Text Size

palmOne's new LifeDrive challenges PocketPC

updated 11:35 am EDT, Wed May 18, 2005

palmOne\'s LifeDrive

palmOne today introduced the , the handheld maker's answer to PocketPC. LifeDrive features a 4GB hard drive and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless. It can edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents from Microsoft Office, store and play music, video, and photos, and record audio. It features a 65,000-color, 320x480 Transflective TFT display that can flip between portrait and landscape orientation. The LifeDrive is powered by a 416MHz Intel XScale processor, and costs $500. Unlike devices powered by Microsoft's PocketPC which require third-party software to work with Macs, the LifeDrive is compatible with Mac OS X out of the box.

 
Previous Comments

OOOHH

05/18, 11:50am reply

This looks interesting.

history1me

Mac Elite

Joined: Sep 2003

0

This is where....

05/18, 12:31pm reply

Apple should be headed with the iPod photo. Forget the video and the document editing if you want, I don't think I'd use them, but to have all of the contact info, music, a big color screen for photos....

On second thought, you could market concert videos to go with all of the audio...

boron

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jun 2004

0

Not so compatible

05/18, 12:59pm reply

You can't edit PowerPoint presentations and it's not clear if your contacts and calendars will sync completely. You can't import Mac Entourage contacts and settings...

umijin

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jun 2004

0

Beat Apple to the Punch

05/18, 01:07pm reply

It really is the next gen iPod for functionality assuming you are looking for something more than a music player.

Will be interesting to see what performance is like.

legacyb4

Mac Elite

Joined: May 2001

0

Nice but expensive

05/18, 01:33pm reply

These look nice but for $100 more, I can get a notebook PC. Handheld devices need to be under $300 IMHO...

cebritt

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Mar 2000

0

Apple Should

05/18, 01:44pm reply

Apple should license it's drm to Palm for this device. For Apple to introduce, this would complicate the iPod's interface which is a big part of it's success. This way techies could get the "do everything, this is so simple device", give added intensive to folks on the fence b/w this and a Pocket PC thereby helping palm challenge M$, and all at limited risk to Apple. I like the idea of challenging M$ on many fronts at once. PS3, iPod AAC, OS, and palm computing. But what do I know.

slider

Mac Elite

Joined: Oct 1999

0

Apple Should

05/18, 01:45pm reply

Apple should license it's drm to Palm for this device. For Apple to introduce, this would complicate the iPod's interface which is a big part of it's success. This way techies could get the "do everything, this is so simple device", give added intensive to folks on the fence b/w this and a Pocket PC thereby helping palm challenge M$, and all at limited risk to Apple. I like the idea of challenging M$ on many fronts at once. PS3, iPod AAC, OS, and palm computing. But what do I know.

slider

Mac Elite

Joined: Oct 1999

0

Looks Great

05/18, 02:00pm reply

Looks awesome, oh, and for the guy who says he can get a notebook for a $100 more, well I can get a desktop PC for $100 less, cmon.

slffl

Dedicated MacNNer

Joined: Jan 2003

0

Well....

05/18, 02:53pm reply

First of all for the notebook for $100 more .... so what!

Second, if Apple thinks this market segment is so small, why NOT sell drm to Palm. If Apple is so confident in this, might as well have Palm "waste" its time in the market and no skin off Steve's nose.

And finally for the naysayers to mobile video, Flash and MTV and short format animation could be the market segments that have the greatest chance to increase in the near future. Imagine having a season of the Simpson's with you at all times, to run off a TV or to have even in a 4" screen. That is worth pioneering, especially for a company like Pixar.

Performance and picture quality are the keys, not market segment, because the market will be there if Apple creates it.

MacnnGregor

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Apr 2004

0

Addendum...

05/18, 02:57pm reply

I should have said, "...for a company one degree of seperation from Pixar."

Also the one problem I have with this device is that it still looks like a pda, not an iPodVideo. The icons look like they were designed for Windows95.

MacnnGregor

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Apr 2004

0

Popular News