Tungsten T5 disappointment: OS 5.4 and no WiFi

Laurens · 10-04-2004, 02:55 AM

Major disappointment: it's running OS 5.4.

(And no WiFi either.)

Tungsten T5 specs

Alexander Turcic · 10-04-2004, 03:07 AM

It seems palmOne spends all its resources and time on expanding its Treo line. Don't take me wrong, the T5 doesn't look like a bad PDA (and it is rather inexpensive for $399 ESP), but I expected more after waiting for all this time.

Laurens · 10-04-2004, 03:28 AM

Looking closer at the specs: no voice recorder, no cradle... what were they thinking??? The T5 is supposed to be PalmOne's cream-of-the-crop PDA, right? Well, as far as I can see the only high-end aspect is the 320x480 screen. Sorry, I can't hide my disappointment.

TadW · 10-04-2004, 05:19 AM

Killer! ;(

I share everyone's disappointment, and it tells me only one thing: SELL your palmOne shares NOW!

ignatz · 10-04-2004, 08:18 AM

I'm stunned too, though it's just as I feared. This should be the T|E2. For the same cash you can buy the TH55, which has wifi built in and a voice recorder. They just don't get it. This doesn't give me much faith for Palm's future. The business market is going to continue its migration to Pocket PC...

Bob Russell · 10-04-2004, 08:40 AM

Yes, disappointing specs, but I'm still delighted to get one as soon as I can. Big upgrade for me, and I like PalmOS. I've resigned myself to PalmOne being a year or so behind the technology curve. But I'm concerned about the focus on Treo also, and the potential for businesses to go mainly Pocket PC. Not to mention lots of consumers.

In about a year or two, when sales fall for PalmOne's traditional PDAs, they may respond by saying they were right to pursue smart phones because the traditional PDA market has proved to be weak as expected. Of course, that will be their own fault because of weak device offerings.

Let's hope I'm wrong!

Alexander Turcic · 10-04-2004, 08:46 AM

It is interesting how palmOne tries to justify the old, less-capable Palm 5.4 OS:

Stephane Maes, senior product line manager for handhelds at PalmOne, insisted there was no need to go to the newer OSes.

“We’ve done everything on top of the [current] OS like File Transfer. In terms of OS 6, you’re not going to gain anything,” Maes said.

So OS 6 is all about File Transfer? Give me a break.

Laurens · 10-04-2004, 08:46 AM

Well, you have to wait for a month as the T5 won't be available until November.

Alexander Turcic · 10-04-2004, 08:50 AM

Bob given that PalmSource announced the first smartphones (and now I definitely believe that this includes PDAs as well) would emerge in the beginning of next year, I'd wait if I was you the two or three months longer.

Also, wouldn't you miss built-in WiFi?

Brad · 10-04-2004, 08:57 AM

The T5 seems aimed at the business folks that run around with UBS drives. A friend of mine in the hotel business sees lots of people with those so maybe there is a market.

But I am certainly not in that market demographic. I'm not sure I would want a Wi-Fi card sticking out the top of my handheld - seems like it would break too easy.

sUnShInE · 10-04-2004, 09:01 AM

Wow, talk about buzzkill.

This is definitely a high-powered little gadget, but c'mon people. This seems like a bizarre attempt to put something into the market before they officially unveil Cobalt. It's just so obvious that the OS isn't ready yet. I'm guessing early '05 now (uneducated of course).

Alexander Turcic · 10-04-2004, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sUnShInE

Wow, talk about buzzkill.

This is definitely a high-powered little gadget, but c'mon people. This seems like a bizarre attempt to put something into the market before they officially unveil Cobalt. It's just so obvious that the OS isn't ready yet. I'm guessing early '05 now (uneducated of course).

Morpheus was right with his interpretation of the PalmSource OS 6.1 interview, namely that "smartphones" would include PDAs.

So let's wait for Tungsten T6...

Colin Dunstan · 10-04-2004, 09:26 AM

Infosync had a chance already to play with the T5:

The screen is the same bright and crisp high-res design palmOne has been using for over a year...The user-accessible RAM, what most users are used to, is 55 MB, slightly more than the T3. Then there is 160 MB of user-accessible Flash ROM that functions like an internal flash drive and can survive a power loss...The battery has been beefed up as well to 1100 mAh compared to the T3's not quite adequate 950 mAh...While it doesn't offer as much of a swiss-army-knife-esque feature set as recent models from HP and Dell, it pulls off palmOne's usual polish and integration, the company's main claim to fame.

TadW · 10-04-2004, 09:30 AM

I've not seen any mention of the T5 battery life. Unfortunately, it'll be a while until
we get some real-life reports of how the battery holds up. It is one of my major concerns when upgrading my PDA.

Zire · 10-04-2004, 09:38 AM

I guess that I have to upgrade to os X if I want to get an upgrade for my zire71. May just not upgrade and buy another zire71 when the time comes.

10-04-2004, 02:55 AM	#1
Laurens Jah Blessed Posts: 1,295 Karma: 1373 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: The Netherlands Device: iPod Touch	Tungsten T5 disappointment: OS 5.4 and no WiFi Major disappointment: it's running OS 5.4. (And no WiFi either.) Tungsten T5 specs

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10-04-2004, 03:07 AM	#2
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	It seems palmOne spends all its resources and time on expanding its Treo line. Don't take me wrong, the T5 doesn't look like a bad PDA (and it is rather inexpensive for $399 ESP), but I expected more after waiting for all this time.

10-04-2004, 03:28 AM	#3
Laurens Jah Blessed Posts: 1,295 Karma: 1373 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: The Netherlands Device: iPod Touch	Looking closer at the specs: no voice recorder, no cradle... what were they thinking??? The T5 is supposed to be PalmOne's cream-of-the-crop PDA, right? Well, as far as I can see the only high-end aspect is the 320x480 screen. Sorry, I can't hide my disappointment.

10-04-2004, 05:19 AM	#4
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	Killer! ;( I share everyone's disappointment, and it tells me only one thing: SELL your palmOne shares NOW!

10-04-2004, 08:18 AM	#5
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	I'm stunned too, though it's just as I feared. This should be the T\|E2. For the same cash you can buy the TH55, which has wifi built in and a voice recorder. They just don't get it. This doesn't give me much faith for Palm's future. The business market is going to continue its migration to Pocket PC...

10-04-2004, 08:40 AM	#6
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Yes, disappointing specs, but I'm still delighted to get one as soon as I can. Big upgrade for me, and I like PalmOS. I've resigned myself to PalmOne being a year or so behind the technology curve. But I'm concerned about the focus on Treo also, and the potential for businesses to go mainly Pocket PC. Not to mention lots of consumers. In about a year or two, when sales fall for PalmOne's traditional PDAs, they may respond by saying they were right to pursue smart phones because the traditional PDA market has proved to be weak as expected. Of course, that will be their own fault because of weak device offerings. Let's hope I'm wrong!

10-04-2004, 08:46 AM	#7
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	It is interesting how palmOne tries to justify the old, less-capable Palm 5.4 OS: Stephane Maes, senior product line manager for handhelds at PalmOne, insisted there was no need to go to the newer OSes. “We’ve done everything on top of the [current] OS like File Transfer. In terms of OS 6, you’re not going to gain anything,” Maes said. So OS 6 is all about File Transfer? Give me a break.

10-04-2004, 08:50 AM	#9
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Bob given that PalmSource announced the first smartphones (and now I definitely believe that this includes PDAs as well) would emerge in the beginning of next year, I'd wait if I was you the two or three months longer. Also, wouldn't you miss built-in WiFi?

10-04-2004, 08:57 AM	#10
Brad Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 201 Join Date: Sep 2004 Device: Cybook Gen3 / EB1150 /iPhone	The T5 seems aimed at the business folks that run around with UBS drives. A friend of mine in the hotel business sees lots of people with those so maybe there is a market. But I am certainly not in that market demographic. I'm not sure I would want a Wi-Fi card sticking out the top of my handheld - seems like it would break too easy.

10-04-2004, 09:01 AM	#11
sUnShInE Drama Queen Posts: 784 Karma: 11712 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: United States Device: Palm Tungsten T\|T3	Wow, talk about buzzkill. This is definitely a high-powered little gadget, but c'mon people. This seems like a bizarre attempt to put something into the market before they officially unveil Cobalt. It's just so obvious that the OS isn't ready yet. I'm guessing early '05 now (uneducated of course).

10-04-2004, 09:26 AM	#13
Colin Dunstan Is papyrophobic! Posts: 1,926 Karma: 1009999 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Device: Dell Axim	Infosync had a chance already to play with the T5: The screen is the same bright and crisp high-res design palmOne has been using for over a year...The user-accessible RAM, what most users are used to, is 55 MB, slightly more than the T3. Then there is 160 MB of user-accessible Flash ROM that functions like an internal flash drive and can survive a power loss...The battery has been beefed up as well to 1100 mAh compared to the T3's not quite adequate 950 mAh...While it doesn't offer as much of a swiss-army-knife-esque feature set as recent models from HP and Dell, it pulls off palmOne's usual polish and integration, the company's main claim to fame.

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10-04-2004, 09:30 AM	#14
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	I've not seen any mention of the T5 battery life. Unfortunately, it'll be a while until we get some real-life reports of how the battery holds up. It is one of my major concerns when upgrading my PDA.

10-04-2004, 09:38 AM	#15
Zire Fanatic Posts: 522 Karma: 14050 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Astoria, NY Device: Zire 71	I guess that I have to upgrade to os X if I want to get an upgrade for my zire71. May just not upgrade and buy another zire71 when the time comes.