Brighthand Reviews the palmOne Zire 72

[Ed Hardy]

The Zire 72 offers a much faster processor, more memory, and a higher resolution camera than its predecessor, the popular Zire 71. It also adds Bluetooth short-range wireless networking.

Read more at http://www.brighthand.com/article/pa...view?site=Palm

[imported_all74]

Sweet; first post

I gotta say that this looks REALLY tempting. I have a Zire 71 now, and love it, but the added features of this are making me start thinking about how I can scrape together enough $.

Couple of questions tho...

1) What is this like to hold? The pictures that I've seen of the back of the device make it look like its concave! Is this correct?

2) Is there a protective cover for the lens, or is it always out there? An unprotected camera lens is a big accident waiting to happen.

3) Does this suffer from the "popping" sound that Zire 71s seem to (almost) all have?

Great review Ed. Keep it up

Aaron

[imported_all74]

By the way, it looks like the Zire71 no longer exists at Palmone (at least at the store). Too bad... they oughta keep it around and reduce the price ($200 would put it nicely between the 72 and 31).

Farewell Zire71 line

Aaron

[Ed Hardy]

Originally posted by all74
1) What is this like to hold? The pictures that I've seen of the back of the device make it look like its concave! Is this correct?

It isn't concave. The area with the camera is a bit thicker than the rest, though.

2) Is there a protective cover for the lens, or is it always out there? An unprotected camera lens is a big accident waiting to happen.

There's no lens cover, though of course the lens is protected when its inside the case. I wouldn't worry too much about this, as few mobile phones with built in cameras have these either and there doesn't seem to be a rash of problems.

3) Does this suffer from the "popping" sound that Zire 71s seem to (almost) all have?

Not than I can tell. And volume through the speaker and headphones seems more than adequate.

[Ed Hardy]

I took a couple of pictures with the camera which I think are representative of what you can expect... and why your expectations shouldn't be all that high.

I promise you, in real life my cat isn't purple:
http://www.brighthand.com/images/pal...re72_Pic_1.jpg

This was taken with the 2x zoom:
http://www.brighthand.com/images/pal...re72_Pic_2.jpg

[Timothy Rapson]

Another fine first review for the Brighthand leaders.
Is the screen exactly like the Zire 71? Slider for brightness?
Does the camera record video with sound?

A small correction, I am pretty sure the Zire 71 debuted at $329. Does that win me an award for #1 quibble of the year?

I am surprised that this runs 3 times as fast as my 71. What would I use that much speed for? The only time I am currently waiting on my 71 is for very large pictures or for Teal Paint. Most properly written programs are so zippy on even a 144 MZ processor under OS 5. Since battery life appears as fast on the 72 as on the 71 and the price is the same, there is no reason NOT to have the 300 MZ.

I would be so happy to pick up one of these Zire 72s if only it had vitual grafitti. But for the lack of that single feature I would be ordering one today, even at full list price. The next iteration will surely include that, so things look good for my future with PalmOne.

[Scott R]

Several thoughts...

1) Good review, Ed.

2) I, too, am curioius about whether it can record video with sound. I suspect not, which is too bad. The Nokia 3650 has been doing that for a long time now. If you're going to add video recording support, at least give it a microphone.

3) They didn't add the PUC to save costs? I have trouble believing that would really save them much. Rather, it allows them to try to sell you on their more expensive business-class devices (e.g. T3) if you want it.

4) No flip cover? Yeah, it's not like users haven't been asking for that basic feature FOREVER.

5) Photos look awful once again. No surprise, but a big disappointment. Nice to see they put more importance in increasing megapixels rather than keep the resolution lower and actually increase the quality of the photos. Wow, so now I can see the horrible purple fringing in all its high-res glory.

I'm sure this will appeal to some, but not me. I think their Z31 is a much more interesting device, though I think they dropped the ball on that one, too (I'll post more in that thread).

Scott

[Ed Hardy]

Originally posted by Timothy Rapson
Another fine first review for the Brighthand leaders.
Is the screen exactly like the Zire 71? Slider for brightness?
Does the camera record video with sound?

I don't have a Zire 71, but it seems to be pretty much the same display palmOne has used on other recent models. But keep in mind, palmOne has at least two suppliers for these and screen quality varies from model to model. My loaner model looks great, but some people have complained about yellowing and other problems with T2, T|E, etc. screens.

Yes, videos are recorded with sound.

A small correction, I am pretty sure the Zire 71 debuted at $329.

No, the Zire 71 stated off at $299. Check our original article:
http://www.brighthand.com/article/Pa..._and_TungstenC

[ojleblanc]

Would love to see a non-press release photo of the Zire 72 if you have one....

Thanks,

[dequardo]

IMO the lack of a universal connector is a huge mistake.