Palm 3199WW Cradle Kit for Tungsten E2/T5/TX and LifeDrive Reviews

• Cradle is nice... I find the light annoying

  
  By A1ZF1MWLIPOHAJ on 2005-05-16
  I would suggest this to anyone who plunks down the cash for the Tungsten T5. The cradle is reasonably sturdy/heavy/unlikely to fall over when your PDA is sitting in it and looks reasonably nice on your desk. I also think it is much easier than messing around with the cheap adapter and USB cable which comes in the box.
  
  The only thing I don't like about it is the annoying light that is ALWAYS on! If you look in the picture, it is the light gray/non-silver part. It catches the corner of my eye and has been surprisingly distracting -- so much so that I have had to unplug it. Otherwise, I'd have to say it's great and give it all five stars!
  
  
  
  

• Good, Could Have Been Much Better

  
  By A2K40JBQHJY1HH on 2006-02-23
  I just purchased this cradle for my new Palm Tungsten E2. On the positive side, it is light, easy to assemble, and looks nice on the desktop. It is much more attractive than the sync and power cables being exposed in plain view. It also stays put on my desk, not slipping and sliding as other reviews have described. The price here on Amazon is superb in comparison to almost twice as money at most other places. On the negative side, it seems flimsy, and I fear breaking the prongs when connecting and disconnecting my Palm. A switch for the light would have also been a huge plus. As is, the light is always on, which can be annoying and even distracting.
  
  I've used the older Palm cradles, and felt they were much better designed and much more durable. Although attractive and sleek, this cradle appears to have suffered from excessive cost cutting. It's good, but could have been much better.
  
  

• avoid if you have a Palm TX

  
  By A2XPK6XCL0UH1S on 2007-12-15
  Own a Palm TX? Avoid this at all costs!
  
  As others have noted, and as documented on the Palm support forums, this cradle has a major incompatibility with the Palm TX. It will cause the Palm TX to lockup, requiring a soft reset (using the reset hole on the back). There is unfortunately no solution, and no predicting when the lock will occur. Sometimes, after one HotSync it will lock, sometimes if the computer is placed into sleep and then reawakened, other times just sitting there.
  
  Palm has a patch on their site that supposedly fixes this problem, but it actually makes matters worse - with the patch installed, the TX will lock when not even docked. DON'T install the patch!
  
  Interestingly, the problem appears to be a hardware design flaw of the cradle itself. If you plug the TX into the included connector, and NOT the cradle, no problems! I suspect it has something to do with the silly LED light that always stays on - perhaps a static discharge problem.
  
  

• A convenience - but also a point of failure.

  
  By A1F7SX3GNVBNE3 on 2007-06-18
  The cradle is a very simple device - it merely extends the sync cable to allow the Palm to sit upright and be viewable next to your computer monitor. That's nice. The trouble is that the connection between the palm and the cradle doesn't lock. Also the connection between the sync cable and the cradle doesn't lock either (it's exactly the same connector). Palm designed these connectors to be easy to connect and disconnect - which is great when connecting the Palm to the sync cable. The problem is that the connection between the sync cable and the cradle need to be secure - and it isn't. When the connection becomes loose you get bad syncs, data corruption, freezes, etc... We've had no end of trouble with these on our network because of this issue. The fix is to unmate and remate the cable connections - easy enough, but the periodic problems have led me to ban these cradles from our list of supported gear.
  
  Some others have complained about the blue LED light. You need this light to tell you when you've got the Palm properly seated in the cradle - otherwise you might not know you've got it down onto the connector far enough. I think of the light as a feature - not a problem.
  
  The ultimate solution would be a pair of wire bails on the back of the cradle that you'd use to lock the sync cable on. Too bad they didn't think of that.
  
  

• 5 stars for utility and 3 stars for value

  
  By A9J4UURM4OSDW on 2007-09-09
  Palm has stopped including charging/synching cradles with its PDAs and Treos. Cradles have some utility, so Palm offers you this kit at an exaggerated price for recent-vintrage Tungsten PDAs. (Be sure to check whether the kit you'r ordering is compatible with the Palm model you have!)
  
  You're buying both more and less than you think with the kit. You get a light cradle, smaller than a pack of cards and weighing about an ounce. You plug the square plug of the power adapter that came with your Palm Tungsten or other compatible Palm device into the cradle, and then you plug in the USB synchronization cable that came with it. When you're done you have what Palm should have given you in the box with the Tungsten.
  
  To justify the price, you also get: A large power adapter that has interchangeable plugs compatitble with US & European wall outlets and a "real" USB cable that boths synchs and charges a Palm device. The "real" USB cable works for a wide range of recent Palm devices, including Treo 650 and newer smart phones. It's very useful for travel if you carry a laptop that has a USB port.
  
  The cradle is worth about two bucks, but the rest of the package makes the price more or less reasonable, considering that accessories are always high profit items. Shame on Palm for not including the cradle in the box with all its products. But if you want a cradle you do get a couple of other potentially useful accessories to make you feel less ripped off. If you just want a combination USB synch and power cable, you can get that from aftermarket suppliers for a lot less than the cradle kit.
  
  
• Style over function...
  By A2IVRE91DDDBXG on 2006-08-05
  The Palm cradle accomplishes the task you want it to: it syncs your Palm while propping it up. However, with no place for the stylus it is not as functional as the old cradle (Palm Vx). Palm touts the ever-glowing white light as fashionable, but it's not - it's polluting.
  All of that said, it's probably the best "bang for the buck."
  
  
• Great Unit
  By A23ONMGKEWDG4M on 2006-07-03
  Update: November 15, 2008 - Still working just fine.
  
  Orig Review: Simple to install, easy to use. Does the job and has features not advertised. For example: If in the cradle, the the Palm comes to life automatically when you turn on the PC/
  
  
• An absolute must
  By ANU18MJDWCZLG on 2006-08-16
  I bought this to go with my Palm TX and would not go without it.
  One touch transfer is so easy. I purchased one that did not function correctly and Amazon had a new one in the mail within a day for replacement and sending back was postage paid and very easy to do. I got the replacement within a couple of days and it works perfectly.
  It has a light, so easy to spot for setting your PP in the cradle each night.
  I like it so much better than the cord USB transfer...though that is nice to take with you if you are on the road.
  I highly recommend this product.
  
  
• Toaster accessory for Palm TX
  By A2UTZ4O5E2W4DK on 2006-07-05
  I like this Palm synchronizer/charger accessory. It is compact, stylish and it works well. I wish the connector Palm had designed for the TX and other advanced series were a little less difficult to plug in and remove, but that is a niggling criticism. Very glad to have it on my desktop to save a little space and clutter as well as be able to see the TX desktop when I push the sync button on the front of the accessory. It is stable - no toppling or wobbling so far and it adds utility to my Palm TX system - big and growing. It isn't actually too big, so one could take this along when traveling as well. Recommended.
  
  
• Works very well
  By A208DBBD1R0PJD on 2006-08-24
  I like this cradle works very well for me, I use all the time now for hotsyncing and charging my palm tx thru the usb port.
  
  
• PalmOne LifeDrive Cradle
  By AGT1RN4G4F49B on 2005-09-07
  Received the cradle last week, very timely! Very easy to install. The cradle is on the smaller side but so far appears sturdy enough to hold my lifedrive. The hot sync button is easy to use and you can plug head phones into the cradle to listen to music. Placing the lifedrive in the cradle requires it to be lined up exactly and sometimes you need to re-insert it back on the cradle for the compter to recognize it. Also, the cradle light stays on all the time, which can be very annoying.
  
  
• T5 Palm cradle
  By A25YW7ROYB2J6A on 2005-10-14
  The Palm T5 does not come with a cradle. This kit is a nice solution to the problem. The Palm fits very easily into the cradle and I have had no problems at all charging and synchronizing. The kit also comes with adaptors so that you can use the cradle in Europe. I have not had a chance to try this feature but it seems quite easy to switch between different plug configurations. In summary, I feel very satified with this product.
  
  
• Rev. Jerry Plotts
  By A223O8W9Q7VLAE on 2005-10-23
  Great bargain. I had it hooked up and syncing in less than 5 minutes. Staples has the same item for $50.00, so saving 50% for me was well worth it. The cradle light stays on, so that may bother some, but it does make a good night light at my desk. :-)
  
  
• On balance, a very useful product
  By A335QXPTV1RIV1 on 2006-01-01
  The cradle is far easier to use than one or two cables that would otherwise be required. And it looks cool, which frankly counts for a lot. It is not nearly as well built or easy to use as the "Universal" cradles I bought for my Palm T3, and that's disappointing. Also the light is very annoying, what a horrible idea. On balance, since I love my Palm TX, and the cradle is a substantial improvement over dangling wires, I say go for it. THANK YOU Amazon for the substantial discount from list price.
  Art
  
  
• Useful but lots of flaws
  By A29Z9KHZ65SBZ7 on 2006-02-07
  I use this cradle because it is handy for syncing and to keep it on and charging next to my desk. Still, there are lots of things I don't like:
  
  1. The plug is hard to use. I constantly have to fumble to get my T|X plugged in. The fit is tight and I wonder if a piece of the plug won't break off in time. My last PDA, a Clie, just slipped on the cradle and started charging immediately
  
  2. It is light and there are is no anti-slip bottom. When I push the hot sync button, I need two hands, or at least three nimble fingers. I will be buying some non-slip mat for it soon.
  
  3. You won't be able to use most cases with the cradle. It doesn't make any sense to me to have to pull the Palm in and out of the case to use the cradle. I bought one case where I did this and have stopped using it. (I didn't like it for other reasons, and the manufacturer was nice enough to give me credit for other items. This is why I am not mentioning their name.) I just got the Fortte/Bellagio case, which you can use with the cradle and it seems pretty good.
  
  The light that bothers others, doesn't bother me, other than it seems unnecessary. I know it is a tiny amount of electricity, but you take all the electronics that trickle electricity for lights, clocks, and so forth, and over the entire country, I think you are talking about a big deal. Okay, rant over.
  
  In all, I would buy it again, but grudgingly. If someone offered a better cradle (just making a better plug would do it), I would happily junk this unit and buy it.
  
  
• A must-have for Palm TX owners that is just shy of perfect
  By AAHUMVX71IKSO on 2006-09-23
  Overall complete package. I definitely could have used this in Europe since I had no way of charging my Palm TX! I agree with other reviewers that they should not include all of the different plug adapters, but then again I don't think they contribute that much more to the overall cost.
  
  What I liked: Finally a cradle that I now use at work, a multi-voltage charger and a European plug adapter (for the next time I go to Europe).
  
  What I disliked: Palm has been cutting a little too much out of their product to lower costs. I am not a huge fan of the latest interface design, what with the fragile yet spring-loaded connector setup. I liked the way the old Palm III's used to simply slide right into the cradle. Now the "docking" process has essentially become a two-handed process and the cradle is not heavy enough to stay put when you remove the PDA.
  
  Still, I would recommend this to everyone that bought the base Palm TX unit simply because a cradle and multi-voltage adapter should been included in the first place!
  
  And for those of you concerned about the cradle being lit 24/7: I used the USB cable that came with the PDA and hooked that up to the cradle. It still recharges the PDA, but it does not power the lights in the cradle! Not sure whether this will work for everyone(i.e. laptop owners), but it has been working fine so far for me.
  
  
• I'd have given it 5 stars except for one irritating feature
  By A1ER5AYS3FQ9O3 on 2006-11-10
  There is a light that ALWAYS stays on and it is distracting, as others have noted. Otherwise, it is great. Good design, works well, no complaints. But that light...WHY did they design it with that?
  
  
• 1/2 of it works
  By A1Z069ET6KWB2M on 2007-01-06
  With the Palm TX, there is one cord for the power and another cord for the computer. I bought the cradle to solve the hassle of having to transport two cords.
  
  The cradle package comes in two pieces, the cord and the actual cradle. It is very easy to assemble.
  
  When I received the cradle, the power and USB are hooked together, however, I couldn't get the button on the cradle to initiate the resync process. After realizing that the light on the cradle is always lit as long as the cradle is plugged in, I decided to just use the cord and forget the actual cradle.
  
  In addition, the actual cradle is not as wide as the Palm TX. In my case, unless it is on a hard surface, the Palm on the cradle, leans to one side.
  
  The cradle that I had for my Zire 71 was a lot sturdier, however, I bought another cord for travel. Now, I just use the cord portion of the cradle package all the time.
  
  
• Palm TX freezes in the cradle
  By A4QPPCTCT72J7 on 2007-01-12
  The service was great. However, my Palm TX freezes about 60% of the time when I put in in the cradle, and I need to do a soft reboot. I do not, as of yet, have a fix from Palm.
  
  
• What a crock!
  By A1O3WB6YD0ZMMU on 2007-02-22
  It looks very nice..but it doesn't work! Palm has identified a problem with the sleep/wake cycle and issued a patch..still doesn't work. Everytime you use the cradle it freezes the screen and then you have to reset the unit manually. :(
  
  
• All it claims to be, but pricey and not all it could be...
  By A155THPUY9D3WN on 2007-06-27
  Bought this Palm-branded cradle kit for my TX with some reservations, having been a Palm user since the original "Palm Pilot" which included an exellent cradle in the purchase price (my TX is my fifth Palm). This cradle kit is everything it claims to be, but I have a few nitpicks. First, it includes a fancy universal power adapter, whose universality is not very useful (who carries their cradle all over the world?), and is entirely unnecessary since the handheld already included a power adapter, so I am paying extra for a redundant power adapter I don't want or need. The data cable is interesting, too, in that its business end is extra wide to span both the data and power inlets for the Palm, but that cable end also has an input plug to accept power itself, so the power adapter plugs into the cable, not the unit. If the Palm TX had simply come with a cable setup like this in the first place, the cradle kit could've done away with the cables entirely and been just a low cost form fitted cradle. Speaking of form fitted, I think the cradle itself could be better suited to the TX because unlike previous cradles that, well, "cradled" the base of the handheld with formed plastic shaped to fit the unit that helped to guide the plug connections in place as the unit was seated, this more universal cradle has the handheld sort of balanced on the protuding end of male plug that you sort of have to align by eye , putting your head down near the desktop and looking up as you're trying to get the plug to go in the hole. Not so much of a cradle, more like a "nicely lighted male plug end to skewer your handheld onto if you aim carefully". I understand that is the likely the consequence of having a "one size fits many" cradle that works with the TX, the Treo, the LifeDrive and I don't know what all else, but it does diminish the value of the cradle for its intended use with the unit I actually own.
  
  
• Great product
  By A2UEQFUMU4ZRPV on 2005-07-24
  The Tungsten T5 is my first Palm purchase. I've had many Sony Clie's, so I never had a cradle. That's the one thing that peeved me about the Sony brand.
  
  I bought a T5 yesterday. I decided to buy the cradle here on Amazon.com. I saved $20.00.
  
  I absolutely love it...If you get a T5, you should get this. not only does it help protect from scratches from the desk, it "puts it on display." Especially nice looking with the cool white LED light.
  
  
• Poor quality cradle
  By A2SR728HMIIDRV on 2005-08-03
  I bought this because the T5 is my fifth sucessive Palm PDA, and it did not come with a cradle. The device came with multiple plug adaptors and a universal power supply. The Cradle looks well and has a rather bright light, but the connections are very unreliable. The HotSync button is a poor quality item and frequently does not work. I find I am frequently just using the cable alone to synchronise.
  
  
• PalmOne Cradle Kit for Tungston T5
  By ASXZ6XUGJ2ES6 on 2005-09-11
  Awesome cradle. Works better than expected and very low price at Amazon.com.
  
  
• Can't live without it
  By A1J37RK9Q3CUBZ on 2006-02-26
  This is a must have for someone that depends on both their Palm and computer's organizer software. Only two complaints: One, it should have come with the Palm (like it used to) and Two, it has an annoying light that stays on all the time.
  
  
• Palm Cradle Kit for Handhelds (3199WW)
  By A27BRS4OYZRYKQ on 2006-03-16
  Well designed product. Works very well and have an interesting glow when powered. Envy of other persons in my office.
  
  
• If you have a Palm Lifedrive - you need this!
  By A3BHMTU09F9S5A on 2006-03-22
  This is a great product. If you have a Lifedrive you need this. It makes syncing your Lifedrive to your compter so easy and effortless and best of all - it recharges the unit at the same time.
  
  The light in the back of the unit makes it look cool too.
  
  
• Cradle for Palm TX
  By A1LEUJRGKHDNMF on 2006-07-27
  I did not feel this was a quality product. The Palm often did not fit in the cradle easily, and I had to press the hotsync button more than once before it made the connection. I eventually returned it.
  
  
• great item
  By A2NYWTOI5M1HU1 on 2006-08-27
  I think the cradle kit is more convenient than having separate cables. I own a palm tx and had no problem with the universal sizing of the cradle. I do think the light is a little impractical since it stays illuminated at all times. However, overall this is a great buy!
  
  
• Should have stuck with the Palm V design...
  By A34B61B7W17OX8 on 2006-11-17
  I upgraded from a Palm Vx to a Tungsten E2 and the cradle changes certainly aren't improvements. Much harder to get the Palm in and out, and the always-on light is disturbingly bright as others have mentioned. I found that the translucent bit of plastic around the connector simply snaps out, and I've put a couple of small bits of black electrical tape over the LEDs. There's still a bit of glow coming through the circuit board the LEDs are on, but it's much less annoying. (I was hoping to be able to snip a lead on the LEDs but they're surface mounts.)
  
  

• Palm TX Handheld
• Palm Stylus 3-Pack (3178WW)
• Palm Tungsten E2 Handheld
• Palm 3176WW Slim Leather Case for Tungsten T5
• Palm TX Handheld with Hard Case