I'm a Palm PDA fan. I like the Palm interface, Palm applications, and the ease of synchronization with the PC that Palm PDAs offer. That being said, I can't recommend the Palm Zire PDA for business users. 

On the plus side, the Palm Zire is equipped with the Palm OS version 4.1, the classic Palm applications, such as the date book, address book and note pad, and comes with a USB HotSnyc cable for transferring data between your Palm and your computer. And like other pricier Palm PDAs, the Zire has a rechargeable lithium battery.

The Palm Zire PDA has a  monochrome LCD display screen, which you have to expect at this price. The Zire also has an infrared port, so you can "beam" information from one Palm PDA to another. Yes, it really works (although the two PDAs have to be close to each other). As a business user, it's fun and convenient to be able to just beam your business card or phone number to someone else's Palm PDA.

The Palm Zire's two most touted features are its new design and its price. The Zire is the lightest Palm PDA on the market at 3.8 ounces, and the most inexpensive. The new design cuts the buttons at the base of the PDA down to two, focusing on the address book and date book, and a "new look" white and silver case with a removable flip lid. I don't see the point of changing the Palm button design, but I'm not a first-time Palm user, the user this Palm has been designed for.

Design aside, the Palm Zire has two big drawbacks for business users. One involves the question of data and application storage. The Zire is equipped with only 2 MB of memory. Palm describes this storage capacity as "ample", stating that the Zire can store approximately 6,000 addresses, approximately 3,000 appointments and more. Maybe so, but as a business user you should think about how big your address book and related business information data files are before you choose a Zire. 

The biggest drawback of the Palm Zire PDA is that the memory is not upgradeable; the Zire has no expansion slot, unlike many higher priced Palms. Even if 2 MB of memory is adequate data storage for you, think about other applications. If you were hoping to work with MS Office applications on your Palm or do things such as show PowerPoint presentations using your PDA, you're going to be out of luck. This Palm just doesn't have enough memory to run many of the popular business applications.

However, if all you want to do is use your Palm to stay organized and store your contact information, the Zire will do the job, is good-looking, and fun to use. Before you buy one, though, you should think hard about why you're buying a PDA and how you plan to use it.