James Cummings
August 04, 2003
Once upon a time, all a businessperson could ask of a personal digital assistant was that it keep track of appointments, store names and phone numbers, and record quick notes.
Now PDAs for business use are miniature computers with enough processing power and memory to do things like edit PowerPoint presentations on the fly.
Last week Palm, which debuted the original Palm Pilot in 1996, introduced the Tungsten T2, a handheld organizer with 32 megabytes of memory and Palm's latest operating system, v5.2.1. The Tungsten T2 also comes equipped with Documents to Go v5.0 that allows it to open and edit Word (word processing), Excel (spreadsheet) and PowerPoint (presentation) compatible files.
The Tungsten T2 digital assistant weighs 5.6 ounces and measures 4 inches long by 3 inches wide and just over a half-inch thick when closed. With a sliding door at the bottom of the unit open, it measures 4.8 inches long.
It features Palm's sharpest color screen, which has a resolution of 320 by 320 for displaying presentation and showing video clips. It has what Palm calls a ``transflective'' screen that makes it easy to read in low light and sunlight.
The Tungsten T2 also comes with built-in Bluetooth components. Bluetooth is a system of wireless communication that allows one device to link to another. For instance, the Tungsten T2 can synchronize address and e-mail files with a Bluetooth-equipped computer without hooking the two devices together with a connecting cable.
It has a built-in voice recorder for saving digital voice memos. The device is designed for the business user, but it incorporates entertainment functions as well. It can play MP3 music files and store photos, for instance, and has a jack for standard portable stereo headphones.
The Tungsten T2 has a suggested price of $399 and is available at electronics and business supply stores that carry other Palm products. For more information or to order directly from Palm, visit the company's Web site at www.palm.com.
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(The Cox web site is at http://www.coxnews.com )
c.2003 Cox News Service
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