Palm Tungsten E2 Handheld by Palm
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Digital camera reviews of Palm Tungsten E2 Handheld
Digital camera Review: Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
This PDA just plain works. It's fast, the base memory is plentiful, and the display is wonderful. I bought it nearly a month ago, use it every day, and have not had to charge it yet (granted it charges a little with every sync to the computer, but still!).
I work in the medical field, and it is VERY useful. There are lots of medical apps for it too, like the DSM-IV or the PRD. I keep all my appointments in it, all my contacts, even .pdfs and word docs. You'll use this way more often than you think; I know I do. It's definitely a smart buy.
Digital camera Review: Amazon got it wrong
Summary: 1 Stars
Although we ordered the Palm Tungsten E2, Amazon sent the Palm m515, a much older model. We paid approximately $250 for this. Meanwhile, we ordered the Palm Tungsten EZ through a private party on Amazon and, for ~$125, we got what we ordered. I chose the one star ratings because they did not send the item they want me to rate.Digital camera Review: An odd, disappointing update to Palm's workhorse model...
Summary: 3 Stars
There is a reason, sadly, why sales of PDA's have shrunk each of the past few years -- a crushing lack of imagination and innovation -- while rival gadgets competing for valuable pocket space, like Apple's iPod, have taken up the slack and have seen booming sales as a result.
The Tungsten E was a breakthrough in its time, a beautiful piece of engineering with a high-quality color screen and a rock-bottom price of 199 clams. Its main drawbacks -- it's paltry 32MB Ram and it's lack of built-in wireless capabilities -- could be fixed with add-on cards.
But two years is a long-time in electronics land. Since then, Apple released the iPod mini, which will store the contacts most people use Palms for, plus hold 4GB worth of tunes, for the same price. It's also far smaller than a Palm.
Meanwhile, folks who want the more sophisticated functions that a Palm can deliver -- like medical imaging etc. for docs, photos, sophisticated calculator, email and web surfing on the go -- found the Tungsten E outclassed by Blackberry's, upgraded cell phones, Palm's own Treo and the like.
So it was odd, and frankly disappointing, to get a look at the new, pricier Tungsten E2. I'd love to see the market research that suggested they could raise prices with a minimal feature upgrade while the competish has been eating their lunch. After a two-year wait, they didn't even increase the 32 MB memory. They merely made it non-volatile flash (something they should have done long, long ago). At a time when Apple is selling a 1GB shuffle for $149 and flash memory is dirt cheap, it's mind-boggling why Palm would choose to link the E2's fabulous hi-res screen to low-rent memory.
As for what you still don't get: There is no phone, no camera, no thumbpad, no WiFi. This is close to a pure PDA, though it can display pictures and double as a poor-man's MP3 player.
The added bluetooth -- odd why they went that route instead of the far more common WiFi -- does nothing unless you have a compatible bluetooth phone or computer.
As with the E, the E2 still is a great design. Clean, simple, portable, shirt-pocketable. No keyboard, but I've never been a thumbpad fan.
MS Office functions are also included -- Word, Outlook, Powerpoint. Why you would use them, however, is a bit bizarre to me. Who wants to spend the time coding in a Powerpoint presentation with a stylus? Yet, if this is important to you, it's here. And having your email with you can be a plus...
Here's a basic product guide:
Mono Palm Zire -- Bargain basement model with 7.2 MB of Ram, upgraded from hobbled 2 MB original model. About 100 smackers. Often offered free as bundle deals with new computers. Good starter model for the price, but designed to leave you wanting more. Includes rechargeable battery. Memory can not be upgraded. Horribly skimpy black-on-grey screen.
Tungsten T2+, etc.: Deluxe models that feature, in some cases, larger screens/Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/thumbpads with dropdown graffiti screens. All unnecessary features in my book, especially given their much higher prices.
Zire 72: Similar to E2, but with a low-rent camera attached.
Treos: These models should be seriously considered if you are a thumbpad fan, or if you want your PDA to also be your phone. But let's face it, how many people can afford spending several hundred smackers on a PDA?
BTW, when comparing, I've found you can generally ignore the speed of the processor. For most Palm functions, the reaction time is near instantaneous, or at most a second or two lag.
As for PocketPCs, some of them are now very attractively priced and are worth checking out. I've yet to use one extensively, so I'll stick to what I know -- Palms are simple, easy to use and almost guaranteed to improve your productivity. It's like having a backup for your brain. And who doesn't need that?
Digital camera Review: As I former Tungsten T2 user, I expected more.
Summary: 2 Stars
I've used a Tungsten T2 for years, which has suited me very well. The touch screen on the T2 failed, so I bought the E2 believing it was the closest match in the current product line. I'd still be using that T2 if it hadn't gone south.
The GOOD: I really like the free-format graphical notes screen. No more worrying about my intentions vs. grafitti. Way cool!
The BAD: I have largish hands, and the T2 stylus was a bit of a challenge. The E2 stylus is slimmer yet and does not pop out of the PDA as easily. I find myself using my Dr. Grip pen/pencil/stylus from my shirt pocket (I love that pen!) rather than fight with this slim-jim.
Oh, do I miss the T2's docking station! I'd come home from work, drop my T2 in the dock, hit hotsynch and walk off. Now I have to play cable games. Is it hard? No. If I never had a dock, would I miss it? Maybe not. But I sure notice it. I synch with machines at work and at home, so now every synch is a dig-in-the-laptop-bag-to find-the-fool-cable ordeal plus chasing down the charger. I'd score this as "inelegant". I'm feeling pressured into buying more cables in order to make life flow well.
I also notice that some of my already-purchased applications do not behave well on this unit, especially with regard to the scroll button. I'm sure it's an OS level thing, but why an OS upgrade should break scrolling escapes me.
And the hard case. The hard case. How can I be polite about this made-in-China piece of work? I guess you'll have to read my review over on the hard case page.
Do you want to hotsynch with MS Outlook? You have my condolences! I use Outlook at work because of our MS Exchange environment, but have chosen to use the Palm desktop at home. Palm Desktop runs very well, but I still have yet to experience an error-free Outlook hotsynch after 3 weeks of messing with it. GRRRRR!
Knowing what I know now, I have to say that I appreciate the familiarity of the Palm environment, but I wish I'd spent more time researching the options.
Digital camera Review: Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my wife as a medical study tool for college in her profession (Nursing) for the software that I installed (PEPID) this works great, very sturdy, bright ,and very fast to use the product itself very slim, light and ergonomics are all a compliment in itself.