Comments on: Palm Zire 71 Review

http://kevdo.com/zire/
http://kevdo.com/lollapalooza/

-Kevin Crossman

Cheers,

and yes i put a bit of grip tape on the silver side of mine, total cost= $1.00 from the local skate shop to cut it, you sure dont wanna bust that screen....

coming next week... my visor deluxe review

Someone at http://www.cliesource.com posted their own summary of early impressions of the iQue and it is a much better "review" than the fluff iQue article on Brighthand. Sites like this need more in depth analysis by people who actually have experience using Palms. Adding a section for users to post their personal reviews of hardware would be a welcome addition to Palm Infocenter.

* I was anxiously awaiting this review five months ago, but I eventually gave up, and bought the unit based on reports from other sources.
* After my enthusiasm for the Zire 71 held up to daily use, I sent email to PIC offering, if it was simply a lack of willing sacrificial lamb, to write a review of the product myself. I did not receive a reply -- they're swamped, no big deal.
* Then enough time passed that reviewing the model seemed pointless in the face of OS 6 and TT3 rumors.
* Now, PIC posts a review with nothing particularly new to say when compared to reviews that appeared back when the hardware was new, and, it’s full of typos. I cannot help thinking I should have just commandeered the comment section of some other thread to post my review months ago.

Review review and additional comments:
As far as the factual information presented in the review, I agree except, perhaps, with the meager RAM complaint. RAM use varies user to user. I purchased an SD card and am quite pleased with the combined storage capacity, as well as how the software handles accessing data on the expansion card.

Pros:
At the time I purchased the Zire 71, I didn't want the built-in camera, fearing the extra bulk and battery drain it represented. I still don't use the camera much, but it doesn't seem to adversely affect the machine. The Zire 71's overall dimensions are not vastly different than non-camera-having Palms and it fits comfortably in even small hands. The screen is crisp and bright the way I'd always hoped they'd eventually make color screens. OS 5.2 is zippy and sleek (upgrading from 3.5, it would have been hard to disappoint me in this regard, admittedly).

Cons:
I used the legal, inexpensive method of installing TealScript to get around the annoying two-stroke character recognition. The supplied case is flimsy and leaves the corners of the unit and the power button exposed –- it’s useless in a bag or purse. You get what you pay for; I bought a better case. The lack of indicator when charging the battery (the battery icon changes to show a lightning bolt when it’s charging but gives no indication how full or empty the battery may be. You have to disconnect the juice to check) is mildly annoying.

Summary:
I am very pleased with the Zire 71. If its feature set is what you’re looking for, I recommend the model as well worth the money.

I think some Sony owners would disagree...

The scuba case is stiff, and, like the metal cases, there is so much extra space that the Palm rocks back and forth (leaves marks on the sides).

Proof?

Uh...Sony's falling marketshare?

-------------------------------
My blog: www.pocketfactory.com

Palm's engineers must wet their pants whenever other manufacturers announce new models. Palm simply hasn't been able to compete for several years, even though much smaller companies (like HandEra) have shown that innovation doesn't require massive amounts of funding.

The standalone PDA market needs to evolve immediately into a number of niche designs (like the AlphaSmart Dana, Garmin iQue 3600, CLIE UX50, etc.) because Joe Average won't be biting now that his free cellphone replicates a lot of the basic PDA functions.

I'm amazed by those who still doubt Sony. They will own the Palm market soon enough. The models they've released to this point have been little more than expensive beta tests to see what works. <<<

that's still not automatic. And they seems to have trouble with next lines. The Handheld engine is dead if Sony can't bring the price approaching Intel's Xscale. $700 is not the type of machines to take over the world with. Sub $199 are.

Sony is able to manufacture all components of their PDAs and have complete control over costs (unlike all other Palm OS competitors). They price their PDAs they way they do because that's what they think the market will bear - not because they need to. If their positioning turns out to be wrong (as I believe it is), Sony will simply slash prices and accept lower profits.

High end non-convergence PDAs will soon cease to exist in any significant numbers. Sony's bricks will be half their current size by 2004 and will embrace even more functions. On the other hand, Palm's Tungsten lineup will look like an anachronism by January, 2004. I don't see Palm being able to produce new designs quickly enough to compete with the Godzilla they foolishly licensed the Palm OS to.

Actually, I was refering to Sony's ability to compete against low cost PPC. I have no doubt that Sony will start munching on Palm market share once they set their sight on $300 price backet. All they have to do is tweak the TG50 spec a little, redesign the chasis, give some cute gimmick and put it next to Z71. It'll be an kill. It's not a difficult to imagine.

But for some reason I have doubt that Sony can pull a $180 device matching iPAQ h1930 for eg. or matching Dell's up coming X3. That is where the biggeer market share battle going to be. High end models might only sway about 2-3% here and there.

you mentioned the zlippy zides of the zire... you might want to check out "egrips" at this site
http://egrips.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=183{1}17{2}6

mine are on order; will post my comments when i get them.

I've really been saved by the backups a few times.

CHirS

Read review here:
http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/n/3860.html

Nice, easy, inexpensive. Get it at handango.com or palmgear.com

_________
Paul C.

The "Joy Stick" (D-Pad) actually seems to stick out far enough to make this very easy to do. Not sure why they didn't contour the case inside to prevent that.

Anyway, you can now get the 71 at RadioShack for $199, and Palm is still offering a $50 rebate, so for those on the budget $149 for a brand-new (discontinue) z71. A great deal.

NOW - is the 72 worth 2x the price??? Lets see:

Faster Processor
Better Case (imo)
More memory
Microphone
Newer OS
BlueTooth
MUCH Better camera w/ Video capability
Newer (non-discontinue) model

Very nice - sure wish it was $250 as $299 is too steep.

Sony Tj37 is nice too, with wifi (no bluetooth,) crappier camera, and no mic. About the same price.

What do you guys think???

Really? The TRGPro is still probably the best PDA design ever produced and CF was the main reason it is/was so effective. Compare prices of CF, SD and MS media and you'll wish CF was standard on all PDAs. How many users complain about the SD vaporware peripherals? Doesn't seem to be a problem for CF.

You might want to read a little before you post more nonsense.

THe screen IS better than the Clie's, sorry ... and sorry 'bout your experiences with the m130, but so far, they haven't meant anything in relation to the Z|71.

Having said so, the SJ-33 is about $80 less expensive, so guess which one I'm getting for my b-day 5 days from now :P

I had a PalmPix with my IIIc and the pictures taken with that setup had much sharper focus and color definition!

What a shame that Palm didn't but in a better lens on the Zire.

I fully agree with your comments. I recently bought a sony SJ33. I use my digital camera when I need to take pictures.

Not having a flip on case is a big minus in my opinion.

That was one reason I went in for SJ33.