Awesome PDA/Game Device!
Written: May 16 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Solid design, Bluetooth 1.1 support, beautiful screen, good battery life, decent games.
Cons: Poor HotSync/Charge connection, metal case scratches/chips easily, right shoulder button issues, cheasy flip cover.
The Bottom Line: Great all around solid performer, with only minor - if any - faults.
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| Shane_B's Full Review: Tapwave Zodiac2 Handheld |
I've had my Tapwave Zodiac 2 for almost a year now, and have had a chance to learn a lot about the device. There are some things I still love about the device, and others that I still do not like. Let me start off with the things I like.
The design of the Zodaic 1/2 is a thing of beauty. You either hate it, or love it. Even though the device is one of the largest Palm OS PDAs on the market, it is still very comfortable to use and isn't too big. I can forgive the size of the device for what it has. It is the only mass produced Palm OS device that I know of that offers not only Bluetooth support, but DUAL SD card slots! Slot 2 is SDIO compatible, which with new drivers and a WiFi SD card you can browse the internet wirelessly using the right 3rd party applications.
One of the biggest things you will notice about the device is its beautiful 320 by 480 pixel display. It may not be as bright as the display on an iPaq 2215 (which has only a 240*320 display) or a Tungsten T3 but it's color saturation and accuracy are wonderful. I use my Zodiac on a regular basis to view family photos, and people that look at them comment on their quality on the display of the Zodiac.
Currently I use the two SD card slots for memory to hold a 1GB SD card, and a 256 SD card. It is awesome to have 1GB worth of my favorite MP3s and half of my eBook collection with me wherever I have my Zodiac. It sure beats having to swap out SD cards. Plus, with the Zodiac 2's 128MB of internal RAM (~113 user accessible) you are not likely to run out RAM anytime soon!
I use my Zodiac on a daily basis to listen to MP3s, personal information management, game player, eBook reading and anything else it can be used for. One of the great benefits of the Palm OS is its sheer plethora of good to absolutely excellent programs available for it. I use Documents to Go to manage my Excel spreadsheets when away from the desktop. Chances are if you need to do something with a PDA, there is a Palm OS program for it.
When it comes to the battery life, it isn't the best nor is it the worst. It will last me about three days of moderate use, and about two with heavy use. From personal experience, one of the biggest battery hogs (even with the display off) is third party MP3 programs. I can't seem to get past 4 hours of playtime before I need to recharge. With the internal/included music application, that takes advantage of the hardware decoding features of the Zodiac, battery life is better.
Now, to the things I hate about the Zodiac. When you purchase a Zodiac, it does not (currently) come with a cradle. You have to buy one seperately for $20, and only includes the cradle itself, with no additional cables. The Zodiac does come with a HotSync and charging cables, and you can charge the Zodiac directly without the HotSync connector. The bad part about the Zodiac's connectors is as part of the design they wrap around the device. This can make connecting the HotSync cable correctly a chore, but thankfully setting up Bluetooth Hotsync is very easy and alleviates this problem.
On my Zodiac, and the display model I looked at, the right shoulder button has a tendency to pop out. It doesn't completely come out, but can be an annoyance to have to continually push it back in.
Along similar lines the Zodiac's finish is sadly easy to scratch and chip. This is easy to fix thanks to affordable "skins" or coverings from www.SkinIt.com. I currently have a zebra patterend skin on mine that gets some strange looks from people when I pull it out in public.
When it comes down to using the device, I highly enjoy it. I normally upgrade every 6 months, but there still isn't anything available that can even come close to the Zodiac when it comes to capabilities! Even if you aren't looking for a gaming device, the Zodiac is one of the best all-around Palm OS PDAs available! I highly recommend it, even with its flaws.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400.00
Recommended for: Gadget Lovers - Trendy and Hip
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Epinions.com ID:
Shane_B
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Member: Shane
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 0 members
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