Home
News Archive
palmOne Unveils the LifeDrive
May 18, 2005
After months of speculation, palmOne has finally unveiled their latest device, the LifeDrive. In many ways it functions as a cross between a traditional Palm OS handheld and a mobile media player. Features include
- 4GB hard drive
- WiFi and Bluetooth
- Native support for Microsoft Office documents
- Media playback/viewing, including music (even iTunes with additional software!), movies, and photos
- Voice Recorder
I was able to attend a press briefing webcast earlier this week, and I was impressed with how carefully palmOne has researched consumer needs/wants and designed this device around them. I haven’t been terribly excited about a handheld since my beloved Tapwave Zodiac came on the scene a year and a half ago, but I may not be able to resist the purchase of a LifeDrive. The things that really caught my eye during the presentation were the folder synchronization software and the Camera Companion. Folder synchronization allows you to easily choose particular folders to synchronize with the LifeDrive, ensuring that you will always have the latest version of your presentations, sales letters, parts inventories, etc. Adobe Acrobat files are also supported, though a one-step conversion process will be required in order to view them on the LifeDrive.
The Camera Companion software solve the problem of getting your photos off of your digital camera without a laptop— just remove the SD card from your camera, put it in the LifeDrive, and the device will automatically start up the Camera Companion application to copy the files to the 4GB hard drive and then erase the memory card so you can take more pictures. Even if you have a digital camera that uses another memory card format, you’re not out of luck— a $49 accessory will allow you to connect your camera directly to the LifeDrive with the camera’s USB transfer cable.
I saw some other cool things during the presentation, including examples of just how much that 4GB hard drive will hold in terms of music files, video, and more. I could see the LifeDrive truly becoming an all-in-one device for many people, replacing an iPod mini, USB flash drives used to backup and carry Office documents, etc. The device looks to be solidly built, with a metal casing; the 4GB drive from Hitachi is a MicroDrive that is much more rugged than the mini drives typically found in iPod music players. Even better, the stock stylus is made of metal, and telescopes to make it easier to hold.
The LifeDrive is $499 and you can place a pre-order now at the palmOne web site with free overnight shipping; the device is expected to be available within the next 7-14 days.
Category: Hardware & Accessories
Published: May 18, 2005 9:10 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.pocketgoddess.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/167
Comments
1. pdradley on May 18, 2005 3:48 PM said...
The Palm sites are today full of comments and even some reviews. The device looks very nice and the host of features is certainly impressive, but I am not in the market for a multimedia device (I am not interested in either audio or video streaming). I need a PDA for PIM functions and add-ons in the form of databases. What is disturbing to me about this unit is that the battery life appears to be little different from that of the T3 and inferior to that of the T5. This appears to be due to the constant activation of the new drive - and no one seems to understand why it gets activated as much as it does. And I don't understand why it does not have either a VGA screen (my wife's new HP has one and it is beautiful and very readable in sunlight) or a removable battery (which my wife's HP also has).
In any case, I will not even consider a purchase until I see one in person.
