Group Sense Zircon G88

Bookmark

By Lee Chee Wee
Jul 20, 2004

Click here for images of the Zircon G88.

Group Sense blazed into the Palm arena with its Zircon z3 PDA-phone back last year. No larger than a conventional mobile phone, the z3 was touted by the company as the world's smallest Palm-powered mobile. Taking a more conservative approach this time, its latest G88 handset retains many of its predecessor's strengths as well as weaknesses.

Upside: Sporting similar dimensions as the z3, the G88's facade is dominated by a large 2.2-inch display that outputs 260K colors. One of the major gripes in the previous model was the lack of a keypad, so users had to fall back on the touch screen to manage voice calls. This upgraded model now addresses this problem and slides out to reveal a number pad. Running on Palm OS 4.1.2, the G88's functionality can be expanded via numerous Palm applications available on the Web--a key selling point for this unit. The memory capacity, now bumped up to 48MB, should provide ample space for installations.

Downside: As we mentioned, the G88 retains some flaws that plagued the z3. For starters, the 33MHz DragonBall processor is a little underpowered, especially when 400MHz handhelds are widespread. The device also lacks an onboard expansion slot, although users can fall back on the optional SD/MMC adapter which notably adds quite a bit of heft. VGA camera-phones are a common sight these days but the G88's camera merely outputs QVGA images of 320 x 240-pixel resolution. It would be a nice touch if Bluetooth connectivity had been integrated as that would have given the G88 an edge over its closest rival, the Treo 600 smart phone.

Outlook: The G88 appeals to those scouting for a Palm OS phone. If the lack of a QWERTY thumbboard is not a major concern, this latest Zircon provides a cost-effective alternative to the popular PalmOne Treo 600.