Palm T|X

Over all your review seemed fairly positive. I am a T|X owner and obvious palm fanatic (6 palm OS devices since 2000). I think the T|X was a step forward from the T5. Obviously it has built in WiFi which is an absolute must right now. The big step forward is such a solidly built and complete package for only $299 (online as cheap as $250). It really is a great PDA at a great price.

Of course palm is not exciting and is definitely not going to pull a Sony. Their whole business is producing the middle of the line PDA. One can not argue with that philosophy as uber geek PDA’s (ex: Sony UX50) were expensive and did not sell well.

unlike my wife, i don’t use the phone much, so i opted for the TX vs. a Treo 650 (still got to play with hers in the evenings). TX uses the same charger (as should be the case). slower processor (relatively) does not affect my use, yeah, docs to go takes a second or two to boot but not noticeable when scrolling spreadsheets – even works well with MP3’s playing in background. with the current price of SD cards, have no problem with the limited in built storage available.

pros:
bright wide screen (believe it’s the same as the life-drive one)
as mentioned by julie, fun to surf with & good wifi connectivity

cons:
– the buttons (which can be activated with a little pressure on the flap)
– battery life’s not great
BUT, given the price and features, am VERY pleased with it.

a bug: after loading all the software provided on the CD, versa mail re-starts when I attempt to delete emails from the TX (when off-line). My wife’s Treo 650 also does the same when all software is loaded AND/OR her versa mailbox starts getting full. very annoying given that we rely on it heavily for our business.

am deducing that it’s a versa mail/palm issue when running out of storage space. any suggestions for a fix or alternative bug-free heavy-duty-capable email options?

the TX was offered here in Beijing at a price only slightly higher than the rest of the world (new models used to be delayed and at a significant mark-up). as with the treo, the hot-swappable Chinese/English OS interface works well in the asian version available in this region.

here’s hoping palm & its disowned OS prosper (please Access) & propogate. have not been impressed with the alternative PDA OS’s – especially for those of us with large numbers of contacts & wanting functionality over (apparent) bells & whistles.

I am actually really interested in the T|X. The main reason WiFi being integrated is the same reason I paid the extra $100 when I ordered my mini to get built-in WiFi, BT, and more HDD space. Sure you could get all those items in an external fashion, but It wouldn’t be as sleek or (more importantly) all my USB and FireWire ports would be taken up. Same with the T|X. An external WiFi card would block your only way to upgrade to more memory, since the T|X isn’t compatible with the SanDisk WiFi+256MB card. I know you can trade cards, but that’s a pain.

“Palm also swamped the RealPlayer audio player with Pocket Tunes which I have no complaints about.”

I’m sure you mean swapped.

The TX is a pretty nice device for the price. I was initially skeptical but with the lower price and the addition of Wi-Fi I’ve been enjoying mine. I do agree that they should have aimed for a thinner Lifedrive style PDA but I think without the hard drive.

Great review, ladies. I have been waiting to upgrade from my Zire 72, and this unit fit the bill perfectly. I agree with you about the limited changes from the T5 to the TX; if I had a T5, I’d just be ticked about the drop in price with the extra features.

But, for those of us patiently waiting for something more affordable with WiFi and more real estate than 320 x 320, this is a fantastic unit. I love it.

Since I don’t see an upgrade to the T|C coming anytime soon I’m considering the T|X – appreciate the review.

My only concern is going back to Graffiti – I was pretty good with 1 but never got the hang of 2. Anyone know if the fix of loading the old files will work to have Graffiti1 on the T|X?

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. 🙂

In your review, you say that the T5 has 60 MB more memory. It does, but only 55 MB of its total memory is available for programs and files. The rest is for the internal drive. The TX on the other hand, has 100 MB available for programs and files. So, the TX has 45 MB more by that calculation.

The TX also reportedly has a better screen and somewhat longer battery life. And, users report that the slower processor is not noticeable. I’ve also seen comments that the internal WiFi on the TX works better.

The TX lists for $299, the T5 for $349. Add a WiFi card to the T5, and you are up to $449 and you lose the use of the SD slot. So, while you could argue that upgrading from the T5 to the TX does not make sense, it is pretty clear to me at least that you get more for you money with the TX, especially if you do not need the internal drive.

Jeff

Julie, did you sync this PDA with your Mac? How did it work? I am seriously considering buying one in the near future and I’d like to know. Also, does anyone know of any good IM clients for PalmOS?

I was a long time PALM user, then I switched to the Dell Axim X30 (high) to get the built in WiFi. With the new TX, I’m considering coming back.

Any thoughts from users that have already moved back and forth?
Is there something great about the X30 that the TX doesn’t give me?
Thanks

Thanks for the great review, Julie;

I convinced my boss to buy a T|X for me here at work, and I love it. The device itself feels very comfortable to hold and work with, the WiFi (the main reason for getting this model, IMHO, is that is has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth) was setup and on the network in a minute (or less), and it is reliable.

A couple things to note:

http://www.ludustech.com/download.php?file=http://www.ludustech.com/files/SharkTXfix.zip Ludus Technologies has a program called SharkTX Fix that will replace the “find” icon with the “home” icon. I know that was something I missed with the TX…thankfully, their program (free) does exactly what it’s supposed to do, and you don’t have to constantly fumble for the hard button. (To use the “find” feature, tap on the button and draw up.)

Another excellent program that’s on the CD is WiFileLT. You can use it to access a server network share, which in our environment, really helps. So far, though, I’ve only been able to use it to map to a share on the server, not my personal workstation. Might be a port issue…I’m working on that.

All in all, I’d recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade from an old Palm, even the T5, if only for the convience of built-in wireless.

Julie wrote:

I compared the TX to the T5 mainly because they are so similar. I wanted T5 owners to know that they probably shouldn’t upgrade to the TX.

I still would like to see a thinner LifeDrive…

A LifeDrive that uses Flash memory (ala the Nano) wouldn’t be too bad, but the hard drive’s access “lag” annoyed me to no end…

As a die-hard consumer of Palm OS, I must comment that the new T/X has been an ongoing headache. I am now on my second unit, thinking that the first one had a battery problem with its black-outs. Actually, in my daily trouble-shooting exercises, I have discovered that the new updated OS is very unfriendly to third-party software. My trusty Tungsten 3 had more than a dozen programs running happily. The T/X, however, has now morphed into a read-only unit, and can be updated only via computer hotsync, despite five hard resets and total removal of other programs. It cannot write to my SD card, or move files either. The only thing working satisfactorily is the beautiful Vaja case I ordered in advance! I was excited to have a new Palm with Wi-Fi, but am so embattled with this misbehaving PDA, and can only now consider whether I should jump ship completely and defect to the PC. Has anyone else had these problems with instability on the T/X?

One of the screen shots shows an icon called “Dates!” I tried searching for this in a couple of catalogs, but couldn’t find it. (Much too common of a word.)

I’m guessing this is some sort of alternate calendar program. What is this app and where can it be found? Thanks.

enteract.com is a blank page. Am I missing something?

I have owned the Palm Vx and the CLie SJ/22 and decided to buy the Palm TX and I love it. Wifi access on this device is excellent. I enjoy the screen, and pocket tunes.

I also found that you can use the Palm Vx cases to fit ‘barely’. I had a Dooney& Bourke case that I was able to use with this device. I removed the metal ‘nail’ and slipped the leather hinge inside the slot where cover is intended. I then slipped a paper clip inside the leather hinge inside the slot to hold in place. It looks quite nice with perhaps 1 or 2 mm exposed on the top center.

johnh wrote:

I actually wanted to upgrade to a Tungsten C but I can’t find anyone selling them new; has anyone heard of whether or not Palm is going to be coming out with a sequel to the T|C?

There may be some available through Office Depot. Amazon had at least one new one for sale. I have a Tungsten C, but will probably get a T|X soon. I think that I damaged the power management circuit in the Tungsten C (long story). The charging light stays on, even when the PDA is not being charged, until the battery is rather low. It does work, but I don’t get a lot of warning about the battery condition.

I’ve always had trouble with the browser that came with the Tungsten C. It would always crash when I tried to type in an URL. Palm’s support was of no help. They essentially denied that it could possibly happen.

Yes, you do get a charger to charge via USB and via a standard wall receptacle.

The need for a replaceable battery is two-folded. One, when you’re traveling without a power source, you could swap out your dead battery for a fully charged one. The other is if the battery ever dies completely. It isn’t a question of if, it’s when. Batteries fail. But, it’s likely the battery will hold an acceptable charge for 2-3 years, so it’s sort of a moot point. If you need to replace the battery, you could buy one online, crack open the unit and do it yourself (it will be out of warranty by the time it needs a new one), or ship it off to Palm and pay about 2x the price, or ship it to many other pda repair places. The rates are fairly reasonable.

Comparing the Palm TX to the Axim x51v

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.

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.

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.

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

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

I bought the TX last week to replace the cumbersome Dell laptop & charger I have been lugging around. Also, I’ve been using a Windows Smartphone, Cingular version w/Edge network, and while it gets me on the Inet, it’s still pretty limited. I wanted to be able to use Wifi to get email & surf the net. I bought the TX & the wireless keyboard. It’s been *wonderful*. A true replacement for almost everything I do on my laptop. I don’t care about whether the unit has a phone, as my PDA cell still gets the job done. However, the PDA phones are very limited and hard to enter data into, as well as it’s very limited for internet access, while also being slow. I still use a desktop w/21″ monitor. But the TX has good battery life, and allows me to do about everything I need to do in wifi access points, at pretty normal wifi speeds. I’ve had a reset or two, especially when I try & access my email while surfing. Hopefully this won’t be a common occurance. However, the unit recovers quickly & without data loss. Other wishes: ability to work on the file system to move files around.

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.

I currently have a Powerbook 12″, but due to some issues with iTunes DRM and my growing frustration with DRM in general, am switching to Linux on a ultra small form factor PC (like a Mini, but less cool and more useful).

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.

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!

Well, I am not exactly sure what they are or where they came from-my old Tungsten E had a thing called “private tasks” where you could put in a task and mark it private, which I think meant so no one else could see it…but I never used that function…and can’t even find a similiar function on the T|X. I have never actually installed any outside software except what came with it-MS Office…Doc’s to Go and such.

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???

i had lost my operating (palm t5 ) driver cd , plz send the software so that i can download it from here. hope u will send the software as soon as possible . thanking u