Palm T3

Released on: 10/01/2003

I have entered the PDA repair business a year ago so I have worked on various PDAs. I own about 80 plus PDA's of various types and I have to say the T3 is one of the best that I own. I love the expansion screen and horizontal display. This is great for viewing spread sheets which is also included in the software. The display has a 320x480 screen, a 400mhz Intel XScale processor with 64MB of RAM. The T3 probably has the largest screen found on a PDA due to the fact that you can expand the screen by sliding the bottom of the case down.

I also use a TOMTOM Navigator 5 Bluetooth GPS with the T3 and it works flawlessly.

If you have to replace the battery in the T3, be prepared for a challenge. It took me almost 40 minutes. There are videos on YouTube on how to do this. You should view the videos prior to purchasing one of these T3 units or check to make sure the T3 your purchasing holds a good charge. The last thing you really want to do is to replace the battery. Always ask the seller about the battery and how long it holds a charge.

I would highly recommend this PDA for the following reasons:

1. You can rotate the screen sideways.
2. You can add a 2GB SD memory card.
3. The screen is very clear and bright.
4. The speed of the processor is 400mhz.
5 Has great applications like MS Word and Excel.
6. Has increased viewing for applications like Excel.
7. Has 64mb of RAM.
8. Has Bluetooth built in

I would have liked to have built in wireless, but I did purchase a Palm wireless card and it works like a charm.

What more can I say than this PDA Rocks.

I hope this has helped in your decision making process and good luck bidding. I have included the full specification below in case the listing did not.

Dimensions (W x D x H) 3 in x 0.7 in x 4.3 in
Weight 5.5 oz
Color Silver
Included expansion base(s) Docking cradle

Features Sliding
Packaged contents Protective cover
Vibrating Alert Yes

Operating System / Software
OS provided Palm OS 5.2.1
Software included Memos , Prefs , Tasks , Expense , HotSync , Adresses , BlueChat , Calendar , Contacts , Note Pad , BlueBoard , Solitaire , Calculator , Graffiti 2 , Quick Tour , Voice Memo , Palm Photos , Palm Reader , World clock , Phone Dialer , Kinoma Player , Telephony/SMS , RealOne Player , Kinoma Producer , Phone Link Update , PowerOne Personal , Palm VersaMail 2.6 , PowerOne Calculator , Palm Web Browser Pro , DataViz Documents To Go , Palm Desktop Software 4.1 , Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS

Min Operating system Apple MacOS X 10.2.6 , Apple MacOS 9.1 or later , Apple MacOS X 10.1.2 - 10.2.6 , Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

Memory Installed RAM 64 MB
Max supported RAM 64 MB

Processor Intel 400 MHzXScale

Input Device type Stylus , Touch-screen , 5-way navigation button

Audio Digital audio standards supported MP3
Audio input type Microphone
Audio output type Speaker(s)
Voice recording capability Yes
Telecom Email protocols supported POP3
Data services WWW
Modem None
Display type TFT active matrix
Color support 16-bit (64K colors)
Max resolution 320 x 480
Expansion / Connectivity
Wireless connectivity IrDA, Bluetooth
Connectivity device(s) included Docking cradle

PortConnector Type Interface 1USB , 1 HeadphonesOutput
Port(s) Total (Free) / Connector Type:Free Qty 1
Connector Provided Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm

Expansion slot total (free) 1 SD Card

Despite being released over three years ago, the Palm Tungsten T|3 is still a very capable PDA. With its slider design and metal casing it looks sleek and elegant while being sturdy and well made. Its screen is both bright and large, with its innovative slider, virtual graffiti area and landscape mode. It also is coupled with a fast processor and 64 mB of memory which is sufficient for most users. Heavy users will like the SD/SDIO card slot for expansion of memory and function. In day to day use its included Personal Information Management (PIM) applications are very easy to use. For example its Calendar, Contacts list, Memos and Notepad are simple and can be tailor to your preferences. Also included is a Voice Recorder for taking dictation or recording personal thoughts. Its beautiful screen is wonderful for viewing photos and MP3s can be played and listened through standard headphones. Although not of the same quality as a dedicated MP3 player, I find it quite acceptable listening.
Drawbacks include poor battery life, particularly with heavy use or extensive BT or IR beaming. The memory is not flash memory so if the battery does drain completely you lose all info stored on the device. Also, it does not include WiFi which many users require but others may not use. Had this device had included WiFi the Palm T|3 would have been perfect and my rating would have been EXCELLENT instead of GOOD.
Personally, I love mine and I am not planning to upgrade any time soon. In fact I bought a second one to have as backup.

Bought it because I wanted to try a newer Palm PDA. Operates very fast, much more so than my Visor Prism (almost too fast with things like Memo pad). Good color on screen, good detail, larger font on the home screen than with Windows Mobile. Easy to xfer files from my Visor to the T3. Will sync with Windows XP, Windows 7, Mac OS Leopard. Has standard 3.5mm headphone jack, Realplayer is included, and it reads regular MP3s. Bluetooth works. You can sync it to a phone and use it as a dialer, as it has a built in microphone and speaker. It has the slide down screen which, depending upon the function or program, gives you more screen space, or gives you a keyboard or the scratch pad. The midcaps hack from earlier days is integrated into Graffiti 2, but some of the letters now require two pen strokes instead of one, which makes it harder for guys like me who used Graffiti 1 for so long. It also includes Documents to Go, so you can read/write MS Office documents. You can view items on the SD card, but you cannot xfer files between the card and the T3 (unless I have not found the right program). All in all, a good gizmo.

I purchased our first Palm Tungsten T3 through E-Bay for my husband who was constantly forgetting personal appointment information. He liked it so well that my son who is going to be a high school senior this year requested that we get him one from E-Bay too. Since they both know what they love most about it, I will let them write from here.

Hello, I'm the son that got the T3 mentioned above. The T3 has got to be one of the most useful products out there on the market. All of the functions are easy to use, and programs such as calendar, memo (a text program), voice memo, and calculator come in handy all the time. The touch screen allows for characters to be written directly instead of having to use a keyboard as well as eliminating the need for excess buttons. Also, the screen can extend so that you have twice the screen size. These and numerous other useful features are why I recommend the T3 to anyone reading this review.

Hello, I'm the husband/dad that got the T3 mentioned above. I really like the calendar, task, and audible alarm functions. I was missing a lot of personal appointments as my wife said. I hardly miss them anymore. I'm just learning the "documents-to-go" functions. I was amazed that I can do Excel spreadsheets on a PDA! With the PC software, I can also open a simplified version of Excel on our home PC, which uses Microsoft Works vs. Office. As an engineer, this is a great benefit. And finally, I was able to download a Bible onto the PDA (see Olivetree.com for free versions of the Bible). The power of the PDA with the software can get me to just about any verse in seconds. Words searches are fast too. I've just begun to utilize the PDA's features, but I'm already satified with its performance. Blue Tooth is fun too. I highly, highly recommend the T3!

I have owned Tungsten E and E2 Palms and the T3's features set it far above. I have read other reviews on the T3 and it's younger brother the T/X as well as Lifedrive and based on what I know and have read this is the Palm Handheld for me. It features a more compact size when you only need the viewable screen and expands when you need to enter text. The function buttons are all programmable just like other Palms so it is easy to customize. The T3 has a built-in voice recorder - so much faster and easier to leave yourself a note than writing it out in memos. Just like it's older siblings it has an SD Card slot where I keep all my games, e-books and music. Bluetooth & infrared connectivity lets me connect with my wifes palm and share appointments and other information quickly and effortlessly. Be sure to pick up a hard case for yours. The docking cradle is cumbersome, but charges the T3 quickly. I prefer the USB cable connection - it charges the T3 and allows me to hotsync with my computer with just one cable. I keep a pair of computer speakers on my nightstand and plug them in at bedtime so I can listen to my favourite tunes and read an E-book before falling asleep.

The only thing I don't like about this Palm is that I haven't been able to find a source for battery replacement. I have one T3 whose battery life is pretty short and I no longer use it for much.

Overall this is a fantastic product and I highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a versatile PDA.