No sharp executive or journalist about town is complete these days without a smooth PDA to slip into his or her top pocket, and Palm has been at the forefront of the computer-in-your-hand revolution.

The aim here is crystal clear - to upgrade the earlier Tungsten T with a bit more of everything that was in the original and throw in some new multimedia features too. The good news is that the rather meagre 16MB of memory has now been doubled to 32MB, thus allowing for greater storage capacity. The T2 also incorporates the latest version of Palm OS 5.0 - version 5.2.1 - and features a bright 320 x 320 transflective colour screen that supports 65,000 colours.

Bluetooth technology remains built in so you can wirelessly access your e-mails and the Net, while once again the Graffiti 2 software allows you to perform on-screen writing (though it does take some practice to differentiate upper and lower case). An on-screen keyboard can be called up to fill in your spreadsheets, notes and diary entries, etc.

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A new element is contained in the Software Essentials on the enclosed CD-ROM. Palm Photos will allow you to take family snaps or holiday photos with you when you disappear on a business trip, and you can even perform basic editing functions. If you're a movie fan, the Kinoma Video Player will let you play video clips or movie trailers. Finally, MP3 or RealAudio files stored on an expansion card can now be enjoyed either via the reasonable speaker or through the headphone socket.

All of these functions can be swiftly implemented by dragging and dropping files onto the Palm Quick Install icon. The Documents To Go Professional Edition that comes as standard is Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatible (Mac too) and the extra storage capacity now encourages you to create more work documents on the move. There's an additional built-in voice memo recorder for any moments of inspiration.

Transferring data from handheld to desktop computer is done via the supplied cradle and HotSync software and it works seamlessly. The only drawback with the cradle is that it is the only means to charge up the unit, which adds unnecessary bulk to a system that should be as unobtrusive as possible.

The T2 keeps the same sturdy slider (as pictured) as was fitted to the Tungsten T. This protects the Menu, Home, Search and Favourite buttons. Navigation can be carried out with one hand using the five-way directional pad. It's this familiarity with the prototype that will appeal to Palm addicts looking for something more for not too much cash.

Easy and versatile to use, the Tungsten T2 is both cheaper than its ancestor and has the additional media functions that will attract the growing army of MP3 fans who want to be entertained when they're not keeping up on the office paperwork.