Palm TX – I’d like to know before buying it…

So what exact model number and SD model number did you end up buying?

Stephanhodges, in fact I got two 2 Giga SD cards. As I know nothing about it, I just asked for a "good one" (you may smile if you are an expert ); I bought another one in another shop (and other brand) as a back up. I think you can get it for cheaper as I did not negociate. They also told me to have cheaper brands.

1. Kingston 2 Giga----> 190 yuan
   
2. Apacer 2 Giga (60*) -----> 150 yuan
   

convinced me to go for a Palm TX

My TX is mostly for learning Chinese purpose (reader for Chinese doc + Pleco ABC & Oxford). So size of screen is important for me + stability of the system (because I frequently switch from one application to another). As far as I read around, TX seems to be quite stable and its screen is the largest --> so no hesitation. And now that I have it, the more I use it, the more I like it.

So of course I constantly have to carry my Palm + my phone (small Nokia) and occasionally my Creative Zen (only if I know I want to practice actively some podcast, otherwise the Palm MP3 player can do it) – but I am OK with it; don’t think it takes that much place.I must also precise that I do not care about wireless internet / email access as I think I already spend too much time on it at home.

Maybe the one big advantage to merge cell phone + palm (and which made me hesitate at first) is to have a common address book which you can synchronise with Outlook (currently my phone address book is independent, although I guess there should be a way to synchronise it with Palm through Bluetooth).

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By the way I am not really convinced by Palm "Pocket tunes" application for MP3; definitely not as flexible as a MP3 player. As a frequent listeners of podcasts, I do prefer an independent player (I use a Creative Zen V Plus 2 Giga) which is much more convenient especially if you spend a lot of time stopping the MP3 and replaying it, while at the same time checking in Pleco for some words, or reading the transcript on Docs to Go. I guess one weak point of Palm is that you cannot have 2 applications on the screen at the same time - for instance Pleco on two-third of the screen, and pocket tune on the remaining part. This would avoid switching from on application to the other, which when doing it to often (like 5 or 6 times in 30 seconds - my usually speed when replaying a podcast difficult sentence) creates crash.

I personally went with a Treo 680 as I wanted something that would replace my cellphone, iPod Nano, and my Tungsten E all in one go. I don't find it too large at all, and I love the QWERTY keyboard. Very nice. Screen size is not of paramount importance, but I think I may have preferred the screen size on the TX. But no matter. The Treo replaces three devices, and that's really good. It's far less bulky than carrying cellphone + mp3 + pda.

I don't use podcasts, so not being able to easily switch between Pocket Tunes and Pleco doesn't bother me.

The wireless would have been good, but likely only while I'm at home or at Uni. It'd be nearly useless everywhere else.

But yeah. I love my Treo. But choosing a Treo over a TX is very much a personal choice, depending on what people want / need.

I personally went with a Treo 680

Don't want to deviate to much but just quickly why the 680 over the 650?

They weren't selling the 650 . Also, I think it's better not having the antenna, and the form factor seems a bit nicer. The only downside is the battery, as compared to the 650, but since they said that they weren't selling the 650, and that anything I could get was likely to be refurbished, I figured I'd go with a 680. And apparently it will also support 8GB SD cards, unofficially.

680 over the 650?

The biggest pluses in favor of 680 are its new cell phone chip from Broadcom. It's supposed to give much better reception and voice quality than the 650. One of the most often heard complaint about the 650 is that it sucks as a phone. Another plus for the 680, as I mentioned, is that it's about 15-20% lighter than the 650.

Other than that, both use the same microprocessor, so performance should be about the same. 680 only has a 1200 mAh battery vs. 650's 1800 mAh battery, which means you probably have to charge every other day if you are using it as a phone and PDA with occasional email check. If you are using it as an MP3 player, then it'll probably only last four, five hours.