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PalmOne Zire 31 Handheld
- 160x160 color display with contrast and brightness controls supports thousands of colors
- 200 MHz Intel ARM-based processor, Palm OS v5.2.8, 16 MB RAM (14 MB actual storage)
- Expansion slot supports MMC, SD, and SDIO memory cards
- Standard mini-USB connector
- Comes with Palm Desktop Software for Windows and Mac and Software Essencials CD
The Editors Desk:
The Zire 31, the successor to Palm's Zire 21, is designed for value-conscious students, parents, and anyone who wants to keep their most important day-to-day schedule and contact information close at hand. The bright color screen lets you show off your favorite snapshots (stored on optional expansion cards) to friends, family, and coworkers. The Zire 31 also offers a built-in MP3 player and Secure Digital card expansion for storing digital audio files and photos. The 16 MB memory (14 MB user available) can store thousands of phone numbers, addresses, lunch dates, meetings, birthdays, doctors' appoinents and shopping lists. 
| Upgrade Features
The Zire 31 offers the following improvements to the Zire 21: - Color display (versus the Zire 21's monochrome screen)
- 16 MB of Memory (versus the Zire 21's 8 MB)
- MP3 digital audio capability
- Palm OS 5.2.8 (versus 5.2.1 for the Zire 21).
Display
The Palm Zire 31 features a 160 x 160 color STN screen that displays thousands of colors and features contrast and brightness controls. Audio
The included RealPlayer for Palm OS enables you to listen to MP3 music files stored on optional expansion cards via the built-in speaker or optional headphones/ear buds. RealPlayer for Palm OS makes it easy to transfer your personal MP3 music collection to expansion cards and organize your songs by creating and editing playlists right on your handheld. It also offers an auto-dimming capability to help conserve battery power. | | The Zire 31 features a 160 x 160 color STN display with contrast and brightness controls. | | Connectivity and Expansion
The Zire 31 uses Multimedia Card and Secure Digital expansion cards, which instantly add software applications, additional memory, large databases, and more without taking up built-in memory space. You can synchronize to your desktop PC via the mini-USB connection on the side of the handheld. Operating System and Software
The Zire 31 is powered by Palm OS 5.2.8, which provides higher performance, enhanced multimedia features, and enterprise-class security. It useses the intuitive and easy-to-learn Graffiti 2 writing software to input data into the handheld (as well as an on-screen keyboard). Windows users can synchronize calendar, contacts, tasks and notes with Microsoft Outlook.
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Track expenses on the go with Splash Money
| The Palm OS features the following organizer applications: - Contacts: Lets you store several addresses for each contact, and it adds new contact fields for more phone numbers, multiple email addresses, instant messenger IDs, and a website for your contacts.
- Calendar: Use the new Agenda view to see upcoming calendar events, tasks due and important email, and color-code your events to provide an easy way to reference your Calendar in the Agenda, Day, Week, and Month views. Take more notes, or synchronize more details from your desktop, into the larger Memos and Notes fields on the handheld.
- Tasks: Use tasks with alarms and repeating tasks to set reminders for important comments.
| Along with the standard Palm software, you'll receive a Software Essentials CD-ROM containing RealOne Mobile Player (Windows only desktop application), PalmOne Photos, Solitaire, powerOne Personal Calculator, Handmark Splash Money, Handmark Mobile DB (keep track of birthdays, auto maintenance, and more), and Audible Player for palmOne handhelds (Windows only). Compatibility
The Palm Zire 31 is compatible with PCs running Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000, Me, and XP, and with Macs running Mac OS 9, version 9.1 or higher, or Mac OS X, version 10.2 or 10.3. What's in the Box
This package contains the Zire 31 handheld, built-in rechargeable battery, protective flip lid, mini-USB HotSync cable, power cable, stylus, CD-ROM with Palm Desktop 4.1 software for Windows and Macs (as well as bonus software), and printed Getting Started guide. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery with a battery life of up to a week under normal usage or around 6 hours with continuous digital audio playback.
Avg. Customer Review: 
 A great first PDA
I got my Zire 31 a couple weeks ago. It's my first PDA, and I did quite a bit of research before buying. Don't pay attention to the guy who doesn't even own this nifty little gadget; his review is worthless!The Zire was easy to start using right out the box. I've had no problems getting it to synch up with multiple computers. My main goal was to have a small PDA to keep track of basic info (tasks, lists, my calendar, etc). I wasn't looking for something expensive or too powerful for my needs. The Zire 31 is perfect. The only two gripes I have are related to the battery. While the battery life is fabulous (I can use it for days without having to charge it), there's no indicator that shows when it's plugged in and charging or when the charging is complete. Also, there's a little battery meter that appears at the top of the home screen, but it's purely graphical; you can't tell how long the battery will keep working. I highly recommend this as anyone's first PDA or for those of you who don't need something mega-powerful. The price makes it a very reasonable investment.
 Read this review if youre a first time PDA user
Ok, this is my first PDA...so i dont know very much about it. But if youre in the same boat, then read on. I searched and searched...looked at the Zire 21, Sony Clie TJ-27, and every other PDA in this price range. And then i came across an amazing deal: a Zire 31 for $142... wow, what a bargain. This PDA does everything i want, and MORE. Not only can i keep track of all my contacts, etc etc...i can view photos (and put them in the background)... it comes with two e-books...Last of the Mohicans and The Wizard of Oz... it comes with a really cool Database system that has area codes all over the U.S., airline phone #s, Hotels, dietary info for a whole bunch of foods and drinks... it comes with solitaire...and an Expenses program to keep track of credit card and bank account balances... there's an MP3 player included, which i havent used (because you need to purchase an SD memory card separately...and because i just dont want to drain the batteries for that...i mean, for the same price as an SD card, i can just buy a Sony Minidisc player that runs on one AA battery, and save my PDA battery -- which isnt user replaceable, so only has a certain life-span). Hot syncing...where you transfer info from your computer to the PDA and vice versa is incredibly easy. Just touch the button on the screen, and tada! magic. Done. This PDA gets a 4 out of 5 for one reason and one reason only: the screen. 160x160 isnt bad resolution...but it isnt good either. I mean, it's just fine for me, because im not using it too much, and im not serious about viewing pictures and stuff like that. However, i often find myself playing around with the brightness, contrast, backgrounds, and color to find something that's easy and beautiful on the eyes. It takes a while, but youll find a setting that makes you happy. If youre a beginner, get the Zire 31. A big step up from the Zire 21...and better than the Sony Clie TJ-27 in terms of price and practicality...i mean -- who wants a real crappy digital camera anyways? Dont bother with it...if you want digital pictures, get yourself a real digital camera (i.e. Canon Powershot A75). One last thing -- i almost forgot --... dont listen to people babbling on about the 90 day warranty. As long as you get this PDA from a self-respecting retail store, youll automatically get a one-year warranty from them. And you can purchase an extended warranty for about $20 or so. For something this cheap, they'll most likely replace your PDA right away if there's a serious problem. Check with them first.
 Piece A lousy machine/Palm
This is a sorry pda although it has a lot of great features<br />
it always seems to lock up on you for some unknown reason. I am on my second palm 31 and it has locked up on me again. I bought it on december 28 and I going to return it asap and simply spend the extra 50 bucks and get another PDA. This was my first purchase of PDA and I hope it is all up hill from here. Piece A lousy Machine/ Palm just keep that in mind.<br />
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