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Anomalous · Oct 7, 2002, 01:58 PM

The Zire has arrived (www.palm.com/zire), but am I the only one who is a bit disappointed with it? Since the m105 has fallen below $100 at many stores, it seemed like Palm would be able to make 8 MB the minimum amount of RAM and stop making 2 MB devices. However, the Zire, also at $100, has only 2 MB, which is really not enough anymore. Also, I don't understand why Palm is trying to push people to buy into lots more OS 4 technology when OS 5 is about to come out.

The Zire also lacks minor niceities like customizable faceplates and more hardware buttons, so in my opinion it is not even as good as its predecessor, the m100. However, it is the same price that the m100 was when it was introduced even though technology is more advanced now. It doesn't seem like a good value to me.

Chris Grande · Oct 7, 2002, 06:10 PM

Its thinner, I always thought the m100s were very thick. I'm going to stick with my Palm Vx thou.

SupahCoolX · Oct 7, 2002, 07:26 PM

At least the Zire has a normal Palm full sized screen (I believe).
The Palm platform as a whole is pretty bad at the moment. Everything just seems incredibly stagnant (unless you want to pay $$$ for a high end Sony). Current entry level devices are no better than my original 2MB Visor that I've had for a couple of years now. And my Visor at least has a Springboard slot. Though not extremely useful, it's at least an opportunity that the Zire doesn't offer.

Ryu · Oct 8, 2002, 01:19 AM

Simple... you go with Motorola, you're in trouble.

Palm went with DrangonBall and look what happens. Apple, on the other hand... you can't reject it. It's is no good shape if not for OSX. 500mhz to 1Ghz took more than 2~3 years.

Just go with any other thing than Motorola and Palm understood it. Now it is going StrongArm and this is a totally new game against PocketPC.

molala · Oct 8, 2002, 04:28 AM

it is thinner and much lighter than the m1xx series. but it only has the 16MHz processor, when 33MHz has been around for more than a year. (the 2MB RAM is the killer though)

i bet it won't be long before they release an 8MB / 33MHz version and price it more than the m125.

DigitalEl · Oct 8, 2002, 08:13 AM

[DISCLAIMER]
I'm no expert on Palm devices. Haven't even owned one since my old Palm IIIe Special Edition (It was clear... Ooooooh...)
[/DISCLAIMER]

I read on a Palm forum the Zire is cheap and practically disposable on purpose. They'll be sold in blister packs at Wal*Mart checkout counters and be heavily pushed during the holiday season. After the holiday season, the Zire's price is likely to fall into the $70 range, where it belongs.

These are not for tech-minded people. They are for moms & students and others who currently don't use a PDA in any form. Strictly entry-level.

Hope that's not insane obvious. Just sharing what I read.

Jens Peter · Oct 8, 2002, 08:35 AM

I like the design though. But a few things keeps me form running to my local store picking one up.[list=1][*]Same processor, same speed anyway, as my current Vx[*]Only 2 MB ram[*]No expansion slot[*]Would love one with bluetooth build-in[*]There is no craddle[/list=1]
And the package looks as it's aimed at the 12-17 years. But hey, maybe it is...

Jens Peter

Cop Rock · Oct 8, 2002, 12:32 PM

According to one review I read it has no backlight.
Great for battery life, lousy for usability.

Avon · Oct 8, 2002, 01:19 PM

Slight correction... The Vx is a 20 mhz machine.

compare other to the zire...
http://www.pencomputing.com/palm/palm_specs.html

Also, the zire has no backlight and its a monocrome display.
Yuck.

Vx is such a nicer palm.
grayscale
backlight
.2" thiner
8 megs of ram
20 mhz processor

SupahCoolX · Oct 8, 2002, 07:12 PM

I get what Palm is trying to do in targeting the Zire to the non-PDA market, but it really does stink in comparison to other similarly priced older models.
Taking stuff away to appeal to a non-expert market is good, but taking away too much could turn them off to upgrading in the future (ie. "This thing is useless. Why would I want to spend another $300 on another useless PDA from these people?").

Max8319 · Oct 8, 2002, 11:02 PM

the zire is meant for ENTRY level users, not for 'power' users (compared to those who probalby read this forum).

that said, there still are some downsides...backlight would have been good, but they're trying to get it below $100...the lack of the four main buttons isn't good because they're used in games, which could/would be big for this crowd...

and this model is meant to make money (a little bit atleast) and not lose money like the m105 is doing (that's the impression i got after reading palm infocenter)...

sja777 · Oct 9, 2002, 03:21 PM

I think the big thing this Palm is missing is an expansion slot and the resultant ability to use Bluetooth -- even as an option. Particularly for Mac users with iSync, but also for PC users with a fully updated copy of Windows XP, Bluetooth is the way to go. Look at the number of mobile phones that support Bluetooth and the growing desktop support for the technology ... yet this Palm doesn't even have an expansion slot.

Come-on Palm you could even sell this Palm to non-computer users with an expansion slot and a card-based backup solution.

If I could use this with Bluetooth, I'd be tempted, and I currently use a Palm Vx ...