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PalmOne Tungsten E2

Thursday, April 21st, 2005 at 6:05 AM Category: Meryl's Notes Blog No comments

PalmOne has released a new version of its Tunsten E. I’m in shock that this, too, doesn’t come with wi-fi. I thought with all the wi-fi hotspots coming out and more users leaning towards the technology that the Tungsten E2 would come equipped with it AND Bluetooth. Instead, it only has Bluetooth. Oh, you could make it a wi-fi thingy by buying another item (Secure Digital wi-fi adapter for roughly $100—not available yet) to add on to it.

When you figure out the numbers, it’s about $350 for the Tungsten E2 and the SD wi-fi. Dell’s Axim X50, which comes with both Bluetooth and wi-fi, costs $399 and the X30 with the two added costs $279. I give PalmOne credit. Some people don’t care or know about wi-fi and won’t want to spend $300 for it, so getting the Tunsten E2 provides them with an affordable option without wi-fi. Since the E2 with the wi-fi adapter costs $300—more than the X30, would a user rather have built-in wi-fi as opposed to using up a card slot with the adapter?

The Tunsten E series is meant to be an affordable option for those who want more power and a better display than the Zire. Then why didn’t the Tungsten T5 come with wi-fi? One year ago, I didn’t care about having wi-fi. Now, I do.

According to PalmOne, the Tungsten E2 has the following advantages over the E, “…the additions of a brighter color screen, flash memory, Bluetooth wireless technology and a more powerful battery.” Does it live up to this? PC World attempts to answer that.