Palm Inc’s Tungsten E2 handheld does not ship with a cradle. Brando offers a cradle for the T5, but the E2 doesnt fit in mechanically.
Brando ships the cradle in a regular envelope via snail mail. The box was a bit squashed, but the cradle was o.k..
A day was spent in the workshop and the E2 now fits in:
The secret is to remove the bar in front of the cradle. I erroneously tried to file off stuff from the back. Anyways, the E2 now fits in well, the cradle does not shake around. The machine stands straighter than in the original PalmOne cradles.
Power is supplied to the handheld via USB. A TE2 charges even when powered on. However, there is no way to attach an AC power supply:
A blue LED at the front of the cradle signals power. It light up if power is available, even if no handheld is docked:
The USB cable is about 90cm long-this is a bit too short for my taste. The cradle lacks a dedicated sync button and is not detected as an USB peripheral by AutoSync,… . BTW, the E2 fits into the cradle even if in Brabdo’s aluminium hardcase:
Overall, this cradle is funky. Modding it is not difficult if you know what to remove. The lack of a hotsync button is no problem for me as AutoSync detects the cradle as a power supply if connected to a PC. Automatic synchronisation really helps. The charging speed is fast enough for me-an external AC charger is faster though. However, the short USB cable can be a major nuissance. Also, it is absolutely useless if no PC is close!
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