After an abortive experiment with a Nokia Symbian Series 60 smartphone, I bought a Palm T|X on Wednesday, the very day it was announced. I find PDAs superior to fiddly, fragile and cumbersome laptops, and have owned no fewer than 9 Palm compatible handhelds (*) in the last 5 years, which means I upgrade handhelds at least three times more often than my main (desktop) computers. My previous PDA is a Palm Tungsten T3 (I actually bought it after the T5 was announced, so underwhelming the latter is). I even obtained a spare T3 in case the first one broke (since given to my father). I am not entirely sure yet as to whether the T|X is really an upgrade. Here are some first impressions after a few days of use:

Pros:

• Built-in WiFi. No more fiddling with the easily lost SDIO WiFi card.
• A better browser. Blazer feels much snappier than Web Pro, specially with the new Fast mode (disables CSS and image loading).
• More memory, non-volatile if the battery fails.
• Lighter.
• Can actually dial and send SMS on a Nokia 6230 via Bluetooth

Cons:

• Plastic construction feels much less robust (but at least it is not pretending to be metal like the E, E2 or T5, that’s just tacky).
• No voice recorder, charge LED or vibrating alarm. I seldom use the voice recorder, as I prefer taking notes on 3×5 jotter cards, but the voice recorder works when you have to capture that elusive idea while driving.
• 20–25% slower processor. Graffiti2 is noticeably slower to respond, for instance.
• The flip cover with the hinge on the side is less convenient than the one on top, which flips up like a reporter’s notebook, in one fluid motion.
• The SD slot has a plastic filler card, not a spring-loaded cover.
• Bigger. Many people complain about the true Tungstens’ slider, but it is very natural to use, and much more convenient than the power switch.
• The stylus has a nice heft to it, but is not as substantial as the T3’s, and less easy to extract from its slot.
• Yet another connector design incompatible with previous accessories. The cradle is an expensive option.
• The home icon on the status bar has disappeared. This is very annoying in daily use
• The application buttons and the 5-way navigator are less responsive and smaller. The T3 has generally superior haptics (feels much better in the hand).

The only potential deal-breaker is the slower Graffiti performance (there is a visible lag). I will probably keep the T|X due to the convenience of integrated WiFi, but the T3 is a superior device in almost all other respects, in the same class as the Palm V as one of the PDA world’s truly outstanding designs. If Palm were to come out with a new model marrying the WiFi and newer software stack of the T|X with the solid construction and faster processor of the T3, I would definitely upgrade again.

(*): Handspring Visor, Sony Clié T615C, Kyocera QCP-6035, Palm Tungsten T, Sony Clié UX50, Palm Zire 71, Palm Tungsten T3 (x2), and now the Palm T|X.

Update (2010-05-16):

The T|X was the last Palm device I bought. I switched to an iPhone in 2007 and never looked back.