The Zire features all of the great Palm features that users have become accustomed to in a brand new design. In creating the Zire the emphasis was placed on value and simplicity.
To experienced Palm users the Zire may seem to be a little weak. It has only 2 mb of RAM, a 16 MHz processor, and there is no expansion slot. In a move which I believe was made for cost-cutting reasons the Zire doesn't have a docking cradle. In its place Palm has used a mini-USB cable. I am actually surprised that Palm has used a rechargeable battery for the Zire.
Editor's Take
When I first heard rumors about the Zire I was excited at the prospect of a Palm OS device coming out with a price point under $100. Now that the device has come to market I am somewhat disappointed. It is not that I don't think the Zire will be successful, because I feel that Palm is venturing into an untapped market which will be quick to purchase these devices. The problem with the Zire, is that it is too much like a really old device in nice, new packaging.
I understand that Palm is marketing this device to entry level consumers, and that these people don't need the feature rich devices of higher end models, but if you're not going to give people enough memory to make use of the expansive array of Palm OS software they might as well purchase one of the $20 electronic organizers out there.
