Palm TX
On the other end of the Palm spectrum is the Palm TX. One of, if not the last pure PDA made by Palm.
The overall look is simple and elegant. The case is a dark purple plastic and very light to hold in the hand. The screen is 3.9″ diagonally, which is actually larger than the original iPhone. Like the original iPhone, it has a 480×320 screen resolution. The TX was released in 2005, the original iPhone in 2007, so you can see who borrowed from whom, down to the large control button on the bottom. Unlike phone, and much like PDAs, it used a resistive touch screen, single point.
Also along the bottom of the screen are 4 dedicated buttons, home, calendar, contacts, and web. The center button is an enter key, with a 4 way rocker around. Great for controlling music applications. The screen is bright and easy to use under all lighting conditions, including direct sunlight. Along the top is the power button, 3.5mm headphone jack, and full sized SD slot. With a little piece of free software, you can use up to 32G SmartMedia cards.
The user interface is common to all ‘Garnet’ based Palms. You can switch between traditional icons or have an organized list. The included applications are very capable, which include a web browser and e-mail. The TX has Wifi and Bluetooth! I have to admit, getting this little guy to work with 2021 Internet is a bit of challenge, and not really worth it.
I use this PDA to hold all my contacts and as my main music and podcast player in the car. Like it was originally designed, it works great as a PDA and one of the better MP3 players I have used. The battery life is still very good and I can sync it with my PC with no issues. It was made up until Palm ended in 2009, before smartphones really kicked PDAs out of the pocket computer market. That all being said, it really was a great demonstration of what a PDA could be and I still wish modern phones had as good of a scheduling, note taking, and calendar as the good old Palm Pilot.
As you can see with the marks are dirt, this is a my daily use Palm device. They are still very affordable on eBay, and if you want to have a practical Palm device, this is a great one to start with. Just be sure to get one that hold a good charge and comes with a charge and synchronization cable.