I'm still sceptical about how trouble-free integrated HDs in PDAs will be. Thankfully, recent advancements in HD technology have improved the shock capacities of miniature and standard hard disks, but I'd still like to see things become a little more 'standard' and ironed out before it becomes mainstream in the PDA market.
Back on the topic of this LifeDrive, it's nice to see Palm finally figuring out the importance of integrated Wi-Fi. Yes, the hard disk is nice too, but all the other specifications are a snoozer. And no Cobalt? Come on... :?
I dont think we will ever see Colbat and that it is all a hoax to drive up share prices!
Actually I think this is a good step for the company. True its evolution and not revolution, but it should keep the PPC camp on its toes hardware wise. It is sad that this thing isn't substantially different than my old m505, but what're you gonna do.
I'm not really that down on Palm. PPC has its share of oddities (the 'close program' issues for example). I hope they can get their acts in gear. I don't think the Treo can keep them afloat much longer. As a big fan of the traditional PDA, I worry that without competition (Handspring, Tapwave, Sony, Toshiba, the HP/Compaq merger) were going to see less and less innovation (or more innovation going into SmartPhones an not PDA/Phone or micro-tablet).
[Shrug] I dont know, if you say it enough people will believe it, and right now people say the PDA is dead.
I dont think we will ever see Colbat and that it is all a hoax to drive up share prices!
I'm not sure there was an attempt to deceive stock holders, but that seems to be the end result. Their is obviously something wrong with Cobalt that scares manufacturers away from it. I don't know what it is, but I would guess that it's either very unstable, or has serious compatability issues with existing software. However, all companies sooner or later have to drag themselves and their customers into the 21st century or they will end up out of business. It seems to me that PalmOne has opted for option B, and will just milk the old cow until it dies, which is sad.
I'd like to see PalmOne release a Cobalt device - warts and all - just to see how competitive it really is in the marketplace. Maybe there won't be thousands upon thousands of programs supported instantly, but if they never deliver the device, there is never incentive for developers to create programs that will run on it.
I've always been a Palm user. I like the simplicity of the interface, plus I have boatloads of software I've bought over the years. I bought my first PPC a couple of years ago because I had clients getting them and wanting me to fix their problems. Kind of hard to do if you don't know what they're talking about. While I'm still not a die-hard PPC user, I do find myself using my (newer) iPAQ more and more because of features like builtin wifi (WPA capable also) and the today screen (thank goodness for PocketBreeze). I still prefer Palm for basic PIM functions (I really like DateBk more than anything on the PPC platform - this is just a personal preference so please no flames), but the T5 is really a disappointment. It's slower than the iPAQ (which is really sad when you consider that Palm apps are supposed to be execute in place), and for the price, the features are lame. I can only imagine the latency we'll see when you factor in a hard drive. Palm can say all they want about people not wanting certain features (like wifi, multi-tasking, etc.), but when the devices cost as much or more than devices in the PPC camp that offer those features, they're going to lose.
I really want Palm to do well (even from a PPC perspective, competition is good), but without competition in the PalmOS arena, I feel they'll be playing catch-up for quite some time (assuming they continue to play).
I think an embedded HDD is a good development for a handheld device, but it will only be as good as the desktop software that comes with the device. If P1 integrates it with Rhapsody to Go, Napster to Go or iTunes they will have a chance to succeed. Do palm devices even have such a thing as a "synchronized folder". Either way they will need some clever software to make this a successful device. I understand the caching software on an Ipod is so good that normally you get 8-10 hours, but if you run the HDD non-stop you can only get 15 minutes.
If they don't replicate this performance then there will be many LifeDrive users who are upset at their daily bricks.
Either way they will need some clever software to make this a successful device. I understand the caching software on an Ipod is so good that normally you get 8-10 hours, but if you run the HDD non-stop you can only get 15 minutes.
If they don't replicate this performance then there will be many LifeDrive users who are upset at their daily bricks.
Surur
You make an excellent point Surur. I have been playing around with an OQO as a potential replacement for my PPC. However, playing media (MP3, WMA, AVI, etc) sucks the batttery life down too quickly to make it really usable in this way. That's because it doesn't copy these files into RAM before playing them, it simply reads from the hard disk, which keeps spinning burning battery juice for the entire time.
Hopefully P1 thought of this, or this device could really become an unusable brick. I agree with others comments - I want Palm to succeed, as competition is good - just look at how neglected Internet Explorer has been over the last few years. If Palm dies, it wouldn't surprise if the same happens to our Mobile devices.
Reality check. Having used both Palms and Pocket PC's since the very beginning of each its not nearly as simple as you make it out to be. The battery life and speed of Pocket PC's meant that multimedia is only recently a reality. The Pocket PC interface is still horrible as is memory management. Multitasking is not a significant issue on Palms or on Pocket PCs for most users. Besides that only a tiny fraction of users care about multimedia on a handheld. Many of them are enthisiasts who follow these sites but the average business users these devices are aimed at could care less and thats why the Phone blackberries and Treos are doing so well. If you travel much you see people watching DVD's on their laptops not on their handhelds. I'm not defending Palm but your crowing about Pocket PC is not reality. As with high end Pocket PC's I think the market for a $500 Palm with a 4 GB hard drive is very limited. If I want to listen to large amounts of music I use my 40GB iPod. If I want to watch a movie I stick a DVD in my laptop instead of going through all the machinations required to run it on a tiny handheld screen.
If I want to watch a movie I stick a DVD in my laptop instead of going through all the machinations required to run it on a tiny handheld screen.
True to a degree, but if it can be made "Apple Simple"(tm) e.g stick a DVD in your computer, it asks you if you want to rip it, it rips it for a hour in an open format, keeps it in a library, and then you select which movies you want to transfer to your device. On your device you press the "Movies" button and you get a selection of movies on your device, you chose which one to watch.
This is similar to ripping CD's currently, and people seems to have managed to do this for a while now. If it was as simple as that then I don't see why it would not take off. I don't know why no PDA OEM has done this before. I'm sure its probably due to copyright issues. Maybe P1 will be the one to pull it off.
I don't know... You're probably right, but I think there's sufficient market to warrant a Pocket PC with a large hard drive.
Currently, I carry a SE bluetooth phone, an iPAQ 4155 and an Archos GMINI 400. The GMINI has a 20GB HD and plays MP3s and Divx/Xvid AVIs. There is certainly enough of a market to warrant the GMINI, so why not a HD in a Pocket PC? I could replace all three of these devices if there were just a WM Treo with a significantly-sized hard drive. I know I'm not the only one. I would venture that just about everyone who bought a GMINI also has a PDA and cell phone. If you just did the math you would find that an integrated device would still cost less than all 3 of my gadgets.
Yeah, when I want to watch a movie on a flight to New York, I will probably bring my laptop. However, in my day-to-day life, I use my GMINI every day to listen to MP3s and watch AVIs on the train (I have a 90-minute round trip commute). It's easily the best value I've ever received from a gadget purchase. The inclusion of an HD into a phone-enabled PPC (or smartphone) would make that PPC the best-valued gadget I've ever bought. Dig?
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