PalmOne Releases 4GB PDA [updated] 279
davidconger writes "PalmOne has introduced the first device in their new line of Mobile Manager handheld devices. The LifeDrive includes an embedded 4GB Hitachi Microdrive and additional software for file/folder synchronization. The device includes both WiFi and Bluetooth. Price tag on the device $499. PocketFactory has done a complete review of the LifeDrive." Reader gandell adds a link to Brighthand's review. Update: 05/18 18:08 GMT by T : An anonymous reader corrects this story's original headline, writing "Despite rumors the LifeDrive would run Linux, it runs PalmOS 5 (Garnet). However, the device seems to have a Linux-friendly design, and is likely to run Linux soon, whether supplied by PalmOne's sister company PalmSource, or by Linux hobbyists. PalmSource is likely to offer a Linux OS upgrade for the LifeDrive, once it is ready to support the huge variety of legacy Palm apps under Linux." Update: 05/18 18:44 GMT by T : One more review, this one at MobileTechReview.
It's not a Linux PDA (Score:4, Informative)
Pretty High Res Photos and Video, oooh, ahhhh (Score:1, Informative)
Re:4GB? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:YES, BUT.... (Score:2, Informative)
"Palm OS Cobalt as a software layer on Linux" (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Linux (Score:5, Informative)
But that's totally a different point, as the life drive (According to the review) is built w/ Garnet (PalmOS 5.4) which has more in common w/ PalmOS 3/2/1 than Linux.
Re:Rip off Britain (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Is Linux involved or not? (Score:3, Informative)
It's because PalmSource announced a few months ago that some of the Cobalt (Palm OS 6) devices would be based on the Linux kernel instead of the traditional Palm OS one. Idiots assumed this meant that all Cobalt devices would be based on Linux, and then assumed all future devices (like this one) would be Cobalt. Except so far as I can tell, this is (yawn) just another Palm OS 5 "Garnet" device from PalmOne.
In short, it is entirely un-Linux related.
Re:Are PDA's even still relevant ? (Score:3, Informative)
Whatever happened to PDAs? (Score:5, Informative)
1) The main factor for making something "seem small" is to make it thin. The 15" Powerbook is actually quite large, but because it's thin it seems small. This thing is 3/4" thick.
2) Brighthand seemed to indicate that it would make a good portable storage device for your digital camera. I don't get that either. The casual photographer who might want to offload vacation pictures isn't likely to buy a $500 device to do so. You can buy a lot of huge SD cards for $500. The professional photographer, who WOULD find this device useful, all use cameras that use CompactFlash. If this USB-thing Brighthand mentions actually works, then maybe--but the idea of having a seperate device is to pull out the card, put it in the device, replace the card with another card, and keep shooting. Also less than 4GB isn't much when you're dealing with 4-7MB RAW files (which I guarantee the LifeDrive app won't be able to read, although it may be able to pull out the JPEG preview). This may be quite the swell device for a Brighthand reviewer, but that's a terribly small niche market.
3) What is the deal with WiFi on PDAs? People are obsessive about this, just as they all clamor for megapixel cameras on their cell phones. WiFi is a power hog. If I wanted to use WiFi on a Palm, I'd go for one of the Enfora [enfora.com] portfolios where I don't have to use my Palm's battery. Battery life is king on a PDA. At some point you would do better to simply go with a 12" Powerbook or iBook, and a 3/4" thick device with WiFi but no keyboard is probably that point. (And getting a megapixel camera on your phone is stupid so long as the image is taken through a shitty, fixed focus plastic lens. You get more blurry pixels--that's a Big Win there, chief.)
4) Too expensive. I understand that in order to offer all these goodies, you have to charge for them, but if you drop this thing on the ground, or into the toilet, you've just ruined a $500 device. Everybody's tolerance is different, but for me, $200-ish dollars is that cutoff where I feel like I can replace 2 or 3 devices a year and not feel royally screwed. If I have a $500 device, I'm less likely to take it somewhere out of fear of busting it.
5) Related to 4), but unrelated to the LifeDrive; professional reviewers suck for this reason: they didn't have to buy the damn thing with their money, so they aren't interacting with the device like other people would. If a professional reviewer accidentally sits on the fucking thing, they just phone up Palm and say, "Oopsie, send me another please." They also tend to parrot specs and press release material, and are pathologically uncritical. I've hardly ever seen a review where the reviewer revisits the device after using it for a few months--mostly because after the initial review, the reviewer has moved on to using whatever the next latest-and-greatest toy is, because, you know, everybody has endless time and money to constantly upgrade. Jesus Christ, I'm still using a IIIxe because it works, it's reliable, and I'm not swimming in free time and cash. (The best reviewer in the world is probably Dan [dansdata.com] even though he does have goodies provided to him on occasion.)
6) No poofters.
Not What I Was Hoping For (Score:3, Informative)
I love having a PDA for several reasons.
* I have a complicated schedule that often changes and a poor memory. The Calendar on the T3 is great and a real life saver for me. Color-labeled calendars are awesome. Vibrating alarms are a must have feature for me. I hate cell phone rings, I hate pda alarm rings, I hate any stupid noise like that. Plus it's fun to legitemately have buzzing things in your pants pocket.
* Having my next-tasks list on the same screen as that day's appointments - on the Agenda view - is great, a real productivity boost for me.
* Having my entire address book in the T3 is also fantastic. My wife keeps her addresses in a traditional paper book and it is a mess of crossed out entries, personal contacts next to business contacts, etc. With the T3 I can easily enter, edit, categorize, and look up phone numbers and addresses (real and e).
* I have a ton of lists: next actions, projects, waiting for, follow ups, someday, DVDs/Books/CDs/Websites to buy/rent/borrow/bookmark, Wine & Beer I like, etc. Between Tasks (which should be called Lists), Notes, and Memos it's easy to keep these things always at hand, categorized and easily editable. I could keep these in a paper notebook, but I again run into the problem of the notebook becoming a mess of crossed out items where I can't easily find what I'm looking for and that has to be manually copied when I fill up one book and get another.
Bluetooth is nice to wirelessly sync the T3 to my PowerBook. It's cool to have family pictures and a pr0n stash readily viewable on a very nice display. The slider keeps the T3 nice and small in my pocket and nice and big in my hand.
The lack of wi-fi isn't too big of a deal. It would be nice for email, but web surfing on that tiny screen is a bit masochistic. Also, the pathetic battery life would be worse with wi-fi. That's the biggest problem with the T3. A hard day's use makes it worthless that evening until you've charged it up again.
Yes, my cell phone (Motorola V265) can do most of that stuff, but entering and editing the information is a *huge* pain in the ass. The tiny screen is also annoying and I basically just use the thing to hold other people's phone numbers, which aren't too bad to enter.
I was looking to the Lifedrive to be a replacement for my aging T3. What I really want from my next PDA is a T3 with better battery life, a more modern operating system (ie Palm OS 6) for better multitasking and network connectivity, and wi-fi.
OK, I got the wi-fi. But battery life doesn't look to be any better even though the Lifedrive has a bigger battery than the T3. Also, the included web browser looks to be almost useless to actually surf the web.
I guess the brilliant slider is gone forever, which is really a crying shame. The Lifedrive is huge and heavy and not suitable for back pocket glueing. And no vibrating alarms! Ack! It still uses OS 5. Blech!
I have no idea why anyone wants 4GB of storage in their PDA. From the reviews it seems all it does is slow down app loading times and suck battery life. I have a 1GB iPod flash that I use to listen to music and carry files. I have several
I guess the "killer feature" of 4GB of storage is handheld video. Personally I think handheld video is completely braindead, as is anyone who seriously thinks it is a good idea. The Lifedrive can't even play standard TV resolution without dropping tons of frames. Why would you want to look at that? I doubt you could watch a feature length movie before the battery died. If I had very long commutes on public transportation I'd pull out my Powerbook or just a book.
Oh, and having to pay extra for decent Mac connectivity is just assinine. (Palm Desktop is a dead horse. The Missing Sync from Markspace is necessary for proper T3-OS X interaction and costs $40.) I think the people who actually like
more review (Score:1, Informative)
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/palmone-LifeDrive
Re:Yawn (Score:3, Informative)
It also, in fact, runs Linux, unlike any Palm.