RumorMill™: Palm Preparing Tungsten T2?

Rumors are cropping up on numerous handheld enthusiast sites that Palm Inc. is preparing to release a replacement for the Tungsten T.

For the most part, these are based on a picture that appears to have originated on TomPda.com, a Chinese website. This image has since been removed from this site but can be found on several others, including PDABuzz and Palm Infocenter. It shows a device that retains the general form factor of the Tungsten T, including the sliding lower portion, but with what appears to be a lighter colored casing.

The picture has sparked much debate, with some of the opinion that it is a modified image of a Tungsten T while others choosing to accept it as authentic.

Accompanying the image is a rumored set of specifications. Supposedly, the Tungsten T2 will offer 32 MB of RAM and Palm OS 5.2. It will also switch from the reflective screen used in the original version to a transflective one. The rumor makes no mention of a change in processor.

There is certainly nothing in the Tungsten T2's rumored specs that would be impossible for Palm to manage. A few months ago PalmSource and Palm announced that they had finally found a way to break through the 16 MB RAM limit that had hobbled the Palm OS for so long. Since then, several models have been released or announced that offer 32 MB or RAM or more. In addition, the recently-released Tungsten C and Zire 71 both use a transflective screen that has received much praise from reviewers and users.

Incidentally, switching to Palm OS 5.2 would do more than allow the Tungsten T2 to use more than 16 MB of RAM. It would mean that this device would employ Graffiti 2, rather than the traditional version of this text-entry system.

The Tungsten T debuted late last year and initially sales did not meet Palm's expectations. However, after the price was dropped from $500 to $400, sales increased substantially. A couple weeks ago the price of this device was dropped again to $350, which could be a sign that a replacement is on the way.

Related Links

• Palm Cuts Tungsten T by $50
• Brighthand's Palm Tungsten T Review