My birthday is coming up and I think I’d like a new Palm. The one I’ve got is a hand-me-down from my geeky, gadgety husband. He has a Treo now (which I would also like, but I really can’t justify the expense for little old me and my fairly puny cell-phone and PDA needs).
The old thing I have 's fine, really – I don’t demand a lot of it. I mostly use the calendar and note features, and I really enjoy syncing with the desktop.
But I do hate the fact that it must be supplied with batteries. As I said, it’s old. I don’t even know what version it is; it says TRCpro at the top and it’s got a black-and-white screen.
I see by looking at the Palm web site there is somethign called the Z22. It looks very nice – color screen, all the features that I use, etc. It’s listed at $99, and I can find it online was as cheap as $88.
My question is – is this the best the handheld world has to offer. Mostly in terms of reliability. I have no need of thousands of fancy-schmancy bells and whistles that I’ll never use. I mainly want to be able to reacharge it, and have it be lighter-weight than the old thing I use now.
Of course my husband knows all about these things and can help me make an informed choice. I’d just enjoy reading about Dopers’ personal experiences and advice with PDAs.
I just bought a Z22 about a month ago, during our state’s recent tax-free weekend. I like mine lots. I replaced my ancient Handspring Visor with it. The only thing I miss from the Visor is that the screen on it was larger. The Z22 overall is smaller and lighter than it was, so of course the screen is smaller too.
You should plan on getting a case for your Z22 if you decide to buy one; my old Visor had a cover that you would take off and clip to the back while you were using it. The Z22 has no such thing, so if you plan on keeping it in your purse, you’ll need to protect the screen somehow. The Z22 came with a light sheet of stick-on plastic you can put on the screen itself to protect it from the stylus if you want that. I’ve found that it makes the screen less sensitive though and I never had trouble with the Visor’s screen scratching much at all despite having it for a looong time, so I may remove it. I bought an Air Case for it that it snaps into. The case has a flip-open cover, which is a bit more awkward than the old Visor cover, but I’m used to it now.
The color screen is nice and bright and everything else about it works as well or better than the Visor - and it does have the advantage of a rechargeable battery. Since I’ve only had mine a little over a month I’ve not had to charge it yet, but so far so good.
The Z22 is decent as a starter unit. It’s a colour, low-res (160x160) screen much like those old M100-series models (which I assume you have due to the need for batteries) and it does everything a basic Palm should, with the exception of having only two applicartion buttons instead of the traditional four. It also uses a DTSN LCD screen, which means it tends to ghost and bleed – in ordinary terms, the display will appear kind of slow. Functionally though it’s the famous PalmOS under the hood, so it does everything you expect it should.
I’ve been through about 6 Palms (currently with a Treo) so if you have questions feel free to ask. I’m also fairly well-versed in PocketPC (have one of those, too. I’m a gadget geek. :))
I would strongly reccommend keeping the screen protector on, or at least getting a decent one. Though light use probably won’t damage a naked screen, at least not for a good while, it will eventually, so why take the chance of damaging the only screen you’ve got? Better to use a disposable. I’d reccommend Boxwave’s ClearVue Crystal, or the anti-glare variant. They’re much thicker but (counter-intuitively) seem to improve screen sensitivity. I have one on my Treo and it’s surprisingly great. Is also resuable and washable, so while expensive at the outset ($12 for one) it’ll probably last as long as the unit.
I’ll also second a case for it. I made the mistake of not keeping my first Palm (a Vx) in a case. It paid the ultimate price for my negligence, sadly. Get a nice leather case. They protect from scratch damage and they have enough give to cushion from falls, too. Hard cases I find too awkward, uncomfortable, and impact with the ground (even with a neoprene lining) will transmit most of the shock to the unit. Leather on the other hand will absorb most of it.
Is there any way I can talk you into getting a T/X? I really love mine. (get the hardcase) You can update your Avantgo and email on the fly anywhere there’s WiFi for free and there’s no huge monthly data charge like a Treo has.
Maybe the Z22 is just as good, but I’m really happy with my T/X…
I had a T5 prior to my Treo. I loved it initially, but found that there were problems with it, most of which seemed to center around the NVFS (non-volatile file system). Besides slowing down the system every time it had to clear the dbcache, it also brought up major issues with hacks like UDMH (an extended memory hack that allows the use of memory outside the heap as main memory to load programs larger than would normally fit in the main heap). Although the faster processor and larger screen were excellent I almost wished I had my Zire72 back. I considered the T|X briefly, but figured all it really gave was WiFi and a slower processor in a charcoal shell, so I gave up on the idea.
If anything the T5 was what made me finally give it up in favour of a Dell Axim X50v (which I love to bits despite WM2003’s flaws).
I should have mentioned in my earlier post that I am indeed a light user - even if I do nothing to protect the screen from the stylus, it’d take ages for scratches to show up. I bought my Visor when they first came out in the later half of 1999 used it up until last month; the screen on it is only lightly scratched in a couple places in the lower corner where you enter characters. I pretty much just use the Palm to keep shopping lists and an address book, and I use the PC software to do almost all the editing on those. I’m sure the screen would get scratched much quicker if I was using it all day long or something though.
So far all I’ve managed to drop is the stylus - last week I dropped it into a crate of canteloupes at the grocery store (much fun ensued getting it back too :smack: ). What I really need is a leash for the stylus.
I’m a pretty heavy user. I learned the damage that could be done to the screen within 2 months of having bought my first one (which was never used with a screen protector) so I’ve used protectors ever since. One of the Fellowes-type disposable protectors would usually last be 4-6 months before they were a little too scratched up to maintain comfortable viewing.
The thick Boxwave protector I have on my Treo right now looks extremely hardy though, so it’ll probably last ages. Mind you, there’s no DIA on the Treo so you tend to use the stylus a lot less, too.
Amazingly I’ve only ever lost one stylus, and that was for my T|5 last year. I’ve dropped them dozens of times but I always managed to realize when I dropped them and retrieve them quickly. I’ve no idea what happened to the one I lost though. That one managed a clean getaway.
Oh you guys are wonderful, but I don’t know what Mindfield is saying half the time.
As for the good count’s suggestion – I don’t want email on my PDA, so that’s a moot point for me. I seem to be much the same sort of stylus-in-the-canteloupes type of user that romansperson is. Address book, calendar, memos (for grocery lists) and that forms the bulk of my use. I use the calendar to schedule appointments for not only myself by for all three of my children and sometimes my husband if he’ll beam 'em to me.
So this is what I mean about bells and whistles. The only thing I’ve read that concerns me is this from mindfield: “It also uses a DTSN LCD screen, which means it tends to ghost and bleed – in ordinary terms, the display will appear kind of slow. Functionally though it’s the famous PalmOS under the hood, so it does everything you expect it should.”
Ghost and bleed? Do you mean the picture is fuzzy and indistinct? I don’t want that.
Also, I have a leather case for the one I’m using now. I guess I’m a pretty light user because the screen doesn’t have any scratches – but I’m familiar with the protective plastic because Husband has one for his Treo. (He also has a pack of replacement styluses, for the inevitable losses.)
I can’t speak for Mindfield, obviously, but my Z22 screen is just fine - bright, sharp, etc. You can also adjust the screen brightness and the color schemes on it to suit.
In general, ghosting and bleeding have been problems associated with LCD screens that are under heavy use - ghosting refers to streaks being left behind fast-moving objects. Bleeding can mean a couple different things - backlight bleeding on an LCD screen refers to a halo of light extending from the top and bottom or the corners when the screen is displaying a large dark background or image. I’d imagine that neither would be a problem for you considering the way you intend to use your device. These kinds of things are much more of a concern when it comes to larger computer monitors and television sets.
It’s probably not as bad as the terms make it sound. In broken-down terms:
DSTN: A type of “passive” LCD screen that was in use for most of the original laptop screens back in the day, as well as most of the earliest PDAs. The down side is the ghosting (see next point), but the upshot is that DSTN screens don’t need as much power to operate so they make the most use out of your battery life.
Ghosting: The term used to describe the afterimage most commonly associated with passive LCD screens. The easiest way to describe it is if, for example, you switch from an all-white to an all-black screen, the passive LCD pixels will take a little time to make the switch from white to black, resulting in what looks more like a fade from one into the other, rather than an instantaneous switch. It is also noticeable on moving objects, which appear to leave a ghostly trail behind them.
The actual image display itself is just fine – images will appear relatively crisp and clear. It is only with moving objects or screen transitions that the effects of ghosting would be noticeable. For most people it will probably never bother them or matter very much because it isn’t particularly distracting if all you’re doing is entering and checking information occasionally. It’s only for power geeks like me that use their PDAs for watching movies or playing games or other things in addition to actually using it for, y’know, important stuff, that it’s a nuisance.
I have a Zire 21 which was the cheapest available Palm when my Visor died unexpectedly. Probably could have gotten a better deal if I’d looked online, but I wasn’t willing to live more than a day without a PDA. It’s got a black & white display, so it’s lower tech than what you’re looking at, but I couldn’t justify spending more just for color when there’s nothing I use it for that actually requires color.
The difference I really appreciate between the Zire and the Visor is the lack of batteries. Feels lots less wasteful.
Thanks again. But … guess what? Cingular has come down to $199 on the Treo. I might be able to get one after all! My current plan isn’t up until December, though, and my birthday’s in October. Can I wait a whole two months?
I love my Treo. Since switching to a PPC for my primary PDA, I’ve found that since I only rely on my Palm mostly for informational purposes it performs in exemplary fashion. And the fact that it’s a Palm and a phone makes the whole package worthwhile. The keyboard in particular makes data entry so much easier and quicker.
I suggest, though, that if you get the Treo, look into purchasing a copy of Butler. It adds features most dedicated phones already contain but the Treo lacks (missed call/text message/voicemail alerts, for example) and also adds a bunch of other really handy features that eliminate the need for several other separate apps (such as Volume Care and TreoAlert) It’s one of the few utilitarian apps whose price I’ve felt was well justified and worth every penny. (No, I’m not affiliated with Hobbyist in anyway, I just really like the app. :))
