Palm Zire 71

Many Palm fans were disappointed by the original Zire, a monochrome unit that offered a measly 2MB of memory and was targeted at soccer moms. But Palm aficionados will be a lot more satisfied with the impressive Zire 71, which has a sweet screen, a built-in camera, MP3 support, and a Secure Digital (SD) expansion slot, all for a reasonable $299. The question is, should you choose to carry it over Sony's current midrange CLIE offerings? The answer: Yes.We actually thought the original Zire was fairly slick-looking except for the so-last-decade monochrome screen. The 71 has that same stylized look, but it's adorned with a blue instead of a white motif, with a touch of Apple influence in the mix. Just as important, this handheld simply feels solid in your hand--there's nothing chintzy about the unit, which weighs in at 5.3 ounces. That's not superlight, but this Zire is relatively compact (4.5 by 2.9 by 0.7 inches), especially for one that features a built-in camera.

Compare to other handheld devices Compare selected select Palm Zire 72 Editor's rating: 3.0 out of 5 select Palm Tungsten E Editor's rating: 3.5 out of 5 select Palm Tungsten T5 Editor's rating: 3.0 out of 5 select Palm m515 Editor's rating: 3.5 out of 5 David Carnoy Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel that's available at Amazon, bn.com, and as a Kindle, iBooks, or Nook e-book. Follow @DavidCarnoy User Reviews See all user reviews Average User Rating 3.5 stars out of 192 user reviews Rating Breakdown 5 star: 54 4 star: 86 3 star: 22 2 star: 15 1 star: 15 My Rating 0 stars click stars to rate product CNET Community This product is on 3 user lists. Add to my list Most recent user reviews Showing 3 of 192 reviews 5.0 stars "Very good." Jul 4, 2007, 7:21 am By Awesomeguy123 Pros: I have had it for years, even when my son got his hands on it and dropped it, it still stayed excellent. Camera, battery life, media quality, SD slot, and display was excelent. Cons: No wifi or bluetooth, little app support. Summary: A very good PDA like no other, at a very low price. If you can live without Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, this is a very good PDA. Summary: A very good PDA like no other, at a very low price. If you can live without Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, this is a very good PDA. 4.0 stars "It's a trooper and survives the worst of treatments." Jul 4, 2007, 7:21 am By aex155 Pros: Plays MP3 and video, reliable, does what I need it to. Battery will last a whole day playing music. Cons: Only wireless connection is infrared, limited memory, takes a bunch of blurry images, seemingly random crashes. Summary: I got my Zire 71 from my dad after he stopped using it for about 2 years, and it worked great. I was able to customize it to my liking, and it does everything I need it to. I've dropped it and the screen turned a weird greenish color ... Expand full review Summary: I got my Zire 71 from my dad after he stopped using it for about 2 years, and it worked great. I was able to customize it to my liking, and it does everything I need it to. I've dropped it and the screen turned a weird greenish color and it came back from it. I leave it on playing music when I fall asleep and I find it still going when I wake up, which demonstrates its stamina. Thanks for your submission! Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community. Write a Review Quickly sign in with: or Log in or create an account to post a review. You are logged in as . Please submit your review for Palm Zire 71 1. Rate this product: 0 stars 2. One-line summary: (10 characters minimum) Count: 0 of 55 characters 3. Pros: (10 characters minimum) Count: 0 of 250 characters 4. Cons: (10 characters minimum) Count: 0 of 250 characters 5. Summary: (optional) Count: 0 of 15000 characters Add Your Opinion The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Click here to review our site terms of use. Where to Buy MSRP: $249.00 See manufacturer site for availability Set price alert Specifications See full specs Quick Specs OS provided: Palm OS 5.2.1 RAM: 16 MB - SDRAM Processor: Texas Instruments OMAP310 144 MHz Sponsored Premier Brands on CNET Samsung Samsung T-Mobile Samsung Printer Where to Buy MSRP: $249.00 See manufacturer site for availability Set price alert Recently Viewed Products My Lists My Software Updates Promo Log In | Join CNET Follow: Close Like Us / Follow Us CNET on Facebook Follow @cnet