Palm Zire questions...

pscatespscates
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Anyone have one? Getting one? Thinking about them?



Just curious. For $99 (and a nice, stylish iBook/iPod-esque case), seems like a pretty nifty way to do away with a wallet full of scribbled Post-Its and half-assed mentally stored appointments, important dates, contact info, etc.



The Zire section at Palm's website says "OS X 10.1.2 or later", so...



Is this referring to the Palm software I'd put on my iMac for syncing and all? And would iSync, iCal and/or Address Book have any sort of role in all of this?



Forgive my ignorance about handhelds and all, but this is shaping up to look like a possible Christmas present to myself, especially if it works as nicely with my iMac and OS X as I'm assuming (hoping?) it does.



Any info and experiences (good, bad, otherwise) is much appreciated.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    If people here do good with it, I'm getting one. 'Nuff said. Finally a PDA worth its price.
  • Reply 2 of 37
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    I had a good look at the Zire, and it's a really nice piece of kit.



    As a PDA to keep track of notes, to dos, appointments, and addresses, I think it'll suit most people very well. The battery life should be outstanding. The one caveat in all this is that it doesn't have a backlight, so it's a bit of a pain in the ass to read the screen in low light.



    Yeah, it's Palm Desktop, the app you put on your Mac, that requires 10.1.2. It's basically a copy of the PDA features available on your Palm.



    If you keep all your contacts and appointments and such in Address Book and iCal, iSync will synchronize the data with your Palm.



    You can download Palm Desktop from the website if you want to test it out for features.
  • Reply 3 of 37
    matveimatvei Posts: 193member
    I bought one to replace my Palm Personnal (which was a serial device)... and I love it!



    It goes real well with my ibook too...



    I don't need all the extra stuff that turns pdas into laptops (how many mp3's can you fit into 16MB anyhow?). To me my palm is a contact book, a calendar, a to do list keeper and a way to make lists of interesting stuff to buy or rent (books, cds, movies).



    I still haven't added any extra apps onto the thing.



    ISync works pretty well. I only had a problem where my iCal calendars were doubled when I restored from a backup. The sync with address book is good (only problem is the birthday info is not transfered to the zire).

    It _is_ a beta, so things will get better.



    Buy it! Buy it!



    I am a satisfied customer...



    matvei



    [ 11-18-2002: Message edited by: Matvei ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 37
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Great responses, guys. Thanks for the info Belle and matvei.



    I'll probably grab one next month or whenever.



    The day before Apple unveils theirs...







    Of course, Apple's will be $599 (at least), so...
  • Reply 5 of 37
    benjamin_rbenjamin_r Posts: 265member
    Just wondering how bad/good is the Zire screen...... Ive read it has no backlight... does that make viewing a drama indoors?



    EDIT: Forget this post.... If I had read ALL the other ones in this thread I would have got my answer.... Sorry....... Im a dumbass



    [ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: benjamin_r ]</p>
  • Reply 6 of 37
    matveimatvei Posts: 193member
    oups



    [ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: Matvei ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 37
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    scates and others, this might be of interest to you:



    (from <a href="http://www.gotapex.com)" target="_blank">www.gotapex.com</a>)



    [quote]

    Staples.com - Palm Zire PDA for about $70! (Posted by: Leon)

    Staples has the Palm Zire for $94.99. Use a $30 off $100 coupon code and you get it for about $70! You just need to add about $5 extra worth of stuff with your purchase.



    ? Get the Palm Zire. <a href="http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/SKU.asp?BCFlag=False&PageType=1&SKU=496540"; target="_blank">STAPLES</a>

    ? Add in about $5 worth of extra stuff

    ? Use coupon code: 61884 to get $30 off $100+. Expires 11/30/2002.

    ? Checkout and purchase.

    <hr></blockquote>



    Cheap and probably worth that price.



    [ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: torifile ]</p>
  • Reply 8 of 37
    matveimatvei Posts: 193member
    Hey! There will be no distrespecting my Zire, ok bud?



    You seem to be trying to justify buying an extravagant pda by putting down the cool little Zire...



    It is the lightest PDA out there (my jacket pockets are really happy about not fearing for their physical integrity), it does exactly what I want a pda for, looks great, and does not cost an arm and a leg.



    Zire users, UNITE!



  • Reply 9 of 37
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by Matvei:

    <strong>Hey! There will be no distrespecting my Zire, ok bud?



    You seem to be trying to justify buying an extravagant pda by putting down the cool little Zire...



    It is the lightest PDA out there (my jacket pockets are really happy about not fearing for their physical integrity), it does exactly what I want a pda for, looks great, and does not cost an arm and a leg.



    Zire users, UNITE!



    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Maybe you should invest some of the money you saved in a more expensive jacket The Zire is good for what it does and it's worth the cost. But if you can save some money, why not? Personally, I need a more powerful PDA because I write an awful lot on the device. That's why I had a newt 2100 for a while and now a pocket pc. But if you don't need that, go for the zire. After all, it's as capable as any but the most expensive Palm OS devices out there.



    -t



    ps - no disrespect was intended by my post, but I guess it seeped through the cracks....
  • Reply 10 of 37
    pevepeve Posts: 518member
    i've ot a handspring visor edge.

    ilke the usb cradle that charges the batteries and the looks of the silver one.



    after using palm desktop for a while - ical and isync showed up.



    hmmm.

    i have all my contacts in addressbook?

    ical has more features and fits my needs better?

    backup on my idisk?

    i think i'll give it a try.



    wow! it works!

    only thing i miss is that i can only import one calender.



    but i'm still sellingit/giving it away.

    i need a phone in the same device.



    if i don't get it from apple - i'll get it from someone else.
  • Reply 11 of 37
    composercomposer Posts: 212member
    I don't know if it's amazing or incredibly stupid that the Zire, which is basically a IIIe, which is basically the ORIGINAL palm pilot still manages to capture people. It does what it does very well I guess. I use a handspring Visor and I have to say the only way I'd replace it is if I lost it or broke it. Like I did with my IIIe.
  • Reply 12 of 37
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    Ooh, the Zire <a href="http://store.palm.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1194078"; target="_blank">case</a> is kind of cute, too.
  • Reply 13 of 37
    nebrienebrie Posts: 483member
    [quote]Originally posted by Composer:

    <strong>I don't know if it's amazing or incredibly stupid that the Zire, which is basically a IIIe, which is basically the ORIGINAL palm pilot still manages to capture people. It does what it does very well I guess. I use a handspring Visor and I have to say the only way I'd replace it is if I lost it or broke it. Like I did with my IIIe.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    The main difference is that the original palm pilot cost an arm and a leg. The Zire represents that moment when PCs went down to the $399 barrier.
  • Reply 14 of 37
    maskermasker Posts: 451member
    This was a good deal but it's over...



    <a href="http://www.palm.com/promotions/shareholders/"; target="_blank">http://www.palm.com/promotions/shareholders/</a>;
  • Reply 15 of 37
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by Composer:

    <strong>I use a handspring Visor and I have to say the only way I'd replace it is if I lost it or broke it. Like I did with my IIIe.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    My first Palm was a IIIe, which I gave to my sister as a present. Then I got a IIIx, which I replaced with a IIIxe when it was stolen. I still own that IIIxe and it does more than I need.



    I looked at a Zire in a Radio Shack store yesterday. The Zire is a lot larger (thicker especially) than I expected it to be. It's almost as big as my IIIxe. I expected the Zire to be white all around, but only the front is white while the back is grayish.



    In any case, if I were to loose or break my IIIxe, I'd probably get a Zire to replace it. The Zire would do everything I need. And it would let me avoid the USB PDA Adapter.



    Escher
  • Reply 16 of 37
    keshkesh Posts: 621member
    The Zire's a nice piece of equipment, but not enough for me. I have a Treo 90, which fits my needs better. Color, expansion slot, 16MB ram & built in keyboard. Much pricier, but worth it for my uses.
  • Reply 17 of 37
    bradbowerbradbower Posts: 1,068member
    Have any of you seen/used these in real life? They are honestly nothing special. In fact, the boring white crappy plastic construction is certainly not "cute." Compared to other Palm devices, the iPod, my Handspring Visor Edge, and a friend's little M10x Palm, I think it's actually pretty ugly and mainstream-looking.



    Anyhow, for $70-100, go buy one.. you'll play with it for the first couple of months.. then it'll be a utilitarian device.. and after that it'll probably just be a playtoy you've gotten tired of. There just isn't enough to keep a grayscale Palm device interesting or continually useful, not even a different white plastic casing can help that. Still, like so many have mentioned, it's probably worth the small price. I might go buy one as a gift for a family member or friend.. I don't care if they use it, they'll be thrilled I got them their own PDA.
  • Reply 18 of 37
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    What is there to keep a color device useful?



    Seems to me that expensive color/multimedia PDA's, in their current forms, are far more gimmicky that a straightforward PDA, and that when you say they're "interesting" you really mean they have more gee-whiz appeal. I think that will certainly fade sooner than the basic utility of a Zire. In the end, you'll get bored with the color, games, graphics and use it in much the same way as a Zire.



    What PDA's need is an excellent voice recording facility and database and storage to manage hours and hours worth of voice notes, and a method by which to carry out transcription after the fact, perhaps in conjunction with your main computer. Appending your voice notes with keywords and brief written notes or sketches and dropping them into a time stamped database, that would be interesting. There really isn't any "interesting" PDA on the market yet, color screens or not.
  • Reply 19 of 37
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    Have you started on an all-white kick since getting your new iMac, pscates, or do you still like orange?:







    Though I hope something like your vision is coming, Matsu, it really irks me that I can't get a PDA that supports some "high-end" features like 802.11 and Bluetooth without a color screen/camera/four-slice toaster.



    Connectivity should not be a "high end" feature.
  • Reply 20 of 37
    matveimatvei Posts: 193member
    The Zire was an upgrade over my palm personnal in 2 important ways:



    1)USB connectivity



    2)Practically weightless. In fact, it is the lightest functionnal PDA ever produced.



    The original functions that I used the personnal for (with it's 512kb of RAM, and 5,6oz weight), are still there: Address book, Date book, to do lists, and memos.



    Where do I need color, wifi, bluetooth, pcmcia slots, 1 gig of ram, keyboard, multimedia for these simple tasks? It adds nothing.



    I'd be wasting money, if I bought anything "better" than a Zire.



    Small, simple and usefull: that is how I want my pda.



    Don't get me wrong though. I would jump at getting a "new newton". A thin, powerfull pda that could do all my pda needs, plus have 40GB of storage, real sound recording capabilities (with on-the-fly conversion to mp3 of multi-hour long lectures), mp4 video replay at 23 frames/sec, airport, bluetooth, instant-on, etc.



    Till this machine exists. I am happy with the Zire. All the other newfangled attempts at creating a _really_ useful pocket computer all come short.



    Who listens to Mp3's on a 16MB machine anyway?



    [ 11-23-2002: Message edited by: Matvei ]</p>
Sign In or Register to comment.