It sported only 2 MB RAM, a 16 MHz Motorola DragonBall EZ processor, and Palm OS 4.1.x.
As of August 2005, both of these handhelds had been discontinued, making the Palm Zire 31 the entry-level Palm-branded PDA citing a strong demand for color.
The Zire 21 was capable of displaying PDF files using the free Adobe Reader for Palm OS version 3.
Like most Palm handhelds, text from the PDF file could be copied and pasted into other applications such as Memo Pad, greatly enhancing the utility of this cheap device.
While Zire 31 had the ability to play video (video player not included), the experience was limited by the maximum SD/MMC card size limit (1 GB, larger cards including SDHC are possible via 3rd party software), the poor screen resolution, color depth and passive matrix display technology.
Included in the box were cables for syncing with a computer via USB and for charging from a wall outlet, Palm Desktop software for Mac and Windows, and a screen protector.
Audio playback capability was possible with the inclusion of a SD card slot and a Palm version of RealPlayer.
To counter the slow file transfer rate for uploading songs to the device, Palm offered an MP3 playback kit that included a memory card writer.
The 71 still had some advantages over the 72, as the camera was constantly protected by a shell on the 71, and it retained the Palm "Universal Connector" that was being phased out.
Additionally, after many cycles of opening and closing the camera, the flex-cable that connected the halves of the device could fracture.