Want to get a Tungsten, but have a few questions

[SpeedDemon]

I have been deciding on either getting the Tungsten or the new iPaq 1910. I know that the iPaq costs about $150 less, but if I got it I would get a bluetooth card for it. The iPaq seems to be a very nice unit though even though it doesn't have as good of a screen. I like the idea of the simplicity of Palm, but I have a few questions that are making me feel hesitant about going out and picking one up.

I have heard that Real is supposed to be working on a MP3 player for the Tungsten. Sounds great to me, but when do you guys think that it'll be out? I don't want to get thing, only to find out a month later that Real decided to bail on the idea.

Also, how upgradeable is the Tungsten, will it be able to run OS 6?

Is the screen easy to read outside in the sunlight, or is that a no go?

How is the battery life in real world application, since I'm sure that most of you here own one?

How well does it allow you to work on MS Word and Excel documents and transfer them back over, would all agree that it does this better than the WinCE devices like it says on Palm's website?

One last thing, I had also read that you could only charge the unit by docking it in the cradle... is this still the case or can you get some other kind of cord that is easier to travel with?

I'm sure that I'll think of some more questions, but I'm sure that this is enough for now to stir up some good discussion ;). Thanks for the help!

[SpeedDemon]

Well, now I just found out that the 1910 requires that you use an adapter to hook your own headphones up to it since it uses a non-standard 2.5mm jack. Also, I learned that the SD slot isn't an I/O one so no matter what it would be impossible to upgrade it to bluetooth. Apparently the battery life isn't supposed to be that good. Good luck for compaq next time, looks like they could have a winner on their hands if they just fixed a few things.

Still need help on the Tungsten. :cool:

[OldBlue]

SpeedDemon

The MP3 player is supposed to be released by the end of this year and will be a free download from the Palm website.

The Tungsten does have 4MB of Flash ROM, so flash upgrades are possible. I have read only one article from a UK web site about OS6 and that article did not give any indication of OS6's system requirements, so I have no idea whether the Tungsten's hardware would or would not support an upgrade to OS6.

The Tungsten's screen is great in all lighting conditions. Mine looks good in bright sunlight (I turn off the backlighting in this situation), brilliant in indoor office lighting, and the backlighting can be lowered to a comfortable level for use in darkened rooms.

I have not run my TT to a full battery drain, but I have run it for a week without charging and still had 60% battery left. I use mine several times every day.

I'm not familiar with the WinCE/PPC's handling of Word and Excel files, but I can say that using DocumentsToGo, which is included with the Tungsten, makes creating, editing, viewing, and syncing files effortless on the Tungsten. You can also do the same with PowerPoint presentations.

You can charge the Tungsten with a travel charger, as well as with the cradle. I have both a 120 V wall socket charger and an automobile lighter socket charger. Both were purchased at CompUSA, are left over from my Palm m505 days, and both fit the Tungsten's Universal Connector perfectly.

Lemme know if you have any more questions that I may be able to answer. Hope this helped.

OldBlue

[SpeedDemon]

You're the best dude! I'm going to go out and get one this Friday. I'll come back and let you know what my experiences are. Thanks!

[Tungsten Hero]

The TT is indeed the best palm built to date, good choice you made dude!

Bluetooth, D-pad...priceless...;)