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: Good for the Digitally Challenged!
Summary: 4 Stars
Having used a Palm Pilot years ago (and given it up in frustration) and also having gone through a host of cheapie organizers which only slowed me down, I was reluctant to spend a hundred bucks on a 'cheapie Palm'. But, I went for it and I'm really glad I did. Because this is a Palm I can actually USE!
It does not overwhelm me with features I don't need or understand. I don't even know what Bluetooth is! I just wanted to keep track of appointments, To Dos, and have a means of taking quick notes on the fly (which, up 'til now, I found a $.49 paper pad most effective). Palm Z22 does all these things, and I can occupy myself with Chess in moments of flex time. I have never desired to be a walking photo album, so I cannot comment on how pictures look on the display.
Another big selling point was the size. Many PDAs are just a mite too big to fit comfortably in one's shirt breast pocket. My Z22 fits in great, even with the snazzy Covertec flip-open case I bought for it.
PROS:
Size
Simplicity of use
Compatibility and ease of synchronizing with computer
Clear, easy to read display
Notepad feature
CONS:
Lack of expansion capability
Expense program can't really be customized (not everyone is a traveling businessman!)
Screen protectors hard to apply and have 'bubbles'
If you don't need to be wirelessly connected to every digitally available data source on the planet, and don't plan on snapping impromptu photos all the time, this product is a good bet.
POSTSCRIPT:
Now that I have used my Z22 for about a year, I can tell you that it is pretty good, but it can be annoying. Mainly, the Expenses feature not being configurable rendered it useless to me. And I could not blow it off and gain the memory. Now, the thing stopped working altogether, except that it's calendar goes forward no matter which way I push the buttons. I threw out this dead unit and now don't know what to get. Since most are expensive or rated poorer than the Z22.
Customer Review: Great Price, Complete Organization, but read the fine print.
Summary: 3 Stars
Some reviews put this as "thee PDA" - overly simple, easy to use, etc and well, the installation was easy, sure. You insert the disk and push the "next" button a couple times, fill in your info and wall-la! And then you try to use it...
Before I write negative comments, first I will say I bought this for a book-list organizer. That's it. Now it doesn't boast straight off in the product details specifically "book list." It says task / manage lists. Then goes into the describe various list functions, so it would do for book list. It says the list software is on the CD-ROM bonus software.
What it should say is: CD-ROM bonus software included - 30 day trials. This PDA is tasked for the usual calculator, calender, contacts, memos, note pad, photos, tasks, world clock, charge tracker / finance keeper and a couple games. To actually make a book list, grocery list, any list of a higher value then -bread, milk, eggs, etc on a memo pad, you have to install off the bonus disk the splash shopper, then have the 30 day trial and then pay the $29.95 to keep the program. (Though it doesn't say on the website whether or not its an annual change or one time registration charge.)
After defeating the purpose of buying this specific PDA by having to purchase the program for lists from another source to do the one thing I got a PDA for in the first place, now it will serve its purpose. Now knowing that I could have bought the program, I could have bought a different PDA and then just purchased the splash program.
This PDA however will do (not in reference to lists) everything I would need it to do and a couple more things then I even need it to. It was priced nicely. It syncs with my laptop with no problem and all you have to do for that is push a icon on the right side. The one piece of advice I would leave is be very pin point precise in what you want it to do and then verify that the PDA does it on its own, without having to purchase software. Purchasing software takes away from the "overly simple, easy to use" label put on this PDA.
Customer Review: Nice little gadget.
Summary: 5 Stars
I came to this with little expectations after reading all the reviews here. What a nice surprise it was to find most of the claims were either incorrect or overly dramatic.
This is a product designed for simplicity and new users, not power users which is where the confusion I think lies. Comparing a Tunsten T5 to the Z22 is like comparing a Jaguar with an Escort. With that in mind, an Escort drives just fine for most users, as does the Z22. It is not designed for someone looking to replace an iPod-like device, nor is it designed for someone wanting to store really large amounts of data.
That said, it works fine. It really does. Though I've read the complaints, I've not had any trouble with the screen not being responsive, so far. I've dropped it onto the cement twice, and once it even went bouncing across the parking lot. Amazingly it still looks new.
It stores thousands of contacts, to-do lists, notes, appointments and so forth. It stores more than I will ever use and I'm a power pc user. The software it comes with is granted, very slim, but also quite useful.
It's small and very lightweight, we're talking small calculator size. I can carry it in my jeans front pocket, but for those who like very tight-wearing jeans it's probably not a good idea. Still, it sits very easily in my purse and it's not a pain to try and lug around. My cell adds tons more weight to my person than this little guy.
The memory is low and the complaints are rattled over it. Keep in mind though that because it isn't an iPod clone, it isn't designed for large file sizes. For use of getting organized and planning your day, tasks, etc., it has more than enough memory.
The screen resolution is not as great, but for the price that's a small loss to me. Other than that, I cannot find another legitimate con.
In the end it is durable, works as promised, saves the data I need and comes with a pretty price tag. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Note: I'll comment here if I find problems in the future.
Customer Review: It has been four days.
Summary: 1 Stars
I have had this PDA for less than a week and it has already frozen on me. One thing I had noticed from the first day is that it is a little bit slow. When you write in letters it sometimes has to catch up. For a while I used my Dad's PDA (that lasted for a very long time) which was when they used triple A batteries, had no backlight or color, was bulky and heavy and extremely ugly. It never had problems like the ones I'm having now. I would like to say that the Z22 is better looking than I thought it would be and it is small and light. It is only a little bit heavier and wider than my cell phone so I was really pleased with that. The only problem is it froze. I waited for an hour for something to happen. I finally reset it and luckily it did keep my data. From now I am going to have to save all of my data in the computer and update it all of the time just in case. If I rated this item yesterday, I would have given it four stars. My opinion has obviously changed and if I was not a dirt poor college kid, I would send this back for a full refund and upgrade to another PDA, that is not a Palm. I would suggest spending another couple of hundred bucks for a nicer one (even if you don't need all of the extra features) because it is better to pay more now and not buy another for a few years. The warranty lasts for 90 days (which isn't very long), but it is only been the fourth day so I am already looking to save money so I can buy a nicer one that does not have to be reset. I really do need a PDA to help organize my life and if it did not have the technical difficulties that I am having now, it would be decent. The only reason I have given it one star is because of the size, weight and overall look, but then again, one star is the lowest rating on Amazon. I also worried about the battery life but I will have to see. I would choose an uglier, heavier and larger PDA that will not have all of these problems for my hundred dollars over the Z22, because looks do not matter when it comes to organizing your life with a PDA. By the way, I bought the Z22 brand new...Customer Review: I got what I paid for
Summary: 2 Stars
I got the Z22 to replace a well-used and well-loved Palm Vx whose battery died. I thought with the advances in hardware in the last six or seven years, I'd be able to get a great machine at a reasonable price. Boy, was I wrong.
The biggest problem I have with the Z22 is that compared with the Vx, the screen is crap. It's ugly to look at, the pixelation is obvious, and the touchscreen function is not very good. Many things I could do with a fingernail on the Vx require the stylus on the Z22. The color is a nice frill but it's crappy color and unpleasant to look at. I continually have to fiddle with the contrast control to compensate for different viewing conditions, and in bright sunlight it's basically unusuable. I much preferred the Vx's four shades of gray.
I'm also annoyed that the backward compatibility is not there: most of my old applications run, but a significant fraction (maybe 20%) do not. Some wedge the machine and require a reset.
I also expected I would get better performance from a 2008 machine than from a 2001 machine. Except for one application (CacheMate), the Z22 actually performs the same as or *worse* than the Vx. In particular, Launcher III is noticeably slow. I do like the extra memory but I never ran out of memory on the Vx and the CPU is disappointing.
Finally, the sound stinks. The sounds are not as good, and inside the hard 'air case' I can barely hear the sounds, even turned up to high. With the Vx I could hear easily even inside the clamshell hard case.
So, in summary, the Palm platform is still great, and color is amusing, but if you order the Z22 be aware that you're getting a cheap machine where corners have been cut on screen and CPU performance. If this matters to you, get something else. If you don't care that the screen is ugly and the machine is slow, the case looks nice and pockets easily, and in my opinion the Palm platform is still the best personal organizer in the world.