iggyboy

I am planning to get my 1st PDA this X'mas. I personally preffer Zire71 for it's durability (metal casing) and funtunality (Camera) over TE, but TE is very desireable, in the sense of look (nicer) and size (slimmer). Before getting one i like to know:

1. What is the built in RAM used for in the PDA? is it a Permenent storage for program files (like Harddisk in PC) or temporary storage for program execution by CPU (like RAM in PC).

2. Let say if i buy an external SD 64MByte card for Zire71, and comparing with TE without external memory, is that means Zire71 has higher RAM than TE? which means Zire71 exceed the RAM size of TE?

3. Normally PC programs execution are somehow limited by RAM size, is that same to PDA as well, where by to run big program need more RAM. If it's true, can it be upgraded?

4. Zire71 comes with many bundle software, is that possible to install ONLY the OS and the i choose any other program to install. By doing so will i be able to increase the build in RAM size, close to 16MBytes (only with OS alone installed)?

5. Are the OS is upgradable, let say Palm OS5.3 etc?

6. What is ROM used for and how much of it's space being used? Is that possible to flash unused ROM space for other purpose such as program files?

7. What kind of internal battery are Palm using? i mean, is that possible to buy higher capacity from third party and fixit by myself?

8. Is it adviceble to buy Insurance Cover Plan? cos' i read a few thread where by user broke thier palm screen and it's cost more than half the price of a new PDA.


These are my personal finding pros & cons between Zire71 and TE, any comment are welcome:

Zire71 Pros: Camera, Battery life, Cradle, Metal Casing, USC.
Zire71 Cons: Bigger, Heavier, Joystick, Software, Less ROM & RAM

TE Pros: Cheap*, Slim, lighther, More RAM & ROM, Software, D-Pad
TE Cons: Plastic, No Cradle, Easily Scratch (major drawback)

* Actually i don't really find it cheaper at 149 as DAB.uk is offering Zire71 for 199 pound with MP3 Kits which comes with 64MBytes SD Card.

http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=2WBH


Thank you,
IggY

rfox

I'm a brand new Palm Zire 71 owner (also my first PDA) and I absolutely love the thing!

Firstly, the Zire 71 case is all plastic, painted to look like metal. The shiny silver back *looks* slick, but it's very prone to fingerprints. It's also kinda slipperly so you have to be careful not to drop it. But it's very sturdy and well-built.

1. RAM is the storage space on the Palm; like the HD on your PC. Note that the OS takes about 3MB, so there's actually only 13 MB available RAM on the Zire 71.

2. Yeah, you can expand on the built-in RAM with a memory card, but they are pricy, and some apps will not run off the card. Also, accessing the card uses up more battery, though I don't think it's a significant amount.

3. Not sure about the technical specifics on the Palm OS, but most Palm software is very small, so I don't think it's an issue.

4. My Zire 71 came with the OS already installed, along with the basic apps: datebook, address book, calculator, memopad, notepad. It also included a Quick Tour and a graffiti tutorial which are really helpful, but you'll want to delete them afterwards cuz they take up nearly 1MB. Other software like the Palm Reader, Real Player, etc. are on a separate CD you can install yourself if you want them.

5. I don't think you can upgrade the OS, but the Palm site has a couple of essential patches you'll want to install.

6. Don't know about ROM.

7. It's some kind of Lithium battery -- don't know the capacity. It's not replaceable, so you can't change it.

8. I don't buy extended warranty on anything. Never had a need for it and don't foresee a need here. But if you feel safer with it, go ahead.

Also note that the TE does not come with a universal connector. That's useful for attached peripherals like a keyboard, etc. The Zire71 has a faster processor too, but I don't know if there's any kind of noticable performance difference between the 2.
The Zire 71 is bulker than what I'd like, but there's only a 0.7 oz difference between the 2 and I'm surprised how light it is.
I don't care for the joystick, but you get used to it.
The camera is not high quality at only 0.3 megapixels, but it's really handy to have around and it's quite decent enough for web quality images, or if you print them out small.

My first preference would have been the T3 with the virtual writing area that gives a bigger screen and the compact size. It's a sweet little machine, but way out of my price range. The Zire 71 with the camera was my second choice.

I got mine online at $299(US). The free MP3 kit is from Palm, so you can buy the Zire anywhere and send away for the kit to Palm.

Hope that helps.

rfox

Correction: I meant I got mine at $229 -- that's nice discount over the retail price.

iggyboy

rfox, are your Zire71 very prone to scratch like Tungsten E?

Galley

I use Zlauncher's "Move to card" feature to save space in the main RAM. Zlauncher copies the file and all of its related databases to the card, and then creates a shortcut in RAM. It does take a second or two to launch the program when it resides on the card, but then you have virtually unlimited space.
Keep an eye on sales at CompUSA, You can often get 256MB Lexar SD cards for $60. You should AVOID cards made by SanDisk.

Jaap Fresco

ROM is used for the operating system and the default apps. On the Tungsten T-series you can use a programma called JackFlash (www.brayder.com) to utilize the ROM that is empty.

However, I do not know if the Zire 71 has that kind of ROM.

Sincerely,

Jaap

rolando

Unless you really want that camera, I'd go with the TE at about $100 less than the Zire 71.

A. You won't need the extra RAM now, but you will down the road. With 32 MBytes, it'll be a long, long time before you have to worry.

B. If you're going to play MP3s, the sound system on the TE is of a higher quality and louder.

C. It comes with Desktop to Go 6 for Word, Excel, etc.

D. Better battery life (or so I hear...).

Both are painted plastic. The TE is a bit slimmer.

While the TE does not have the universal connector, that shouldn't really matter for a first time PDA user, as you don't have peripherals left over from your last PDA to connect to. Plus, the peripheral you're most likely to get is a keyboard. The new IR keyboard would be fine.

Rolando

__________________
"Like I said, Evil never wins!" -- Buzz Lightyear

rfox

Iggy, what is prone to scratches? You mean the screen or the case?

The scratches on the screen of any PDA is horrible. That's why so many people buy screen protectors. Mine came with a very thick screen guard similar to the plastic screen guards of other devices like watches to prevent scratches. It fits perfectly over the screen, so I left it on until when I can get some real screen protectors made for it.

If you mean if the case is prone to scratches, I've only had mine for a week. So far it still looks like new but I keep it in the included case most of the time and I handle it really carefully. The blue front looks like it has an extra thick clear coating, so if it does scratch, you probably can't see it. But the solid matte silver back looks like it could reveal any little smudge or scratch. And knowing that the it's only metallic silver painted over plastic, I worry that if I handle it too much, the silver paint might rub off and reveal the plastic beneath it, which is usually black or beige color in similar metal-painted objects.

Anyone have any experience with this? Does the silver paint rub off?

maceyr

Correction on #1 & #7.

1. The RAM (Random Access Memory) is very much like the RAM on your PC. It's NOT a physical storage like a hard drive. Like the RAM on the computer, when you turn off the computer, you lose whatever you've stored in RAM. The only difference with the RAM in Palms is that there is still some trickle of electricity to keep your storage in the Palm RAM even when you "turn it off". That's why it's important to keep your Palm fully charged at all times. If you completely drain the battery, you could lose all data stored on RAM.

As for the expansion card, Secure Digital, you can obviously tell that it is a physical storage, very much like the 1.44MB floppy or other external storage of the computer. That's why if you take the SD card out without any electricity powering it, you can still store the data since the data is physically written on the card.

7. The LIon battery is replaceable.

http://www.palmbattery.com/

Since LIon doesn't suffer from memory effects like NiCad or NiMh batteries, you can keep charging it constantly without worrying about overcharging it. Try to keep it charged as much as possible.

maceyr

#1 & #7 has already been answered in my last post to correct rfox.

#2. Because the sd card ISN'T RAM, but an expansion card, or an external storage, the Zire 71 doesn't have more RAM. Some programs require to be loaded in RAM to run. Loading the program on the expansion SD card won't work since it's not RAM. Currently, you can't add more RAM on the Zire 71, although some places can add more RAM for older Palm Pilots. That's why RAM is such a big deal.

#3. Answered in #2

#4. To start off, fresh from the box, you only have 13MB RAM that is useable (as stated in the specs by PalmOne). If you only install the CD1 from your installation CDs, you would only install the Palm Desktop, hotsync and essential software required to connect and sync the Palm with your computer. You could opt to not install any of the programs in CD2 since they are the Adoble Acrobat, RealOne player, Audible audio book, etc and only install software you want to maximize your RAM. Or, as I mentioned before, you could try to load and install the programs on the expansion card and see if you can run it from that. Some programs may not work since they require to be loaded in RAM.

#5. The OS is not upgradeable as PalmOne has stated before and many other website with reviews on the Zire 71 have mentioned. Should there be critical updates to the OS5 for compatibility, PalmOne may provide updates, but the OS is currently not upgradeable.

#6. The only way to access ROM is via a program called JackFlash. But, if you bought the Zire 71 from the US or Canada, you most likely bought the US version of the Zire 71 which DOES NOT have flashable ROM. The multilanguage versions of Zire 71 has flash ROM. You could try to load JackFlash and see if you have any flash ROM.

#8. It all depends on you. Some people think extended warranties are great. Do you have a tendency to break stuff? If so, you might want to go for it. Or, if you have a credit card that has an extended warranty coverage for free, you can just take advantage of it. It all depends on whether you wish to get a peace of mind. But, always read the fine print because there may be stipulations on the extended warranty policy which may limit your coverage.

As for the comparison between the E and Zire 71, it really depends on whether you want the camera more or the RAM more.

Also, if you wish to add accessories to your Palm, with the E, since it doesn't have a universal connector (where a lot of accessories and add ons connect to), you will be limited with regards to accessories compatibility. This includes the Palm modem, keyboard, etc.

rfox

Whoa, thanks for heads up on replacing the battery! I will certainly bookmark the site in case I need a new one. It should be noted, however, that opening up "unreplaceable" battery Palms voids the warrenty.

And thanks for the technical clarifications, as I've only been researching the Palms the last couple weeks and just got my first one this week. I was surprised to find that you can't directly access the file structure on the Palm the way you can with any other kind of drive. People have recommended FileZ and I just loaded that last night. I haven't carefully gone through the whole program, but I like the numerical battery meter. I haven't seen any kind of visual battery meter on any laptop to be very accurate of the actual amount of remaining battery amount.

Iggy, as for deciding between the Zire71 or TE, it depends on what you want vs. cost. I don't need a digital datebook or address book, so I never really had a need for a PDA. But I spend a lot of time commuting on the train and I got tired of printing out stuff and lugging books around, so I wanted 1) an ebook reader 2) a handheld gaming device 3) music player--basically something that will keep me entertained during my off-time. I initially wanted a Pocket PC mainly cuz of the larger screen and more features. But the fuller featured ones were more than what I wanted to pay for. I found Palms a more mature platform: been around longer to work out the bugs, more software, more support, better backward compatibilty, etc. I quickly dismissed the Sony PDA cuz they only take memory sticks which are good only on Sony devices, and I really like the T3's expanded display but it was too costly. The mini-cam on the Zire 71 was just handy additon to have.