Garmin Palm Device With GPS

Moritz writes "Garmin is introducing a PalmOS5 handheld with GPS, MP3 and 32MB of memory. That's very nice, but why is there no bluetooth? Why can't somebody just get the spec right? Other than that this seems to be a nice addition to the PalmOS lineup."

Not much music

[helixcode123]

If this unit comes with 32 MB that's room for only seven songs. Gee, why not advertise that it plays movies too. 30 whole seconds worth!
Oh. You want maps and music? Sorry Charlie.

Guys...

[mschoolbus]

Just wait for this story the 2nd time around, I am sure it will be up as soon as taco hears about it in a few days...

Re:Why not, why not...

[swordboy]

In summary: The Slashdot crowd wants

A Tablet PC with a flexible paper thin screen that can be folded from the size of a credit card to A0, which has GPS, Bluetooth, Firewire 400 & 800, USB 1 and 2, every wireless connection method under the Sun, IRDA, Biometric authentication, works via a keyboard or a "keyboard glove", has a 15Ghz Transmeta processor, 1TB of RAM, 1PB of Storage, runs off a single AA battery for 3 year, runs Linux and responds to scribbles or the spoken word.

You forgot waterproof.

Great!

[Omkar]

Now if only I could find a compelling reason to own a PDA. I've been trying to think of an excuse, but the thing is, Post-it notes work fine for me. I gues I just have no life.

most important of all

[gohai]

it has to play OGG Vorbis!

Re:Screw bluetooth...

[grub]

32Mb is a lot for the average Palm device. Mine only has 8Mb and I've never got close to filling it.

You obviously have a greyscale Palm. If it was colour that 8 MB would be stuffed with pr0n.

Call me a Luddite but..,

[Chocolate Teapot]

You know, I used to look at devices like this and think 'Wow! That's pretty cool!' But then I stopped to think what possible use I might have for one of these things. Let's examine the functionality.

Mapping Software. You have to travel pretty extensively to require a pocket atlas. Most 'normal' people can take a quick look at a map before they leave and maybe scribble a couple of notes on a PostIt. If I have an appointment, it is not unusual for someone to email me a local map in advance.

GPS. GPS! For God's sake! When was the last time you got so lost that you needed friggin' GPS to pinpoint your location to the nearest ten feet. If you are that bad at navigating, you should not be let out alone. Does it come with distress flares and a survival kit?

Voice recorder for making memos, quick notes, and messages on the fly. Just in case the GPS let's you down, you can leave a message for your loved ones - assuming anybody finds your cold, lifeless body.

Rechargeable internal Lithium-ion battery. If you are so goddam far from civilisation that you need GPS to safe your sorry hide, where are you gonna plug it in?

Built-in 32 MB of memory for downloading map data and other Palm OS-compatible software. At this point I would prefer a means of lighting a fire and perhaps obtaining fresh food and water. A raft would be useful. I suppose you would die secure in the knowledge that your Palm Pilot was fully up-to-date.

New ARM processor enhances battery life, screen redraw, graphics, and audio. Can it skin a rabbit or fend off hungry crocodiles?.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that you are the kind of person who needs 80% of the above features in order to manage your hectic schedule. You must be a pretty busy guy huh? Probably one of the high-flying, go-get-em entrepreneurs who can never afford to miss an appointment or be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In which case, where the fuck do you find the time to play games and listen to MP3s?

This is a toy for pencil dicks who can't afford a Ferrari.

Re:IMHO

[ActiveSX]

I don't want a phone/MP3/PDA/GPS/condom dispenser.

You read Slashdot. You don't need a condom dispenser.