Customer Reviews

Palm Tungsten W

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It's a good PDA, but not as good as the Tungsten/T & not good for wireless phone, especially with the SMS features.
These are following cons that I encountered with Tungsten/W:
1) You cannot delete the call history.
2) You have to delete the SMS outbox and inbox messages one by one.
3) You cannot send the SMS messages to a group of contacts, you have to do it one by one.
4) It's very difficult to write a SMS messages using the qwerty keypad.
5) It is not a MMS ready and cannot play polyphonic ringing tones.
6) There is no time indication in the SMS messages inbox.
7) You cannot answer the phone without the earpiece.
8) You have to charge it everyday, the talk time & standby time is not long as what the manufacturer claims.
9) Doesn't have a bluetooth & speakerphone.
I hope Palm Inc. will do something about this or else they won't get a bigger share in the PDA Phone market.

While it's something of an improvement over ealier Palm phones, the Tungsten W is not yet the ideal phone/PDA replacement.

This is a nice PDA and a just OK phone. I was hoping Palm would do better with this. At the very least they should have included a Mic/Speaker so I don't have to grab the headset everytime a call comes in.

I wouldn't have spent my own money on this thing, I would have probably gone for the Blackberry.

Since I'm already an AT&T customer, I can switch my SIM card from the Palm TW to my phone when I need a real phone. I'd prefer something more seamless; perhaps having the W only receive calls when my cell phone is off.

PLUSES:
Nice screen
Great battery life

MINUSES:

Only works with AT&T service.
No pop up notification of SMS messages
Requires use of headset
(or extra-cost flip phone cover)
Should have speaker and microphone built in.
Because headset plug is non-standard I haven't been able
to find an over-the-ear headset to replace earbud.
Slow processor
Processor limits unit to older Palm OS
No graffiti area. Must use thumbpad.
Typical worthless Palm cover included, very few aftermarket covers yet available

I recently purchased the "W" and found it lacking in some respects. I have to add that there were no major flaws and the unit worked as advertised, but it needs some improvements. The ear bud only phone is actually quite good and the conference features are great. It lacks a way for you to insert a "wait" in dial strings, put pauses (using commas) work fine. A speaker phone or a more stowable ear bud would have been better. I keep thinking that if I loose the ear bud, I can't use the phone. The keyboard is great, but missing are some of the navigation buttons forcing you to use the stylus. As a PDA it's not bad, but lacks all the innovations found in other units. Blue tooth is extra and even if you get the blue tooth card you can't use a blue tooth ear piece. Wireless connectivity, through the net is it's best feature. You still have to "pull" down mail and other updates, but it's suprizingly fast.

In short, I gave up my old PDA, but still keeping my other cell phone around.

I researched for months, was a Palm V user for years and was familiar with OS software. Was also a current AT&T mobile user, so I liked the fact I could take the SIM card out of the back of my mMode phone and keep my number. It's also nice to be able to leave the palm at home and put the card back in my phone when I don't need the bulk (ie, out on weekends). Phone works well and integrates with contacts very well. E-mail has been a problem, as AT&T does not support instant notification of e-mail like Palm i-705. I've spent a lot of time with Palm and AT&T trying to get it to work consistently and still have problems. If your looking for blackberry-like instant notification this is not for you. AT&T does have office on line (sends text messages every time you get an e-mail) but it has not worked well with my Pop3 (internet based email server) and AT&T support has been less than helpful as nobody, including palm has had much experience with interacting with each other (bugs not worked out). They told me to wait for technology to catch up ... we'll that's why I purchased the thing in the first place. Picture's nice, keyboard is convenient. Documents (excel, word, powerpoint) view better and will not mess up formating when you make changes and e-mail (big plus to pocket pc). The cost of internet service keeps me from browsing the internet like a pc. Overall, it has similar features to the Palm V address book, calendar, and syncs well with ACT! database.

Sharing the sentiments of a previous poster, I too was duped into purchasing one of these devices. I like the device itself and find it to be a nice system. It's very quick, and the user interface is crisp.

However, I travel internationally all the time. I bought this unit to replace my dual-band Treo 270. It's not that the Treo was not cutting it; it's that I wanted a tri-band PDA. Imagine my surprise when I called in to get the unlock code and they told me, nope, you can't have it. I quickly asked for my RMA number.

Too bad. If Palm would recognize that the market for cell phones is a commodity-based one, with people using SIMs so that they _can_ switch phones easily (thus the idea of a SIM card in the first place), they'd get a lot more sales. I hope AT&T paid them a good bit of money for the exclusivity. If not, ...they are losing sales. Like mine :-(

I've had the Palm Tungsten W since back in April 2003. I only have voice service. The unit has a very slow processor (33Mhz), which is fine for most applications, until I try viewing pictures with the included Photobase software. It takes about 20 seconds for a picture to load (which is incredibly slow when trying to view a slideshow). But the biggest complaint I have about the Tungsten W is Palm's choice to use the special 3-conductor Nokia 2.5mm headset jack, instead of the more common 2-conductor Universal 2.5mm headset jack. Anyone who owns this unit will testify that the included handsfree headset is a pain to deal with. Unfortunately, the product selection of Nokia's 2.5mm headsets is limited, and do not include over-the-head headsets, which is the type of headset I'm after. I've had to purchase a clumsy adapter (available at AT&T Wireless stores) in order to use Universal 2.5mm headsets, but everytime the adapter plug rotates in the Tungsten W's headset jack, the Mobile phone application comes on. This is a pain when I am trying to write a note or enter a phone number, and all of a sudden, the wind blows, rotating the adapter's plug just a few degrees, and now the Mobile phone application is on. In addition, if the adapter plug is rotated to certain angles, I cannot hear anyone speaking on the phone at all, so I have to rotate it back a tweak. Such a pain !! And it could all have been avoided if Palm had gone with the common Universal 2.5mm headset jack instead !!

This is my fifth Palm device, starting with the original Pilot. My employer contracts with AT&T Wireless for our mobile service, so the prospect of reducing the silicone baggage was appealing (formerly carried Palm Vx, Blackberry, and Sony Ericsson T68i).

Unfortunately, the device has been a disappointment. The ergonomics are dreadful in comparison with the Blackberry, or a Nokia phone. The lack of notification when a text message (other than SMS) is a deficiency. The phone is unsafe to use in a motor vehicle, so I've had to activate a second, in-car phone & number. The original, largely Grafitti-based input functions common to previous Palms are much easier to use than the Tungsten's choice of the tiny mechanical keyboard or the tap-to-select on-screen version.

The device is very choosy about where it charges. I have three cradles, plus the travelling adapter with 110V and 12V (cigarette lighter) connections. One of the three cradles won't charge it, and it refuses to accept juice from an auto cigarette lighter, either. I have not found the battery life to be a problem, as described in one of the other reviews, though.

Web surfing is OK, some sites won't allow it access, but for what I use it for, it's acceptable. Being GSM, though, there are parts of the country where there is no coverage - I know this from my prior phone.

Finally, after five weeks' ownership, the annoying wired earpiece necessary to use the phone feature hooked on an obstruction once too often, and evidently damaged the jack. Now, the whole shooting match has to go back to Palm for repair.

All in all, I'm afraid I've pushed the technolgical envelope too far this time.

I bought it yesterday and have returned it today!
All features other than the integrated gsm phone/ wireless service are same as the earlier model Tungsten "T". So presumably one would pay the extra buck for the advantage of having a phone/pda combo. Right? Unfortunately the ONLY service provider with which it can work with is AT&T. As per the words of a Palm tech rep., "This is a SIM lock device"! Meaning that the only SIM card that would work is the one that is provided in the box by AT&T. It is not like a normal tri band GSM phone in which you can put in a SIM card from any wireless service provider and you can use it in the coverage areas of your service provider. So only two group of people can use this deivce. Fristly, those who do not want to use it as a phone and only want to use it as a PDA. To them I would say why dont you get a nicer PDA like something from Sony, or HP, or the Palm Tungsten T. And secondly those people who are willing to subscribe to the AT&T serivce plan. I dont live in US and have never been a coustomer with AT&T, however I know firstly that limiting a deivce to only one service provider is purely logic deprived, in general for all users and particularly for users who travel abroad and want to use SIM cards from local serivce providers. And the other fact is that the reviews on AT&T wireless service are far from satisfactory. So in short this Tungsten model has no advantage over the Tungsten T. As a PDA it may be good. But then why pay the extra $$$$ for having a phone/pda combination.

I bought one of these things 4 months ago. It broke. Palm won't fix it. Palm want's 100 bucks to replace it. Palm wants me to use a on line form to pay up front and start a repair order. Palms on line repair order cgi script doesn't work (makes you wonder who does the programing on the palms. Palm says write back to us and we will start a SRO (service repair order). Did that about 4 weeks ago, haven't heard a word.

In short

The worst warrenty and the worst support of any company I have ever delt with.

The phone reception, although loud, is often scratchy. The sim card can only be used on the Palm phone. Consequently if you have a problem, you may be out of a phone. The service for the Palm Tungsten W is mediocre at best.