Palm Zire - Palm OS 4.1 - MC68EZ328 16 MHz - RAM: 2 MB ( 160 x 160 ) - IrDA

...take it abroad, and a palm software CD.

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Initial Impressions
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The Zire is a lot lighter than I expected. At only 109g it's comparable to a light mobile phone. The casing is pretty solid and doesn't at all feel flimsy or "plasticy". The 160 x 160 monochrome screen is adequately sized and the resolution is surprisingly high (after having ...
...Address:
This is the palm address book software, which allows you to maintain a huge address book (within the 2MB memory limitations that's thousands of entries) which you can easily sort and search. Each record allows you custom fields and notes to be attached (e.g. if you have STM problems, notes such as what a person looks like, last time you saw them, any distinguishing characteristics can help you remember who a person is).
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Vital Stats
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Manufacturer: PalmOne
Range: Zire
Model: Zire/Palm m150

Memory: 2MB
Processor: 16 MHz Motorola Dragonball EZ Processor
Operating System: PalmOS 4.1
Battery type: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
IO Ports: USB (Slave), IRDA/Consumer-IR

Width: 2.9 inches
Height: 4.4 inches
Depth: 0.6 inches

Keys: Up, Down, Datebook (Assignable), Addresses (Assignable)

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Background/Overview
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Let me start off by quelling some myths - not everyone needs a 64MB color screened multimedia pda, acually - few people do! And secondly, the Grafitti handwriting system is not difficult to use, it's fantastic!

I'm dyslexic (which not only affects my reading, but also my Short Term Memory so I find it hard to remember things) and dysgraphic (dysgraphia is a writing impairment similar to dyslexia except it prevents me from writing legibly).
I find it difficult to remember things (i.e. what time I was supposed to go to the doctors today, or the name is the new album i'm going into town to buy) so I desperately needed something to help me - especially since I'm at university and it seems my live is filled with appointments.
Being dysgraphic doesn't help either - Its so bad that when I decide to write a quick Post-It to myself, unless I take 10 minutes to do so, I can't read it again - No-one can!

So when I got the bright idea to go buy a PDA I didn't want to waste too much money, just incase it wasn't what I expected. So I went online and bought a Zire for £20 (£6 p&p) on eBay from PalmOne's UK partner. They sell refurbished PDAs - for instance if a PDA has been returned with a cracked screen they send out a new one and fix the old one later and sell it on again. They do provide a full warranty!

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In The Box
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When it arrived the first thing I expected was a really long (13 hour) charge - like you would have to do with a new mobile phone - but the battery came fully charged! In the box was the PDA, stylus, a rubbery screen flap (detatchable - stops it getting scratched in your pocket, bag, etc), a USB cable (allowing you to HotSync with your PC, and trickle charge your battery), a UK Mains charger with 3 or 4 extra adapters incase you take it abroad, and a palm software CD.

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Initial Impressions
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The Zire is a lot lighter than I expected. At only 109g it's comparable to a light mobile phone. The casing is pretty solid and doesn't at all feel flimsy or "plasticy". The 160 x 160 monochrome screen is adequately sized and the resolution is surprisingly high (after having many mobile monochrome mobile phones, the difference is very noticable).

When I first turned it on I was asked to tap on certain parts of the screen - this tells the OS a bit about how you hold the stylus in relation to the angel you look at the screen, making your taps on the screen much more accurate. I was then taken through the Welcome program - showing me how to use the stylus and 4 buttons to perform basic operations. The interface for the PDA is very intuitive; If you don't know how to do something just have a look about and with no effort you'll figure it out - and if you can't there are always help screens to lend you a hand.

I was then moved onto the Grafitti training software. Grafitti is Palm's handwriting recognition software bundled on all their PDAs. It requires you to write in a slightly modified handwriting style called Grafitti - taking down the error rates and allowing you to write more quickly. The training software shows you how to write each character on the grafitti pad (the small grey rectangle below the screen) - e.g. for an A simply write a capital A with the crossing bar.

Grafitti can be used anywhere text or numbers can be entered - but if it's not to your liking you can bring up the on screen virtual keyboard. Although it takes up a large proportion of the screen, it will be invaluable in the first few days as you learn to use the grafitti system.

Many people think that Grafitti is difficult to use, its not! My dysgraphia is so severe that unless I write around 7 words per minute, even I can't read back my own writing. Grafitti, on the other hand, allows me to write much more messily at around 25/30 words per minute and it recognises every single character, translating it all into text for me. For anyone with writing difficulties, this is such a useful tool, allowing you to make quick notes wherever you are without having to worry about trying to read it back again.

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Bundled Software
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Below is a rundown the of the bundled software:

Address:
This is the palm address book software, which allows you to maintain a huge address book (within the 2MB memory limitations that's thousands of entries) which you can easily sort and search. Each record allows you custom fields and notes to be attached (e.g. if you have STM problems, notes such as what a person looks like, last time you saw them, any distinguishing characteristics can help you remember who a person is).
Like most other palm software, it allows for categorisation of entries - e.g. Business, Personal.
There's not much else to say about this software, it's simple but performs it fuction adequately.

Calc:
A basic (non-scientific) calculator. You can enter number either by grafitti or using the large buttons that appear on-screen. You can copy and paste, it has memory functions, and allows you to see recent calculations.
If you really want a scientific calculator - there are loads of free ones you can download and install on your Zire.

Clock:
A full screen clock (although the time and date are usually displayed at the top of the screen anyway) with an alarm function. The speaker on most Palm PDAs is pretty quite - so don't rely on it to wake you up, but if your already awake it's pretty audible.

Date Book:
A fantastic calendar software. It has many views (day, week, month, overview) and allows for alarms to be set on entries, repeating (i.e. every month, the first monday of each month, etc). It also allows for easy moving of appointments.

Expense:
Expense allows you to keep track of your daily expenses. Its not intended for long-term use (i.e. over a few months) but is handy if your on a business trip where your company (or uni) is paying for all your expenses and you need to keep track of them.
Each entry has a decription, value, and category (loads of pre-loaded ones, but you can customize them).

Grafitti:
The Grafitti training software described in the "Initial Impression" section above.

HotSync:
HotSync allows you to synchronise with your PCs PIM software (i.e. Outlook, PalmDesktop - more on this later) and install software. There's a fuller description below.

MemoPad:
This is my best friend when it comes to the Zire., It's truely indispensible. MemoPad is fantastic if you, like me, can't remember your own name (exageration!). Entries can be as big as you want them to be, and on the main MemoPad screen you see the first line of each memo - so if you make the first line the subject, it's very easy to organise. You can re-arrange the order of memo's by dragging them up or down.
As with all text entries on the Zire you can copy and paste quite easily.

NotePad:
NotePad is more like a big, never-ending, pile of sticky notes. You write directly on the screen (although you can write in grafitti to add a description if needed). I don't have as much use for this but it's great if you need to quickly draw diagrams! You can vary the pen width also which is very handy.

ToDo:
The ToDo program is also really handy. You can keep a list of ToDo items, categorised (e.g. Business, Personal) and prioritised from 1 to 5. Fantastic interface also.
Besides regular ToDo items, I also make a note of anything I need to grab before I go out the door- e.g. remember to pick up a letter I need to post, or a bill to pay; and just make a habit of checking the ToDo list before I leave.
ToDo items also appear in the Overview view of the DateBook - which makes it really easy to see what you have to do in a day!

Welcome:
This if, of course, the program that runs when you first start the PDA. It introduces you to the basic functions and trains the touch-sensitive screen.

Prefs:
The Zire's settings. Most people won't ever need to touch these. They're better explained n the Zire manual (which comes in PDF format on the CD as its a few hundred pages long).

Security:
This allows you to lock your Zire with a password. To turn it back on you need the password - if you forget it you can reset it but you will lose all records (datebook entries, adresses, memos) marked as private.

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Other Functions
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Copy/Paste:
All text fields allow copy/paste - either through the menu at the top of the screen or by grafitti pad shortcut.

Beaming:
"Beaming" functionality is built into most apps and allows you to send information via the infrared panel at the top of the PDA. This allows you, for instance, to transfer a business card, datebook entries, databases, memos, etc.

IRDA:
The IRDA subsystem doesn't only allow beaming but also allows general data transfer. So if you've got a mobile phone with built in modem you can even go online.
With software which you can buy online (OmniRemote) you can even use the Zire to replace your remote controls, controlling your TV, VCR, Sky, or anything else that use infra-red (IRDA or Consumer-IR).

Private Records:
You can mark datebook entries, addresses, memos, notes, and many other records in 3rd party software is "Private". This means it won't be shown unless you specifically enable it and enter a password.

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Battery Life
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I can't commet on charging as I haven't had to do it yet! I've had my Zire for a couple of weeks now, using it every day for everything, and I still have an almost-full battery.

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Bundled PC Software
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The bundled PC software, PalmDesktop, is fantastic. If you don't have Outlook or LotusOrganiser it gives you a fantastic calendar replacement. It allows you to view all the data on your Zire, and edit memos, datebook entries, and adresses. This is fantastic for student such as myself who try to use free alternatives to expensive Microsoft software.

You synchronise it with your ZIre by connecting the Zire via the supplied USB cable (or any other USB A - to - Mini-B cable such as the one that came with your digital camera), and run HotSync on the Zire. The software does everything else for you.

You also use this to install new programs on your Zire. You just download the ".prc" file (there are many repositories online - PalmGear, FreewarePalm ,etc) and double click on it. The next time you HotSync, the application will be installed.

Sorry but I can't comment on using it on a Mac as I don't have one. Under linux there are many comatible programs such as KPilot.

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Summary
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The Zire is a fantastic budget PDA - The pre-loaded apps meet most people PIM (Personal Information Management) needs. And although you can't expand the hardware - there is a LOT of software out there that's comaptible and runs quite nicely, and most of it's free!

For most people it will suit their needs, and at such a low cost (about 4 times that of a cheap academic diary!) it's fairly affordable. For dyslexics/dysgraphics I can honustly say it can really make a big difference to your life - particularly for those with STM difficulties!

Dave :) 

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