Recession? Dot-com bubble burst? Who cares? It’s time to buy a shiny new Palm with Bluetooth support that starts at US$499, the Tungsten. (Well, hey, my pockets are already feeling heavy again after unloading US$300 on an Ericsson T68i in August, so keep me away from the stores on this one!) The Tunsten T has a new form factor with a 5-way navigation joystick designed for one-handed navigation, a cool retracting design that hides a generous Graffiti area, reflective TFT, SD/MultimediaCard expansion, voice memo record and listen, optional MP3 capability, and TI 1510 ARM processor. But, of course, the good news is really the integrated Bluetooth antenna as well as GSM/GPRS wireless capabilities. We’re hoping iSync capability will be added real soon so you don’t ever have to use the included USB cradle. IR port is still onboard for legacy beaming.
Seriously, I have to be a bit skeptical of a pricey new Palm at a time when PDA demand is slipping. Loyalists will no doubt like the newest offering, and in many ways it’s a great product. But evolution as usual is unlikely to drive new sales. Let’s hope for a more basic mid-range Bluetooth color Palm in the US$250 range; marketed with Apple and iSync, that’s something to get excited about. In the meantime, yes, I’m tempted.
[Update 11/08/2002] Amazon.com is selling the Sony Ericsson T68i color, Bluetooth mobile phone for only US$50 for a limited time.
