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Author	Topic: Palm Zire Review Comments
Julie Administrator Posts: 2752 From: Columbus, IN USA Registered: Feb 1999	posted 11-06-2002 07:02 PM Post your comments here on the Palm Zire Review. http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/zire-m150-review.html Just click the POST REPLY button on this page.
Andyvan unregistered	posted 11-06-2002 07:31 PM Amen on the non-recyclable plastic packaging. The stuff's sharp too! I agree with your review. One thing you didn't mention is how annoying the cover can be. I was in Circuit City the other day with my 8-year-old daughter, and she tried about 5 times to find a way to hold it with the cover held open so she could use it. The cover kept flipping closed, and her hand wasn't big enough to capture it behind and hold it. She ended up putting it down on the counter and putting another PDA on top of the cover to hold it down! -- Andyvan
mclaugh unregistered	posted 11-07-2002 04:44 AM That "plastic" you speak of is indeed annoying, and its use can be traced back to one of the big retail chains- I forget right now if it's Circuit City or Best Buy. Basically, they mandated that portable CD players had to be encased in that vacuum plastic so that you could easily see them- I think the problem they were trying to prevent was when CD players would be stolen from the box, and they wouldn't know. By putting them in plain sight, they were eliminating this theft liability. Of course, when a large chain forces a change like this onto their manufacturers, it effectively changed the way similar consumer electronics are packaged. Again, this is just something I remember being told years ago....
dequardo Member Posts: 29 From: Registered: May 99	posted 11-07-2002 05:56 AM Packaging is linked to its intended target buyer. In this case students, first timers and the like. For $99 this is the bst way to display it-say as a commodity vs. a higher end device. Much easier to stock on shelves like Target, Wal-Mart, etc. vs. the larger rectangular (now cubed Tungsten) Palm retail boxes. Theft prevention is handled differently also this way. As to the review it's fine as always but I couldn't help but notice the reference to the TT. I think most of us here are waiting for THAT review. Mike [This message has been edited by dequardo (edited 11-07-2002).]
Julie Administrator Posts: 2752 From: Columbus, IN USA Registered: Feb 1999	posted 11-07-2002 07:23 AM The Tungsten review will be posted next week. It's going to be a dual review from Judie and I. The plan is to post it Monday.
JohnKes Member Posts: 22 From: San Jose, CA, USA Registered: Oct 2001	posted 11-07-2002 09:25 AM The big plastic packaging makes it hard to shoplift, and it is a major pain to open. It is really sharp. I fear getting a major cut every time I try to open such packaging. There is definitely a market for the Zire. e.g. We had an Admin Asst who wanted a PDA - a single mom living in Silicon Valley ($$). She got a $100 gift cert to Fry's, still she debated which PDA to get. She needed it mostly for Addresses and Datebook. She would have snapped up the Zire in a second. I wonder about battery life. It is probably quite long. My wife's m500 goes 2 months (>30 hours ON time) on a charge!
Steve Ballack unregistered	posted 11-07-2002 02:04 PM Hey generally a OK review, but one request, that JueLee 123 guy or what ever was right, get the Gadgetter Of the Month(a.k.a. Gay Pic of The Month) out'a here. Please spare us! Or tell them to take less "GAY" photos of themselfs before they send it.
Paul Smiths unregistered	posted 11-07-2002 02:06 PM "We had an Admin Asst who wanted a PDA - a single mom living in Silicon Valley ($$)." What did you mean when you go ($$) is that her ass you're talking about? Damn that's why you use your nick name.
Paul Smiths unregistered	posted 11-07-2002 02:09 PM "It's going to be a dual review from Judie and I. " Haha yes, some dual female action comming here haha. But it probably appeal to old people fetish
Spike unregistered	posted 11-07-2002 04:20 PM Gosh.. if you don't like this website, just leave. Don't make those insulting comments!
thatrobert unregistered	posted 11-07-2002 04:47 PM A shame that the Zire breaks no new real ground. There is so many cool things that can still be done with form factor. I would love to see a "mini-Palm" heading toward the old Rex wallet size.
Mr. Mooney unregistered	posted 12-09-2002 11:17 AM You know what this site ROCKS,, and I just LOVE the reviews, but this site has some issues with GAY pics and losers trolling the boards talking about "Dual female action". Come on Paul, theres no action here, but cool reviews and some piece of $#!t gay pics.
lfloyd Junior Member Posts: 3 From: California Registered: Jan 2000	posted 12-30-2002 05:46 PM One correction: HotSyncing the Zire isn't that difficult. Just turn it on and tap the Star icon on the screen (where the calculator icon usually lives). I got to give a Zire a test ride over Christmas. I didn't like the flippy cover either. - larry
pj unregistered	posted 01-31-2003 08:52 AM The Zires is excellent. I've use it all day, every day for 2 months now. Consider what you need before you think about the sexiness of a gadget. Address book, agenda and a few extras - thats the Zire. Add some sexiness and you get the Tungsten T (I'd love one but still would only use the Address book and Agenda !) I have AvantGo on my Zire. I sync in the morning, read the news on the way to work, and it's great. PJ
d unregistered	posted 03-03-2003 07:15 AM The review is bang on yet i am not impressed about the lack of upgradability of the palm without obviously causing it some severe damage. Another big con about the device is that it does not allow you to delete some of the built in applications (2M is hardly enough when you begin to transfer applications to the palm) although this is not a problem as i have come to just transfer programs i will need for the day onto the palm and leave other applications backup up onto a computer. I am also not impressed by the lack of software for Linux that came with the installation CD - thus i am forced to revert to a windows environment. On the good side though i have only managed to crash the palm once with a poorly written application though most features that come with it are pretty solid. Though may i recommend running the gentleman file manager on this device once in a while as it's internal cleanup program seems a bit week (available from www.palmgear.com). Theres a lot of other good features on this site which i think really should have been on this palm in the first place as they are available on most others.
japaze unregistered	posted 07-28-2003 08:53 PM quote: Originally posted by Julie: I've got the Zire and basically I agree with your revew. However, although there is no status LED for charging, at least there is a status icon showing charging when pluged to adapter. Why and what for should anybody need more than that ? Regarding other issue. I've heard that it is possible to get a language patch or small application software which allows you to display the menu in other language (spanish in my case). �Does anybody knows about it and where to get it or download ? I'll appreciate any comments on that... Jaime (Santiago, Chile) http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/zire-m150-review.html Just click the POST REPLY button on this page.
jjaakk Junior Member Posts: 3 From: Australia Registered: Sep 2002	posted 10-07-2003 06:45 PM Just wondering if anyone has a view on Palm Zire battery life? A friend has one, and reckons she only gets 30 minutes of use before it needs to be recharged.
User unregistered	posted 11-22-2003 07:37 PM Re: battery life I use mine daily for work and only have to charge it every few WEEKS. That includes occational chess games. One thing is for sure, the battery life one these is great. Sounds like yours isn't working right. Mini review: I got mine free from Dell as a promotional item (we buy volume at work). I've since found them for as little as $40 brand new on the web. This is my first Palm device, moving me away from my old Psion Series 5. If you know anything about the Psions then you can guess my one major gripe about the Zire... no keyboard! Back when Palms were just staring out I considered one, but when I caught site of a Psion and it's big, beutiful keyboard I bought one and never looked back. Never liked Graphiti and still don't. Long story short, the new Zire is now my only carried PDA simply because of the size. I can slip it into my pocket and forget it's there, unlike the Psion which feels like a brick in your pocket. The included cover is indeed a complete waste and annoying to boot. I made a custom hard cover and even old die-hard Palm users think I've got some new $700 Palm now... until I turn it on. Beg and I'll post pictures. Since it's my first Palm device I'm still getting used to it, but I'm already thinking about getting something with WiFi and some kind of keyboard like the Clie NR70. You can get a used Clie NR70 and a WiFi card for $200 total if you're patient. War driving with my Palm sounds oh-so fun.
User unregistered	posted 11-22-2003 09:26 PM CORRECTION! The Clie NR doesn't support WiFi. Only the newer ones do. Back to the drawing board.
Annmarie unregistered	posted 12-02-2003 03:34 PM I'm happy with the Zire m150 overall. Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a 2nd USB cable for synching purposes. I'd like to be able to sync at home and work without having to carry the cable around. The palm.com website offers an adapter kit for $24 but all I need is the usb cable. Any suggestions?
eczajnik@wp.pl unregistered	posted 12-14-2003 06:36 AM quote: Originally posted by Annmarie: The palm.com website offers an adapter kit for $24 but all I need is the usb cable. Any suggestions? Buy any standard usb -> mini usb cable
Purrurumba unregistered	posted 03-14-2004 05:06 PM PALM ZIRE M150 I guess my battery is nearly worn out (after I think 15 months or less). I am still searching for info on how to test it, buy one or have it replaced which I find amazing. This applies to both the net and my home city - Canberra. (Most small appliances these days can readily be self-serviced at this level and there are normally many battery options !) Also battery charging via my USB cable to the laptop no longer gives much charge as the software (XP?) now seems to switch off the charging function as soon as the computer goes to wait or hibernate modes. Otherwise I am reasonably happy with the device although software/interface troubleshooting and backup issues seem to me to be too complicated for the average user. Any tips or hints please ?
Flipp unregistered	posted 07-05-2004 12:55 AM Atlast I can talk to someone who finds that annoying plastic thingy just as annoying!!! Has anyone been able to locate the correct software to sync mail to this little baby?
ZIRE M150 USER unregistered	posted 09-06-2004 10:07 PM I was wondering if one could make the Zire m150 do WiFi using that Sync USB port? Since there is not that many cheap alternatives, I was wondering if I could use a USB WiFi (Dongle)Adapter plugged into 'USB A Female to A Female Adapter' and plugged into the USB Sync Cable that comes with the m150. WiFi software for Zire would be needed. IS THAT DOABLE??
ZIRE M150 USER unregistered	posted 09-06-2004 10:14 PM As to the battery issue the Battery used should be Li-Ion Polymer and if you know what you are doing you might be able to extract it from the body and add new ones. May require som soldering skills, too. Check out Li-polymer or Li-poly on ebay or any RC shop thay sell battery cells like that. Make sure that you get same size(length, width, thickness),although the mAh will vary. Remember more mAh = more life.
Woldy unregistered	posted 01-12-2005 05:52 AM Frustrated in my search for M150 Zire downloadable sync software on the web. Does anyone know a good website to access this software. I am desparate need to back up my data but can't find the disc. Please help me. Thanks.
kiwifish unregistered	posted 04-01-2005 12:02 AM I need a power cord from the electric outlet to the Zire m150. Do you have one that I can buy? Thank you spietrina@yahoo.com

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