Palm Z22 Handheld
by PALM
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Our Price: $179.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $30.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Palm Z22 Handheld
Customer Review: A PDA for those who want a PDA.
Summary: 4 Stars
This PDA doesn't have a camera, an mp3 player, high-end video games, or a cell phone on it. And that doesn't bother me much, because I already have all of those items, and they do just fine. I needed something to keep my day organized, and this -$100 beauty was just what I needed to accomplish that.
This was the first time I have owned a PDA, and I was impressed by how easy it was to use. I consider myself a fairly technology-savvy individual, but I still like being able to get where I want to do without going through a myriad of submenus.
The small size allows it to fit in my front shirt pocket with minimal difficulty. Considering my pants pockets are filled with my iPod, my phone, and my wallet, this was a blessing.
Reading e-books is also quite easy. I found myself in an unexpected waiting period of over an hour, and I had only my PDA. I was able to keep the screen a reasonable distance away from my face without squinting, and the navigation buttons made scrolling through the pages a breeze.
I had to take away half a star for lack of memory expansion. A jump drive is a short-term solution, but it would have been nice to have. It might have added bulk to the device, but I would have paid extra to have that feature.
The other half-star I had to take away was for its near-unreadability in direct sunlight. Granted, most of us are using our PDA's in office environments and not outside under the sun, but I had to adjust the contrast a significant amount to barely read what was on the screen. It might have been the screen protector, but screen protectors are a neccessity with these devices.
Regardless, the price for what it provides cannot be beaten. A good, solid PDA for those who want a PDA.
Customer Review: Slow Speed, Crude Display: A Step Down from Tungsten
Summary: 3 Stars
This is my third Palm product, if you count the short-lived breakaway Handspring as part of the Palm family.
I needed to replace my Tungsten E because the on/off switch failed after 2.5 years (a known weakness in this line), and you can't do a hard reset on a machine without an "on switch."
Anyway, I was feeling disgruntled about having to replace a crappy piece of hardware for $200+ when it had only lasted a couple of years. I purchased the PZ22 because the tariff came in at under $100, and I could stick with the Palm platform.
A year ago I used a PC handheld for a couple of months, and found it slow, awkward and buggy.
I work in medicine, and besides the calendar, memos and contacts, I use my PDA for looking up drug dosages and interactions via ePocrates a dozen times a day. The Z22 is perfectly capable of doing all those tasks, and even has enough room for my ICD-9 coding program left over.
However, I was disppointed when I began using the Z22, because the screen is tiny and has a noticeably lower resolution than my departed Tungsten E. Software loading and page turning is also appreciably slower.
This is definitely a step down from the Tungsten, but it still carries the Palm easy-to-use software and performs the functions I use frequently without problems.
(Incidently, Palm is finally including a decent calculator in the main software package. And, it now makes it easier to sync with Outlook without third party software, something my two-year-old Tungsten promised but could not deliver.)
The bottom line: this looks, feels and performs like the budget machine it is. But if I'm going to carry a gadget built to disposable specs, I'd rather it cost me under $100 than over $200.
Customer Review: Super for keeping you organized!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love, love, love my Z22! I just needed a basic PDA that would keep track of my schedule, contact info, etc. The Z22 is perfect for that! I can make to do lists and check things off as I complete them. I can keep track of addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, and any other information that I need to remember but usually forget. With two children, our schedule can get pretty crazy. In the calendar, you can assign different colors to different people (or however you want to assign them) and with just a quick glance at your calendar, you know who has something scheduled on a certain day. With the Mobile DB program that comes with the Z22, you can make all kinds of lists (it comes with a lot of lists--some that I use and some that I don't). I have a list to keep track of my baby's milestones and one to keep track of things I have loaned out to people. It's a really neat program and you can customize each list to meet your needs. The Z22 also comes with the SplashShopper program, which has different lists, but I use it mostly for the grocery list. It has loads of items pre-programmed in, and you can add your own. You check things off to add them to your "Need" list and then you check them off as you pick them up at the store. It can track prices at multiple stores and it also has a place to check if you have a coupon (so you don't forget it)! You can also beam your shopping list to someone else.
I have not yet had any problems with my Z22 and I've had it for a couple of months. My ONLY complaint so far is that the alarm is not loud enough for me to hear it unless I have it right by me. Other than that, I am very satisfied and would recommend this product to anyone who just wants to get organized!
Customer Review: Great E- Reader!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought his palm specifically for reading e-books. I'd never used an e-reader or a palm before, relying on good old fashioned paperbacks mostly, and was nervouse that the smallish screen and scrolling would be both confusing and unenjoyable. Not so!
The screen is more than decent for reading and if you still have trouble you can always enlarge the font, something you don't have the option with on printed texts. Also I never had to worry about keeping my place since the e-book program always opens up on the last spot you left off on. And instead of scrolling like you would on a regular computer program, the palm just has you toggle the center button to flip pages! No words running together as I constantly scroll and give myself a head ache!
The battery has a great life and in two weeks of rabid reading I've gone through 4 books and only had to charge up 3 times. Plus, having this has given me an extra bonus. Not only can I pull this little gem out of my purse and read on the go whenever I'm bored ( i.e. the line at the grocery store, waiting for my freinds to try on clothes at the mall, ect.)but, since I'm a nightowl, my husband doesn't have to deal with the night stand light being on while I read. The light that illuminates the screen internally is plenty bright to read by. He loves my palm so much that he' getting one of his own.
A handy little stilas is kept in a sneaky compartment of the palm and the games, calendar, notes, and lists have been great for helping me organize. This palm doesn't come with a case, but for less than $5 I was able to pick up a small samsonite digital camara case that fits it perfectly without hogging space in my purse. This has been a great purchase!
Customer Review: Great but I was mislead...
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for my mom, as I own a Palm TX and I figured she doesn't need wifi or bluetooth so she should be fine with a Z22. She is a hair stylist and she needed to somehow keep her contacts and money all organized. I mean don't get me wrong, it is a great little tool, but I looked through it and it doesn't come wit very much software, and yes, you can buy more software which is basically why the TX is $300-400. But the Z22 does not have word or spreadsheets, and I find the favorites list to be great but not necessary (which the Z22 does not have), and its a tad bit tiny but it still makes it easy to work on the screen.
Specifically trying to tailor this product for my mom's use is kind of hard. Being a stylist she needed a different program but it cost about $99. Software for PDAs are fairly expensive. And unfortunately I can't find anything free that does what she wants to do. The expenses software is pretty crappy too, I use a different one called AccountManager2 which was free. I installed that on my moms PDA and its much better than the one on there (just google account manager 2 + PDA it if you are interested)
Anywho, for an entry level PDA it is great. But you are limited to using it for todo lists, grocery lists, simple appointments (I recommend DATEBOOK6 instead of the one installed), taking quick notes, playing games to pass time, and stuff like that. If you need word documents and the ability to use an SD card to transfer data, perhaps wifi to access the internet and bluetooth to connect contacts with your phone or computers, I suggest a TX.
Otherwise, you can't really beat a $99 price tag for a nifty device like this. Just don't expect too much like I did.