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REVIEW
Long battery life is PDA breakthrough
OK, so it doesn't pick up the dry cleaning. But Palm Inc.'s latest handheld, the Tungsten W, seems to do practically everything else - or at least everything you'd need from a portable electronic device.
Like the Handspring Treo, the Tungsten W combines personal information manager functions, wireless Internet and voice telephony into one device. But there are some key differences, such as design. The Treo is designed like a flip phone, with a cover that opens to activate the phone function.
The Tungsten W, on the other hand, is designed like a personl digital assistant with a hands-free earpiece that plugs into a jack on the unit. In June, users who prefer to hold the device up to their ears like a regular phone will be able to purchase an optional Audio Flipcover with a built-in speaker and microphone for $39.95.
Voice telephony is a first for Palm, and it includes Short Message Service (SMS) capability for sending short text messages to other mobile phone users.
The built-in thumb keyboard, which we love, is another first. With a thumb keyboard, e-mailing on the road becomes practical.
On the wireless data side, Palm's new VersaMail 2.0 application allows behind-- the-firewall access to corporate e-mail as well as access to personal Post Office Protocol Version 3 and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) accounts from such providers as Yahoo Inc. and EarthLink Inc. The Tungsten W also supports instant messaging using the ICQ Inc. chat client.
Also notable is Palm's Web Pro application, which allows full HTML browsing - not just Web clipping. But users can still use Web clipping when needed by visiting sites that support it.
The Tungsten W offers many expansion capabilities with its integrated Secure Digital (SD) Card slot and the Palm Universal Connector that lets users add hardware such as keyboards and travel chargers.
It's a Phone
The Tungsten W's most exciting feature is the dodo phone functionality. Dubious at first, we were total converts when we finished the review. In fact,this reviewer preferred the Palm to her own mobile phone for mak ing calls.
The Tungsten W uses a tri-band GSM/GPRS radio for wireless voice and data. Palm has...