Recently, I was forced back into the world of PDAs when the graduate school that I am attending required the students to have one. Not doing any research, I went to my local electronics store and found the PalmOne Zire 72s. I picked this one because I liked the features, size, and the fact that it had $70 in rebates, which made the final price $230.

Zire 72s?
What is the difference between the Zire 72 and the Zire 72s? As best I can tell, it the the finish,. The Zire 72 has a blue finish which seems to come off really easily. Several reviews that I have read list this as the only big negative. The Zire 72s has a silver finish that looks great and does not rub off. Finally, there is no price or feature difference between the Zire 72 and the 72s (except for the finish).

OS
It had been a long time since I used a PDA on a daily basis (my old PDA was a Handspring Visor). The difference in what I was used to and now is amazing. The Palm v5.2.8 OS is so simple. The only problem that I had was with the changes in the Graffiti program. I kept trying to make some letters the old way (T, K, i, &, @). New new way is so much easier and more like natural handwriting.

Screen
The Zire 72s has one of he best color screens that I have seen. The colors look wonderful and it is bright enough to be seen outdoors and in very well lit rooms. Pictures taken with the built-in camera have very accurate color reproduction.

Storage
The Zire 72s comes with 32Mb of built in Memory, but only 25Mbs are available for use as the rest is reserved for the OS. The better news here is that there is a built in slot for SD Flash memory cards. Since these come in capacities from 8Mb to 1GB, storage should not be an issue.

Features
I must say that for such a small PDA, the Zire 72s is really packed full of features. It has a 1.2Mb camera built in, MP3 player, voice recorder, and when you put in a SD card, you can use the camera feature as a digital camcorder (good when you see something that you have to show to friends). My favorite feature is the built-in Bluetooth.
I got a Bluetooth adaptor for my laptop and the Zire 72s picked it right up. I love this feature since it allows me to be in one room (up to 30ft. away) while my laptop is in the other room. The only thing that the Zire 72s lacks is built in Wi-Fi (although you can buy a Wi-Fi card for it).
There is also some good software that comes with the Zire. Just pop the CD in and pick what you want to load.

The Downside
Not everything is perfect and the Zire 72s is no exception. My biggest complaint (before I started using the Bluetooth) is the lack of a hotsync cradle. PalmOne only includes a USB cable for this. Charging is also a separate function. This means that there is no dropping the PDA in its cradle and charging and hotsyncing at the same time. An Internet search revealed that there is no cradle made for this model.
There is no cover for the camera lens. While this could prove to be a big deal, the lens is recessed into the body of the PDA, so a good case should provide a better level of protection.
Finally, and this may be nitpicking, the included carrying case is not very functional. You can't leave the PDA in the included case and use it. You have to take it out of the case to do anything with the PDA. There are some very good cases on the market made just for the Zire 72, so I would advise you to order one of these.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 230
Recommended for: Students - Stylish and a Best Value