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The Palm Zire 71 is an older unit from Palm. It runs version 5 software so it's a little dated by todays webos, and ios4 standards. Regardless if what you're looking for is a usefull and reliable pda, the Zire 71 is one of Palm's best. The screen is bright and big, 320X320, boasting good image clarity and contrast. The camera is a little undersized, vga resolution, but works well and has good color reproductions. The camera lense is protected by a slider frame like the cell phone slider format common today. I've read that using the camera too much, or sliding the frame too much might damage a cable liking the two halves together, making the pda unchargable. If you can get it cheap enough, and in good enough condition, this PDA is perfect for using around the house or office to store contacts, and schedules, the Palm interface is quick and easy to use, and has very easy to learn handwriting recognition for people who have difficulty typing on cramped keypads or touch screens. Highly recomended.Read full review
Pros: - This is one HELL of a step up from my old Palm IIIx! - Blazing fast compared to the Palm IIIx. - I love the color screen. - 10MB RAM feels like moving into a luxury apartment. Nit-Picks: - I was all used to the original version of Graffiti, now I have to re-train myself to get used to Graffiti 2. It's kinda different. - The backlit color screen gets overwhelmed in bright daylight. - The camera picture qualiti isn't exactly vivid, but I didn't expect super quality. It's adequate for quick snaps, but tough to use outdoors. Cons: - Battery life is very short compared to Palm III series. Good that it's rechargable - suppose that'll train me to hotsynch more often. - The physical fit between handheld and synch cradle leaves much to be desired. Hard to tell if it's properly seated, and it doesn't have a good positive lock.Read full review
I had trouble choosing between ratings of average and good - I wish there was something in between. But I considered how cheaply you can get one these days and that clinched the good rating. It has a nice heft to it and fits well in the hand. I also like the blue shell with the metal back. The camera is only VGA, but it takes nice pictures, considering. I like how you slide the back down to get the camera going. The OS is an earlier version of PalmOS. It's a little uglier than later versions, but just as easy to use. In later Palm PDAs, you have more screen to work with, but I found this worked well enough for what I needed. I replaced my first one when I bought my Palm TX and gave my old Zire 71 to my mother, complete with a mahjongg solitaire program I bought for her sake (she's a mahjongg solitaire nut). She used it every day and I think it's ideal for something like this. Eventually, the screen came to have little round, very worn spots in a checkerboard-like pattern. This was, of course, from the sheer amount of time my mother spent clicking on the little tiles. Admittedly, she's a little rough with the stylus, but to be fair, a couple of dead spots appeared a little early on. In any case, she dropped it recently and the screen was fubared. Buying a used one on ebay proved to be much cheaper than getting the old one repaired. A very serious word of warning: keep your Zire 71 charged! If you do not, you will lose all information on the PDA, including any software (other than what comes with the OS) that you've installed and you'll have to start all over again. This is because the Zire 71 lacks a backup battery (which they may have resolved in the Zire 72). However, with any of the Palm products which use PalmOS (which they gave up recently in favor of the competing Microsoft product, sadly) also come with the awesome Palm Desktop software for your PC. This is excellent to use as PIM software even without a PDA, but with your PDA, you can sync all information from the PDA so that in case you lose it later, you can sync again and it will replace the information. I don't recall if it replaces the installed software or not.Read full review
I've adored my Zire 71 for a few years now. It's my first Palm; I'd had only Handspring before that, and was wary when they went under. What I love about this PDA is the surprisingly clear digital camera and the easy to navigate MP3 player, by Real Player. However, Palm's new core software sucks a little in their upgrades of Datebook and Grafiti. Their old platforms allowed for "floating events" and allowed To Do item to show on the Date Book. Grafiti 2 is just dumb, Grafiti 1 is so much easier to use (check internet tech groups for hacks!). The only reason I'm dissatified is because I'm spoiled now by new technological advances and really want WIFI on my PDA. So, I'm upgraded to Zire 72. The 72's the only Palm with a digital camera, WIFI capacity and the MP3 option.
I decided to buy the Palm Zire 71 becasue of the price, functions, and style. I am not terribly "in to" electronics. I don't own an iPod or a Zune, I don't have a "smart phone, and I don't do video games. I needed a PDA that would allow me to schedule my life (with handy reminders!),keep track of important people and events, and this PDA does all that, but it also has a digital camera, can play mp3s, and can actually play some games (for the boring times at theairport, etc). For anyone who is not looking for the end all" electronics and just needs a planner, address book, camera, mp3 player in one, this is definitely the right item for you. The only problem I seem to be having is finding a way to hotsync the info I entered on my computer with the Palm, and the cradle that came with it makes battery charging a little more work than I'd hoped, but I bought (on eBay) a charger/hotsync cable for about $3.50, and now I'm having no problems.Read full review
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