Any thoughts on the Palm 71?

[Stake]

I just thought I'd throw this in here. This is not, and I repeat, not a thread for or against Palm. I'm just thinking how it could do in the midst of an economic lull and with Palm OS losing market share.
Could this Zire give Palm a boost? Do Palm users actually want these features? I ask that because I believe that Palm and PPC people differ fundamentally in how they use their PDAs.

My take...a nice package for $299 though I don't know about the video playback with a 140Mhz processor. I'll have to see that one for myself. I do like the Producer software though if someone with XP could make a portable version of a movie just as easily for a PPC. It does make it easier to transfer video. The catch is that it's a proprietary format and requires an SD card. Camera is nice but not necessary; No speaker? Hmmm…using headphones are ok but not if you want to share video with a small group of people. Picture transfer integration is nice but 3rd party viewing software will handle that for the PPC. It’s a pity that they didn’t incorporate a virtual Graffiti screen.

If you want to read the quick review: http://forums.pdabuzz.net/showthread.php?s=cf04a6069316dcc0b488243d404483ea&threadid=46382

[guinness]

I saw a thread about it over at Brighthand, looks nice, especially the screen and the built-in camera seems like a handy novelty, but I'd still take my Axim over it, even without the rebate. I never liked Palms very much, too expensive for what they include, most still only have 16 MB of ram, that's just not a lot of space anymore.

http://discussion.brighthand.com/palmhandhelds/showthread.php?s=e8ebaad1aa4a03b15f11b400874064a2&threadid=31536

[Janak Parekh]

I'm writing up a front-page Thought on it that will probably go up this afternoon. Overall, I'd say "about time, Palm!" :)

--janak

[lonesniper]

Taken from http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/n/3460.html
” Audio quality through the main speaker in back was very good. Through the stereo headphone jack, it was even better, on par with most other advanced-audio-sporting devices on the market.”
So I think it does have a speaker, even though the Palm fact sheet never mentions it.

Personally I am a PalmOS user and still use my orange visor. The reason I spend lots of time reading Thoughts now is I am planning on an upgrade, and the PalmOS does not do what I want anymore. I love the OS and looked forward to OS5 in hopes some of the magic of BeOS would be included. My upgrade requirement now is “must play .WMV files” and that means PPC. Kinoma Player is great, but the Producer does not accept .WMV files and there are too many steps in converting a file just so I can watch “The Drew Carey Show” on the bus.

If I did not want this function then I would be looking to upgrade to a new PalmOS model probably a Sony Clie.

I think the new Tungsten C and Zire71 are great for both Palm and the PPC. It broadens the market, pushes development and makes companies strive to have the latest and greatest PDA.

It is nice to see Palm have finally woken up and innovated for a change.