Rating: 
Summary: Excellent quality and features
Review: The Zire 71 is a very versatile PDA. Using a secure digital card you can greatly expand its capability to play music, store photos, videos, etc. Comes with a nice little case. Feels very solid with a stainless steel back. Just remember the first time you put it in the cradle, it doesn't go all the way down, but it will connect to charge, even though there are no lights to show you it is charging (about the only thing I didn't like about the Z71). It has been great for downloading Excel and Word files as well - when you buy one try to get a bundle deal with Documents to Go Premium thrown in for a discount. Camera takes surprisingly good photos in low light - just remember not to move until you see the picture on the screen or it will blur.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly what we needed!
Review: This is my first PDA. It is fabulous! Very easy to use. Very easy to set up. Pictures are decent. I am now a PDA believer.
Rating: 
Summary: It's okay, but what's the point.
Review: Alot of people get them because they are trendy and everyone has one. They are good if you work at an office and need to be organized, but most people get them for no apparent reason at all. So ask yourself this question before buying.
1.) Do I really need this?
2.) Am I getting it for a purpose or just because everyone else has one?
Rating:
Summary: Great PDA
Review: With a 144-MHz processor this is the fastest Palm platform PDA on the market. I compared it against several comparably sized models like the Sony PEG SJ33, SJ22, T665 and T655 units, which have 66 and 33 MHz processors, and it's noticeably faster than these, and they're certainly acceptably fast. There is almost no perceptible delay between hitting a function key or tapping on an icon to loading the application.Another major selling point of the model will be the small footprint. The Palm Tungsten and this model were the first Palms to truly fit in your front shirt pocket, where I like to carry mine. On the Sony side, the SJ33 and 22 also are almost exactly the same size, and they're great units too. For something this compact the choice really comes down to these four units, and which one you pick depends on your price category and which features you want. If you don't need the built-in Bluetooth technology, which is still pricey, then go with the cheaper Zire or the PEG SJ33. The SJ33 has MP3 capability, however, and so if you don't need that, go with the Zire, or more likely, the PEG SJ22, which is 35% cheaper than the Zire or SJ33, and will probably have somewhat better battery life too as a result. The digital photo feature on the Zire will also not be needed by everyone, but I've tested it and the 640 x 480 VGA resolution is still pretty decent. All these units have 64k colors, bright, partially back-reflective screens, so they can be seen in bright daylight, and 320 x 320 resolution, so they're all very comparable there. The only downside to the TFT screens is that they have a slightly milky appearance, but that's a small price to pay for the indoors and outdoors viewing capability. The one final thing to consider is I have to say the jog-wheel and back-button features on the Sonys are really great, which the Palms just don't have, making them almost completely capable of one-handed operation. And the SJ33 has a standby switch too that's handy. As a result I think the Sonys still have an edge in terms of features and price-to-performance ratio. But really, these are all great PDA's and whichever one you decide to buy, it will certainly serve you well.
Rating: 
Summary: Stay Away
Review: I have owned Palms for years. I recently upgraded to the Zire 71. BIG MISTAKE! After getting over the initial excitement, I discovered much to my chagrin that the whole package leaves much to be desired. The camera slot rattles, the SD Memory slot fails to read any cards, the speaker makes a constant rustling noise even on Mute and a loud clicking noise that speeds up a slows down whenever it suits it. Defective? You bet. I called customer service three times, where the best I could get from them was to do a 'hard reset', solving absolutely nothing. Their explanation for the SD Memory card issues was to contact the manufacturers. I would avoid this PDA, and after years of using a Palm I will make the switch to a Pocket PC and give them a go.
Rating:
Summary: After 6 years I finally traded up.
Review: That's right. I've had my trusty Palm Pro for over 6 years now and I've been looking for a new one recently. This PDA is simplicity redefined. The Zire 71 is fairly lightweight -would prefer PDA without camera to save wieght- has a compact design and is very intuitive. Thankfully, it doesn't have bluetooth since it would only add cost and add minimal functionality. The display is the first and only color screen that I actually love (past ones were unclear gimicks at best). It feels solid in your hand, exceptionally clear and is very stable in practice - never crashed. I chose this over the Clie PEG TG50 and happy for it. Palm's are meant to be functinally sound, cleanly designed and rock solid. Hopefully, next time Palm will make a better fit from PDA to the cradle. Would also love to have smaller, lighter zire 71 by nixing the camera.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent, but disappointing - especially the camera.
Review: I got this to replace my venerable Palm Vx because Palm seemed to finally get it right: nice color screen, built-in camera, MP3 capability, and only a tiny bit thicker than the Vx - so I could still comfortably carry it in my shirt pocket. I used it for a day, carrying it around, trying basic tasks and fiddling with the cute camera. All good. Then I set it up on my desktop and began beaming over data from my Vx. I got about half my memos beamed and the beam function died. I called tech support - only finding out after 20 minutes of talking that their 8xx number is not toll free. For $41 I could get them to rush me a replacement - or I could send mine, and wait a few weeks. I paid. The replacement unit - apparently a refurb to replace my brand new one - arrived promptly. In the interim, I played more with the camera, and looked at the pictures on my desktop. Be warned: the pictures are lousy. Yes, they look OK on the Palm's small screen, but they're just badly-focused and overly-compressed. No, I don't expect it to match my 3.3mpx Sony, but how about coming close to my original 640x480 Mavica? Not even close. Not even good enough to email. Horrible optics, no zoom, very slow and unsteady exposure control. Could be fun at parties, except it's not good in low light and there's no flash. I haven't tried the MP3 function yet. Apparently you need to buy a memory card first. Not included, of course. Not even the cheapest, smallest card. Nor do you get headphones. Eventually I'll spring for memory, and I hope MP3s play well. Otherwise, I'll have paid nearly $400 (unit+replacement+memory+headphones) for a prettier screen and worse battery life.
Rating:
Summary: Room for improvement
Review: Upgraded my Palm Vx to Zire71 last month. I chose Zire71 for one determing factor - its transflective screen, which is much brigher and clearer than most PDAs out there. I have used it for about a month now and it works great but it does have several design setbacks. Pros:
- Nice bright screen.
- Nice exterior design makes it slick and sporty compared to other more business-looking PDAs
- Much faster processor compared to older PDAs
- Comes with a camera and the latest Palm OS.
- Comes with nice multimedia sofwares like mp3 player and PalmReader, etc. Cons:
- Okay Palm case, the elastic is very tight at first but it can be stretched so it wont trigger the joystick. You can also put the palm upside down.
- Palm OS crashed over 4 times so far due to unknown reasons. There could have been some compatibility issues with older Palm softwares.
- Only one stylus pen that comes with it and it's made of very cheap plastic and has no 'reset' stick. I had to twist a small piece of paper to reset my palm.
- The Palm cradle does not have indication light when the Palm sits on it. You have to turn on the Palm to make sure that it's being charged properly.
- The cradle is made of a lighter and cheaper material than older cradles and doesnt have enough friction to stay on the desk firmly.
- The USB is attached on the cradle and cannot be replaced by regular USB cable - that means if something goes wrong with the USB cable, you'd need to replace the whole cradle. The cradle also doesnt come with a serial cable for those who don't have a free USB slot.
- I'd rather trade the camera with more internal memory. The camera is mediocre, its auto-exposure isn't too smart and the resolution is very limited, there isn't any zoom either.
- No recording ability.
- I had a hard time selecting between letters on the screen with the stylus, I wish I could navigate the cursor with the joystick.
- Screen doesnt seem to turn off automatically while playing mp3 ... this could drain out the battery. In conclusion the Zire71 is a great step up from its predecessors but it seems like Palm could spend more time to the details before rushing it for the public.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent upgrade!
Review: My girlfriend gave me a Zire 71 as an anniversary present (she had bought hers and mine toghether, but gave me mine 3 weeks after she started using hers!) and I haven't put it down since!. The sleek look of its case is a welcome change after my graphite colored Handspring Visor the blue-and-silver finish is very nice looking, however, it IS rather slippery so you have to be careful while handling it. I actually take this as a plus, because so far I've broken 3 Palm screens (once on my Visor, and Twice on an older Palm III) and this one is forcing me to treat it more carefully. The added camera is a nice little gadget, but is no competition to a DEDICATED digital camera. It is quite good for the occasional snapshot or semi-candid pictures (the shutter is a bit slow) Besides that, it is an excellent gadget, the screen is bright, colorful and beautiful. All the built-in functions work just fine, upgrade wasn't a hassle (provided you follow the recomendations on Palm's website) and the extra software is nice. Having a copy of Documents to go would be nice, but the whole package is nice as-is. I also bought a Simpletech 128 MB SD Card for my Zire and cannot imagine uing my palm without it! I would really recommend getting some type of expansion card with yours. MP3s , movies, and being able to cvarry massive amounts of information (e-books, videos, music, even more programs, etc.) Another down side is something I found out later with the card, Zire 71s have a problem with certain types of SD Cards, but thankfully Palm came up with a patch available on their support site which solved my problem.
Rating:
Summary: Yay for Palm!
Review: Palm is probably the main reason why I'll remain a gadget addict. This particular multi-media oriented model is targeted towards personal users, yet offers versatility that easily expands to those who depend on PDA's for professional exploits. It delivers functions of all its predecessors, keeps you organized, plus spoils you with its digital camera and media player (video clips, mp3, radio, audio books). Graphic/display quality is implausible, Graffiti 2 is an impressive step up for freehand, and the OS is highly dependable and reliant. Overall, Zire71 is stylish, fast and resourceful with more then reasonable price tag.
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