PDA News

Palm Introduces Tungsten T2 Handheld, With Palm's Sharpest Screen, More Memory & Software
By Amy | Reporter
Date: 08/14/2003

Bringing Palm's sharpest screen and more memory into the same compact design as the original Palm Tungsten T handheld, Palm, Inc. introduced the Palm Tungsten T2 handheld. Like the original Tungsten T handheld, the Tungsten T2 handheld is equipped with integrated Bluetooth and voice-recorder capabilities, but with an additional focus on multimedia features.

Tungsten T2 Handheld Features
- 32MB SDRAM (29.5MB user available) of memory for twice the storage capacity of the original Tungsten T handheld
- Palm's sharpest color screen -- a high-resolution 320 x 320 transflective TFT display
- Built-in wireless communication suite -- Bluetooth, feature-rich email client, SMS, and web browser
- The latest Palm OS, v5.2.1, with updated software features, including Graffiti 2 and on-screen writing for input in the Tungsten T2 handheld's compact mode
- MP3, video playback, and photo software for listening to music files, playing movie trailers, and storing photos

"With the Palm Tungsten T2 handheld, users can enjoy more memory, an ultrasharp color screen, and the latest Palm OS software, plus listen to MP3s, watch video clips, and view their favorite photos wherever they go," said David Christopher, vice president of product management for Palm Solutions Group.

"Handheld enthusiasts with a taste for innovation will appreciate the Tungsten T2 handheld for its compactness and built-in Bluetooth technology for wireless email and Internet access as well as communicating with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as phones, PCs or other handhelds."

Pricing and Availability

The Palm Tungsten T2 handheld debuts at the estimated street price of US$399. Also effective today, Palm announced the price reduction of two current handhelds. The Palm m130 handheld is reduced from US$199 to US$179, and the Palm m515 handheld is reduced from US$299 to US$249.

Memory Expansion
The Tungsten T2 handheld offers 32MB of memory (29.5MB available to the user) -- double that of the original Tungsten T handheld. The key to this memory expansion was Palm Solutions Group's recent technology breakthrough, which extends the random-access memory (RAM) capacity of Palm Powered handhelds from 16MB to 128MB. This breakthrough will allow Palm handheld users to run more applications and store more data than ever before on a Palm Powered device -- including emails with attachments, documents, pictures, video clips, voice memos and games.

With 32MB of memory, users can manage both business files and personal information with plenty of built-in storage capacity.

TFT Display
With the same screen as the Palm Zire(TM) 71 and the Palm Tungsten C handhelds, the Tungsten T2 handheld features a bright 320 x 320 transflective color screen that supports more than 65,000 colors. For even better indoor and outdoor viewing, the Tungsten T2 handheld's ultrasharp screen provides a clear and crisp display of images, presentations, and spreadsheets.

Software
Running on a powerful Texas Instruments' OMAP1510 processor with the latest Palm OS, v5.2.1, the Palm Tungsten T2 handheld boosts power and speed for the most demanding tasks. Users now can enjoy faster interaction with data-intensive documents.

The Tungsten T2 handheld delivers additional software features, such as color themes; on-screen writing; and Graffiti 2, Palm's new and more intuitive handwriting-recognition software.

Bluetooth Wireless Communication
The Tungsten T2 handheld has integrated Bluetooth technology and the complete wireless communication software suite from Palm. With built-in support for Bluetooth phone models from leading phone manufacturers and global GSM/GPRS carriers, the Tungsten T2 handheld can connect wirelessly in more than 20 countries.

Feature-rich VersaMail 2.5, Palm Web Browser Pro, and software to dial phone numbers from the Palm Address Book and manage SMS text messaging also are built-in.

MP3, Video Playback, and Photo Software
For listening to music files stored on an expansion card (sold separately), playing movie trailers, and storing photos, the Tungsten T2 handheld ships with RealNetworks' RealOne Mobile Player, Kinoma Player and Producer, and Palm Photos software.

MP3 or RealAudio files stored on an expansion card can be heard through the handheld's new built-in speaker, or via the stereo headphone jack located on the left top side of the device. Play lists can be created and managed from the music files stored on expansion cards.

With Kinoma Player and Producer, and a free downloadable QuickTime application, Tungsten T2 handheld users can enjoy video playback by downloading movie trailers.

The Palm Photos application provides photo viewing, organizing and basic editing functions. Performing a HotSync(R) operation will move photos to and from the Tungsten T2 handheld, so images can be transferred to the desktop for cropping or rotation, and then synced back for a portable photo album.

Other Functionalities
- Improved desktop software -- new drag-and-drop capabilities for fast file conversion
- DataViz Documents To Go Professional Edition -- Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatible document handling installed during the first HotSync operation
- VersaMail 2.5 email application for synchronization with Outlook email and direct downloading email from POP and IMAP email accounts

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