Palm Zire 71 - The Zire That Proves Itself Worthy!
Written: Feb 08 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Camera, Speed, Palm OS 5.2.1
Cons: Says "Zire", 16MB memory
The Bottom Line: The Palm Zire 71 is unlike any other Zire. It's actually an excellent device, though a bit pricey.
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| soupcraze's Full Review: Palm Zire™ 71 Handheld |
The Palm Zire 71 is the highest-end Zire series device made by Palm. The Palm Zire 71 is technically more expensive than the Palm Tungsten E by about $50. Therefore the lower-end Zire series has a model that surpasses the low-end model of the better Tungsten series. The Palm Zire 71 has its differences compared to the Palm Tungsten E. Here's what I found after using the Palm Zire 71.
-Price-
*The Palm Zire 71 can be found for around $200+. This makes it more expensive compared to the Palm Tungsten E, and also more than twice as much as the Palm Zire 21. I don't know how this PDA received the "Zire" name since it's drastically different compared to the two previous Zire models. It does lack the amount of memory that the Palm Tungsten E has, but it has a slightly faster processor and also a digital camera. But compared to the Tungsten, the Zire 71's 5-Way navigation button is more clumsy and more annoying to use than the one you find on the Tungsten E. Also, the Palm Zire 71 has a built-in digital camera alongside software. The camera is pretty decent in quality. It seems that the Palm Zire 71 is geared toward more trendy people rather than those who use a PDA more for its organizational functions. If that's the case, then the Palm Zire 71 is for you. If you need more space and other features, then the Palm Tungsten E might be more suitable.
-Performance-
*The Palm Zire 71 proves itself to be a pretty good performer. It's much better than any of the preceeding Zires such as the Zire and the Zire 21. Here's what you should know about the performance of the Palm Zire 71.
PROCESSOR
*The Palm Zire 71 is powered by an ARM processor which clocks in at about 144MhZ which is faster than the ARM 126MhZ on the Palm Tungsten E or Palm Zire 21. This allows for excellent performance since Palm OS is a very efficient operating system. All of the functions can be carried out at high speeds. The 144MhZ should be more than enough for most users. Palm obviously did a great job here by making the Palm Zire 71 as a pretty fast PDA.
OPERATING SYSTEM
*The Palm Zire 71 runs on Palm OS 5.2.1. This is the latest and best version of the Palm operating system. It runs very efficiently on the Palm Tungsten E. It's a very easy to use operating system. The Palm Zire 71 has 5-Way navigation, but the Palm Tungsten E has controls that are less clumsy and simpler to use. Palm OS 5.2.1 is better than version 4.1 or anything earlier which you still find on some Palm devices available on the current market. Once again, Palm managed to keep the Palm Zire 71 ahead of the game by keeping it up with the latest operating system.
MEMORY
*The Palm Zire 71 lacks behind the Palm Tungsten E when it comes to memory. The Palm Zire 71 has half as much as the Palm Tungsten E. It has 16MB of memory which around 13MB is usable. This is still definitely enough to use a lot of Palm software, store picture files, and other types of data. But it's sad that the Palm Zire 71 has 16MB as well as the Palm Zire 21 which is half the price. Palm could've at least upped it to 32MB that the Palm Tungsten E has. A built-in camera couldn't have costed that much more to put in! But then the Palm Zire 71 does what no Zire has done before, it has an upgrade slot which allows for memory flash cards! Allas! A Zire that actually offers upgradability. With Palm OS 5.2.1, you can hold up to about 512MB. This makes the Palm Zire 71 an excellent device for playing media such as MP3 and transfering image files. It's far better than what the Palm Zire 21 has to offer, but still lacking compared to the cheaper Palm Tungsten E.
SCREEN
*The Palm Zire 71 offers a beautiful 320x320 16-bit TFT screen. This is far better than what is offered on the cheaper Palm Zire PDA's. The Palm Zire and Palm Zire 21 are both monochrome, while the Palm Zire 71 is color. This makes this unit much more appealing than the cheaper Zires. The screen is very easy to read in just about any lighting conditions. The cheaper Zires don't offer backlights with their monochrome screens, so their versatility is definitely out of the question. The Palm Zire 71 also offers the graffiti pad at the bottom. This is the familiar area that is common with other Palm devices. This allows you to write things with ease and also use the short-cuts for better navigation.
BATTERY LIFE
*This was yet another PDA that I borrowed and used it for a day. The battery life was pretty comparable to the Palm Tungsten E. You get around around a few hours of battery life depending on how much you use it. I got around three and a half hours since I was messing around with the camera as well as playing games and taking care of other functions that other people might do. It should be sufficient enough for most users. The Palm Zire 71 has a lithium ion battery which is pretty convenient to use since you can plug it in and charge it whenever you feel the need to.
MULTIMEDIA
*So what's the big difference between the Palm Zire 71 and other PDA's on the market? Well, the Palm Zire 71 has a built-in digital camera. It's in the back of the PDA, and it's protected by a a portion of the PDA that you have to slide to down to uncover the camera. For once, I think it's great that there is protection for the camera on a mobile device. I wouldn't want to end up scratching the lens, making it dirty, or breaking it. The camera is fairly decent quality. It's fun to take pictures of your friends and other things where ever you go. But since the Palm Zire 71 isn't a Smart Phone, I don't quite understand the point of the camera. It's nice on web-enabled devices since you can send picture mail, but not nearly as useful on a PDA like this. But still, I shouldn't be a hypocrit since I own a Sony Clie PEG-NX80V with a built-in camera. Having something with nice quality and smaller than a digital camera is pretty useful. Though, if you want higher quality performance, just stick to a digital camera instead. Then the Palm Zire 71 also has MP3 playback. This can be played by either the headphone jack or the built-in speaker. The speaker is tinny sounding, but what do you expect? The headphone quality is fairly well amplified and proves sufficient for those who enjoy listening to portable devices. Compared to previous Zire models, the Palm Zire 71 exceeds them since it has an upgrade slot so you can store and play lots of multimedia.
*Compared to the other Palm Zires, the Palm Zire 71 is a much better unit. It offers much better performance than them. However, compared to the Palm Tungsten E, the internal memory storage and navigation isn't quite as good. But considering you get the camera and awesome processor, you do get what you pay for.
-Ease of Use-
*The Palm Zire 71 is a pretty easy to use PDA. Since it runs on Palm OS, it's pretty simple to use and proves to be satisfactory for those who like user-friendly devices.
NAVIGATION
*The Palm Zire 71 is a bit different compared to the Palm Tungsten E. Even though the Palm Zire 71 has 5-Way navigation, I'm not a fan of the joystick. It's more clumsy compared to what you find on the Tungsten. Some people might think otherwise, but that's just what I think. Like other Palm devices, the Palm Zire 71 has a graffiti area which allows you to write stuff and use word processing that way, and also it has the short-cut buttons that offer easier navigation. There are four main buttons at the bottom of the PDA which are also used as short-cuts. These include a datebook button, adress book button, a photo album button, and notepad button. It's pretty well designed I think except for the joystick which I personally wasn't a fan of. The Palm Tungsten E proved to be better in that respect. Overall, the Palm Zire 71 is a pretty easy to use PDA, it's what you should expect from Palm.
SYNC
*The Palm Zire 71 comes with some pretty nice software, and... Oh my... Yes... A Cradle! This allows you to easily connect your device to a computer via USB linkage. The software that comes with it is pretty effective. I also do like the Palm Desktop which I use with Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition. One thing that I didn't like is that it doesn't come with a cradle. But for many users, they just don't need it. Overall, it's very easy to synchronize the Palm Tungsten E to a computer with the included software and sync cable. Also, the Palm Zire 71 has an infrared port. This allows you to beam data to and from other devices and also to computers which have infrared ports.
*Overall, the Palm Zire 71 proves itself to be an easy to use PDA when it comes to using the actual device or synchronizing it with the computer. Compared to Windows Pocket PC, Palm OS is an easier to use operating system. So therefore, the Palm Zire 71 might be more appealing to those who are more technologically illiterate.
-So What's NOT Hot-
*The Palm Zire 71 is a pretty well-made PDA. It's considerably better when it's compared to the cheaper Zire PDA's offered from Palm. However, there's always things that can be improved.
MEMORY
*C'mon, you've got 16MB in the Palm Zire 21, and the Palm Zire 71 is more than twice as expensive! So why does it still have 16MB when the cheaper Palm Tungsten E has 32MB. I think Palm could've done a better job with the Palm Zire 71 by increasing the memory to 32MB. But the Palm Zire 71 is still superior to the cheaper Zires since it still has flash card capabilities.
*Other than that, the Palm Zire 71 doesn't have anything else wrong with it. I still don't understand how it manages to carry the "Zire" name on it.
-Looks & Styling-
*The Palm Zire 71 is a pretty cool looking PDA. It retains the look of the other Zires, but has a blue color rather than the white that you find with the cheaper Zires. It's not nearly as professional looking as the Palm Tungsten E, but any youngin' would be pretty attracted to the Palm Zire 71 I think.
-The Verdict-
*The Palm Zire 71 doesn't deserve the "Zire" name. It's significantly better than the Palm Zire and Palm Zire 21. It proves to be an overall excellent PDA though lacking a bit when it comes to memory storage and also the joystick isn't much of a joy to use. The Palm Zire 71 would probably be very appealing to students who want a powerful PDA with a built-in digital camera. But if you need more storage space, then you should consider a Tungsten. But overall, the Palm Zire 71 is a superb device.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): ~200
Recommended for: Students - Stylish and a Best Value
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soupcraze
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Member: Soup Enthusiast
Location: Chicago, Illinois
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I enjoy many of life's passions... Music, medicine, people, and life itself.
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