upgrade from Z72: T3 or T5?

L

litt_o_shotay411

New member
I've been reading lots of posts on the T3 and T5, trying to decide which way to go for an upgrade to an obnoxious Zire 72 (on my 3rd one with the screen buzz). People seem to prefer the stability of the T3, but the T5 looks better on paper. I'm also hesitant about the T3, because it's already a bit outdated, what with the need for all of the extra DAs to get software to run properly.

I know....cutting edge isn't always the best. But the price is running pretty much even. Opinions, users?

Thanx.

Sosha
 


Welcome sosha.

Zire72 is very fast device, It's probably second fastest device after T3 and TC. So moving towards T5 - you will find it much slower than your 72.
If you ask me: - i would choose T3 with closed eyes. But everyone has his own preferences.
I will give you pros and cons of each device (including those, which usually are unknown.)

Pros of T3:

1)Very fast
2) have 64mb of REAL ram.
3) Very stable
4) has 12mb of dynamic heap
5) very small in closed state
6) has Voice recorder and led.
7) Models with Sony screens are better than T5 or LD. (i.e screen is better)
8) Telescopic stylus - very nice

Cons of T3:
1) Weak battery (big disadvantag)
2) Some have digi problems due slider

Pros of T5:

1) Very good battery life (important)
2) Built-in 160mb flash drive
3) Updated software (browser...)
4) Better sound q-ty than T3
5) No moving parts (some like it)

Cons of T5:

1) VERY unstable and crash-prone (compared to T3) due to NVFS and 2)
2) Has 3 times less Dynamic Memory (only 4mb) And thus cannot run some apps that t3 can
3)Works slower than T3 due to NVFS
4) Requires mostly newest sofware versions, specially updated to work with T5


 
Thanx for the welcome ;-)

Slower? That's nuts. Why would they do that? (I'm sure that's been asked many times.....). 256 MB seems great, but only 4MB useable at a time? Again, makes no sense. Palm must be doing some really good drugs.

I like the slider, but fear the digitizer problem.

Hmmmmm.......

Thanx for the input. Others agree?
 
I've just upgraded from a T2 to a T5. If the T5 is slower than the T3 then it can't be by much. It certainly knocks spots off my T2.

Here is a list of what I'm currently running on my T5:

ZLauncher
Megaclock2
Novii Deluxe
PDACookbook
MyRoots
Project at Hand
Bonsai
Secret
Splash Shopper
Wordsmith
J-File
Nexus
ProWord
TomeRaider
VideoHound
WorldWyse+
Bhajis Loops
Kinoma Player
Pocket Tunes Deluxe
Resco Photo Viewer
MM Player
Microbe
City Time
HandMap
Planetarium
Tide Tool
Tube Pro
WorldMate
Aggression
Billiards
Bowling Deluxe
Pocket Chess
Madden NFL
Plant Tycoon
Monopoloy
DateBk5
BackupBuddy VFS Pro
Icon Manager

I'm running all these without any major problems. Yes, I have had a few crashes here and there but a quick soft reset and everything works fine again in seconds. Furthermore, I'm running most of these from the internal memory, freeing up my SD slot for multi-media uses (movies, MP3 etc.).

The T5 certainly does have a few negatives such as the lack of a vibrate alarm and the absence of a cradle (which has to be purchased separately). However, to read some of the reviews you'd think it was the worst pda ever. It isn't. I haven't regretted buying it for a second. It's a huge advance on my old T2 and I can whole-heartedly recomend it.
 
Just a couple more points to consider:

There were a few things that kept me from moving from my T3 to the T5. First, my T3 was only a year old and there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, it was doing everything that I wanted and more. I loaded the T3 and a 1GB card with apps and files and still had 30MB free on my T3 and 500MB free on my SD card. I could not justify $400 for what would be, in my particular case, a marginal improvement over what I already had and following the old adage "If it ain't broke..."

The T5 does not have a voice recorder, which I use all the time to jot voice memos when I'm driving, while in a meeting, or on a conference call. There are 3rd party apps that will give the T5 a voice recorder, but they're not as handy as pressing the button on the side of the T3.

The speaker has been moved from the front on the T3 to the back on the T5. This is pretty minor, but it does make a difference, especially when listening to voice memos or watching movies. I notice this because I moved to a Treo 650 last month and the speaker is on the back. I miss the front speaker.

OldBlue
 
The T5 is not buggy because of NVFS - the software was, and most developers offered updates so that now it's very stable.

NVFS is one good reason to get the T5 - never lose memory if the battery drains.

No voice recorder - well there is note pad to jot yourself a quick note.

No vibrating alarm - well the magnetics of that feature might cause issues to the NVFS.

I played with and breifly owned a Life Drive and kept the T5 for it's size and speed. Bundled with some pretty good 1GB SD cards I can carry the thing in my pocket and never really like carrying the Zire because of it's added weight for the camera.

You want fast then the T5 is the way to go and I hated the slider of the T3 because of digitizer issues and the need to constantly open it to input.

T5 - way to go IMHO.
 
I have no experience of the T3 but I did previously own a T2. I keep reading reports on the problems with the slider and the digitiser but I can honestly say I never had a problem. In fact, the only digitiser problem I ever had was with my old M500.
 
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