(Last edited March 3, 2008)

(from the Palm website).

TX Tour

If you haven’t checked out Palm’s cool looking flash promotional demonstration of the TX, check it out. I always love looking at them since they look so slick.

The Palm TX, (Palm has officially dropped the Tungsten and Zire name lines and instead opt to name the newer devices TX and Z22 instead of Tungten X and Zire 22) was finally released on Oct 12, 2005 along with the first lowest entry level color Palm Z22. Unfortunately, the leaks were out many months in advance that the actual date of the release was “trumped” by Apple’s video iPod, which Apple orchestrated practically at the last minute. So, it wasn’t terribly surprising that no one outside of the Palm community knew about the TX and the Z22 but instead we were aware and excited of the new video iPod.

Also, because most of the features, prices were already released, it became almost anti-climatic and ho-hum. On the outside, aside from the black color of the case, it looks very similar to most other Palm devices available. But, upon a closer examination, there’s a lot of stuff underneath.

First of all, the TX , has a non-slider 320×480 screen (it may seem cool to have a slider, but moving parts are always a bad idea) which was first introduced in the T5 and continued in this device. It has integrated Wi-Fi capability so there’s no need for an SDIO Wi-Fi card, or a sled that connects via the multi-connector. One of the features I really love about the TX and the T5 which introduced this, is the bigger screen and the virtual Graffiti area. No longer are we stuck with the a physical Graffiti area of the older devices that take up valuable space. With the older devices, although we may have a nice looking glass screen, we can’t use the entire screen to view documents. Some parts of the lower part of the glass screen are reserved for the Graffiti input. Now, we can use the entire glass screen to view documents, pictures, web pages, and can get it back when we want to input via Graffiti. That’s the way it should have been. Rather than spending more time discussing the features that can be found from Palm’s site, here are the specs (taken from Palm):

Operating system

Palm OS® Garnet 5.4

Memory

128MB w/ 100MB accessible to user

Processor

Intel 312 MHz ARM-based processor

Screen

320 x 480 transflective TFT touchscreen display

Support for over 65,000 colors

Landscape and portrait orientation modes

Wireless

Wi-Fi 802.11b wireless technology

Bluetooth® 1.1 wireless technology

Audio

Speaker

Standard 3.5mm stereo headhphone jack

Expansion slot

Support for MultiMediaCard, SD & SDIO cards

Battery

Long-life rechargeable lithium ion

Power / sync

Multi-connector on device

USB sync cable

AC adapter (108-32 VAC/60Hz)

Size

3.08″ W x 4.76″ H x .61″ D

78.2mm W x 120.9mm H x 15.5mm D

Weight

5.25 ounces

148.83 grams

Palm® TX handheld
Flip cover
USB sync cable
Power adapter
3-step setup poster
Graffiti® 2 sticker
Software Install CD-ROM with desktop software, Tutorial, Getting Started Guide, User Guide and bonus software

Included software:

On device:
Addit® software catalog
Blazer® web browser1
Bluetooth® Manager
Calculator
Calendar
Contacts
DataViz® Documents To Go® Professional Edition2
Expense
Favorites
Media3
Memos
Note Pad
Pocket Tunes™ MP3 player4
Quick Tour
Security
SMS Messaging1
Solitaire by Handmark
Tasks
VersaMail® email client1
Wi-Fi Manager
World Clock

On CD-ROM:

Adobe® Reader® for Palm OS
AudiblePlayer web link
Enterprise Solutions web link
eReader for Palm OS
Handmark Express
Media Desktop5
Microsoft Outlook conduits5
Palm® Desktop software for PC & Mac
Real Rhapsody Desktop6
WiFile™ LT
Windows Media Player/DirectX6

A lot of the applications are similar to what’s in the older devices so if you wish to learn how to use the Memo Pad, for example, check out an older posting where I’ve discussed how to use the Memo Pad application. There may be subtle updates and changes, but the overall function and features are very much the same.

Hopefully, these simulations are enough to get you curious enough about the device to go to your local computer or electronics store to check it out yourself and maybe even go buy one!

Simulations of the TX device

Alternative Flash links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

The simulation will play through to the end unless I’ve inserted a pop up note to explain specific points.

To continue playing the simulation, press the button.
To go back to a previous paused segment, click on the button.
To pause the simulation at any time, press the button. To continue after it’s paused, press the button again.

To scroll forward or backward in the simulation, click anywhere on the left (to go back earlier in the simulation), or right (to go forward in the simulation) on the progress bar.

This simulation shows the Quick Tour in the TX

Alternative links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

This simulation shows an overview of the menus in the Calc, Calendar, Card Info, Contacts, Dialer applications

Alternative Flash links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

This simulation shows an overview of the menus in the Documents (Documents To Go) application

Alternative links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

This simulation shows an overview of the menus in the Expense, Favorites, Hotsync, Media, Memos, NotePad, Prefs applications

Alternative Flash links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

This simulation shows an overview of the menus in the SMS, Solitaire, Tasks, VersaMail applications

Alternative links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

This simulation shows an overview of the menus in the Web (Blazer browser) and World Clock applications

Alternative links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

This simulation shows the toggling of the portrait and landscape modes

The Palm TX is not a high end Palm, but really a mid-level Palm that is meant to attract new Palm users to a multi-media device that offers a lot of features of higher end models and value in a price that is very attractive. Most of the enhancements are not very easily seen, as demonstrated in the simulations that the newer OS with the nicer looking interface and the virtual Graffiti area are subtle things that most Palm users don’t pick up on. The NVFS (Non-Volatile File System) may be something that many Palm users yearn for since they now won’t have to worry about losing all their data if they drain the battery completely. I think that the TX looks very nice. If I were thinking of buying a Palm, I would most likely go for the TX because it provides a good value and balance of features that should satisfy most users. There’s enough features to make it do a lot of the tasks and provide enough entertainment and yet, of course, you always know that there’s something more available in a newer and higher end device. I think that Palm has done a very good job in making the TX very affordable and has created a model that will not only lure people to upgrade, but provides enough for those who were originally looking for a simple PIM device.

If you are experiencing memory problems or errors, you may want to check out Dmitry Grinberg’s MemUnfragment which is specifically designed for the TX. While you’re there, check out all the other cool experimental programs he has. Keep in mind that they are “experimental” so always back up your Palm before installing anything just in case you run into problems.

Take a good look at the Palm TX because although it offers very much most of what Palm users are used to, it has a lot of other great new features that you didn’t know until you take a closer look. It’s a lot of what we’re used to but there’s also a lot of new stuff. I bet that if you try the TX that you can’t put it down, mainly because the bigger screen is very attractive. And don’t forget about the onboard Wi-Fi. Now, if they’ll have the same sized screen plus all the stuff that’s in the new Treos…

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