If you've ever read any of my articles, you know I believe that the PDA will give way to the PDA/phone combination.  I'm not necessarily fond of that idea, call me old fashioned, but the demand of the consumer is convenience and ease of use and these combinations accomplish both.  The hard part is blending the PDA and phone together so you don't come out with a Frankenphone.

Palm has decided to enter the market in early 2003 with their Tungsten W, which by early indications looks like a pretty solid entry.  The Tungsten W works on ATT&T's GSM/GPRS wireless networks.  The Tungsten W is a fully functional PDA with all of the familiarity of the current Palm PDAs.  The obvious difference is the ability to use it as a cell phone.  Probably the least desirable feature is this was designed to be used with a headset, although you can use an optional attachment which combines a microphone and speaker so that you can use like a conventional cell phone.  Although, the attachment really should be included instead of as a $40 option (just my opinion).

Remember, though this isn't the Tungsten T with a phone.  In fact, except for the basic body style, these are two different products.  While the Tungsten T comes with the Texas Instruments 144Mhz Arm Processor and uses the OS5 Operating System, the Tungsten W uses the previous OS4 and a Motorola DragonBall VZ 33 MHz processor.  For a product that is estimated to come out for just under $600, It would of been nice to use the newest technology, even if it raised the price slightly.

Overall, this is a good looking and functional product for the PDA/phone market.  It's nice to see the steps Palm has made to stay competitive in the tough PDA market.  If you're in the market for a PDA that doubles as a phone, you might want to check this one out.

Palm Tungsten W Basic Specifications:

• Operating System: Palm OS 4.1
• Installed RAM: 16 MB
• ROM installed: 8 MB
• Processor: Motorola DragonBall VZ 33 MHz
• Display: 320x320 reflective TFT color display with brightness control supports over 65,000 colors.
• Backlight: Yes
• Data Entry: Built-in Keyboard 
• Height: 4.80in. (5.43 in. including antenna)
• Width: 3.07 in.
• Thickness: 0.650 in.
• Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Expansion: 1 SD slot