Palm LifeDrive...anyone have it?

[mariahlullaby]

Until I got my PB, I had been using my Dell Axim X50v as my handheld. I liked it, have not been overly impressed with it. I love the WiFi and reliability, but it's a pain getting things to work and I can't sync it to my Mac (without paying for the Missing Sync).

I'm considering selling the Dell and getting the new LifeDrive. It has a 4GB HD!! And I know Palm OS works much better with Macs -- and finally, this one has WiFi.

It's gotten some bad reviews on CNET. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!


*It would also match my PB perfectly :-D*

 

[mkrishnan]

Mmmm... I have a friend who has a lifedrive (who isn't here, so I have not seen it yet), who said it was pretty fun. But won't you miss the VGA res on the Dell? The Lifedrive res is kinda low in comparison. It would be a killer app device to have BT2.0, too... I hope they change that in the next go-around.

I guess being able to take along a few gigs of documents would be nice though. And I guess I don't have strong feelings either way about the size, since no PDA is so small once you put it in a case and everything.

I'm actually thinking about picking up an x50v, so I can use it for wireless browsing in classrooms and stuff where I don't usually bother to bring my notebook. I've seen it sold for <$300 new with extras, on Dealnews, so I'm kinda waiting for one of those.

Can I ask you a question about your X50 without hijacking? Does it support WPA or WPA2?

 

[mariahlullaby]

I'm sorry I must be stupid. WPA or WPA2? Are those the mini web sites? I'm sorry

Yeah, but if you're interested in buying one...I'll probably be selling mine if I get a LifeDrive. I took a look at the screens in the store...not bad. I'm gonna compare them later today.

It's 8 months old, great condition. I've got a (scratched up, but works fine) Rhinoskin case.

 

[mkrishnan]

I'm sorry I must be stupid. WPA or WPA2? Are those the mini web sites? I'm sorry

Hehehehehe...no... Wireless Protected Access... I'm wondering if I'll have to downgrade security on my AEBS to make it work. It seems like it does but I can't find a definitive answer on the Dell website.

Mmm...I'll keep you in mind, if you do get a lifedrive (after reading your review! mwahaha).

 

[mariahlullaby]

I *think* you can, not really sure (on the encryption).

Well, I was just at Staples returning a Sandisk Compact Flash reader (which I accidently bought instead of the SD card reader, stupid me). And yeah....I sort of got tempted I bought it!! I haven't used it yet, because I have work to finish for school, but as soon as I'm done, I'm going to take a look and play with it!

 

[AstrosFan]

I love the WiFi and reliability, but it's a pain getting things to work and I can't sync it to my Mac (without paying for the Missing Sync).

I'm considering selling the Dell and getting the new LifeDrive. It has a 4GB HD!! And I know Palm OS works much better with Macs -- and finally, this one has WiFi.

Does anyone have any advice?

I haven't personally played with the LifeDrive, but I do have a Palm Tungsten E2. I think it's excellent; good screen quality, seamless syncing via Bluetooth and compact size.
It does NOT have Wi-Fi, but you can get the Wi-Fi card from Palm for $99.
Then you spend $249 (E2) + $99 (card) instead of $499.
However, if you need the capability of the 4GB portable hard drive, then to me, that is the other major advantage of the LifeDrive.

Hope that helps!

 

[homerjward]

I haven't personally played with the LifeDrive, but I do have a Palm Tungsten E2. I think it's excellent; good screen quality, seamless syncing via Bluetooth and compact size.
It does NOT have Wi-Fi, but you can get the Wi-Fi card from Palm for $99.
Then you spend $249 (E2) + $99 (card) instead of $499.
However, if you need the capability of the 4GB portable hard drive, then to me, that is the other major advantage of the LifeDrive.

Hope that helps!

lol--it just occured to me--cant you just get a 4gb microdrive for the cf slot of a normal pda? (assuming it takes type II...) seems it would be cheaper to do that than to buy a lifedrive just for the storage...hell, they make 4gb cf cards even...
4gb cf card
4gb microdrive

 

[JoeKarame]

Picked one up in New York last week. It's a great machine, but as I've never used any other PDA before, I wouldn't like to say how it compares to Windows Mobile powered ones.

All I know is that it looks fab, synchs painlessly with my iBook, and is great for a quick bit of web-browsing when I'm away from home - which is pretty much the one reason I bought the thing! Cost me $460 = £250 which was pretty decent, if you ask me. Got a lovely leather case for it too. Considering I'm a complete novice when it comes to PDAs, Palm made things very easy to use - only problems I've had so far are some difficulties with some movie playing - sometimes crashing the thing, but I'll assume that over time updates will be available to stabilise things better.

Even so, I recommed it to any Mac owners out there. Brilliant.

 

[maya]

Was looking into this, and I plan on buying one soon. The reviews I have read are all food. C-Net always insults anything that is not MS/Windows based. Whatever.

It looks kewl, has a HDD, though I like the SD slot since I find that far better than any iPod, yes even the Nano. Plays movies, though not as stable as one poster here puts it. Can view and edit information and surf. If PalmOne can do it what is taking Apple so long.


Didn't I hear that PalmOne was dropping support and syncing for Mac OS X, or did they change they minds. Hope they stick with Apple, since this LifeDrive will evolve into some great. Now if it had GPS that would be a bonus.