Technology Palm LifeDrive

[Schlemmd]

Everyone,

Have you seen the new Palm-LifeDrive Mobile Manager? It looks N-I-C-E, 4GB hard drive and much more. I was sold on the Dell handheld... but now... I don't know.

Any comments?

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[southerndoc]

Only the intro model in a long line of new models palmOne is developing.

Unfortunately the successors to the LifeDrive aren't coming out for the next 6 months.

Look for smaller PDA's with PalmOS 6.1 (Cobalt), bigger hard disks, etc. The most important thing to me is that palmOne plans to make smaller PDA's that are more powerful. That's my beef with them now -- their current PDA's are huge.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

I don't understand why you'd want 4GB on a PDA.

First, if you wanted an MP3 player, you probably don't have the battery life to play music and then do PDA things. And if you did, you certainly wouldn't need 1000 songs.

Second, I wonder what the response time will be like. Part of the value of a PDA is that it's "always on." Having a disk drive will slow the access time.

Third, having a disk drive will make the PDA more vulnerable to shakes and drops.

Fourth, I imagine that adding the disk drive will increase the size and weight of the PDA.

All in all, I don't understand where PalmOne is going with this new model.

 

[southerndoc]

Some people store large amounts of data on their PDA's. Some people might keep Excel spreadsheets, Powerpoint presentations, or databases on their PDA.

I have Filemaker databases on my PDA, and I'm almost taking up a 1 GB SecureDigital card. I can see where 4 GB might not be enough for some people!

Remember, just because the average consumer doesn't have a need for it doesn't mean that the power user doesn't have a need for it.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Undeniably true that some people will need the 4GB of space. But as you said, PalmOne PDAs are currently big. The LifeDrive is only slightly narrower but thicker and heavier than a T|C or a Treo 600. I'm not sure that the current tradeoffs in getting that much available storage space are justified.

Personally, I'd be pleased as punch if PalmOne came out with something like the old Palm V with built-in Wi-Fi.