Comparing the T3 and the T5

E

entrapped?

New member
Appreciate anyone's opinion in this regard. I am going to upgrade from a TT to either a T-3 or T-5. When I compared the two, I liked the T-3 for two reasons - it collapses to a smaller size and retains the "voice memo" capabiliity. But I give up a better processor and increased memory. I find myself using the TT more and more as a complete package - watching full length movies, looking at powerpoint and excel papers, reading e-books, etc.
Any opinions or suggestions on which to get? Thanks
 
The absence of a voice recorder on the T5 is a problem.

New Technology of the T5 causes Early Adopter issues.

Collapseable VG area of the T3.....gets old quick but if your use to it on the TT then fine.

Me, I prefer to see the entire screen but I'm going to be forced into a Treo 650 or a TungstenE due to corporate issues so my view is tainted.

I'd rather have a T5 over a T3 if the T5 had a voice recorder.

I do own a T3 so that should help.
 
I recommend that you upgrade to a T3 for the following reasons:

1. As Moose indicated, there are still early adopter problems. Some programs still have compatability issues with the flash memory. The T3 is very stable and compatible. Many programs support the stretch screen in both portrait and landscape modes on the T3. However, some have problems on the T5.

2. There is not much difference between the processing speeds. The T3 is by no means slow.

3. The price of the T3 is lower than the T5.

4. The drive function on the T5 can be achieved on a T3 using a third party app called CardExport2 and add a high capacity SD card. By the way, 64MB of internal memory goes a long way on a T3.

5. The T3 can handle ebook reading, opening and editing MS Office files, etc. You might, however, consider upgrading the version of Documents To Go that comes with the T3. The latest version has native file support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. This makes it possible to copy and paste the files onto your SD card without running HotSync to convert the files, like is required in earlier versions of D2G. Dataviz has a special upgrade price for customers upgrading from the version bundled with their devices.

Once the early adopter issues are debugged on the T5, it should become a good device to consider. It is probably going to take a little time for the software developers to catch up with the new technology.

Ultimately, the choice is yours, but at this point in time, I think the T3 has more bang for the buck.
 
The T5 also lacks a vibrating alert, charge light and hotsync cradle.

Does anybody know if the T5 IR lamp is as bright as the IR lamp on the T3? The T3 has a heck of a range if you use OmniRemote.
 
I'm with Dwinget on this - especially when you add in the two features which you mentioned in your post, the slider and the voice recorder.

Some don't like the slider - it's a matter of taste, but I do.

The voice recorder is invaluable: I don't use it often, but when I do there would have been no substitute for it.

Get in a quick plug for a favourite of PalmTealLover : there's a lot of rubbish in the ROM of the T3 which usefully can be removed using JackSprat.
 
Faced with the same dilemma a few weeks ago, the crunch for me was the poor battery life of the T3. My TT was just about able to survive a day of my regular usage but all reports of T3 battery life lead me to be doubtful that it would last a day at work. So, I went with the T5 and once I got through the installation gremlins etc I must say that I am really happy with it. The voice recorder was useful but in 2 years I only "needed" it half a dozen times. The lack of vibration is no big deal for the most part - I dont often need it to vibrate if I am in a meeting when the sound shouldnt be heard - the sound is quite enough for me. I do enjoy not having the slider! I wasnt a great slider fan and am convinced that the TT digitizer problems were slider related. I find the T5 fits nicely into my pocket - it is slimmer than the TT and nice to hold. I much prefer the form of the m515, Vx, TE etc to the slider options.

I have had very few software problems - most of the applications I absolutely rely on have been updated to accommodate the T5 and a few judicious upgrades are not really a problem. I paid more for the T5 than I would have for the T3 but not significantly much that I felt duped.
 
1,slider
2.vibrate alert and
3.Voice recorder are ABSOLUTE requirements for me

I had T5 for a week and already missed the vibrate /silent alert and I also use my voice recorder as vibrate/wake up alarm with the T-T2 and T3

Card export 2 will function brilliantly as removable external drive for MMC and SD cards with ANY computer on T3(similar to T5)

Enjoy

T 3 for me;)
 
I've been away and couldn't "weigh in" earlier. The comrades above have already outlined most of the T3 advantages, but here's my view and some additional data:

T3. Hands Down. Not even a nanosecond of doubt - nothing to compare in my opinion. The T3 is a handheld and the T5 is a nightmare.

The flash memory capability of the T3 far outshines that of the T5, which is basically an internal SD Card you can't control.

A HARD RESET will wipe out "memory" you have that you thought you'd have afterward. Then what's the point? It is a strange type of memory storage/access indeed - both on the T5 and the new Treo - and it slows down the unit!! The new "pseudo-flash" spooks me and I wouldn't have anything to do with it. You can get almost 10MB of flash memory, safe from a hard reset, on a T3 by using a 3rd party app called JackSprat/JackFlash.

Card Export overcomes the virtual USB drive problem on a T3 but I'd add the following caveat:

I don't care for the fact that it duplicates exactly the 9k ROM version of a USB driver into RAM, along with USB-enUS. One or both of these must be deleted manually on uninstall, and you must use CardExport ITSELF to uninstall (unhook) first, then delete normally. Still the "pusb" Saved Preference and the USB driver_enUS are left as remnants. Make a note of that - otherwise it's a good workaround for USB recognition on the desktop. I don't know why it requires 2 copies -- ROM and RAM - but it duplicates the Version 5.0 driver you already have.

The addition of an SD Card and either ZLauncher or TealAlias will launch countless apps from the Card. A new "still secret" app, almost ready for release, will give you 256MB Virtual RAM on the T3.

Combine the BETTER attainable flash on a T3 (with a 3rd party app), and the use of apps on the SD Card using one of the two afforementioned 3rd party launchers, the vibrating alert, the LED charging light, basic PIMS reliablility and the cradle . . . . plus METAL construction, some "heft," and other advantages listed in above posts and I think the choice is obvious.

T3 all the way.
 
For me the T5 is out of the question and it can be summed up in two words: voice recorder.

I use my T|T's microphone all the time. Currently I'm taking classes and I use Personal Audio Recorder (from toysoft.ca) to record the lectures at a decent quality sample rate. I convert them to MP3 on my PC and then listen to them at the library.

As a part time musician, I often record snippets of songs or tunes that I hear, rehearsals, or musical ideas that occur to me as I am sitting on the bus or wherever.

People are always blown away when I show them the recording feature. They say, "You mean that thing can RECORD, too??? Where can I get one?"

It really saddens me that Palm One would discard a proven, debugged feature just to save a couple of dollars per unit. I'm really interested in the Treo 650, which has the v.r. but I wonder if the Treo 700 will. (sigh) Maybe my next handheld/phone will be an HP at this rate.
 
Back
Top