Many questions from a potential new Zod buyer

[Dr.J]

Hi Zod users -

recently I have been unexcited about Palm offerings, and then came across the Zodiac site (again) and had a good second look. Here's a short PDA history of me, and a few questions about the Zod & what it does. I appreciate & thank you-all for any replies that can help me out:

My PDA history:

Apple Newton 120 -> Palm Pilot Pro -> Palm IIIc -> Sony NR70v (current PDA) -> playing with an old Newton 2100 for fun (also kind of current PDA)

Questions:

1. Is the Zod a solidly built unit? Will it last?
2. How's the screen?
3. I read the thread where people listed apps that work just fine. What about AvantGo? Documents to Go? Splash (photo/I.D.), TealPhone, Handbase, JackFlash, YiShow?
4. Does the Palm bluetooth keyboard add any functionality to using it as a ultraportable word processor?
5. Any of the so-called handwriting engines for Palm OS5 work on it? (My Newton snobbery might show thru here :D )
6. And how about the games? I don't need a PSP-type of device, but I still enjoy a good game.
7. Multimedia - how's the mp3 playback? How do photos look?
8. Any other info you might think would help?

I am at the point where I am disappointed with the 2100's windows links-up ability (but the handwriting is still the best) and the Sony NR70v is slowly dying...

Thanks again,

Paul
5.

[JohnKes]

See:
http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?p=790096&posted=1#post790096

Games play fine. 480x320, 65k colors is pretty good.
Photos look good.
MP3s sound good.
Graffiti2 is a bummer.

What would be your top 5 uses for this? Mine are (in order):
calendar - DateBook
data storage - AddressBook, YAPS (password)
games
kinoma movie clips
MP3

works for me. :)

[Kevin Flansburg]

1. It has lasted very well with me, I have also had a leather case, but have not always used it.
2. I like the screen it is very bright and i like it.
3. I have it runing with advant go but i found updating to be slow, about 10 min.
have not tried others
4. I have an infared keyboard and I like, it I use it to take notes in class until i got laptop, I feel that it is very nice.
5. I like the graphiti 2 it works well sometimes i canot get the right sybol but mostly that is because i remember the wrond symbol, theyre not unreasonalble.
I loce stuntcar extreme, comes free with. I like spy hunter and deadalus 3d. also, other games look well build but i am either not interested in the topic or they are not appropriat for my age (13) I feel that they can be comprible to PSP even if you dont need that. also, it can support most of the games you have, I dont say all because there is no garuntedd but I have not foundy any bad ones yet.
7. THe MP#'s are wonderful quality, i use MM PLayer so are the photos, good full screen.
8. I upgraded form NX70V and I fell that it is much better once i got camera and wif.

[Dr.J]

I saw the thread you listed - still don't see anyone using avantgo? Will it fly on the Zod?

My top 5 uses would be/are:

1. datebook
2. addresses
3. mp3
4. data (mainly wordprocessing, file access, client databases etc - still trying for paperless...)
5. games
(6. - I'd anticipate using it for more email/wireless etc if I had the capability)

Thanks,

Paul

[JohnKes]

Me too - someday I'll get the WiFi card and do more surfing and e-mail. Yahoo Mail works with the Tapwave Web browser and Bluetooth. Unfortunately something went wrong with my WinXP Internet Connection Sharing :(

I guess they finally fixed AvantGo to make it work on a Z:
http://www.tapland.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3473&highlight=avantgo
I'll have to try it some time.

[jetro]

Go ahead and make the switch, im glad I did :)

my pda history: handspring visor->T665->nr70->zire 71->tapwave zodiac

my answers to your Qs:
1. Build is excellent. I dare say it's better than the T5 and should rival the older Ts (e.g. T, T2, T3) in other words, when the Tungsten Ts are made of metal
2. Screen rivals that of CLIEs, meaning its one of THE best
3. All works except Jackflash
4. i tried 1 bluetooth keyboard and it works (sorry cant remember what brand) I settled for a IR keyboard though. The reason is that you cant use (at least not yet) both bluetooth and wifi at the same time.
5. well.. graffiti anywhere works (if that's what you mean)
6. simply, this is the BEST palm OS device for games. Stuntcar, warfare, hellfire.. duke nukem... never played better in any device but the zod
7. Multimedia rivals that of CLIEs, again.. meaning, its the best. Yamaha sound engine takes care of excellent sound, the georgeous screen is outstanding when viewing photos. the default photo viewer and mp3 player is quite good and does its job well.. but i am using resco viewer and pocket tunes as my photo viewer and mp3/wma/ogg/wav player respectively...and oh kinoma for video... the zods multimedia wont dissappoint.
8. since the wifi driver came out, the zod has been a pocket surfing/chatting tool for me. the screen of the zodiac seems perfect for web surfing when im too lazy to open my laptop... now i can check my email before i sleep and read some news.. i hook up an IR keyboard and off i go chatting with verichat. btw, i am using sandisk wifi card with ver 2.1 (beta) zodiac wifi driver.

you will never go wrong with the zodiac.. sure its not perfect. but i believe you can do so much with this PDA than any other (more fun and easier too) :)

[archangel]

I was a big fan of the Sony Clie's for the multimedia features so the Zodiac has been a thrill to own for me. I haven't seen the perfect PDA on the market yet, but the Zod has come pretty close. Getting Wi-Fi support helped a lot, but it is a great PDA all the way around.

[ballistic]

>1. Is the Zod a solidly built unit? Will it last?

Anodized aluminum body, much more sturdy than my previous PDA, the NX70V. No twist & flip mechanism to losen/break over time.

>2. How's the screen?

On par with the NX70V, not as bright as the NX80V. Get a good screen protector like the Martin Fields Overlays will help keep it bright.

>3. I read the thread where people listed apps that work just fine. What
>about AvantGo? Documents to Go? Splash (photo/I.D.), TealPhone,
>Handbase, JackFlash, YiShow?

I'm not an AvantGo fan/user, I use Handstory and Plucker/Sunrise instead, much better & more flexible IMO, they aren't "walled gardens" like AvantGo.

>4. Does the Palm bluetooth keyboard add any functionality to using it as a
>ultraportable word processor?

I don't recommend the BT keyboard because if you want to use Wi-Fi or a BT phone for internet connectivity, you won't be able to use the BT keyboard at the same time. The Wi-Fi and BT radios can't be on at the same time (an OS5 limitation), and you can't pair with a phone while using the BT keyboard.

5. Any of the so-called handwriting engines for Palm OS5 work on it? (My Newton snobbery might show thru here :D )

I hear you there, I own a MP2100 (note my avatar as an homage to the Newton ;)) . There are a few programs like Tealscript that work fine on the Zodiac, but alas, Decuma doest not :(.

>6. And how about the games? I don't need a PSP-type of device, but I still
>enjoy a good game.
>7. Multimedia - how's the mp3 playback? How do photos look?

Multimedia on par with or better IMO than all US model Clies. Gaming is the best of any Palm OS device. Photos look great and MP3s sound good with a quality set of earbuds and the stock music player. Some people have mentioned poor sound quality in Pocket Tunes at higher volumes.

>I am at the point where I am disappointed with the 2100's windows links-up
>ability (but the handwriting is still the best) and the Sony NR70v is slowly >dying...

That's the Newton's weakest link (pun intended), but once I have the apps I need on my Newton along with my Buffulo Wi-Fi card running Hiroshi's Wi-Fi driver, I rarely find the need to connect to a computer.

http://photos5.flickr.com/6462533_9c1134cbd1_t.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/briang/6462533/)

Hope this helps.

[Dr.J]

Thanks to everyone who replied. The 2100/Zod picture was especally helpful. I'd almost go as far as saying that the Zod could have been the (non-Windows-based) replacement for the 2100....