PalmOne Zire 21 Handheld

by Palm

Product Details

Product Manual [2.58mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 10 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000CBJ8J
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,634 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #42 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > PDAs, Handhelds & Accessories > PDAs & Handhelds
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 29, 2003

Product Description

Palm Zire 21 Handheld offers an easy and affordable way to balance the demands of your busy life. Keep all your important information--from appointments to addresses to notes--at your fingertips. Enter information on your handheld then transfer and back it up to your computer so your information is always safe and secure. 160 x 160 pixel display; 4-bit Grayscale Address and Date Book functions for contacts and schedules Quick Find Convenient scroll up and down 4.4 H x 2.9 W x 0.6 D Unit Weighs 3.8 ounces

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

429 of 451 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You'll be cursing the small, dim screen..., October 12, 2003

By 

Steven Dennis (Reston, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PalmOne Zire 21 Handheld (Office Product)

The new Zire Palm 21 is essentially an updated version of the original Zire, itself an update of the lowly m100, with the following changes:
* 8MB of Ram (still not upgradeable) vs. hobbled 2MB.
* A better battery.
* A slightly better processor. (This is largely irrelevant, because most Palm functions are nearly instantaneous anyway).

All of the other limitations of the original Zire still exist, chief among them the small, dim dark-grey on light-grey (so very 1979) screen and the utter lack of expandability.
Believe me, screen size matters when you are pointing and clicking on a tiny keyboard on your Palm. This is by far the smallest, dimmest screen you can buy.
The 8MB allows for only relatively basic address and scheduling functions, but is a big improvement from 2MB.
It's intended to be a starter model with limitations that will have you thirsting to upgrade, and often comes free with new computers.
The three PALM programs that I consider essential would come close to overwhelming this puppy. They are: Mapopolis (a mapping program from Mapopopolis.com with keyword-searchable street maps), Avantgo (an online news service that downloads articles to your palm) and Vindigo (a restaurant, movie and city guide).
To me, this model is only for those misguided and poor folks who would have bought the now-discontinued original Zire model but want 8MB. There are far better models out there for only a few more bucks. You can find some of the excellent Handspring Visor or Palm's own Vx/m500/m515 models used for far cheaper, which feature larger, brighter grey screens and 8 MB. Sony's B/W CLIE line of Palm OS handhelds are also better, for a few more bucks.
If you can afford it, I'd definitely trade up to the Tungsten E -- which features 32MB, a brilliant hi-res color screen, expandability, MP3 and a slick form factor. It costs twice as much and is worth every penny.

Here's a basic PALM product guide:

Zire/Zire 21/Palm m100: Bottom of the line. Designed to suck you in but leave you wanting more. Think of this as the Chevy Chevette of Palms. Plagued by skimpy, dim screens.
Palm m505: Discontinued color model features horrible washed out color screen. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Palm TUNGSTEN TE: The new standard for low-priced, high-value color palms. Features 320x320 brilliant screen, 32MB Ram, MP3 capability with headphone jack, high quality battery and slick, shirt-pocketable form factor.
Palm Zire 71: Excellent, but expensive model features a low-res digital camera that is Okay only for small web page photos or email.
Tungsten T2: Expensive model features drop down graffiti screen. Not worth the extra cash over the TE, unless you need/want Bluetooth.
Tungsten T3: Longer, 320x480 screen. Otherwise, similar to T2. Expensive.

For competitors, check out the Handspring Treo models, which feature thumbpads and a small form factor (some with phones).
But I've heard Sony's customer service is weak compared to Palm's easy-as-pie returns. These things do break from time to time, so keep that in mind.

Also compare to PocketPCs, which have started to come down into the two-hundred smacker price range, but still can't beat Palm's small form factor and ease of use...

If you haven't bought a Palm yet, now's a great time to try it. It's basically an extension and backup for your brain, and who doesn't need that?

Enjoy!

125 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars basic entry-level Palm is a good value, October 7, 2003

By 

jemaerca (River Forest, IL, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PalmOne Zire 21 Handheld (Office Product)

the zire 21 is palm's new entry-level handheld has more memory and a faster processor than its predecessor. if your expectations of the zire 21 are in line with it's low price, you won't be disappointed.

pros:
- very good value - under a hundred bucks for a solid (if basic) PDA.
- runs Palm's latest OS 5.2.
- 8MB of memory instead of just 2MB in the old Zire - 8MP is plenty for the intended use of this PDA.
- faster processor than original Zire
- great battery life.
- pocketable at 4.4 x 2.9 x 0.6 weighing 3.8oz.
- feels solid.
- USB support.

cons:
- no backlight.
- no expansion capability.
- 160x160 monochrome screen.
- only the older Address Book and Schedule apps are included rather than the new, more full-featured Contact and Calendar programs that ship with Palm's latest tungsten models.
- no multimedia support.

if you are looking for a basic PDA (mainly to-do lists, contacts, and calendar) at a good price, consider the zire 21. it's a good value and will get the job done for you. just don't expect all the multimedia bells and whistles that come with a lot of the PDAs sold today.

the zire 21 will face competition from sony's clié SJ20. the sony has a better monochrome display, 16MB of RAM, and a memory stick slot. but the sony is also more expensive. between the two, i'd go with the zire 21 myself.

if you have extra cash and want more capabilities, consider palm's tungsten E. it has a color, hi-res screen, a SD slot, MP3 and multimedia support, and a much better software bundle.

i hope this helps you with your purchasing decision. peace.

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent choice as a first PDA, December 26, 2003

By 

Carlos Santiago (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PalmOne Zire 21 Handheld (Office Product)

I purchased this Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) as a christmas gift for my wife. This is not the most advanced, or feature-rich PDA on the market, but I wouldn't buy an HP iPAQ 5555 to my wife just because it's better.
My wife is uninitiaded in the PDA arena, and I couldn't overwhelm her with dozens of features she, as a newbie would never use. The Zire 21 has all the basic capabilities for someone to get organized; Address Book, Calendar, Notes, you can even jot down handwritten notes using the Zire as a paper notepad. It's small, thin, light, fits perfectly almost anywhere and it does the job, period. Another plus is the internal battery, no need to buy AAAs or AAs anymore, there's a battery charger included and it only takes 2-3 hours to recharge completely.

A CD is also included; it has the Palm Desktop software and the necessary drivers for the PC (or Mac) operating system to recognize the palm when you connect it using the USB cable. This software allows you to:

1- Enter the data on the PC instead of the PDA.
2- Transfer data between the PC and the PDA and synchronize both
3- It makes your PC act as a backup repository for your data. If for some reason your Palm data is erased, you may recover by re-sycnhronizing with the PC data.
4- It allows you to install 3rd party software that you download from the Internet.

You don't need to have a PC or Mac to use the Zire, but it is strongly recommended to have one.

I think the Palm Zire has the best value for the price, it's simple to operate and it looks nice (and this sentence rhymes).

Good purchase