New Palm wireless has keyboard, color screen

MILPITAS, California -- Palm has introduced its Palm Tungsten W handheld, the first Palm branded integrated GSM/GPRS wireless handheld with a built-in keyboard for data entry, one-handed navigation, and a high-resolution color screen. The high-end Palm Tungsten W handheld will ship with tri-band GSM/GPRS wireless radio, making it a steadfast choice for international enterprises and executives who travel. The Palm Tungsten W handheld is one of the few handhelds today offering tri-band functionality.

With carrier activation, the Palm Tungsten W handheld is a data-centric handheld providing a combination of wireless e-mail, SMS messaging, phone, business applications, and Palm's classic Personal Information Management (PIM) software. Palm claims the Tungsten W handheld is built with one of the fastest radios available today for the GSM/GPRS network, the most widely supported wireless technology used by hundreds of operators worldwide.

Palm also announced business alliances with four key carriers from around the world, including AT&T Wireless, which operates the largest GSM/GPRS network in the Western Hemisphere; Rogers AT&T Wireless, Canada's leading wireless communications service provider; Vodafone, one of the largest mobile telecommunications network companies in Europe and the world; and SingTel, Asia's leading communications company with a comprehensive portfolio of services that include voice and data services over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms. 

All-in-one connectivity

"The Palm Tungsten W handheld provides all-in-one connectivity capability for the busy, mobile professional and offers a platform for the development of mobile wireless enterprise solutions," said Todd Bradley, president and chief executive officer of Palm Solutions. "This handheld was designed as a versatile messaging device to aid mobile executive productivity. The Palm Tungsten W delivers what matters most for our business customers, messaging, communication and access to company data." 

The Palm Tungsten W handheld enables people to stay on top of their e-mail, saving users time and making them more efficient throughout the day. Palm leverages Texas Instruments' advanced wireless GSM/GPRS technology to provide connectivity in the Palm Tungsten W handheld. The Class 10 GSM/GPRS wireless radio powered by TI's TCS2100 baseband processor offers one of the fastest data-transfer rates available over GPRS, for quick wireless access to e-mail and web-based content within the networks' coverage area. Users can easily type e-mails or send SMS text messages using the built-in keyboard. Giving customers what they want in a messaging device, the Palm Tungsten W handheld ships with the most powerful battery in a Palm handheld to date: a lithium ion battery that provides up to 10 hours of talk time.

The Tungsten W handheld ships with Palm VersaMail, Palm's new personal e-mail software for POP and IMAP e-mail accounts that lets users send, receive and manage e-mail on their handhelds. Key features include the ability to download and view the text of Microsoft Word documents and HTML e-mail attachments, advanced folder and filtering capabilities, the flexibility to delete many messages at one time, and easy access to common tasks such as forwarding e-mail and moving messages. Windows PC synchronization support enables automatic conversion of most Microsoft Office documents using DataViz Documents To Go. Users can synchronize e-mail with Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Lotus Notes 5.0, and Eudora.

320 x320 screen

Unlike mobile phones with small screens, the Palm Tungsten W handheld is differentiated by offering a large, high-resolution, 320 x 320 pixel color screen. With this brilliant, easy-to-read, 65,000-color display, users can clearly view presentations, spreadsheets, photos and Internet content indoors and outside, Palm says.

The Tungsten W handheld integrates the power of a Palm handheld with the functionality of a mobile phone, packing in useful features such as Quick Connect, which allows users to easily make phone calls from the Palm Address Book without using the stylus. With the Palm Tungsten W handheld, users can use features found in mobile phones today, such as speed dialing, caller ID, call forwarding, 5-way conference calling, and call-history logs. In addition, users can access custom functionality, such as redial reminders and call notes, which integrate with the Palm Address Book. Palm Tungsten W handheld users can talk on the phone with the hands-free headset while editing documents, locating addresses, skimming a presentation, taking notes from a conversation or even simultaneously sending an SMS message.

The Palm Tungsten W handheld allows access to the Internet with an active wireless data account, and to corporate intranets where compatible with a corporation's network security.

Palm also introduced this week the Palm Tungsten T handheld, part of the Tungsten family of products, featuring one-handed, five-way navigation and integrated Bluetooth.

Bluetooth option

Complete with the Palm Expansion Slot for SD Card, SDIO and MultiMediaCard media, the Palm Tungsten W handheld lets users back up their information, add more memory, access custom content, run applications on the expansion cards, or use accessories, such as a camera or the Palm Bluetooth Card (sold separately). Customers also can attach peripherals via the Palm Universal Connector, including a GPS receiver, MP3 player or 802.11 sled.

The international estimated street price for the Palm Tungsten W handheld is $549 (U.S.) without wireless service. The price will vary based upon network operator and sales channel. The Palm Tungsten W handheld is scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2003. An Internet service provider account and data service may be required for Internet and e-mail based upon carrier; these services may need to be purchased separately if not offered by the network operator.

Palm also announced this week that DataViz's Documents To Go Professional Edition Version 5 will be included with the new Palm Tungsten T handheld. This is the first Palm OS 5 handheld to ship with the ability to use Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint compatible files in the box.

"The Palm Tungsten T handheld is a groundbreaking new handheld," said Rob Hoxie of DataViz, Inc. "Palm continues to innovate new hardware that's encouraging customers to become even more mobile."

The Documents To Go product family includes three editions. Documents To Go Premium Edition is the flagship product, encompassing the ability to create, synchronize, and edit word processing, spreadsheet and presentation files on the handheld, as well as synchronize e-mail with attachments, Adobe PDF files, pictures, and Excel-like charts.