraged by the increased capabilities and improved feature set, but a lot has gone on in the mobile devices market since the intial discussions about the Tungsten.
One of the biggest moves has been the recent surge to bring a low cost Pocket PC to market. Dell and ViewSonic are two manufacturers looking to bring their devices to market at a very low cost to consumers. I'm curious as to whether Palm has a strong enough following in the corporate market to make the Tungsten a success.
One thing is certain, however, and that is the fact that increasing innovation and expansion of new technologies across the different manufacturers and operating systems will only serve to improve the experience for consumers.