PalmOne Zire 21 Handheld

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


Great option for the price   October 20, 2003
35 out of 40 found this review helpful

I've been wanting to switch over to a PDA for last couple months basically to get rid of the bulk & the hassle of carrying around a paper planner. When this product was released I knew it was exactly what I needed, the original Zire lacked the memory I wanted to be able to install some 3rd party software, such as games. With this new model I have more than enough room for a few games to play in between classes as well as the standard datebook & address software.

I basically use my Zire 21 to keep track of appointments, homework, and telephone numbers, but the expense software included seems like a great program if you are interested in keeping track of that information on your Palm.

Overall this is perfect for organizing my sometimes hectic college career and I expect once I graduate it will be just as helpful in keeping my organinzed and on time.

The only feature I think would be a nice addition would be a backlight. The screen is easy to view in normal and even some low light, but in the dark is useless. A backlight would ensure it would be viewable at all times. I primarily use mine during the day in light conditions though, so this isn't really a problem, but I can see some people using a backlight frequently.


An excellent handheld   January 13, 2005
Jesse Bye (California)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

I read the reviews on Amazon and several other places before deciding to risk the bad reviews and buy this PDA. I was not dissapointed at all. For my purposes, it works great. I did not find the screen too small or dim, even though my primary use for it is reading eBooks. 8MB of RAM is plenty for me, since I can hold a few good-sized books plus some other software. I don't really need expansion, since I don't expect to play MP3s or hold the atlas and encyclopediae in my handheld. If you want to do that, then buy something better for a lot more money. However, if you want to read eBooks and you don't have bad eyesight, then get the Zire 21. I also use it for graphing functions in my math classes, and it works much faster than my dedicated graphing calculator does. I personally think that this handheld is underrated. I have had absolutely no problems with it since I purchased it several months ago, unlike people who had problems with resetting. I think that is a specific problem to the handheld only when it is near certain cell phones, and I don't use or own a cell phone, so I don't experience that problem. Battery life is excellent, and I can usually get by charging the battery for about 30 minutes once a week if I use it about 30-40 minutes a day. So I really have no big complaints.

**Update**: I still have my Zire, and after about 5 months of use, it is still working perfectly. Never died, never reset, and no scratches on the screen! Either people are using it wrong, or there was a defective set made by Palm, of which mine was not part.


Basic handheld does it's job well   January 11, 2005
S. Sen (Carrollton, TX United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

It has almost all the applications and functions that any more expensive handheld has. Surely, lack of backlight is a shortcoming, but as a basic handheld one cannot expect everything I guess. Possibly a price of ~$80 would have been appropriate. I use it with avantgo to regularly download maps,weather,news. One thing I could not make it do is infra-red-ing a 'category' of all addresses together to another device. It does it's job decently otherwise.


New Palm Pilot   March 16, 2009
Merwyn Garbini
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I lost my old palm pilot and was very glad to get another one to replace it. I was having trouble getting it to hot-sync to my computer. I
e-mailed the address giving me and I was helped to solve the problem by a very patience person I give him a 10 for helping me. I am very happy with the product.