Palm Zire 72 PDA

So I struggled for awhile over buying this or the ...

Posted Sep 19, 2004 - So I struggled for awhile over buying this or the Tungsten T3 like a lot of people probably will, and I can say I made the right decision. First, this is newer than the T3, and right out of the box it works better with my powerbook than a T3 does. Next, you'll use the camera more than you think you would. It's like those stupid camera phones I complained about for so long until I had one and needed to take pictures of something. It's just great to have a camera on hand. No, it's not a 5 mp camera, but it's just for catching a quick image. Also, you can draw on the images once in your palm, and that is REALLY useful. I'm a medical student, and I can take a pic in the gross anatomy lab, and write notes right over it and use it a s a study aid later. Voice memo is very cool, and I've used it to record things I didn't have the time to write down, either from myself, or a lecturer. I've also recorded some study groups. I haven't used the mp3 abilities yet, but that's because I have an ipod which I'm married to. But I can see the usefulness of having it. If you just need to have one thing on you (camera, mp3, computer, etc.) than it might as well be this. The battery life is really wonderful if you don't use bluetooth alot. After a week my battery bar was still half full, and I was using it mostly as a datebook, notepad, and some picture taking. I was really impressed over this because you always hear how terrible the battery life is in these. I'm sure it will get worse after two years, but they always do, and that's really when you're going to buy a new one anyway. Some people thing that it's bad that this model doesn't have a cradle, but if you think about it it's really inconvenient to travel with the cradle (are you going to put that in your bag too?) as opposed to the power cord + usb. When I travel, I can just take the power cord, because you don't really sync that much on the road, and you can backup to an sd card if you need to. If you do need to sync, and you have bluetooth then you don't need the usb cable because you can blutetooth-hotsync which really works quite marvelously. Regarding blutetooth in general, the range was less than I thought it would be (by a lot), but it works great. I installed Sailing Clicker onto my powerbook and palm, and it's really great because I can control iTunes in my house, and powerpoint and keynote presentations at school. Unbelievable how 1.)cool it is, and 2.)how dependent you can grow on it. It has caused me to have to reset my handheld once, but I think that was on the mac end, as my system is REALLY cluttered and my OS needs to be reloaded. Finally, if you're wondering if you should get a handheld or not, I think it all depends on where you are in your life. I bought a Palm in 2000 because I thought they were so cool, and I imagined all the great things I could do with one. It was cool for a month, then I stopped using it as much and ended up using a notepad and pencil (which I loved) for the next three years. I was out $250.00. This summer I had so many appointments to meet, people to get in touch with, etc. that I had little pieces of paper all over, and it was time to organize a little better. I pulled out that old palm and put it to work. But the limitations REALLY stuck out from an older handheld (no expandability for medical software, and hotsyncing with my powerbook), and I knew this fall I would need to pony up for a new model. I thought long and hard about this one, and I can safely say I made the right decision for what I needed at this point in my life. And it ties in my digital hub pretty well, and the extra features (like the camera) were a convenience rather than a selling point. If you honestly thin you don't need bluetooth (which was a selling point to me) then get a Tungsten E. If you need something more 'professional' (looking), get the Tungsten T3, but I think anybody can get by with any of the models. Just be honest with yourself and your needs. In closing, I love this handheld. Hope this helps!

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The Zire72 is a fun little multimedia PDA suitable ...

Posted Aug 16, 2004 - The Zire72 is a fun little multimedia PDA suitable for people who want to organize their daily activities and have a bit of fun along the way. I picked this PDA over the Sony Clie PEG37 because I liked its design and Bluetooh functionality. Aside from its dazzling screen and vibrant colors, the Zire72 does not excel at any particular area. Take for example, the digital camera. It is suitable for taking the occasional picture outdoor, but it is completely useless indoors, as one would expect due to the lack of a flash. To be fair, however, it is still one of the best digital cameras you can find on a PDA. It's surprisingly convenient for making a 30-sec movie to email to family or friends using the camera. The mp3 player is fine for listening to some mp3s, but if you're serious about your music, you would (and should) get an IPOD. Keep in mind that the sound output has a powerful gain. You will need a set of headphones with volume control. Some people prefer WiFi over Bluetooh for accessing the Web. WiFi 802.11b is the protocol of choice right now for most internet access points (airports, etc). However, Bluetooth is more optimized for low-power wireless communication. I have a USB Bluetooth adapter and use my own PC as the internet access point. WiFi adapter cards will be available soon for the Zire72 so it will be both Bluetooth and WiFi capable. The power consumption efficiency on the Zire72 is not great but not terrible. The Zire72 will run for about 3-4 hours with the screen on. Try turning off Bluetooth to save power. Many people have reported that the first batch of Zire 72 have a terrible paint chipping problem. My fingers are crossed as I haven't owned it for very long yet. It is also somewhat inconvenient to use the carrying case that comes with the Zire. I wish Palm would go back to the Flip screens they used to have. Not using a case is not an option with such a fragile LCD. The Zire 71 LCD was notorious for cracking. The Zire72 offers a little bit of everything and is definitely an upgrade over its predecessor. Don't expect it to replace your digital camera/IPOD, however. If you need work with mostly business applications, consider a PocketPC. Otherwise, the Zire 72 packs a ton of popular features in a stylish package. I am pretty satisfied with my purchase.

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This PDA suits all the needs on a daily basis and ...

Posted Jan 24, 2005 - This PDA suits all the needs on a daily basis and is a great addition for a gadget junkie! The 32 mb of memory is a good start and can eaily be upgraded with expansion cards. The Palm One hard aluminum case is a good investment over the stock case. This PDA gets an A+.

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As a former Zire 21 owner, this was a major upgrad ...

Posted Jan 9, 2005 - As a former Zire 21 owner, this was a major upgrade for me. It took me about a year to exceed the memory capability of the Zire 21 and with no expansion capability, I wanted something that has become very helpful in organizing my work, home and son's hockey activities. I didn't want to pay the amount ($299) for a PDA but with the $50 rebate, free 512MB SD card (with a $15 rebate) it was very hard to pass up. I have become a power PDA user, taking it everywhere with me. Having schedules, appointments, work documents to review at home, not to mention games and music all in one very conveient piece of electronic is simply fantasic. I really do not know how I ever got along without it. The built-in feautres and software alone is worth the price. Plus the combination of freeware and purchased software has satisfied all of my business and personal needs. I have looked and compared many of the Palm and PockePC PDA's and believe me, the color screen, sharpness and crispness of the characters will truly amaze you. And the ability to listen to music while you play many of the games available for the Palm or review my email and other documents from work has me patting myself on the back for purchasing the Zire 71. For the price, you can be a power PDA user without spending $400 of more.

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Upgraded from Palm Vx because of the fantastic dis ...

Posted Jan 11, 2005 - Upgraded from Palm Vx because of the fantastic display and ability to see and use it even in the dark. From past experience of Palm turning on in my pocketbook, I purchased the hard case and problem has been solved, that is really the way to go (as this also adds extra protection to the camera lens). I purchased mine from the Palm One site where they offered a limited edition Silver Metal model which I chose as I had heard about the problems of the blue paint chipping. I would reccommend this Palm to everyone.

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Try a brand with better support. A friend has a HP ...

Posted Oct 27, 2004 - Try a brand with better support. A friend has a HP and they have been very helpful Tech support is just as important as the product.

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Sturdy and well behaved. So far no problems with t ...

Posted Aug 23, 2004 - Sturdy and well behaved. So far no problems with the software, bluetooth works great with my cell phone siemens s56. IR works great transfering all kinds of information. Better louder sound but speakers aren't loud enough, yet. I used to have the zire 71, and the new zire has improved everything that the old one did by far... But as all computer systems is not fail safe, yet. For what it is accountable this zire deserves and excellent rating.

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It is good but the paint issue is why I gave it 4 ...

Posted Jul 6, 2004 - It is good but the paint issue is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Functionally it is a 5, but overall, because of the look, it is a 4

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Palm builds product with batteries that cannot be ...

Posted Nov 10, 2004 - Palm builds product with batteries that cannot be replaced. Batteries regardless of technology need replacing within a year of purchase. I bought the Zire 71 and now the battery needs replacing but I cannot. I should have bought a Pocket PC. Every vendor of Pocket PC, Cell phone and MP3 player all understand that batteries don't last forever. Palm does not understand this and I will never buy another Palm.

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My old Palm 505 crashed one morning, and by that a ...

Posted Oct 2, 2004 - My old Palm 505 crashed one morning, and by that afternoon I was out of my depth trying to work without my "auxillary brain". Several of my co-workers had new I-paq units, but I'm not completely sold on the windows system for PDAs, it seems too "bulky". I went to the local store and after much seaching settled on the Zire72. I had not done my research, but it seemed right. I'm very glad I did. It was really the right decision. Price, function and options all seem to be right where I wanted them. I had no trouble setting it up in the docking computer, all of my old 505 settings went right to it. Didn't lose a thing! Well, almost,.. Some of my older games didn't make the transition very well, the new processor is too fast, and makes the application unuseable. **WARNING** If you're an old time Palm user, and a superstar on the Grafitti interface, .. THEY've CHANGED IT! "T's", "I's", "K's", "-" , and a bunch of punctuation are now different. WHEN DID THEY DO THIS? It causes some serious spelling errors. Also the Capital letter function is now WHERE you write the letter, not a function of upstroking the stylus prior to writing the capitol letter. Probably the most frustrating part of the whole conversion process! Also, as a pet peeve, I think I'd really like a return to the days of being able to turn OFF the backlight if I don't need it, I don't always NEED brilliant color, and being able to change the battery if I'm remote and cant spare the time it takes to re-charge. One of my big power use's is the Palm reader, or electronic books function while I'm waiting in airports, or trying to get to sleep in hotels, and the old Palm IIIxe used to be able to handle 2-3 DAYS of use, now after 2-3 hours I cant use the palm again till I get to my luggage, retrieve my charger, and do without for an hour or so. Better to pop in 2 new AAAs and go! At least they should make an aux power pack for us serious system users. But all in all, all ranting aside, if you use your Palm 72 like most people it is a great, and I mean GREAT tool. Unfortunatly I'll probably have to have one ,(or something like it ) for the rest of my life. It's already got too much in it for me to ever go back to just wetware memory alone.

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I love this machine. It has everything that someon ...

Posted Jun 22, 2004 - I love this machine. It has everything that someone could want. The lack of wi-fi could be a problem but you've got bluetooth so it's not so bad. I don't use either so I don't mind. The camera is excellent and the voice recorder has excellent sound pickup. It's not bulky like the big boy Sonys (NZ-90, etc.) but it matches up pretty well in terms of features. I wish you could choose colors (chartreuse anyone?) of the outside covering (Palmone are you listening?). The blue is nice but I'm partial to kryptonite green myself. I tried this machine before I bought it and my choices were either this or the TJ-37. This unit has a higher resolution camera and was more ergonomic. The jogwheel (TJ-37) is offers excellent tactile feedback but the keypad becomes surprisingly intuitive in its own right after a minute or two. There are some people who worry about scratching the lens of the camera (it's on the back) but if the unit sits in a coat pocket (remember to take your keys out first!) then this isn't likely to happen. I think that the idea is not to drop it on the floor. The neoprene gripping surface makes this less likely to happen. I'm sure I made the right choice based on the features offered, the price and the design. This unit is winner.

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This pda looks cool with its blue face. There are ...

Posted Aug 24, 2004 - This pda looks cool with its blue face. There are a lot of customizable features as well. The camera is fun to use but not that practical really. The calendar is definitely the most used part. Before you buy, know that to really use its best features you must also own a bluetooth cellphone, and will need to buy an expansion card.

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The neon blue hardware is nice. The speed in this ...

Posted Jun 21, 2004 - The neon blue hardware is nice. The speed in this model is leaps and bounds better than any other palm or sony Clie I've used. Palm finally got the color screen working. The camera works suprisingly well, IF there is enough room light. The ability to take pictures in your Secure-Digital digicam and pop the card into the Palm for viewing is a great help. I would highly recommend getting an SD card, you'll use the camera more than you think!

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In many aspects I found this PDA to be a good buy. ...

Posted Aug 10, 2004 - In many aspects I found this PDA to be a good buy. The only thing I didn't really want/need was the 1.2mp camera on the back. Starting up this was great and navigation was very easy. The main thing I disliked was the lack of instructions and indepth description of all the options that are available with contacts and the organizer/calendar. However, once you figure out the basic functions and abilities the PDA becomes enjoyable to use. It has a very comprehensive layout which allows the user to access contacts and insert appointments with ease. The overall battery life has been acceptable with daily use of just organizer(4-5days w/o charge). The camera is pretty reasonable quality with proper lighting. I have not yet used the realone player that is included. Overall I was pleased with the product and it has helped me keep track of appointments with a very stylish look.

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First own PDA, very nice and light. I Purchaed fro ...

Posted Dec 17, 2004 - First own PDA, very nice and light. I Purchaed from Officedepot.com with 100 dollar rebate and 30 dollar instant offer. With this kind of price PDA, It's very worth. Bluetooth connection to my Nokia 6230 are perfect. Fast connecting with internet. Plus It have a lot of features what I don't except. Digital Camera on this device are clear and fast taking pictures. Weaknesses parts is. It should come with hard case and more onboard memory. I will add another 512mb of SD card memory. Over all I will recommended all of you who want PDA.

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