Palm answers Handspring Treo’s challenge; announces ‘Tungsten W’ handheld

Palm has announced the ‘Tungsten W’ handheld. With the Tungsten W, you can access up to eight personal POP and IMAP accounts and securely access behind-the-firewall corporate email with a third-party VPN client. The Tungsten also features wireless short messaging services (SMS). Attach the hands-free headset to make a call (unlike the Treo, the Tungsten W features GSM/GPRS service and also comes with a Bluetooth radio, allowing users to sync wirelessly with other Bluetooth-enabled devices no more than 30 feet away which should work seamlessly with Apple’s iSync) while keeping the rest of the handheld’s functions free to edit documents, locate addresses, review a presentation, check your email, etc. Call management features let you conference up to five callers at once, create notes for each caller, and set redials and reminders. Surf any site using the wireless web browser or use web clipping applications to quickly “clip” key information, like flight times, stock quotes or weather reports. It features a high-resolution color screen display (16-bit 320 x 320 reflective TFT color display that supports over 65,000 colors vs. the Treo’s 12-bit 160 x 160 transflective color screen that supports over 4,000 colors) and thumb-keyboard lets you quickly compose email and instant messages. The 5-way button is designed to make it easy to find information or navigate applications with one hand and stylus-free. The Tungston W will retail for US $549 without wireless service and be available “early 2003.” Read more here.