Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the breaking-into-new-markets dept.
the beava writes "Palm has officially announced the release of their latest handheld, the Zire. At $99 dollars (retail), it looks like they're trying to market this thing to people like parents and children. " Not a bad looking unit for the price.
parents and children?
by
tps12
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Parents and children don't need handhelds. I was all excited about handhelds a few years ago, but these days the only people still using them are CS grad students (not that there's anything wrong with that). I only keep mine around because my watch broke. Once the novelty wears off (and it has), the ability to play Asteroids at a movie theater isn't all that great a selling point. Palm is on its way down, and PDAs will be remembered as the pet rock of the late 90's and early 00's.
--
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
Re:parents and children?
by
legLess
·
· Score: 5, Funny
Blockquothe the poster:
I use my Palm several times per day and I really value it. I know a number of people who feel the same way about their Palms.
Does this even need a punchline?:)
-- This isn't as much "normalization" as it is "don't take so many drugs when you're designing tables."
parents /or/ chidren
by
Bandman
·
· Score: 5, Funny
so just who exactly is/not/ a parent or a child? We are ALL children of SOMEBODY...
No Matter How cheap they make those things I'll never get one again. I need a to-do list to remind me to update my calander to set off an alarm when I need to write a memo. Just a waste of my time.
2 Meg of ram?
by
TheLoneCabbage
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
With only 2 meg of RAM it's not going to be worth much more than an organizer. And you can buy those now for $20 (and some look much cooler than this).
Personaly for my tastes just sell me the husk, and let me buy the memmory as an option. I would think that a unit with NO memmory would be cheaper to manufacture and the modularity would allow it to have a wider market apeal (for the same manufactureing line).
Comments: Zire is reported to be extinct. No mother tongue speakers. There are apparently a few who learned it as second language. Grammar. Extinct.
--
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
I just don't get it
by
i0wnzj005uck4
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Okay. No backlight and 2 meg of ram. The Palm m105 has 8 meg of ram, and a backlight, plus that clock button and retails for the same price (I got mine for 10$ lower!) with identical features. Oh wait, the m105 also comes with the Office applications for spreadsheets and word docs on your handheld. Oh, and the m105 uses palmOS 3.5 while the Zire uses 4.1. But aside from that, the change is mostly cosmetic. Thoughts on this?
Since it only has 4 buttons instead of 6, a lot of games for the palm pilot are not going to work properly on this thing. Maybe you could play zap2000! by remapping the power button (!) to fire and neglecting key number 6, but at the very least it'll be a pain.
If this thing is for consumers, games are important.
Other kinds of grad students in different niches also use these.
There is a formulary and clinical drug database program that is very popular with young doctors and medical students. It's called ePocrates, and it updates itself automatically when you are online and you hotsync. This is very useful because the books are very heavy, and the info changes almost daily.
I'd say this is a genuinely useful application.
(I am not an employee of ePocrates. Just a friend of a med student.)
See how far we've come!!
by
PeterChenoweth
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
So in 8 years of progress Palm has gone from a 1MB Palm Professional with a backlight, a strange input character set, Notes, Calendar, To-Do, Appointments and Expense. To a 2MB Palm Zire with no backlight, same strange input character set, Notes, Calendar, To-Do, Appointments, and Expense.
It's no great wonder that Palm Inc. is dying a slow death.
Makes sense IFF street price is lower...
by
dpbsmith
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Like others, I'm scratching my head at this if the price is really $99.
The Palm m105 really does cost $99. (A quick check at Yahoo stores shows: Palm Online Store $99.00; Circuit City $99.95; Datavision $99.94; BuyDig.com $90.00).
Maybe the Zire costs Palm much less and is sold to retailers for much less; and, as with some other products, maybe the price at Palm's store will continue to be $99, but street prices at the Best Buys, Staples, and Wal*Marts of the world will be much lower.
If the price were really $58.88 or $49.95 or "39.95 after $30 mail-in rebate" I'd buy one for my wife in an instant.
Only major difference
by
banda
·
· Score: 5, Informative
The Zire is rechargeable like the old V series. The M105 uses alkaline batteries.
Personally, I prefer the alkaline batteries. I can buy new batteries anywhere. I can't always plug in a charger and sit around for a couple hours.
Re:Whatever Happened to paper
by
schussat
·
· Score: 5, Funny
3. High Encryption level. nobody can read my handwriting.
You've clearly not used a Palm. It encrypts your handwriting on the fly!
-schussat
-- The hour of noon has passed. Let us go and get some Kentucky Fried Chicken.
I checked the prices...
by
puppetman
·
· Score: 5, Informative
of this thing in Canada - $99 US, $169 CDN at Future Shop.
But I can get the Sony Clie PEG-SL10 with 4x the RAM, Palm OS 4.1, and a 320x320 screen (the Zire is 160x160) for $60 CDN more, plus a way nicer layout, etc.
This thing needs to be $60 US, $100 CDN. It's a rip-off at this price.
Slashdot Mirror
Parents and children don't need handhelds. I was all excited about handhelds a few years ago, but these days the only people still using them are CS grad students (not that there's anything wrong with that). I only keep mine around because my watch broke. Once the novelty wears off (and it has), the ability to play Asteroids at a movie theater isn't all that great a selling point. Palm is on its way down, and PDAs will be remembered as the pet rock of the late 90's and early 00's.
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
so just who exactly is /not/ a parent or a child?
We are ALL children of SOMEBODY...
it's probably too early....
Check out my sysadmin blog!
No Matter How cheap they make those things I'll never get one again. I need a to-do list to remind me to update my calander to set off an alarm when I need to write a memo. Just a waste of my time.
With only 2 meg of RAM it's not going to be worth much more than an organizer. And you can buy those now for $20 (and some look much cooler than this).
Personaly for my tastes just sell me the husk, and let me buy the memmory as an option. I would think that a unit with NO memmory would be cheaper to manufacture and the modularity would allow it to have a wider market apeal (for the same manufactureing line).
I would rather be ashes than dust!
It has no backlight.It has date-book, address-book, memo-pad, and to-do-list manager. Also has a calculator, a palm expense program, and a clock.
A good review at techtv.com.
ZIRE: an extinct language of New Caledonia
SIL code: SIH
Region: Bourail, coastal plain.
Alternate names: ZIRA, SIRHE, SICHE, SÎSHËË, NERË
Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, New Caledonian, Southern, South, Zire-Tiri.
Comments: Zire is reported to be extinct. No mother tongue speakers. There are apparently a few who learned it as second language. Grammar. Extinct.
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
Okay. No backlight and 2 meg of ram. The Palm m105 has 8 meg of ram, and a backlight, plus that clock button and retails for the same price (I got mine for 10$ lower!) with identical features. Oh wait, the m105 also comes with the Office applications for spreadsheets and word docs on your handheld. Oh, and the m105 uses palmOS 3.5 while the Zire uses 4.1. But aside from that, the change is mostly cosmetic. Thoughts on this?
- Cloud
Since it only has 4 buttons instead of 6, a lot of games for the palm pilot are not going to work properly on this thing. Maybe you could play zap2000! by remapping the power button (!) to fire and neglecting key number 6, but at the very least it'll be a pain.
If this thing is for consumers, games are important.
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
Other kinds of grad students in different niches also use these.
There is a formulary and clinical drug database program that is very popular with young doctors and medical students. It's called ePocrates, and it updates itself automatically when you are online and you hotsync. This is very useful because the books are very heavy, and the info changes almost daily.
I'd say this is a genuinely useful application.
(I am not an employee of ePocrates. Just a friend of a med student.)
So in 8 years of progress Palm has gone from a 1MB Palm Professional with a backlight, a strange input character set, Notes, Calendar, To-Do, Appointments and Expense. To a 2MB Palm Zire with no backlight, same strange input character set, Notes, Calendar, To-Do, Appointments, and Expense.
It's no great wonder that Palm Inc. is dying a slow death.
Like others, I'm scratching my head at this if the price is really $99.
The Palm m105 really does cost $99. (A quick check at Yahoo stores shows: Palm Online Store $99.00; Circuit City $99.95; Datavision $99.94; BuyDig.com $90.00).
Maybe the Zire costs Palm much less and is sold to retailers for much less; and, as with some other products, maybe the price at Palm's store will continue to be $99, but street prices at the Best Buys, Staples, and Wal*Marts of the world will be much lower.
If the price were really $58.88 or $49.95 or "39.95 after $30 mail-in rebate" I'd buy one for my wife in an instant.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
The Zire is rechargeable like the old V series.
The M105 uses alkaline batteries.
Personally, I prefer the alkaline batteries. I can buy new batteries anywhere. I can't always plug in a charger and sit around for a couple hours.
You've clearly not used a Palm. It encrypts your handwriting on the fly!
-schussat
The hour of noon has passed. Let us go and get some Kentucky Fried Chicken.
of this thing in Canada - $99 US, $169 CDN at Future Shop.
But I can get the Sony Clie PEG-SL10 with 4x the RAM, Palm OS 4.1, and a 320x320 screen (the Zire is 160x160) for $60 CDN more, plus a way nicer layout, etc.
This thing needs to be $60 US, $100 CDN. It's a rip-off at this price.