Rating: Summary: Not too shabby... Review: The palmOne Zire72 doesn't look too bad...the con that really irritates me, is that 98% of consumers said that the paint chips off. If I get this, I'm considering(after the paint flakes off) on re-painting it with nail-polish. Perhaps I can find a similar-colored nail-polish of the original painted face, and create a "refurbished" Zire72! It certainly wouldn't hurt to try...anyways...I'm assuming, since it was not listed otherwise, that the Zire72 does not play movies. Bummer. I hope it does, even if it does eat up the battery life...I also hope that people are exaggerating about the camera.....oh, well, I'll just have to see it for myself!
Rating: Summary: Don't Bother... Review: At first glance, the Zire 72 looks impressive and I was excited about all the new features. Then the fun started. I sync'ed with my existing Zire 31 and surprise; RealPlayer and the new 72 camera do not work. Oh well, press ahead. I set up the password security option on the 72 to kick in after 30 minutes of inactivity, power down, top off the battery and go to bed. The next day, I go to power up - blank screen (not a lick of juice in the machine). Go to Palm's support site and discover in the forums that this is a common problem. When you set up security with certain parameters, the machine drains its own batteries and goes dead. But the best part is that Palm won't acknowledge what is now an established firmware problem. Their response - Sorry not our problem (great customer support guys!). BTW, when I plugged this useless machine into the AC, I had to do a hard reset to get it working. You know what that means - all my programs, data and setup preferences LOST. Yeah, my Zire 72 is on its way back to Amazon for a full refund. Note to Palm - sorry, not my problem. PS Picked up the Dell Axim X30 in the meantime and it is SWEET. Kicks Palm butt and actually works as advertized. Thanks Dell.
Rating: Summary: Great Buy and Great function PDA Review: I am a civil building engineer; PDA for me is a very important tool for me to record all the construction material. Thousand of the data I have to enter each day and fulfill my need particular during meeting. For small, easy to use, fast processor and lightweight is a major issue for me. Sony Th55 is a really good choice for me, come with 480*320 and large screen. However, the major weakness is without director key (navigator button), this will bring me a great problem for searching and highlight the data I need as I always tab the wrong information in front of my client. Second, when proceed mora than 1mb excel file it take among two to three mins, third, the turn off power button is small and hard to figure out. And i return it back to the computer shop and try T3, TH37 and z72, eventually i pick z72. 1) Th37 is good PDA but processor is very slow and lack of multimedia package 2) T3, very powerful processor, but the slide flip for the screen is terrible and no reliable (i have no time for doing this during meeting). Size is big and bulk.Well,,,i am finaly go to z72, this is a good pda for me light weight, powerful processor and addition bonus for multimedia include video capture. For my standard test, playing mp3 and loading 1,2mb excel file run together, it take 1mins 30 second, satisfy for my need. Come with a lot of reviews claim that poor camera results, for me camara for PDA is an addition function. The main function PDA for me is business and organize my daily work. For my test, out door photo produce excellent quality compare to TH55 and TJ37. In door will be less particular close range, it getting vague particular still from article. MP3, voice memo and video sound is great and wide use. For expand memory, personal advise 256 mb would be very sweet.
Rating: Summary: Neophyte and imressions! Review: I am a computer knowledgeable person (19 years, since kids little), but this is first PDA. I find this one iery easy to both learn and use and I am working thru its features. Luv the basics and the camera/voice recording. Still playing with MP3 'cause I had to ask my grown kids what an MP3 player is. Neat feature!! All in all, very much fun, easy to use at work for notes, calendar, calculator, even pictures etc. I'm satisfied and do NOT mind the pricing
Rating: Summary: Good device, good value... but Review: I am a LONG time PDA user and have owned several models- spent WAY too much money in this area, but that is a different story! The Zire 72 is a decent device for the average user. 'Power users' or business users may want the increased memory and slightly more stable operating system of the PalmOne Tungsten T3, and WiFi users may want to consider the Sony TH55 or something, but the average user will love the Z72. Still camera, movie camera, MP3 player, voice memos, AND the entire suite of Palm OS features in one package for under $300? Wow! Bonus- GREAT controls! Much better than the Zire 71 joystick! OK, the thing is a little buggy. SOME programs (both new and old) don't run well on it. There is a bug or glitch if you use the 'quick unlock' AND 'lock at a pre-set time' features together. There are not a lot of accessories out yet (and with the proliferation of new devices, this is becoming a real problem for manufacturers!), and the non-standard connectors mean all of your old Palm Universal Connector stuff will not work (but this is only a problem if you have any of it!) I would rate this a 5 IF it was more stable/less bugs, had a better battery life, and was not quite so... 'toylike' in the color and design. A perfect 5 would also have included a larger software package and a better case (the nylon/Velcro pouch is nice and well made, but to dig a PDA out of a pocket or bag, then dig it out of a pouch is a violation of the 'Zen' of Palms!)
Rating: Summary: Poor Battery Life-Loses All Input Data Frequently Review: I got my PalmOne Zire72 on December 25th, about a month ago. I wanted something with the Palm OS so I could hot-synch and use the large database I had previously stored on a (trouble-free)Handspring Prism I had owned for 4 years. The Zire72 seemed great the first day-small and light, very colorful screen....I hot-synched all of my data and played with it for 25 minutes or so after charging it for 3 hours per the instructions. The next morning it was completely dead (I was unable to even turn it on) and had lost all of its data. I supposed that had happened because I didn't charge it overnight
I learned after that (and 5 more instances-in 9 days-where all of my data was lost until I came home to hot-synch again) to charge it every minute I am not using it, even if I haven't used it at all that day. The battery apparently drains whether or not you use it. Even more annoying is the fact that after approx. 1 hour of use, when I am far from home, the unit is completely dead (no warning indicators come on)and has lost all of the data (a complete clean slate) which is not very useful on a plane, at a business meeting or in the car.
When I went on a trip 2 weeks after I received it, it died 2 hours into the flight (I may have had it on for a total of 45 minutes and the 3rd time I turned it off it wouldn't turn on again). When I recharged it, it was as if no data had ever been entered into it. I had no Contact information, Memos, or Calendar information which I really needed. There was no warning about a low battery or the possiblity of data being lost-it just wouldn't turn on! It was annoying to have to carry around and keep track of this now useless but very expensive piece of equipment. I may as well have schlepped around my bigger, heavier laptop which at least would hold the data......
I purchased a 256 MB backup card the first time it dumped all of my data (the day after I got it), but there seems to be no way to transfer and store the databases from the datebook, contacts or memo files on it. You can only store entire programs on it, and those 3 programs can't be transferred!
I expected the camera to be more of a gimmick in these earlier models so I was not horribly surprized by the poor picture quality or the blue tint most photos take on, but it seems like even camera phones beat out this Zire72 camera. Couldn't PalmOne have sprung for just a little bit of a higher technology level?
Finally, I have been to most major electronic retailers and have yet to find a decent case to protect this unit from unexpected impact (such as my bag being set down heavily by the airport security). I did not like the case that came with it because it was just mesh and velcro and the unit slipped out easily.
I found and purchased a case marketed by PalmOne and tailored for the Zire72 the day after I got it ($19.99). The wrapper the case was in disguised the fact that it was made of cheap plastic (it was painted to look metallic). I couldn't see how cheaply it was made until I opened it -it has a plastic hinge which looks like it is about to "bend" off and a cheap velcro strip with adhesive that you attach both to the case and Zire72. After 1 month of taking the unit out every day (hour?) to charge and hot-synch, the velcro is already losing its hold. It does not have any padding inside and it is not sturdy. I have found no other cases that fit the Zire71 or 72. RhinoSkin doesn't seem to sell a case for any of the Palm Zire lines at any local retailer.
All in all, I am about ready to give up on the PalmOne Operating System and purchase and re-enter all of my data into a Pocket PC. I do have an extended warranty on this Zire72 I've owned for a little over a month, so will see if perhaps this one is defective and try out another one. I am a little worried since I see in over half of these reviews that the customer service at Palm is abysmal and that this chrging/lost data situation is very common, so I too may be writing another reveiw about that. I am very disappointed that anyone has to spend $300 for this faulty item.....
Rating: Summary: A Great Buy Review: I had originally ordered the Palm Zire 71 for my birthday. but then THE NEXT DAY they had came out with the Zire 72 and completly erased it from the website. So i thought that this was a much better upgrade from the Zire 71 and worth the extra 100 bucks. The Zire 72 overall deserves 5 stars. MP3 - i havent been able to use this feature yet because i dont have the sm writer so i cannot judge this feature. Camera - Is overall very good for its group. Don't expect a high grade digital camera. But if you have the right lighting and a steady hand the pictures can come out very clear. and with the software you can enhance it to make the picture even better. Bluetooth - Is a very nice added feature. i can set it up with a laptop and it will almost immediatly reconize it. i havent yet been able to get onto the internet through it but i just suspect that its the internet settings. Apps. - They give some good programs included. A web and email client, and Documents to go is useful when you recieve word documents through bluetooth. Note pads is useful just to right a "post it" note or if your sitting around bored. The clock is also very handy since they give you can find out the time in 6 different locales. and what programs they dont give you you can download from different web sites. Voice Memo - Is actually better then i expected, it doesnt record as well as a stand alone recorder but it does well for being built in. The only drawback that it comes with a USB cable rather then a Cradel. But in the long run it doesnt really matter because with all the other great features and performance of it you really dont care. Defitnly worth the money.
Rating: Summary: palm makes defective products Review: I have been a Palm OS user since the original Palm Pilot back in 1997. However, palmone's quality seems to be going downhill along with their marketshare. My last pda was the palm zire 71 which stopped working after 6 months (my palm III lasted 3 years). After reading the reviews on Amazon for Palmone pdas, it seems that Palmone really has a design or quality control problem - too many peole report their pda not working less than 1 year from purchase. It makes you wonder why Palmone only offers a 90 day warranty on their products. The Palm 72 seems to have a good feature set, but what good are all of these features if it breaks down just after the warranty expires? Personally, I don't want to take a chance. Instead I went with the dell axim x30 (it just came out). Although I was hesitant to switch to PPC OS, the features match or exceed the ones on the latest palm devices, including a 1 year replacement warranty, bluetooth, and wireless 802.11b. Plus the price was cheaper than the palm 72. I admit that it doesn't have a camera, but I never used the camera on the palm 71 before it broke.
Rating: Summary: Great Product; Rubber cover peeling, Review: I have had the Zire 72 for about three weeks. I have found the Zire 72 to be very useful in assisting me to keep track of my personal as well as my business activities. One flaw though is the rubber skin has already started to peel off, especially around the stylus location area. Other wise a great buy.
Rating: Summary: great product, pleased Review: I have owned my Zire for about 6 months now. I love it. I did a lot of research prior to buying and got the best deal with the zire 72. Everything about it is great. I bought the hard case to protect so I don't have the problems people have with the paint chipping off. I only wish the software was a wee-bit more compatable with mac. I am able to do almost everything, but I cannot connect to the internet to get my email and stuff. I do get to download internet stuff thru avantgo, however. So I don't know what I am doing wrong. Bottom line, not real mac friendly, but basics do work. There is a program avail, btw, that increases compatiblilty.
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