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Touting a sharper screen, more memory and a greater number of multimedia features -- including an MP3 player, video-playback software and a photo viewer -- Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) introduced the Tungsten T2 handheld device Wednesday.
The new PDA -– now with 32 MB memory, double the SDRAM of the previous Tungsten handheld -– will be priced at an estimated US$399, Palm said.
Yankee Group analyst John Jackson told TechNewsWorld that the increased memory in the T2 marks a trend in both handset phones and handheld devices.
"Generally speaking, you're going to see memory densities going up significantly with advances in SDRAM and things like NAND Flash," Jackson said, calling the Tungsten T2 "a very robust device."
Memory Doubled
Milpitas, California-based Palm credited a technology breakthrough that extends the random access memory (RAM) capacity of Palm handhelds for the Tungsten T2's increased memory.
The company said the improvement will allow Palm handhelds to run additional applications and store more data -– including e-mail with attachments, documents, pictures, video clips, voice memos and games.
Other improvements in the T2 include desktop software with new drag-and-drop capabilities, plus updated software for handling desktop documents. Called DataViz Documents To Go Professional Edition, the software offers Word-, Excel- and PowerPoint-handling capabilities.
Work and Play
In addition to new software features, such as color themes, on-screen writing and improved Graffiti 2 handwriting recognition, the Tungsten T2 will allow users to listen to MP3 music files, watch video clips and store photos, Palm said.
"This takes your business device and adds some personal touch to it," Palm spokesperson Jim Christensen told TechNewsWorld.
Listening to MP3s with the Tungsten T2 requires a storage expansion card that is sold separately. Users who have music files in MP3 or RealAudio format can listen to them through the T2's new built-in speaker or through the Tungsten's stereo headphone jack, but headphones are not included with the device.
The Yankee Group's Jackson said the new Palm handheld targets the Sony (NYSE: SNE) Clie user with its consumer-side, multimedia capabilities.
Screen for the Sun
Palm said the Tungsten T2's new TFT display is among the biggest improvements in the new release, offering a 320 x 320 transflective color screen that supports more than 65,000 colors and is easily viewed both indoors and outside.
The screen -– the same as in the recently released Palm Zire 71 handheld –- delivers a sharp image and is particularly good at displaying photos, according to Christensen.
Powered by a Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) OMAP 1510 processor and the newest version of the Palm OS, the Tungsten T2 also features VersaMail 2.5 e-mail 
software, Palm Web Browser Pro and software to dial phone numbers from the address book and manage SMS text messaging. Christensen added that the Tungsten T2 also incorporates a voice recorder for users to record voice memos.
Cordless Connectivity
Christensen also said the communications suite that comes with the Tungsten T2 -– which includes integrated support for wireless connectivity to Bluetooth phones -– will allow users to connect to the Internet, check e-mail and print without wires.
"It's the most compact of the devices we have," he said. "For mobile executives, with the integration of Bluetooth and a phone, it's a great two-piece solution to connect to e-mail and the Net."
For his part, Jackson said it is incumbent on Palm to push Bluetooth, but he added there is still uncertainty surrounding the usage model of handheld-to-handset connectivity using the Bluetooth protocol.
Other Palm Prices Dropped
In addition to rolling out the new Tungsten T2, Palm announced price reductions for its m130 and m515 handhelds, which were among the best-selling PDAs in late 2002. The price of the Palm m130 will drop from $199 to $179, and the Palm m515 will be reduced from $299 to $249.
Christensen said the PDAs are nearing the end of their life cycle and the company is looking to make room for its newer products.
"We've made dramatic improvements in screen and core functionality," he said. "Basically, there are a lot of options available, so we've lowered the price to increase sales of these toward the end of their life expectancy."
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