The Palm Zire series of PDAs is Palm's consumer line. The lower-end models emphasize price — Palm's original Zire model was the first PDA under $100 from a major manufacturer — and the higher-end models emphasize multimedia capacity, including features like cameras and audio playback functions suitable for listening to MP3s.

Models

Palm Zire & Palm Zire 21

These models are inexpensive and are differentiated from the rest of Palm's line by having monochrome screens without backlighting, only two quicklaunch buttons instead of four, and having a quarter or less memory (2MB resp. 8MB). The two models share the same lightweight (3.8oz) physical design.

Palm Zire 31

The Palm Zire 31 is an upgraded version of Palm Zire 21. The display is color (but still 160x160), the RAM size is 16M, and they feature audio capability. It was designed by PalmOne to replace the original Zire hanheld. It sports a 200mhz Intel processor (which is ironically more powerful than the more expensive Tungsten E), an updated operating system, and a Palm "5-Way navigator."

Palm Zire 71

The Palm Zire 71 was PalmOne's first attempt at a PDA with a built-in digital camera. It was their high-end model, basically a Tungsten T device (ARM-based, updated to OS 5.x, 320x320 resolution with 16-bit color, 16Mb of RAM with 13Mb available for the user, etc.), without Bluetooth but with an incorporated digital camera able to take (640x480) pictures. The small memory was a severe limitation on the number of pictures that could be stored. It also featured a small joystick for quick navigation. Audio playback capability was possible with the inclusion of a SD card slot, and a Palm version of RealPlayer was included. To counter the slow file transfer rate for uploading songs to the device, Palm offered an MP3 playback kit including a memory card writer. Its introduction price was $299, but later was reduced to $249 shortly before it was replaced by the Zire 72. The 71 still had advantages over the 72, as the camera was constantly protected by a shell on the 71, and it had a PalmOne "Universal Connector."

Reviewers were impressed by the excellent quality of its LCD display and the comparatively good quality of its camera compared to similar generation VGA digital cameras.

Certain users found issues with the sensitivity of the device's joystick, which on certain devices was prone to powering up the PDA inside pockets. However, there are third party applications (PocketProtector by geakware and Power by whizoo) which fixed the problem. Those users were strongly recommended to install one of those applications.

Palm Zire 72

The Palm Zire 72 is an upgraded version of Palm Zire 71. New features include Bluetooth, voice recording, and video capture with sound. The joystick was removed and replaced with a recessed pad similar to that of the Tungsten models, the camera was upgraded from 0.3 to 1.2 megapixel, the RAM size was increased from 16M to 32M, and the processor speed was increased. The weight was reduced to 4.8oz versus 5.3oz for the Zire 71.

However, some users report problems with the camera: the camera lens is not covered, the camera doesn't work in lowlight conditions, and broken pixels are common. The screen quality, while good, may be not as brilliant as for Palm Zire 71.

See also

• Tungsten Handheld

Links

• Complete specs by CNet (http://reviews.cnet.com/palmOne_Zire_71/4507-3127_7-21120890.html)
• PalmOne, inc. website (http://www.palmone.com/us/?siteRef=p1-xfer)