Palm Zire 72 Kicks it up a notch!
Written: May 21 '04 (Updated May 23 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sleek design, 1.3MP camera, Great speakers, 312Mhz processor
Cons: Poorly placed power switch, lack of hotsync cradle, exposed camera lens
The Bottom Line: Excellent unit with great power and features! 1.3 MP camera, great sound capability and a new sleek design. Overall a fantastic choice at a good price point
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| kenfused's Full Review: palmOne Zire 72 Handheld |
The Palm PalmOne Zire 72 is a worthy evolutionary replacement for the class redefining Palm Zire 71. The Zire 72 builds on the great features of the Zire 71 and adds some great new features. At the same starting MSRP, the Zire 72 has a few dramatic additions. Featurewise, the Zire 72 now includes a 1.3 MP digital camera, digital voice recorder, 32MB of built in RAM, and a sleek new design.
On the outside, the main difference between the Zire 72 and the Zire 71 is the loss of the sliding clamshell design for the digital camera. While this added to the coolness factor of the original Zire 71, it added additional bulk and weight to the unit. The other noticeable change is the elimination of the 5 way controller-joystick. Now, the updated 5 way controller is similar to the Palm Tungsten E design. Also on the Left edge is a new voice recorder button. The top sports the SD card slot (now protected by a spring loaded dust cover--nice touch!), and the small power switch and headphone jack. On the back side is the digital camera lens. It is fully exposed (like on many new cellphones) and has no cover like the Sony Clie TH55. The new Blue rubberized edge provides a great non-slip texture to the unit. The back of the unit also sports a raw metal back portion with small holes which houses the newer, more powerful speakers. The 72 is also noticeably lighter than the 71. Also, the tapered design of the back of the unit gives it a more sleek design than the old Zire 71.
On the inside, you will notice immediately the new version of the Palm OS. The Contacts, Datebook, Tasks, classic applications are all updated, offering new features. The contacts allows for the addition of a photo with each contact, as well as many more custom fields. All the apps take advantage of the newer Intel PXA270 processor, running at a reported 312 Mhz. The speed bump is noticeable, especially if upgrading from an older Palm OS 4 unit. Also included are new bluetooth connection utilities, VoiceMemo application, Image capture/Movie capture application, and RealPlayer for MP3 playback.
The unit was easy to use and set up, like other palm PDAs. The screen was very bright, probably even superior to the already fantastic Zire 71 screen. Th resolution is again 320x320pixels and is a transreflective TFT display. New in the System prefs is a way to customize the colors of the windows and dialog boxes. This is a great little way to customize your handheld.
The most noticeable thing you will notice on setup is the glaring lack of the signature palm cradle! Instead there is a mini-USB jack for hotsync functions as well as a spot fo the AC adapter to plug in. For a handheld of this price, Palm certainly should have included the palm universal connector and a nice cradle. The cable just isn't the same. On the plus side, at least the AC adapter is a travel adapter as well, without the need to lug the cradle around when away from home.
The camera is better than before, taking very adequate pictures in normal to good lighting. The additional pixels are welcome, and the new image capture application is more flexible, including the addition of movie capture. Movie capture quality was fair, but decent for PDA funciton. However, using the capture function is a bit tricky. To capture the pic you can either use two hands, one to trigger the capture button on the screen, or you can push the center button on the 5 way controller. But, be careful, you only click the button, Do not hold it down (like on the Zire 71) because then it doesn't work! The old Zire 71 had the capture button below the unit to take pictures.
The MP3 playback on the Zire 72 is again excellent, and the volume that the unit puts out is noticably higher than the Zire 71. It gets loud! The audio capture utility is handy, and the voice quality is also good. You can arrange the audio notes similar to the Memo application and make different categories to arrange the memos.
The other noteable addition to the unit is Bluetooth capability. I found it difficult to set up the bluetooth capability, and it took about an hour of tinkering to get the hotsync to work properly. I haven't tested the phone connect capability of the Zire 72 yet, but will do so in the future. The advantage of the bluetooth connection is you can hotsync without the USB cable, the downside is that it takes about 10 times as long!
Battery life is less than the previous Zire 71 on informal testing, especially with bluetooth enabled. Probably with average use, it would last about 5-7 days of use.
The Zire 72 is very well designed overall, it has enough power to fit your needs and is a definite welcome step up from the Zire 71. It's only design shortcomings are the lack of a camera lens cover which would keep the lens from getting dusty, the ommission an included hotsync cradle, and a very small power button that is difficult to access. But if you're looking for a 1.3MP camera, a capable and compact unit, this is it!
More Specs:
Dimensions: 4.46 inches by 2.95 inches by 0.67 inches
Weight: 4.8 ounces
Memory: 32MB (24MB actual storage capacity)
Operating System: Palm OS v5.2.8
Processor: 312Mhz Intel PXA270 processor (ARM-based)
Screen: 16-Bit, 320x320 transflective TFT color display with brightness controls. Supports 65,000+ colors
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium Polymer 900mAh battery
Expansion Slot: Supports MultiMediaCard, SD and SDIO expansion cards, sold separately
HotSync Cable: Standard Mini-USB connector
5-way Navigator Button: Access information with just one hand
Stereo Headphone Jack: Accepts standard 3.5mm stereo headphone plug. Headphones not included
Digital Camera: Maximum resolution Photo: 1280 X 960 (1.2 Megapixel); 2X digital zoom Video: 320 X 240 (captured resolution of photos and videos may be lower)
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth 1.1. Communicate wirelessly and share files, photos and more with nearby Bluetooth® enabled devices. (Email and Internet access requires an ISP and a compatible Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, sold separately)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 285
Recommended for: Gadget Lovers - Trendy and Hip
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Epinions.com ID:
kenfused
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
Love consumer electronics and saltwater tropical fish!
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