Potent pair due from Palm? - Reviews - Cool Gear - PDA

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Potent pair due from Palm?

May 26, 2003
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/coolgear/pdas/soa/Potent-pair-due-from-Palm-/0,139023392,120273356,00.htm

Potent pair due from Palm? Rumours are rife of impending additions to Palm Solution Group's Tungsten and Zire families of handhelds.

PalmInfocenter.com has been reporting on possible new models, the Tungsten C and Zire 71. The Tungsten C, a successor to the Bluetooth-enabled T and wireless W, is said to offer integrated 802.11b wireless networking capabilities. It is expected to resemble the W.

At the same time, the grapevine has it that a certain Zire 71 will be coming. This product, from the same line as the original cut-price Zire, could be even more exciting than the Tungsten C. It supposedly sports a colour screen as well as an integrated digital camera.

Both models are said to be using Palm OS 5.2 and are likely to be multimedia-capable. They will also be harnessing CIC's Jot handwriting recognition system, instead of the venerable Graffiti.

Palm often releases official product information only when its devices are ready for sale. As products stream into sales channels, sightings and leaks are inevitably reported. Online vendor Amazon had previously listed a "Tungsten C", but has since removed the item from its catalog.

While information remains sketchy, the rumoured handhelds will address concerns that Palm PDAs are slipping behind rivals in terms of capabilities. Sony, for example, has released a few models with built-in digital cameras, while HP and Toshiba have been selling handhelds with integrated Wi-Fi.