I have the Tungsten C. I was also skeptical about the thumboard at first, but I have gotten used to it and now I love it. I went from having a Palm III -> Palm Vx -> Tungsten C, and there are some likes and dislikes I have about it (especially compared to my old Vx). It's hard to choose Palm devices at this time because IMHO there is no "perfect" Palm device, but the T|C comes close.

What I like about the Tungsten C

The thumboard is nice. I was really good at Grafitti and used it a lot, enough so it affected my normal handwriting. I wasn't sure if I would like the thumboard, but I really like it now. I could go back to the silkscreen though, so it really isn't a deciding factor for me. One thing I like about the thumboard is that you can use it one-handed while driving to scroll to an artist's name in Palantir. You can use the write on screen grafitti, which I also like since it will "trail" your strokes to give you reference. I'm not a big fan of Grafitti 2, but you can customize the way some of the letters are drawn.

Absolutely gorgeous color screen. I was not a color screen convert until I saw this screen. If you look at a display in the store, you will think it's a mock-up screen sticker covering the real screen. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be the real screen.

It is FAST! I don't think I could go back to a PDA with a Dragonball processor after having used the Tungsten C. There is a significant speed advantage when scrolling lists and clicking on icons or items. My Vx seemed fast, but the T|C is instant.

The Photos application is great, I don't have to carry any photos in my wallet now! They look great on the screen, too. (320x320)

64M of memory helps, but I don't even come close to the memory limit. This is a major advantage of Palm's over the PocketPC.

The wireless access is really cool. Browse any website and check your e-mail wherever you have 802.11 coverage. I've found it most useful for e-mail, and some websites, but sites specially designed for PDA's work best (see below for limitations). On the command bar they've added an icon telling you your signal strength, tapping it takes you to the wifi config screen.

The 5-way navigator is nice, especially if applications support it. All the built-in apps support the navigator, and I wrote in support for it in Palantir. Along with the default scroll up and down actions, you can press back to go back a screen (just like the back button) and the middle button will take you to the Playlist screen. In the Playlist screen, you can press the middle button again to beam the playlist.

What I do not like about the Tungsten C

It's a brick compared to a Vx. The additional features come at a price, which is reduced battery time and weight. The battery life isn't too bad, I can go a week without having to recharge, using wireless occasionally. It's pocketable with the cover they give you with it , but I bought the Palm slip belt case which I really like. It is just a pouch for the Tungsten that you slide it out of, it doesn't attach to the unit at all which I like. The construction of the belt case is very good, it has velvet on the inside to protect your PDA, too. I found that the belt case would also fit a V series nicely, although not as snug as the Tungsten C/W.

They build in most of the apps into the ROM. I wish they could be removed or upgraded - I don't use the built-in calculator in favor of a better 3rd party calc, and I wish I could replace it. As it is the built in calc just takes up space. I know that you can get 3rd party apps to modify the ROM, but it should be that way from the factory.

The headphone jack is mono. This is probably so you can add on VoIP later (this is what I've heard) and record memos using a headset. I haven't tried it with a headset, but shouldn't there be some way to do that with a stereo jack?

The Palm SD bluetooth card doesn't work in the Tungsten C. I think they are going to fix this, it's an issue with the drivers for Palm OS 5.x, so when they do you will be able to have both bluetooth and wifi.

The case seems a little weak. I can twist it a bit, and mine doesn't sit 100% flat on a flat desk (but I can press it down). I realize they didn't use metal to cut down on weight, but twisting it and hearing it creak doesn't inspire confidence. Try one out in the store to see for yourself, it doesn't bug me too much, but it is still a bit annoying.

Okay, now for wireless glitches (mostly software):

If you switch around applications a lot, it will keep trying to re-connect to the network and get an IP address. I think this is due to some apps closing netlib and then trying to re-open it, I'm not sure.

The wireless range isn't wonderful. It's not bad considering it's a handheld, but with my access point I have to be pretty much within 75-100 feet, and it doesn't work great between floors (my Linksys wireless router is in the basement). I've been to a few coffeeshops and a mall that had wireless access and it worked great, maybe it's just my setup at home that is lacking.

I need spam filtering in Versamail! Otherwise, this mail app is really good for the Palm. You can create filters for the mail, but only on To, From, Subject, CC, Date, Size. If they could filter on other header fields, I could use SpamAssasin on the server to score it, then filter based upon score.

The web browser is adequate. It works best on pages designed for small screens, but will do ok for other sites. Really browsing on a PDA is not ideal anyway, as you can imagine with the screen real estate. My biggest problem with the browser is that it does not support pop-ups, which is ok except for some sites that use javascript links as actual links, and you just cannot browse those sites. It is really poor web design, but about 5-10% of sites do it. This makes the browser unusable for those sites. For some reason I can use the browser to login to riocar.org just fine, but I cannot log into this BBS with my Palm. Must have something to do with cookies.

Overall

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 Empeg Geek Points. While the Tungsten C is definatly the most powerful Palm to date, the few glitches in the built-in web browser and wireless access make me wish for upgrades. You may want to check out the newer Tungstens, like the E and T3. The E looks like a great value-priced PDA. The reviews I like are at http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/, they always do a very good job at picking apart every PDA and tech toy. Their comparison pictures are pretty good, too.