Setup is fairly simple. First, make sure to plug in the Zire 31 for a couple hours before using, to charge the battery for the first time. While that is happening, you can install the Palm Desktop software from the included CD. That installation is very simple, and is over in a few minutes. Since you will still have a few hours of charge time, you might as well check out my Palm Resources page to download some great software for your little buddy.

The look and feel of this handheld is very aesthetically pleasing. The back of the shell is white plastic (similar to many of Apple's products), while the front is coated with a nice blue/silver paint. The back also contains the small speaker and the reset button (which requires a straightened paperclip) for emergencies. On the top there is the headphone jack, expansion card slot, stylus holder, and an IR port which is completely hidden. The charging and syncing cables attach to ports on the left side, which are covered with a rubberized protector. Finally, the front contains the screen and four buttons. From left to right, they are the power, calendar, five way navigator, and contacts buttons. Pressing the middle of the five way navigator briefly activates the world clock when the unit is off. This setup works very well, and looks great.

Next, let's start going over the main features of the Zire 31, beginning with the display. The Palm Zire 31 has a 160x160 pixel display that supports over 4000 colors. The backlighting can be adjusted between high and low. At high, the display is very bright and readable in almost all light settings. At low, it works well in dim or fairly lit environments. But don't expect to see anything on the low setting outside on a bright day. It won't display pictures all that well as the color support simply isn't there, but for normal organization and gaming, this screen is very good and highly readable.

This little puppy is also quite the speed demon. Enclosed in the plastic shell is a 200 MHz Intel ARM CPU. That is more than enough for anything I have thrown at it. Using the OS is very snappy, and there is never any kind of lag in any programs. In fact, this CPU has enough power to play MP3s in the background while creating events in your calendar, writing a memo, or even enjoying a game.

As for storage space, the Zire 31 comes with 16 MB of internal memory, 14 MB of which is user available. At the time of this writing, there are 34 applications that I have installed, tons of databases, contacts, calendars, and 5 photos stored on the internal memory. Nevertheless, I still have 8.5 MB free, so space is not a concern. If you would like more space, there is a slot for SD or Multimedia Cards. Because of this slot, the storage limits only depend on your wallet size.

One aspect that all portable devices share in common is the power source, a battery. I have tested this battery under a variety of conditions. Under normal use (calendars, memos, etc.) I have not yet been able to wear down the battery (I charge it every few days). Estimates show that I would get about 14-18 hours of run time doing the "normal" routines. While playing games, the battery life goes down a bit. Depending on what games I play, I am seeing about an 8-10 hours of run time. Finally, I used the MP3 playing abilities to send my favorite tunes to my car stereo for 3 hours straight during a long car ride. When the ride was finished, I checked the battery life, and found out that I still had about 60% battery life remaining. By my estimates, one could play about 6-7 hours of music before it died. To me, this is a great showing for the battery life of this unit.

Speaking of playing music, I bet you are wondering exactly what kind of sound capabilities this thing has. For starters, it has a built in speaker that has below average quality (as would be expected for the size). However, the real kicker is the 3.5 mm stereo jack on the top. Almost all headphones, computer speakers, etc. use this size jack, so you are ready to plug in without needing a special adapter. The sound coming out of that jack is just as good as any walkman, portable CD player, or MP3 player.

While this thing can pump out some nice sounds, you are going to need a SD or MMC card to store and play MP3 files. These cards come in a variety of sizes and brands, so shop around for the best deal. Unfortunately, you are going to want to buy an adapter (USB card reading device) to do the transfer of files. Using the Hot Sync cable, it took about 80 minutes to transfer 500 MB of songs. If you have the time to burn, you can save your money; otherwise spend the $15 to transfer those same songs in about 6 minutes. Also available are SDIO cards which contain games, books, and other add ons.

Of course, a PDA at this price is not going to have everything. The main feature it is missing is wireless connectivity. With many of the higher end models, either Bluetooth or 802.11b Wireless is built in. Those technologies let you sync wirelessly (Bluetooth) or browse the web using a Wi-Fi network (802.11b). This would be great for those times when you want to grab your latest e-mails or check a stock price. However, the Zire 31 doesn't have this capability, so browsing the web with it simply isn't possible.

The only major problem that I found was with the five way navigator. It's really neat to be able to navigate menus, icons, et al. without having to rely on the stylus all the time. However, I have found quite a few games that simply don't support it, making them unplayable. Many games that are still being developed have added support for the five way navigator (also seen on other Palm models), and more are sure to come.

I really like the Zire 31. The color screen is wonderful, battery life rocks, it keeps me organized, and the MP3 playing ability almost turns it into an iPod. I recommend this to anyone who doesn't need the wireless options of some of the higher end models. It's a great way for beginner PDA users to jump into the fold, and would even be perfect for the intermediate user.

Pros	Cons
Does not require a cradle for charging/syncing. Works well with OS X's iSync. Color screen looks very nice. Headphone jack turns it into an MP3 player (with SD or MM card for song storage). 16 MB is enough memory to store a ton of information. Uses a cable instead of a bulky cradle for syncing/charging.	Does not have built in wireless or bluetooth. Some games don't work well with the 5-way navigator.
9/10 stars