The name of Palm will forever be linked with Personal Digital Assistants, and remains one of the most respected manufacturers in the field.
Let's get down to brass tacks - a PDA is a small handheld device which you use in much the same way that you would a Filofax, you keep your phone list, diary, to do list etc on it, the benefit in using an electronic device is that you can keep a copy on your personal Computer, and can cross-reference items to each other. You also have the option of exchanging information with other organiser users. With the correct software you can synchronise your email.
They are far smaller than notebook computers, but the features offered are fewer. Now that mobile telephones are becoming more sophisticated,
their value as sand alone devices are diminishing.
There are basically two 'breeds' of PDAs - those which use Microsoft WinCE (a windows like operating system which is increasing in popularity) and those that don't - Palm's products fall into the second category (and that isn't always a bad thing)
'Zire' is the name for Palm's entry level systems; two monochrome and one colour screen versions, all using PalmOS. This includes the 'Graffiti' handwriting recognition application, and offers applets to help you maintain a diary, expenses, address book, notepad and 'to do' list.
The lowest specification is offered by the 'standard' Zire - using a 16MHz Dragonball processor and only coming with 2Mb of memory, this is little more than an amnesic version of the 5 series of systems which has undergone a makeover. At $79 dollars list price (about the same in sterling) this is under powered, overpriced and lacks upgradability.
As a stand-alone unit, it just about makes it, if you want to load up your own software, then it simply hasn't got the memory to support any but the most merge of applications.
The Zire 21 is more reflective of what the specification ought to have been in the first time round! It features a 126MHz ARM processor, 8Mb of RAM and an upgraded version of PalmOS (5.2.1 c/w 4.1 on the standard Zire). At $99 list price, it makes you wonder why they even bother to continue selling the old Zire.
Both models have a monochrome display and come in a rather smart white casing, 4.4" by 2.9" by 0.6" and weigh 3.8oz.
The 'real' buttons have been simplified from earlier models, having only a power switch, and four function keys in a 4-way cursor arrangement.
The Zire 71 is an altogether more sophisticated system.
It has a colour screen, a built in camera, a 164MHz processor, 16Mb of memory, plays MP3s, accepts SD memory cards, can pay back video clips, and has extra compatibility with Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
The unit comes in a metallic blue casing, 4.9" by 2.9" by 0.6" and weighs 5.3 ounces - the downside is that you'll get a dollar change out of $300.
To be honest, unless you feel you really need the camera I'd probably settle for the Palm 'Tungsten E' which has double the memory capacity, a slightly larger body, but is more than half an ounce lighter.
All three units come with rechargable batteries, which is fine unless you find yourself in the field with a 'flat'. Loose the batteries, and your databases go up in smoke!
The great benefit with using Palm software is the operating system itself, PalmOS has been around for years, and there is a huge range of software, both commercial and free/shareware which can be downloaded from sites like Tucows. Chances are, if you can think of an application, someone else has already written it for you!
If you want a moderately inexpensive way of getting your hands on new handheld computer kit, then Palm offers a reasonable range of options in the Zire range, I would offer a word of caution, and ask that you compared the functions available in their other product lines. The models are too new to be significantly cheaper on the second hand market - look for 'm' series machines instead.
In summary, I would award them 9/10 for trying, but about 4/10 for value for money.
My advice to Palm would be Drop the prices by 50% and you would have a sure fire winner.
Meantime I'll stick with my Palm IIIxe.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Handheld - 128 MB RAM - Screen: 4 in inch - Display: TFT active matrix - CPU: XScale PXA310 - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi - Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Classic
I also own one of these and even though it fails in comparison to most of the PDA's on the market at the moment but considering its not a bad PDA if you want something reasonably cheap to start off with until you can afford something more updated. Another great review A+
confusion 13.10.2003 09:01
op a bit lacking in practical experience, more like a review of a specification sheet.
fallen121 12.10.2003 10:22
I've got a very early Palm, I think it's a Palm III. Isn't as sophisticated as the newer models but I still use it a lot!!
Oct 9th, 2003
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