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By Margaret Kane, 28 October 2002 08:40

NEWS Because of its faster processor and use of the new operating system, the Tungsten T can do things that other Palm handhelds have not been able to do, such as play music. MP3 playing software will not come in the box, though. Because storing music typically requires add-on memory cards, Palm does not want to tout that feature too highly. Also, music playing is a drain on the battery of the Tungsten T, which Christopher says can otherwise get about a week's worth of use, assuming about 30 minutes of use a day with some use of Bluetooth. That's not as good as the life on the m515's battery, which could last two to three times longer. Although Palm is not including music playing software with the device, Christopher said he expects that RealNetworks will make a free RealOne player for the Palm shortly.
IDC analyst Alex Slawsby said the Tungsten T is something to silence Palm's critics but that won't necessarily make the new product a huge seller. "There's two sides of the coin," Slawsby said. "Everyone has been on Palm to innovate to push the design, to change the way people think about Palm. I think the T definitely does that." However, at $500, Slawsby said the device has tough competition from Sony as well as from handhelds running Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system. Pocket PCs have been coming down in price, with ViewSonic recently announcing a $299 device. Dell Computer is said to be readying a low-price model as well. "That space is very crowded," Slawsby said. "That's going to make it... we think, hard to build momentum beyond Palm loyalists." As for the Tungsten W, Slawsby said Palm's decision to downplay its cell phone abilities means that Palm will have to take on the BlackBerry head-on. "No one has figured out how to sell more than a couple hundred thousand devices," Slawsby said of the combination mobile phone-handheld device market. To tout the two new products, as well as the recently introduced Zire, Palm is kicking off a new advertising campaign. The company plans to spend about $10m over the next six months on the ads, which will include mostly print ads along with some online ads, said Page Murray, Palm's vice president of marketing. Aiming to reach a broader market for the low-end Zire, Palm is also expanding its advertising to new magazines such as People, Redbook and Ladies' Home Journal. "These are not the sort of tech-savvy business professional magazines that we have advertised in the past," Murray said. Margaret Kane writes for CNET News.com.