Dear Gear Diary…
Posted on 06 January 2007, at 2:54 pm, by Judie Lipsett
Q. Hi Judie,
I just read your review of the Palm Zire 21, which I was considering.
I am about to purchase my first PDA and I don’t want the camera, cell phone, etc.
You’ve convinced me that the Zire 21 is probably TOO basic – and mentioned that there is something a step up from that – what do you recommend that is more advanced than the Zire 21 but not too far up the PDA food chain?
Many thanks,
Nancy
P.S. – I am also considering a PDA that would use WiFi spots to check email
A. Hi Nancy,
Well, that review was written in 2003, so while the Zire 21 was a good basic PDA, it is no longer even available from Palm. But, there have been some updated versions that still retain the basic Zire functions while adding some better features. Let’s take a look…
- The Palm Zire 22: now includes a color screen, it uses the miniUSB port (nice!), and it is still just $99. You can read a full review here.
However since you mentioned that you would like to try a “step up”, I would have suggested the Palm Tungsten E2 (read a full review here), but it only includes Bluetooth. You mentioned wanting something that includes WiFi, which leaves…
- The Palm T|X: It’s $299, so a bit of a jump from the original $99. But for the money you get a very nice looking device, a gorgeous screen, a usable amount of built-in memory, and both built-in WiFi and BT. You can check out the full specs here and read a full review here.
The Palm T|X is the exact device I would recommend to anyone that gave me the requests you did, especially since you specifically mentioned a former Palm Operating System (OS) review that I had done. You can see a full comparison chart of currently available Palm OS handhelds here.
On the flip-side, if you are willing to look at a Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) device in the same price range, you might consider one of these:
- iPAQ rx1955: Read a full review here.
- Dell Axim X51: Read a full review here.
These are just a few that come to mind, but I think that any of them would work well for you. I hope that some of the Gear Diary readers will also weigh in with their current favorites.
Good luck!
Judie 
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7 Comments For This Post
January 6th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Judie – thanks for the round up – you make no mention of the palm Lifedrive – I believe this is still available – is there a reason why you don’t mention it? I have one and love it – best wishes from flub in the UK
January 6th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
flub, I didn’t mention it because it is no longer offerred in the main Palm handhelds section of their site (although it is on their comparison page), and because it is $399 – so possibly more PDA than Nancy is looking for.
It does makes me wonder though, could something new to replace the LifeDrive be coming up?
January 6th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
The rx1955 uses what I think to be the best PDA-only form factor that was ever produced. Light, compact, good sized screen, and good sized battery. I had the h1930, and the size was unbeatable!! Definitely consider it, as Windows Mobile 5 is an excellent operating system, and coupled with the rx1955’s design it would be an excellent PDA.
January 7th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Hey Judy,
Palm has the Lifedrive on the mobile manager’s section of their website vs the handheld section. With that said, I agree with your choice. I ALMOST bought a Palm T|X myself, but I ended up buying a Nokia 770. Then wouldn’t you know it that Nokia released the Nokia N800. Ok it’s not official, but they are sneaking out of CompUSA in peoples hands as we speak. They’ll probably intro it at CES.
January 7th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Judie,
The lifedrive isn’t in handhelds because palm does not consider it a handheld. It’s a Mobile Manager.
That said I agree with you rreccomendation!
January 7th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
gorkon, thank you for that clarification. I didn’t realize the LifeDrive qualified for its own category at Palm – but with the internal memory it sports, I suppose that is justified.
So about your Nokia! I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and how well it is or isn’t working out. As far as the N800, isn’t that the way it always goes? No sooner do you get something, and an updated version soon appears. Urgh.
January 8th, 2007 at 8:02 am
The Zire 22 looks like a good basic PDA and looks like the only one at or under the $100 price range. I ordered couple as gifts
.
I wonder why Palm does not mention anything about the Zire 22 coming with “non-volatile ram”? Julie says that it comes with in her review and a search of the internet brings up more mention of the “non-volatile ram” on other review and tech sites.