Palm Zire™ 31 Handheld

Pros: Price, MP3, Color, RamStick and Battery
Cons: Button mapping non-standard, Keypress problem, 160x160 screen

Before you own your 1st PDA, you really have no idea what your needs are going to be. You might THINK you know, but you will find that what you want in a PDA changes after you actually own one. The Zire 31 gives you a taste of everything, and might just ...

Pros: Small Color No batteries required Plenty fast
Cons: Might not serve all of your needs (wireless? more memory? larger screen?)

I was given a Zire 31 on http://www.freecycle.org/ after my Handspring Visor Deluxe just stopped powering up. The Visor was grayscale, so the sharp color screen of the Zire was a really nice surprise. My PDA needs are pretty sparse these days: I keep my ...

Pros: Color, MP3 player, small, easy to use
Cons: Screen could be better, processor is a little slow

I just bought a Palm Zire 31 for my dad. He told my that he wanted a MP3 player and he also wanted a chess computer. So, I thought about getting him a PDA. I looked for the least expensive PDA that had an MP3 player built into it. So, I found the Palm ...

Pros: Easy to use, fairly inexpensive, expandable memory
Cons: Not alot of features, no wireless or bluetooth, older technology

I have had my Zire 31 for almost a year now. I had zero experience with PDAs before this purchase and didn't really know what to look for. In making the decision to purchase this handheld, I wanted something that was compatible with Weight Watchers ...

Pros: Features and price
Cons: Reliability

I've had and been using this PDA for nearly 2 years now. I believe I can provide a fairly accurate review of this handheld device. BAD NEWS FIRST: RELIABILITY IS THE BIGGEST GRIPE As a user had indicated before, this device at first certainly ...

Pros: Features for the price. Works well as mp3 player.
Cons: Only 2 buttons. Screen not bright enough. Wish it were easier to change the battery.

I've owned my Zire31 for several years now. I replaced a trusty PalmIII with the Zire. I chose it for 3 reasons 1. price, 2. Features 3. Price (ok there were really only 2 reasons) I paid about $130 for it from an online store. I had it for about 2 ...

Pros: Easy to use, lightweight
Cons: Not reliable! Poor warranty

So I bought this Palm as a graduation present from college with graduation money. Starting grad school, this thing was amazing. Kept me in line and all my assignments. Was perfect and I soon became dependent on the thing for every day tasks. Well 3 months later, shortly after the warranty expired, it quit working. Nothing would save it, not even the troubleshooting advice. Basically 100 bucks down the toilet becaue I was not going to spend close to the same to have it repaired. For the same price of getting it repaired by Palm, I have bought the Z22 and am currently waiting on it to arrive. I admit I'm a little gun shy with these Palms now but I'm so dependent on it now that I just pray I have better luck with the one I get.

Pros: Ease of use, lightweight, good battery life.
Cons: Flat-out dead after only 7 months!! Also, can't use outdoors because screen can't be read.

I got this Zire to replace an M505 after the screen broke. Ordered it from the Palm store, which delivered it promptly. It took a little bit of time and work to get it synced to my office computer using Outlook, but eventually got it working. Hotsync was fast, and the battery held out a lot longer per charge than the m505. On the negative side, the plastic shell seemed kind of flimsy, and the screen was almost completely illegible in sunlight.

My primary problem with the Zire, however, is that only four months after the 90-day warranty expired, the unit completely stopped functioning after a short period of malfunctioning and fatal error messages, and would not reboot after either a soft or hard reset. Since there are no repair facilities in this area, and the manufacturer will charge almost the replacement cost to repair the unit (if it can be repaired at all), I'm stuck with a dead PDA after only 7 months' use.

Pros: Expansion slot, MP3 capability, additional software available, including games
Cons: If you need advanced features, this one is not for you. Otherwise, great.

I haven't had any of the problems that the other users have mentioned, and I've had my Zire for about 6 months. I use it heavily, both as a PDA and also as a mp3 player. I also have downloaded additional software (Smart Money) which has really added to the usability.

Pros: Cool software, good price
Cons: poor durability

While I initially loved the Zire 31 when I purchased it a little more than a year and five months ago, by the time I had hit a year mark, the PDA was starting to act funny. I couldn't input data very easily. Trying to use the screen to write on didn't work well, and then the Zire started to not take the keyboard option, either.
It finally stopped working altogether a week ago. Don't buy this dog without the extended warranty, 'cause mine sure wasn't durable.
I also bought one for my wife last Christmas, since I was still in love with it at the time. Hers is starting to act up now, so I don't think it was just an isolated incident.

Pros: - expansion cards - same processor as the Palm E2
Cons: - 160 X 160 display displays photos poorly

I currently work for inlingua duesseldorf and I use my zire 31 all the time. Why? To use Ebooks it is just the thing, also since this palm is backlit it's just the thing for reading in bed! You can even read in bed without disturbing your partner! I currently have the Oxford Concise Dictionary loaded which I also use to work on my English. It's surprising, as a Canadian how British English is still king in Europe. I also bought a 120MB cartridge and I have room to spare for the future. Although we all know about Bill Gates saying 640Kb is more then anyone will ever use, with memory prices falling and ebooks taking up a maximum of say 15Mb it's still up to 10 large reference books that you don't need to carry with you!

Pros: Ebooks, Mp3's, SD card, games, alarms, and was easy to use.
Cons: Small screen, low graphics, died.

I had my Zire 31 for about a year. I used it for work and home. I had everything in it. It was great! I even talked a co-worker into buying one. About a month after his died, mine died. No power, no charge, nothing.

Pros: Dependable.
Cons: small screen, no chance for external keyboard

Basic pda but still works. No bluetooth or infared sharing of files therefore no use for external keyboard. Screen is small but adequate for me.

Pros: Short good life
Cons: Short life, no warranty

I have used this Palm Zire for 3 months. Initially the only complain is the screen is not bright enough to read outside. However, the screen's touch function has just quit. I can read the screen but the stylus is useless.

I have had 2 other Palm PDA's in the past, none have made it past one year of use.

I will not get into the problems with the warranty.

Simply,this is it, NO MORE PALM PRODUCTS.
Kim