Posted by Scott Laird
Thu, 05 May 2005 23:46:40 GMT
As earlier rumors suggested, Palm’s newest handheld is going to have a 4 GB hard drive. The rumor mills have given two different names for the product–“Tugsten X” and “LifeDrive.” According to CNet, it looks like Amazon has let the cat out of the bag, listing the PalmOne LifeDrive for $499.
Amazon doesn’t list a lot of details, but the name is really the only thing that was up for debate–most of the rumors list the 4 GB drive, Bluetooth, WiFi, and PalmOS 5.x. Most rumors say 64 MB of RAM, although 32 MB is a possibility.
Here’s one of Amazon’s pictures:
People seem to think that PalmOne is going to market this as something other then a normal PDA/handheld; that implies that the software bundle will be a bit different then normal, but I haven’t seen any details. If you look at the image, notice that the 4 “application” buttons are different then earlier models–it looks like Home/Files/Pictures/Star (?), rather then Calendar/Contacts/To-Do/Memo.
Personally, I think it’s cool, but I just can’t get excited about Grifitti devices anymore. I’m still looking for a new handheld to replace my increasingly decrepit Clie, but I doubt that this will do it for me. Now, if they could add a keyboard and a 2-ish MP camera, all for about the same price, I’d consider it. As things stand, my pockets are just too full, and I don’t see what this adds to my life.
Posted in Handheld and PDA | Tags lifedrive, palm, pda | no comments
Posted by Scott Laird
Tue, 08 Mar 2005 19:07:56 GMT
Oh no, not again. Macrumors is running yet another palmtop/pda/tablet Mac rumor. I thought they’d all been killed off years ago. Here are the details:
Sources who claim to have see one have commented to the PowerPage that an internal planning spec details that the new machines runs a stripped-down flavor of Mac OS X. We’re told that it will finally utilize Apple’s Inkwell technology to “write anywhere” and neatly fold into your pocket - rather like an enlarged Motorola RAZR V3 mobile phone with a keyboard.
I’d probably love to have one, but I’m completely incapable of getting excited over this sort of rumor anymore.
Posted in Mac stuff | Tags mac, pda, rumors | 7 comments
Posted by Scott Laird
Fri, 15 Oct 2004 17:03:58 GMT
Pretty much everyone is reporting that Sharp has announced a new Japan-only Zaurus, the SL-C3000. The big news is that Sharp has stuffed a 1” 4GB hard drive into this model, making it the first PDA on the market with a built-in hard drive.
I’ve been predicting that this would happen for a while; I’m kind of surprised that it’s taken this long.
That reminds me, I need to produce a set of PDA predictions for 2005 and score how my 2004 predictions went.
Posted in Handheld and PDA | Tags harddrive, linux, pda, zaurus | no comments
Posted by Scott Laird
Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:09:35 GMT
As part of my current organization kick, I’ve been thinking about what I want in a portable computer (PDA, handheld computer, smartphone, tablet PC, whatever). I’m a geek and a bit of a gizmo freak, but I try to be at least a bit practical–do I really want a Linux-based PDA that’s going to need ongoing sysadmin work just to be usable?
My experience with the Windows-based Motorola MPx200 smartphone rammed home another point–an organizer that can’t sync reliably is useless.
Finally, playing with Life Balance and ReaderWare has demonstrated that organization applications with both a PDA and a desktop component can be more useful then either component would be on its own.
Three simple points that most of us already know, but they’re easy to forget when faced with gratuitously cool new hardware. In short, the purpose of computers is to run software, and the point of software is to give you access to information, and if your handheld can’t run your software, or it can’t access your information, then it’s really just a cool paperweight with a nice display.
Since I’m running OS X on my primary computer, it stands to reason that I’d be best-served by a handheld that syncs with the Mac, and has as many applications as possible that can sync application-specific data between the Mac and some PDA application. And, since I want to run Life Balance, I’d be best served by a handheld that can actually run it. In every case, the best choice is some flavor of Palm, either a traditional one from PalmOne, a Sony Clie, or a PalmOS-based phone.
Now that I’ve finally answered the question “what do I want a PDA for?” I can stop looking at PocketPC handhelds, Zauruses, and whatever else is out there, because they aren’t going to do what I want them to do. It’s a nice realization, and I guess I have Motorola to thank for that, mostly. Who knows where I’d be now if they could build a battery that worked :-).
Now, if only PalmOS 5 didn’t suck so bad…
Posted in Handheld and PDA | Tags lifebalance, macosx, pda, pim, sync | no comments
