Review: PalmOne Tungsten E2

Posted on April 13th, 2005

In the entertainment industry, movie sequels often fail to live up to the original. PalmOne is hoping that won’t be the case with its latest PDA offering; the Tungsten E2, which fills the shoes of its wildly popular predecessor (almost 2 million units sold to date). Does PalmOne have another hit on its hands, or will it be a box office bomb?

Product: Tungsten E2
Company: PalmOne
Price: $249

Pros:
• Non-volatile memory
• Better battery life
• New and improved display
• Bluetooth connectivity

Cons:
• More expensive
• Cheap finish
• Square screen

Rating:
• 8.0 out of 10

Specs:

Size and weight: 4.5″ x 3.1″ x.6″, 4.7 oz.
Memory: 32MB
OS: PalmOS Garnet (5.4.7)
Display: 320×320 Transflective TFT
Expansion: SD/SDIO slot
Processor: Intel 200mhz
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion

What’s in the box.

Tungsten E2 package and accessories.

The E2 includes the usual assortment of companion-ware such as a flip cover, USB sync cable (Multi-connector), AC adapter, and Software CD. The included Software Essentials CD offers a number of value added applications like VersaMail, DataViz Documents To Go 7.0 Professional Edition, SMS, eReader, Handmark Solitaire, Web Browser (Blazer 4), and RealOne player. PalmOne also includes its own Universal Screen protector that cam be cut to fit just about any of their devices.

If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Tungsten E2

When you have the hottest selling product on the market, you generally don’t want to mess with a winning formula. Just ask Apple, who happens to be selling iPods faster than RJ Reynolds can sell Cigarettes. Cosmetically the E and E2 are nearly identical, save for the new corporate branding. The E2 shares the same overall form factor and weight, making it extremely lightweight and portable. Unfortunately it also shares the same smudgy faux chrome painted finish that attracts and displays fingerprints at the slightest touch. I don’t care for this paint scheme myself, and much prefer the T5’s subdued satin finish that looks richer and more elegant. But this is purely a matter of personal preference, and investing in a good case will ultimately hide the finish anyway.

Screen comparison. Tungsten E2 is BRIGHT!

One highly visible improvement to the E2 that jumps out at you is the addition of a wonderful new display that is noticeably brighter and richer than other PalmOne products (except the Treo 650), even outshining the more expensive Tungsten T5. Colors are vibrant and highly saturated, giving the display a warm inviting feel. I did note some slight yellowish tinge to the screen; however this was muted and almost unnoticeable to the casual user. Perhaps my only real gripe is that PalmOne opted to stay with the traditional square-screen resolution (320×320), which is becoming rather antiquated by today’s standards. While I’m sure this decision was no doubt made in order to save costs and promote longer battery life, I feel compelled to point out that competing devices at the same price point, such as the Tapwave Zodiac 1, offer HVGA (320×480) screen resolutions. Even Windows Mobile devices offer full portrait ratio displays, albeit at lower resolution.

Overall the screen is fantastic, and one that should please anyone upgrading from an older device, particularly the original E.

PalmOne Favorites utility

The E2 is runs a slightly updated version of Garnet (Palm OS 5.4.7). No notable changes are apparent in this release, and the PIM apps are all exactly the same versions that ship on the T5. Under the hood, a fresh 200mhz Intel ARM processor speeds the E2 along its merry way. According to the benchmarks I ran using Speedy, the E2 yielded a score of 987, which is nearly half the performance achieved by the Tungsten C. But benchmarks aren’t as important as real-world usage. And in that regard the E2 is a solid performer. In every task I threw at it, the E2 proved to be a zippy little handheld.

Speedy Benchmark

One slight hardware issue I did encounter was that the down selection on the D-pad tends to be unresponsive at times, making it difficult to scroll down.

The Emperor’s new clothes
The Tungsten E2’s two signature features are the addition of BlueTooth wireless technology and the same Non-volatile memory found on recent offerings from PalmOne (which is clearly being made standard across the entire product line). The E2 offers 32MB of RAM (29.7MB user accessible), that retains user data even when power has been lost. This feature alone will justify the $249 price tag for many consumers, as data protection is a critical factor in mobile computing.

Bluetooth Manager

The addition of BlueTooth is a welcome feature. Especially when you consider the proliferation of BlueTooth cell phones and peripherals that extend the functionality and capability of PDAs that offer wireless connectivity. I give palmOne high marks in this category. The E2 had no problem connecting to my Nokia phone (thanks the included BlueTooth Manager console), enabling me to manage my POP email account and surf the interweb. The included Blazer 4.0 browser allows you to view web pages in one-column or desktop mode, offering greater flexibility in viewing options.

Blazer 4

For email messaging, PalmOne includes its superb VersaMail client software for accessing POP3 and IMAP servers.

As usual however, enabling the BlueTooth radio diminishes battery life at an accelerated rate. So it wouldn’t be in your best interest to leave it running for long periods.

Sadly, WiFi is not included among the E2’s list of specs. This can be overlooked given the product’s target market, but it would be nice to see WiFi or even dual wireless integrated into more mobile computing products.

RealOne Player

Aside from the starch collar business applications, the Tungsten E is also a handy little media player. While it can’t compare to purpose built audio players like the iPod, it does work well as a suitable replacement for flash memory based digital audio devices. With the use of any high-capacity SD card, you can adequately store a collection of your favorite tunes and listen to them on the go. Transferring music to the device is very inconvenient. If PalmOne really wants to market their products as multimedia devices, they need to completely redesign their software to make music transferal and access simpler and more effective. Better yet, why not partner with Microsoft or other online music providers to offer digital audio downloads to PalmOne users? iTunes for Palm OS, maybe?

In terms of audio quality, the E2 is pretty good, but doesn’t sound quite as good as other PDAs I’ve used in this department. Volume is slightly weaker than it should be, but sounds were rich and full. Listening to music through my pair of Sony MDR-G52 headphones was a pleasant experience.

Media app

In addition to music, you can also store and view photos as well. The built-in Media app organizes and presents digital images in a range of fashions. Time to throw out your wallet-sized photos.

Conclusion
The Tungsten E was originally designed for budget conscious business users and prosumers. During its lifecycle, it has sold nearly 2 million units. PalmOne seems to be taking a queue from Apple’s playbook by adding new features and goosing the price point a bit in order to squeeze out higher profit margins and cash in on a successful product. I expect the new $249 price tag to fall back down to $199 once demand settles. Still, even at $249, the product offers many key features found on the more expensive Tungsten T5 for nearly half the price.

The E2 is an evolutionary refinement of the original. While it may not lure the savvier PDA user away from their current device of choice, E2 offers a good set of features for new users and upgraders by combining some of the innovations introduced on the Tungsten T5 for a more reasonable price.

I came away from this review surprisingly impressed with the product. PalmOne deserves high marks for fixing nearly every complaint levied against the original model, and integrating a pedigree of new features. Tungsten E2 is sure to be a hit with consumers just like the model it replaces.