Does anyone know how easy it will be to transfer my data to the new machine given that I have been working with Palm OS 4.1 for years. I am really hoping I can put my Palm backup SD card in the new machine and down load all the data, but some how I feel it will not be that easy.

Many thanks

signed me…La

Glad I am not the only one that has a time with the Graffiti…guess I will go to the keyboard and work with that! Just seems like the Graffiti on the old Tungsten E was much easier to use…

Any other suggestion on the private task issue???

forbaskets;21004 wrote:

Hi Everyone—I am so GLAD to have found this forum.

I have a Palm T|X and really love it except for a few little problems that I cannot seem to get quality help on from Palm.

I upgraded from a Palm Tungsten E that the bought the farm from abuse…decided to upgrade so I would have the wi-fi, etc.

The problems:
1) There seem to be BUNCHES of “private tasks” set up and everyday all day long it is ding-ding-ding beeping at me to take care of them. It is driving me nuts. I have NEVER set up any private task…never had them in my old Tungsten E and haven’t set them up in the new T|X…HELP! I cannot figure out how to get rid of them…it let’s me see them in the “reminders” when it alarms, but I cannot find them anywhere else to delete them…

2) The graffiti doesn’t work well, even when I slowly write and do it perfectly…any suggestions?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

I also have a T|X. I’m not sure what you mean by “private tasks.” Are these scheduled events, to-dos, alarms from some other software–or what? Some software that works on the Tungsten E will not work properly on the T|X. I had a Tungsten C. When I switched to the T|X, Mapopolis no longer worked. The developers either couldn’t make it work or decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble–more likely the former, according to their emails.

I don’t use Graffiti, as I’ve found it slower and more cumbersome than using the virtual keyboard. Try that for a while–it will take some getting used to.

I have a Palm T|X and really love it except for a few little problems that I cannot seem to get quality help on from Palm.

I upgraded from a Palm Tungsten E that the bought the farm from abuse…decided to upgrade so I would have the wi-fi, etc.

The problems:
1) There seem to be BUNCHES of “private tasks” set up and everyday all day long it is ding-ding-ding beeping at me to take care of them. It is driving me nuts. I have NEVER set up any private task…never had them in my old Tungsten E and haven’t set them up in the new T|X…HELP! I cannot figure out how to get rid of them…it let’s me see them in the “reminders” when it alarms, but I cannot find them anywhere else to delete them…

2) The graffiti doesn’t work well, even when I slowly write and do it perfectly…any suggestions?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

I purchased a Lifedrive and infrared keyboard a year and a half ago whilst in hospital, so that I could “talk” to the surgeons, nurses and family/friends as my jaw was wired shut following a horrendous accident. This was a life saver for the three months that I was wired. As a touch typist I found the keyboard very easy to operate and the screen was surprisingly easy on the eye. My Surgeon even complained that I was talking too much on it and could it be confiscated! Unfortunately my Lifedrive hard drive failed three months ago. Without hesitation I purchased the TX as a replacement (mainly because I couldn’t find another Lifedrive) after reading its specs.

IMHO The TX far out performs the Lifedrive. The screen is, if anything, even easier to read; bearing in mind that I also lost an eye in the accident; I now use it as my main method for reading books.

It’s just the gadget to go to seminars with. My only reservation as far as you are concerned is to whether you’d be better off with an infrared keyboard rather than the Bluetooth as I presume the Bluetooth may be more power hungry. I don’t have any experience with Bluetooth keyboards as yet.

As a result, I’m losing the portable nature of my Powerbook and hope to replace much of it with a Palm T|X. The T|X seems to have what I need most (.ogg vorbis support, text editing, wi-fi, browsing), but I’m concerned about an extended day of taking notes with it. There is a package with the Palm Bluetooth keyboard included at my local tech shop and while the keyboard seemed pretty good, that PDA screen is mighty small for a long day of writing. Anyone have any experience with it that can advise on whether this is a good option or whether I should stick with a notebook?

I would be writing at seminars. They are full day and happen about 1 every 2-3 weeks, so not on a daily basis.

maddaze wrote:

Thanks for the update (on European chargers). I’ll do a little more research on chargers for the TX. Buying one in the US and having it shipped here is worth the effort financially.

Harvey

I finally bought one here in Europe. When I did the research, there wasn’t enough of a savings to justify getting a TX in the US when you add in the cost of getting an int’l charger.

I’ve had it a couple of weeks now, and it works like a charm. Dislike the cover that comes with it and will get a replacement one of these day–something hard to better protect the screen. Was panicked after the first hot-sync where I had preserved all the apps on the TE I was replacing–it kept resetting. After a quick search at Google on the problem, went back and did a clean install, then re-installed the key apps. Fixed the problem. [large smile, accompanied by 'whew' of relief]

Harvey

I have had PDA’s & cell PDAs since the mid 90’s. This is the most useable unit that I have used since the beginning. If they actually merged the phone w/wifi & battery life, I’d go to one unit. Until then, I’m going to use two units, since I was using two anyway before this.

I’ll post problems as I find them.

gslusher wrote:

Palm does have a travel charger that would work in France. You may be able to find others, as well. I use a USB connector like the Zip-Linq and USB AC & auto power adaptors when I’m not at home. The Boxwave VersaCharger PRO can be bought with US or European plugs. (There’s also an adaptor kit available.) Boxwave also sells the miniSync , a nice retractable cable, and a bundle with the VersaCharger PRO and miniSync for the TX. Check around their site–they have several useful accessories.

Thanks for the update. I’ll do a little more research on chargers for the TX. Buying one in the US and having it shipped here is worth the effort financially.

Harvey

maddaze wrote:

Thanks for responding so quickly.

That’s a definite DRAT! about the connectors. I suppose I’d better buy a TX here in France to be sure I have a charger that works here. Unfortunately with the dollar weakening against the euro and and electronics normally costing 25% to 50% more than in the US, that’s a bummer!

Harvey

Check my edited/revised message for other solutions.

gslusher wrote:

The connectors for the Tungsten E and the TX seem to be different.

Thanks for responding so quickly.

That’s a definite DRAT! about the connectors. I suppose I’d better buy a TX here in France to be sure I have a charger that works here. Unfortunately with the dollar weakening against the euro and and electronics normally costing 25% to 50% more than in the US, that’s a bummer!

Harvey

maddaze wrote:

Informative and useful review. Clear and free of jargon.

Before I order a TX, I have two questions:

1) I’m replacing a Tungsten E whose screen cracked when I fell on it after bouncing off a car that cut in front of my bicycle. I hadn’t heard of the Innopocket cover before reading about here–sounds like what I should have had. Does the Innopocket cover slide into the slot used by the cover that comes with the TX?

2) I live in France. My current Tungsten E (which I bought in the states) came with a univeral power charger that I can use in the States or here in Europe. The charge for my wife’s E that I also bought in the US only works on US voltage and current. So, if I buy a TX in the states, will my E power charger (the universal one) also work on the TX, i.e., are the plugs the same?

Thanks for any input,
Harvey

1) Yes. There is a hole in the back cover to access the reset button, but you can flip the TX out of the back cover for access, as well. There are three openings at the top for the memory card, headphones & IR, and the power switch and stylus and on the bottom for the sync & power connectors. I’ve had no reason to take my TX out of the case.

2) The connectors for the Tungsten E and the TX seem to be different. It looks like the Tungsten E uses something like a mini-USB data connector and a round power connector. The TX uses a proprietary Palm data connector and a square power connector. (They are sometimes combined into one piece.) See this page for pictures of the connectors–better than you can find on Palm’s site. Check the fourth down (Tungsten E) and the sixth (TX).

If you have the Tungsten E2, on the other hand, the connector should work on the TX.

Palm does have a travel charger that would work in France. You may be able to find others, as well. I use a USB connector like the Zip-Linq and USB AC & auto power adaptors when I’m not at home. The Boxwave VersaCharger PRO can be bought with US or European plugs. (There’s also an adaptor kit available.) Boxwave also sells the miniSync , a nice retractable cable, and a bundle with the VersaCharger PRO and miniSync for the TX. Check around their site–they have several useful accessories.

maddaze wrote:

Informative and useful review. Clear and free of jargon.

Before I order a TX, I have two questions:

1) I’m replacing a Tungsten E whose screen cracked when I fell on it after bouncing off a car that cut in front of my bicycle. I hadn’t heard of the Innopocket cover before reading about here–sounds like what I should have had. Does the Innopocket cover slide into the slot used by the cover that comes with the TX?

2) I live in France. My current Tungsten E (which I bought in the states) came with a univeral power charger that I can use in the States or here in Europe. The charge for my wife’s E that I also bought in the US only works on US voltage and current. So, if I buy a TX in the states, will my E power charger (the universal one) also work on the TX, i.e., are the plugs the same?

Thanks for any input,
Harvey

1) Yes. There is a hole in the back cover to access the reset button, but you can flip the TX out of the back cover for access, as well. There are three openings at the top for the memory card, headphones & IR, and the power switch and stylus and on the bottom for the sync & power connectors.

2) The connectors for the Tungsten E and the TX seem to be different. It looks like the Tungsten E uses something like a mini-USB data connector and a round power connector. The TX uses a proprietary Palm data connector and a square power connector. (They are sometimes combined into one piece.) See this page for pictures of the connectors–better than you can find on Palm’s site. Check the fourth down (Tungsten E) and the sixth (TX).

If you have the Tungsten E2, on the other hand, the connector should work on the TX.

Before I order a TX, I have two questions:

1) I’m replacing a Tungsten E whose screen cracked when I fell on it after bouncing off a car that cut in front of my bicycle. I hadn’t heard of the Innopocket cover before reading about here–sounds like what I should have had. Does the Innopocket cover slide into the slot used by the cover that comes with the TX?

2) I live in France. My current Tungsten E (which I bought in the states) came with a univeral power charger that I can use in the States or here in Europe. The charge for my wife’s E that I also bought in the US only works on US voltage and current. So, if I buy a TX in the states, will my E power charger (the universal one) also work on the TX, i.e., are the plugs the same?

Thanks for any input,
Harvey

Bagnall wrote:

I currently have a Palm m505 and am thinking of going for the Palm TX (since Palm don’t seem likely to produce anything stellar in the near future).

My Palm has a simple book case that was shipped with it, which attaches to a groove on the left side of the PDA (A bit like a stylus silo).

Does anyone know of a similar, simple case for the T|X (I note that the standard flip cover has nothing to protect the back of the TX)?

The T|X comes with the flip cover, but there are many other cases available. The most protective cases, I expect, are the metal cases that, as with your m505, attach to the groove on the left of the T|X. Mine is by Innopocket, though it’s a different color–gunmetal blue, much like the T|X–than the ones I’ve seen online recently. It’s available from several sources–do a Google search on “Innopocket” to find them. It is quite trim and form-fitting. It does leave the SD-card slot, the headphone jack, reset button and the docking connector easily accessible, along with the top of the stylus silo. There are two SD-card slots in the cover.

I started using metal cases after I fell with my Tungsten C in my pocket. It has the “flip cover” it came with, but the screen was still cracked. I replaced it through Palm’s replacement program (it cost about half the price of a new one, if I recall correctly–their warranty does not cover the screen). I also ordered a metal case. The one I got (I can’t remember from where) is a bulkier than the Innopocket T|X case I have now.

Cases.com has several cases for the T|X, including leather book-style cases and aluminum cases. Stylus Central has an aluminum case and other accessories. Palm, itself, sells several cases, though their prices tend to be high. ExtremePDA has several cases, including the Innopocket metal case. Vaja has a very nice-looking leather case (I think that there’s a layer of ABSplastic in the cover to provide extra protection) that you can get in a large number of colors and combinations of colors, with several other options (e.g., with or without the belt clip). They’re not cheap, but they are exceptionally well-made and gorgeous. (I’ve had Vaja cases for a Handspring Visor Deluxe, a Nokia phone, and two iPods.)

You can probably find more if you nose around. Some cases open from the bottom, others from the right side. Some are leather (of varying quality–and cost!), others are metal. It just depends upon what you want.

My Palm has a simple book case that was shipped with it, which attaches to a groove on the left side of the PDA (A bit like a stylus silo).

Does anyone know of a similar, simple case for the T|X (I note that the standard flip cover has nothing to protect the back of the TX)?

I just purchased a Dell Axim 51v with the GPS blue tooth navigator through Costco ($600 plus tax). The device was a terrible disappointment. The alarm function was completely unreliable. Alarms set on the calendar would work for a few days and then stop working. The PDA required what is termed a hard reset in order for the alarms to function again. A hard reset is a time consuming operation. It takes about an hour to completely back up and restore the files deleted by a hard reset. I had never owned any type of PDA before, But I naively believed that a simple reliable alarm clock and audible appointment notifier would be included in the programs. I was wrong.

As an indication of the poor quality of service at Dell, one of their agents told me that the company was doing me a favor by giving free support, and that they really didn’t have to provide any support at all.

The Axim x51v originally accepted voice recordings for calendar appointments, but that function also stopped working correctly. After a few days, whenever I tried to record for the calendar appointment, the PDA would switch to the notebook program and put the recording in the wrong place. There is an option in the notebook program to force the recording to stay in an existing program, but that option no longer worked. The folks at Dell repeated the mantra of soft reset, hard reset, and reinstallation of Outlook and the Sync program. Doing such did not permanently fix either the alarm or recording problems. They continued to randomly recur.

I returned the Axim 51v to Costco after trying to get it to work for three weeks. I think the Microsoft Mobile 5 operating system and/or Outlook program are too buggy for a reliable PDA. I consider the reminder programs the most important on a PDA and the only reason one would purchase the device..

I purchased a TX from a local Office Max store that offered a free wireless keyboard (supposedly $70 retail) and a 256mb Sandisk card with some software and Rolling Stones music preprogrammed on the card; moreover, OfficeMax price-matched Circuit City’s $270 sale price. I couldn’t pass up the chance to try the discounted TX since I desperately needed a good PDA.

The first thing that I noticed is that the TX came with no case at all, only a flimsy little flip cover. The x51 came with a pretty poor cloth sack that offered no protection for the top of the unit, but it did protect the rest of the unit from dust and abrasion. I would say that a decent case is a necessary requirement for both units.

The Palm stylus is much nicer as the Gadgeteer reviewer noted. The stylus on the x51 is only about 1/8″in diameter so it is difficult to grip well. The TX case is slimmer and lighter than the x51’s case. The case appeared to be well constructed on both units, and they both look nice.

The X51 had several features lacking on the TX. The x51 will accept flash cards as well as SD cards. The Axim X51 has a replaceable battery.
The TX cannot use extra batteries because the battery is not user replaceable.

As a side note, many vendors on the Internet offer replacement batteries for the TX so that one can replace the battery if it fails after the warranty has expired. The replacement battery comes in a kit with instructions and the Torque drivers necessary to disassemble the TX.

After initially testing the Palm alarms for a few days, I decided that the TX was a keeper. The notification system was easy to use and it worked flawlessly. I went ahead and purchased a Toshiba 1gb SD memory card to test out the PDA’s media storage and media playing functions.

After evaluating the TX, in my opinion the Palm PDA is infinitely superior to the Axim x51 in regards to reliability. The TX so far has never had any problems whatsoever and that feat has occurred despite an inexperienced user entering data and playing with the programs. In the first week that I had the Axim, I found it necessary to perform three hard resets and about six soft resets because of crashes in the Windows Mobile 5 operating system. In contrast to the Dell programs, the TX calendar notifiers and task alarms are easy to use and the audible alarms have been completely reliable.

In general, I found the Palm TX operating system much more convenient even though I have been using the Windows operating system for many years and the Palm programming was completely new to me.

The TX comes with one of the most comprehensive help systems that I have ever seen. One can download a 690 page Adobe PDF manual that covers just about anything one would ever want to know about using the TX!

I haven’t yet read that huge manual, and I probably never will. So far I haven’t needed any help from the manual, or from a User’s Forum, or from the Palm customer service folks. I obviously cannot compare Palm and Dell in the customer service department since I haven’t needed any customer service from Palm. I can definitely assert that Dell’s customer support is terrible as I described previously.

To operate the TX, I used the help files and menu directions built into the PDA for any details that I was unsure about. The only area where I was a little confused even with the pop-up help file was in the transfer of contacts from my address book in Outlook Express to the TX. The Palm instructions often referenced Outlook but I saw nothing about Outlook Express. After some fumbling around, I discovered that I could export my OE address book as a comma separated file to my desktop, and then import that file directly into the TX Contacts program. All of the fields that I used were correctly transferred to the TX using this method. Names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses synchronized perfectly. Probably somewhere in that huge manual there is a description of how to import data directly from Outlook Express, but my way works nicely, and it is fast and easy once one knows the procedure.

The TX Pocket Tunes music player and Rhapsody music cataloging and transfer systems worked flawlessly.

The TX music player permits a variable volume boost, a feature that I could not find on the Handheld version of Windows Media Player on the Axim.
Both PDA’s played most music well, although the Axim could not perform a volume boost for MP-3’s that had a low recording level for very soft music.
Soft passages were inaudible on the Axim speaker with the volume control at maximum. Cataloging was difficult on the Axim PDA because the library insisted on importing all of the voice commands installed by the GPS navigation system when searching for music files.

The TX reproduced the music perfectly from Mp-3 recordings cut from old vinyl records. For some reason, The Windows program on the Axim did not suppress the irritating needle hiss on MP-3 recordings of old vinyl cuts. I think that the TX is the winner at music storage and reproduction.

Photos were well displayed on screen by both systems, but the TX had an intuitively easier system for cataloging and showing photos. Both the Axim and the TX have nice screens that accurately reproduce color, and both PDA’s offer more than enough resolution for the small PDA screens. The Axim sync system for music and photos was buggy and difficult to use so I turned it off. Because any information on the Axim expansion card is not accessible during the long process engendered by a hard reset, the x51v isn’t reliable enough for a professional whose responsibility might entail a photo slide show for an important occasion. The TX is the better PDA for storing and presenting photos in my opinion.

The Axim has a potentially useful feature that is lacking in the TX. The x51v accepts recorded messages. Unfortunately, I found the recording system to be unworkable for calendar appointments where it would be most useful to me. The buggy program worked for a few days, and then it would arbitrarily refuse to allow voice recordings in the calendar notes. Whenever I pressed the record button, the recorder jumped out of the calendar and went to the notebook so it put the messages in the wrong place. The recording to the calendar feature could only be restored by a hard reset. Essentially, the voice recorder is useless except for making a short note.

The Axim includes a good dictionary and spell checker and can suggest word completion after the entry of a few letters. I believe that Palm should charge a few dollars more if necessary and include a dictionary, Thesaurus, and a grammar/spell checker. The Axim is far superior out of the box as a word processor.

I fooled around with the Palm Grafitti handwriting recognition system for a bit, and it actually could read my lousy handwriting that left the Axim clueless. I suspect that the better performance by the TX in character recognition may simply be a result of the fact that the TX stylus is larger in diameter and more comfortably suited to handwriting. In any event, I still continue to use the on-screen touch keyboard, and I prefer the Axim’s. For one thing, it has a delete key. For another, the keyboard can optionally be resized to a larger format.

In conclusion, I personally believe that the Palm TX is a well designed tool that does what a PDA should do. The Axim x51v is an expensive toy that has too many system and/or program crashes to be suitable for serious work.

Julie wrote:

I’m not saying the T|X is a bad PDA. I just do not feel that it is advantageous to upgrade from the T5 to it.

Julie,
I would have to agree that the T5 and TX are an unfair upgrade. I did the same thing. I started with a T5 and thought I wanted WiFi so a TX is mine. However from my standpoint, the loss of “Drive Mode” by the TX is a waste (BTW have found no way to send files directly into SD). Plus the thought of “Must add WiFi Switch to home because Drive Mode is absent” takes the cost of the TX back to the cost of T5. Have tried placing the files used by T5 for Drive Mode onto the TX … no good. Have also tried commercially available software (fail to recall name) that emulates drive mode into TX … no good. Another detraction for me was the loss of the “Home” icon within the toolbar which was replaced with a “Find” icon. Yes a wonderful replacement can be installed and noticed a reference to it within this forum. I guess a lessor detraction for me was the seeing for the first time a web page in the 320×480 or 480×320. I knew what 320×480 would do to a web site … not smaller items on a page but less items within the screen. So lets get back to comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Now, what is simular in capability to the TX. Don’t let me put the TX under the bus, it’s a great tool where needed. I simply THOUGHT I needed it at the time. But the wife has the T5 now … and may have the TX in the future.
Tom