Rating: 
Summary: Performs random HARD resets
Review: Luckily, I got my zire 21 free with a Dell computer (which made me wonder why Dell was handing out a competing PDA for free).Turns out the Zire 21 does RANDOM HARD RESETS randomly when encountering certain cell phones, making it nearly impossible to use. If you didn't already know, hard resets are ones that delete ALL your data. Palm advises users to keep their cell phones and palms separated, but given the pocket space in my pants, that's almost always impossible. Just try asking any department store about Zire 21 returns, and they can confirm this. Email/call customer support and ask them about the Zire 21 and cell phone resets and they will reluctantly confirm this as well. Jump onto the palm website and find the discussion forums for the Zire 21 for more details. Do NOT buy this product.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice PDA for beginners
Review: My first PDA and it is amazing. It has lots of nice features and the way it down/up loads to my computers is simple and quick
Rating:
Summary: Piece of Handheld Crap
Review: My Zire 21 keeps erasing and reseting...including when I was away at a conference using it to take notes - lost 'em all. In fact, I just had a "fatal error" on it. It's been nothing but problems.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time & money!
Review: Original Zire was a ground breaking product because of its low price. But a year later Palm is still trying to sell the same small screen with no backlight for same price? Pro's,
1. Its price.
2. Has latest stable Palm OS version 5.
3. Looks very good, doesn't feel cheap (so you can gift it).
4. Comes with rechargeable battery and standard USB cable.
5. Fast ARM processor, good stylus and infrared port. Con's,
1. Still no backlight on screen (uesless in dark or medium light).
2. Screen is B&W and only 160x160 pixels, again the worst you will find on a 2003 handheld.
3. No mp3, mpeg, jpeg support. Without the multimedia features the gift receiver doesn't get much excited.
4. No expansion slot and only 8MB memory.
5. 90 day warranty.
6. Processor & OS are new but rest of hardware is pathetic, new OS is not put to any use. With Tungsten E selling for well below 199 mark, I would strongly recommend getting T|E instead of Zire 21. You will get so much for a few more $$. Or you might as well get original Zire for half the cost. Zire 21 is good only as a gift to your mother-in-law, not recommended for personal use.
Rating:
Summary: A Stressful Experience
Review: Problems with the product and tech support were very stressful. Re: the product itself, the screen is dark and there's no backlight. The size was perfect (thin and light). I had to return the first Zire 21 as it wouldn't charge after 9 hours. That Palm Tech support person had me do a hard reset and she deemed it "defective" when it still wouldn't turn on. Then the replacement wouldn't hot sync. The first tech support person caused me to lose all of the addresses from my previous Palm IIIe which originally was imported into the new Zire's program. Then her instructions didn't resolve the problem of the handheld not communicating with the program. I called tech support back and after over 2 hours, the problem still wasn't resolved and the tech support person told me that although I had called a toll free number and was well within 90 days of free tech support, that I will be billed for the toll call to the Philippines! I hung up and gave up and am waiting for the phone bill. I don't think her information was correct but it certainly caused a lot of stress!
Rating: 
Summary: You'll be cursing the small, dim screen...
Review: The new Zire Palm 21 is essentially an updated version of the original Zire, itself an update of the lowly m100, with the following changes:
* 8MB of Ram (still not upgradeable) vs. hobbled 2MB.
* A better battery.
* A slightly better processor. (This is largely irrelevant, because most Palm functions are nearly instantaneous anyway). All of the other limitations of the original Zire still exist, chief among them the small, dim dark-grey on light-grey (so very 1979) screen and the utter lack of expandability.
Believe me, screen size matters when you are pointing and clicking on a tiny keyboard on your Palm. This is by far the smallest, dimmest screen you can buy.
The 8MB allows for only relatively basic address and scheduling functions, but is a big improvement from 2MB.
It's intended to be a starter model with limitations that will have you thirsting to upgrade, and often comes free with new computers.
The three PALM programs that I consider essential would come close to overwhelming this puppy. They are: Mapopolis (a mapping program from Mapopopolis.com with keyword-searchable street maps), Avantgo (an online news service that downloads articles to your palm) and Vindigo (a restaurant, movie and city guide).
To me, this model is only for those misguided and poor folks who would have bought the now-discontinued original Zire model but want 8MB. There are far better models out there for only a few more bucks. You can find some of the excellent Handspring Visor or Palm's own Vx/m500/m515 models used for far cheaper, which feature larger, brighter grey screens and 8 MB. Sony's B/W CLIE line of Palm OS handhelds are also better, for a few more bucks.
If you can afford it, I'd definitely trade up to the Tungsten E -- which features 32MB, a brilliant hi-res color screen, expandability, MP3 and a slick form factor. It costs twice as much and is worth every penny. Here's a basic PALM product guide: Zire/Zire 21/Palm m100: Bottom of the line. Designed to suck you in but leave you wanting more. Think of this as the Chevy Chevette of Palms. Plagued by skimpy, dim screens.
Palm m505: Discontinued color model features horrible washed out color screen. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Palm TUNGSTEN TE: The new standard for low-priced, high-value color palms. Features 320x320 brilliant screen, 32MB Ram, MP3 capability with headphone jack, high quality battery and slick, shirt-pocketable form factor.
Palm Zire 71: Excellent, but expensive model features a low-res digital camera that is Okay only for small web page photos or email.
Tungsten T2: Expensive model features drop down graffiti screen. Not worth the extra cash over the TE, unless you need/want Bluetooth.
Tungsten T3: Longer, 320x480 screen. Otherwise, similar to T2. Expensive. For competitors, check out the Handspring Treo models, which feature thumbpads and a small form factor (some with phones).
But I've heard Sony's customer service is weak compared to Palm's easy-as-pie returns. These things do break from time to time, so keep that in mind. Also compare to PocketPCs, which have started to come down into the two-hundred smacker price range, but still can't beat Palm's small form factor and ease of use... If you haven't bought a Palm yet, now's a great time to try it. It's basically an extension and backup for your brain, and who doesn't need that? Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: This product performs poorly
Review: The performance of this product is not reliable at all and at some point you will need to contact customer support which is the worst I have ever had to deal with, they do not attempt to make the least effort to provide customer satisfaction.
I bought a Zire 21, which worked fine for about two months, after which it broke. Basically the battery died when I attempted to do a hotsink, after which it would just not go on again and I had to send it back for repair. The worst part of this process is that they make you pay for the shipment of the Palm for repair, even if the problem is due to defects in their product. After receiving the repaired palm, upon the first use it broke again with the same problem. This time customer support was even worse with the customer rep. sarcastically suggesting I contact the CEO directly if I wanted a refund on my palm rather than a replacement. Do not buy this product unless you have the time to sit by the phone every other week to ask for repairs of the device.
Rating: 
Summary: basic entry-level Palm is a good value
Review: the zire 21 is palm's new entry-level handheld has more memory and a faster processor than its predecessor. if your expectations of the zire 21 are in line with it's low price, you won't be disappointed. pros:
- very good value - under a hundred bucks for a solid (if basic) PDA.
- runs Palm's latest OS 5.2.
- 8MB of memory instead of just 2MB in the old Zire - 8MP is plenty for the intended use of this PDA.
- faster processor than original Zire
- great battery life.
- pocketable at 4.4 x 2.9 x 0.6 weighing 3.8oz.
- feels solid.
- USB support. cons:
- no backlight.
- no expansion capability.
- 160x160 monochrome screen.
- only the older Address Book and Schedule apps are included rather than the new, more full-featured Contact and Calendar programs that ship with Palm's latest tungsten models.
- no multimedia support. if you are looking for a basic PDA (mainly to-do lists, contacts, and calendar) at a good price, consider the zire 21. it's a good value and will get the job done for you. just don't expect all the multimedia bells and whistles that come with a lot of the PDAs sold today. the zire 21 will face competition from sony's clié SJ20. the sony has a better monochrome display, 16MB of RAM, and a memory stick slot. but the sony is also more expensive. between the two, i'd go with the zire 21 myself. if you have extra cash and want more capabilities, consider palm's tungsten E. it has a color, hi-res screen, a SD slot, MP3 and multimedia support, and a much better software bundle. i hope this helps you with your purchasing decision. peace.
Rating:
Summary: Erases data regularly
Review: The Zire 21 regularly resets itself if it is placed near a cell phone. Palm support states that this is the only model they have which has this problem. However, they refuse to accept this is a defect and offer solutions. Their only solution is to keep the Zire 3 feet away from your cell phone. Yeah, right!
Rating:
Summary: Beware: Zire 21 cannot stand mobile phones
Review: The Zire 21 spontaneously loses all it's data when it is close to your cellular. It happened twice to me in two weeks. This is what Palm support says about it:
==========
We have received an answer from our escalations department. There seems to have been other cases with the same problem. The reason for the problem seems to be radiation from mobile phones. It only happeneds with some mobile phones not all. Therefor you should make sure that you do not have your phone to close to the palm or change to a phone with less radiation. Kind regards,
Linda
PalmOne Technical Support
===========
My phone is a Nokia 6610, one of the most popular in Europe today....
So if you do not want to change your phone, buy another PDA
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