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| Headline News Discuss headline news on Brighthand.com |
04-28-2004, 02:03 AM
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#1
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Editor-in-Chief
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 15,108
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Brighthand Reviews the palmOne Zire 31
The Zire 31 is palmOne's first entry-level model to offer a color screen, a built-in SD card slot, and the ability to to play MP3 files.
Read more at http://www.brighthand.com/article/pa...Zire_31_Review |
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04-28-2004, 07:11 AM
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#2
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Mobile Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 940
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Well
Palm has certainly stuffed a ton of stuff in such an inexpensive model.
I am guessing the extraordinary battery life comes from the Intel processor that I believe may include enough flash memory that PalmOne did not have to add any actual RAM at all. I think these latest Intels have 32 MB flash. That may also explain the slow screen refresh. As a music player, PIM carrier, or photo viewer these models are going to be terrific for a lot of new users. Hope they sell even better than the original Zires. For games and higher end document viewers I don't think these will replace the Tungsten Es or Sony TJ27s. This sure brings a lot of choice to the under $200 market.
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04-28-2004, 09:15 AM
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#3
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Mobile Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 803
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Posted this elsewhere, but I'm reposting it here...
Before the Z21 was announced I hoped that it would turn out to be a sub-$130 OS5 B&W device capable of playing MP3s. It wasn't. At $150 list, this is pretty much what I hoped that device would be but it adds $20 and a color screen, which on the surface seems like a good value. However, as others here have stated, the color screen is of poor quality, it will be hard to read outdoors (where a lot of people might want to use an MP3 player while jogging, etc.) and will drain more battery life.
IMO, a better device would be that $130 B&W version that I hoped for before. Or, perhaps a $150 B&W version with 128MB or 256MB on-board RAM, so that people can play MP3's right off the bat. With this they'll still need to shell out another $60+ to get a 256MB memory card.
My point is that having a basic, no frills, PDA/MP3 convergence device at a cheap price point could be a huge seller. I'm not sure they got it quite right here.
Along those lines, I'd also recommend tweaking the physical design so as to add hard buttons for MP3 functionality (and/or make the existing ones serve double-duty so, for example, the DateBook button might also be the "Play" button, etc.) and they'd label them appropriately.
Scott
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04-28-2004, 10:52 AM
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#4
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Mobile Consultant
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 245
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Thanks for the real-life photo of the Zire 31. Its very nice to see a photo that is not part of PalmOne's press photos. I very much look forward to these in reviews.
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04-28-2004, 06:49 PM
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#5
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Mobile Consultant
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 248
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__________________
Palm m130>Cybiko>Compaq iPaq 3850>Tungsten E>iPaq 1910>Tungsten W>Sony T-Series>Toshiba e805>Palm Z22>Palm TX w/128mb SD card>iPod Touch (16GB)>iPaq h1945 and Tungsten T3
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04-28-2004, 07:13 PM
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#6
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Gadget Goon
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,097
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How did I know you'd pop up here 
__________________
Sua Sponte
Visit MaxiMunK - Because there is nothing left to Fear.
Current:Toshiba e755 (still!) and Sprint Treo 650, w/hacked ROM (with Fat32, without Versafail, BC, Download, Real.)
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04-28-2004, 07:15 PM
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#7
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Mobile Consultant
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 248
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__________________
Palm m130>Cybiko>Compaq iPaq 3850>Tungsten E>iPaq 1910>Tungsten W>Sony T-Series>Toshiba e805>Palm Z22>Palm TX w/128mb SD card>iPod Touch (16GB)>iPaq h1945 and Tungsten T3
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04-29-2004, 12:58 AM
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#8
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Gadget Goon
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,097
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So, are you planning on selling the T|E??? *hint* *hint* 
__________________
Sua Sponte
Visit MaxiMunK - Because there is nothing left to Fear.
Current:Toshiba e755 (still!) and Sprint Treo 650, w/hacked ROM (with Fat32, without Versafail, BC, Download, Real.)
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04-29-2004, 07:58 AM
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#9
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Editor-in-Chief
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 15,108
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Quote:
Originally posted by loyilgyrl13299
Thanks for the review, Ed! I agree with everything you said about the review, especially the comment about the Zire 31 being a m130 updated with OS5.
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You'll have to thank Shawn Barnett, who wrote this review. |
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04-29-2004, 11:09 AM
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#10
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Mobile Enthusiast
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 104
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Remember when...
When I bought my first Palm, a IIIe, for $179, it had a 16mhz Dragonball processor, monochrome screen, connected with a serial port, and a whopping 2mb of RAM. The IIIxe, with 8mb of RAM, was out of my league at $250, and the Vx with a 20mhz processor, was a dream at $400.
The IIIc, priced at $450, had the specs of a Vx, a bright color screen (but with the infamous "screen grid" problem and lack of outdoor usability), and a bulkier form factor.
When the m505 was introduced, it offered a 33mhz processor, lame color screen, SD slot, and the V series form, BUT it was $500.
Now for $150, we can have a unit the size of a V series, with 16mb of RAM, a MUCH faster processor, a screen at least on-par with the IIIc and mostly better than the m505, and it can play mp3 sound files.
It probably has its flaws, but my, how far we have come...
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