Palmone Lifedrive Driver For Mac

PalmFocus: LifeDrive Software Compatibility List Search News User Guides Downloads Device Spotlights Device Spotlight August 3, 2006 Latest Palmcast September 12, 2005 This palmcast is 5 minutes and 55 seconds long. It discusses a great example of an open source application in the Palm community called CryptoPad. Site Related Current Devices Discontinued Devices Newsletter Subscribe to the exclusive PalmFocus newsletter for news, interviews, reviews, tips, giveaways, and discounts. Name Email Address Other Sites Site Support This site is supported from advertising revenue, software purchases, and donations from people like you. We ask that you consider purchasing software through our store and/or making a donation via PayPal.

No amount is too small to be appreciated. Palm LifeDrive Software Compatibility List UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:38 PM CST Sorted by Title in Alphabetical Order -First off, I just want to thank everyone for their contribution to this list. Without many users within the Palm community, this list would not be possible. Before you start installing any software, be sure to install the latest software update for the LifeDrive. This list will include all the software that has been verified by other users to work on the PalmOne LifeDrive. For those not aware, the LifeDrive is a different beast under the hood than even the PalmOne Tungsten T5. The LifeDrive runs a newer version of Palm OS, and the LifeDrive's internal hard drive is different than the T5's internal memory.

Because of the different architecture, many developers will have to update their software to make it work with the LifeDrive. If you do not find the software title, it does not mean that it does not work on the LifeDrive.

It just means that it has not been tested by a LifeDrive user that has posted his/her experience. To submit a title to this list, please include the four things: the title of the software, the version of the software, the Internet link for the software, and confidence level of the tests. Here is a list that defines different confidence levels:.

Need: Tested and the software needs to be updated to be compatible with the LifeDrive. Low: Tested the basic functions of the software, and everything appears to be working on the LifeDrive. Medium: Tested a lot of the functionality of the software including a few difference settings and options, and everything appears to be working on the LifeDrive. High: Tested a multitude of options and scenerios that you can guarantee compability of the software with the LifeDrive. Anyone can submit the information, as long as you follow the guidelines listed in the above section. You can submit information to the list using our.

Do not install the T3 files that are included with many software titles. The files are as follows: AppSlipRotate.prc and StatusBarLib.prc.

I have modified the list to make it easy to see what does work (Green Light List) and what does NOT work (Red Light List). If it is on the Green Light List, the confidence level shows how extensive the software was tested on the LifeDrive. I have added a new list for requested software that people would like tested on the LifeDrive. Recent Updates.

UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:38 PM CST - From user, 'Lifedrive Update 2.0 applied. Program worked for a while. Now crashes and soft resets whenever I try to run it.' .: Medium UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:34 PM CST -.

UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:32 PM CST -. UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:27 PM CST -. UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:25 PM CST -. UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:20 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 6/8/2007 10:38 PM CST - From user, 'This software has been working flawlessly on my LifeDrive even when placed on the hardrive via Power Run.' .: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:57 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:56 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:56 PM CST - Green Light List.: High UPDATED 8/5/2005 8:37 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 6/8/2007 10:38 PM CST - From user, 'This software has been working flawlessly on my LifeDrive even when placed on the hardrive via Power Run.'

.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 4:06 AM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/8/2006 5:53 AM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 3:42 AM CST -.: Low UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:50 PM CST - From user, 'cannot modify, only copy'.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:45 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:18 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED  2:24 PM CST - BackupMan 1.54 works for my LD. The only time it crashed was when I had Dimmer 2.14 enabled too. Disabling Dimmer allowed BackupMan to work fine.: High UPDATED  7:59 PM CST - 12/15/05: New version. 9/23/05: From user, 'Blue Nomad finally fixed the bugs.

I have tested backups (manual and automated) and restores with no problems. Works with Fonts4OS5 active.'

.: Medium UPDATED 7/19/2005 10:02 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 8/5/2005 8:40 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/19/2005 9:46 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:10 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED  7:42 AM CST - From user, 'Simple enough to install and use. No problems with the software or functions. I just didn't think it added anything too exciting to my Life. Basic alarms sounds ect. I'm sticking to using the mobile to wake me up.'

.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:47 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:18 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 9/5/2005 6:49 PM CST - Now called mobileCLOCK.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:43 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/11/2005 2:15 AM CST -.: High UPDATED 1/13/2007 12:47 PM CST - From user, 'The latest version of CacheMate is 4.1.2 which I recently upgraded to from a much older version. I extensively use it and it works flawlessly on the LifeDrive.' .: High UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:48 PM CST - Cleans up saved and unsaved preferences.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 3:53 AM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 3:43 AM CST -.: High UPDATED 8/5/2005 8:39 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:50 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:07 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 4:12 AM CST -.: Low UPDATED  2:25 PM CST - BackupMan 1.54 works for my LD. The only time it crashed was when I had Dimmer 2.14 enabled too. Disabling Dimmer allowed BackupMan to work fine.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 4:19 AM CST -.: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:07 PM CST -.: Low UPDATED 1/13/2007 12:48 PM CST - From user, 'I have had Easy Calc 1.22 installed since I first synched my LifeDrive to my computer and all functions have worked every time that I have used it.' .: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:16 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:15 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:15 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:55 PM CST - New version.: High UPDATED 8/5/2005 8:42 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/19/2005 9:50 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:51 PM CST -.: Low UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:43 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:18 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 9/25/2005 10:47 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 9/5/2005 6:52 PM CST - New version. From user, 'The update from 3.21 made it such that the app could see apps on the hard drive of the LD so that you could assign different fonts to these apps.

Prior to this, you were stuck with the default font.' .: Medium UPDATED 6/10/2007 10:34 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:52 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 8/5/2005 8:41 PM CST - From user, 'Difficult to play since the LifeDrive will not recognize more than one key press.

Will work with LifeKey installed.' .: Medium UPDATED 7/10/2005 11:57 PM CST -.: Low UPDATED 7/19/2005 9:53 PM CST - 7/19/05: Appears problems have been fixed with version 2.9c. However, user was not able to do any extensive testing. 7/13/05: One user reports the LifeDrive resets when you attempt to create a new database.

Any other feedback appreciated.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:52 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:53 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 8/5/2005 8:44 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/10/2005 11:53 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED  9:17 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/9/2006 2:45 AM CST -.: Low UPDATED 9/5/2005 6:51 PM CST - 9/5/05: From user, 'I have still not had any problems. There are issues with loading too many maps with Legacy (e.g. Loading every single expansion set you own instead of just the one you are playing.) I wonder if this could be causing problems.' 8/28/05: This was on the green light list, but there has been several people having problems. From one user, 'I have repeatedly tried legacy 1.05x on my lifedrive without success.

It will run fine until the save screen. At which point it will crash on about 1 out of 4 times, in the process erasing the saved game and at least one other save slot, sometimes all of the save slots. This makes it impossible to play.' .: Medium UPDATED 7/11/2005 2:16 AM CST -.: High UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:54 PM CST - New version.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:36 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/11/2005 12:09 AM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:58 PM CST - New version.: Medium UPDATED 9/5/2005 6:43 PM CST - 9/5/05: From user, 'The reason why it would not register is that the key is based off of the device serial number and not the user name.

Once they sent me a new key, it worked great.' 8/5/05: From user, Will NOT recognize the key file that needs to be installed to register it.' .: High UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:57 PM CST - Used to be Bob's Alarm.: High UPDATED 7/26/2005 7:17 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:41 PM CST - Formerly known as SkinDIA!.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 12:25 PM CST - From user, 'So far it works great. I use this all the time and have had not problems. It's a little slow loading from the hard drive, but that's not surprising considering its size.' .: Medium UPDATED  8:23 AM CST -.: High UPDATED 8/5/2005 8:38 PM CST - Latest version compatible with LifeDrive.: High UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:50 PM CST - From user, 'Version downloaded from PalmGear will not recognize remote codebases stored on the hard drive of the LifeDrive. Version available from Novii tech support will.

Codebases will work if in RAM. Otherwise works great.' .: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:54 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/19/2005 9:44 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 3:52 AM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 8/31/2005 12:51 PM CST - New version.: Medium UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:54 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:45 PM CST -.: High UPDATED 9/5/2005 6:44 PM CST - From user, 'Version updated to support either SD or the LD hard drive.' .: Medium UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:42 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/19/2005 9:57 PM CST -.: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 3:50 AM CST -.: Low UPDATED 1/13/2007 1:55 PM CST - From user, 'Black and white.' .: Medium UPDATED 7/13/2005 4:07 AM CST - Just to clarify. Version 2.1 is the version number for the viewer on the Palm device. The desktop converter software is still at version 2.0.: Medium UPDATED  9:11 PM CST -.: Low UPDATED 8/20/2005 7:12 PM CST - 08/20/05: It is reported that there is a new version dated 7/9/05 that works with the LifeDrive.

However, the version number is the same. 08/05/05: From user, 'Cannot trigger image capture with hard buttons.' .: High UPDATED 9/23/2005 11:53 PM CST - 9/23/05: New version.

8/20/05: It is reported that there is a new version dated 7/9/05 that works with the LifeDrive. However, the version number is the same. 08/05/05: From user, 'After entering password, automatically opens first item in list.'

Product Requirements: Device: Windows 2000 or XP, Mac OS X v10.2.6 or 10.3 has been in the PDA market for a little over 9 years now. I think most of you will admit that they pretty much started this ‘revolution’ that we know as handheld computing.

Yes, I know there were other handheld PDAs before the Palm Pilot 1000 and 5000, but none of them took the world by storm like those first Palms did. In these past 9 years, we’ve seen many evolutionary changes to palmOne PDAs. We’ve seen monochrome screens turn into color screens, 128k of memory turn into 128mb of memory and so on.

Palm has been criticized by always coming out with new PDAs that only have evolutionary changes instead of revolutionary changes. With their latest offering, some may argue that the LifeDrive Mobile Manager is yet another such PDA. The main new feature of this model is a 4gb microdrive built into it.

It is actually the first mainstream PDA to have this feature. So, is this an evolutionary or revolutionary change? You will have to be the judge as I walk you through this new device. Hardware Specs Processor: 416MHz Intel XScale Processor Operating System: Palm OS software (Garnet) v5.4.8 Memory: 32MB on board RAM (for program caching), 4GB microdrive (3.85GB user accessible) Display: TFT color display with backlight, 320 x 480, 16 bit color / 65,000+ colors Interface: USB 2.0 (for HotSync® operation), Infrared, Bluetooth v1.1, WiFi 802.11b Dimensions and Weight: 4.76 x 2.87 x 0.74in (121 x 73 x 19mm), 6.8 oz. (190g) (including stylus) Power: 108-132VAC, 60Hz US;100-240VAC, 50-60Hz Int’l Battery: 1660mHa Lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery (internal – non user removable) Expansion: SD card slot (Secure Digital), supports MMC and SDIO cards Package Contents LifeDrive PDA Stylus Leather slip case USB cable with sync button AC adapter Graffiti 2 sticker Screen protector Read This First document License Agreement Accessories Catalog Software Installation CD My first impression of the LifeDrive was that it looked like the offspring of an Apple Powerbook and a tablet PC. The top and bottom shells are made of aluminum, with grey plastic sandwiched in between. This device is pretty large when compared to most PDAs currently on the market.

In hand it has a definite heft to it. Although the LifeDrive is thick, the beveled sides allow it to remain comfortable while holding it. As always, my first test with any handheld device is the Gadgeteer creak test. So, I squeezed it, shook it, tried to flex it (gently) and was impressed by its solidness.

The casing does not flex or creak when squeezed. The only noises I could generate were a few rattles from the side buttons when shaking the device. Since I don’t normally go around shaking my PDAs like a maraca, I will say that the LifeDrive passed the test with flying colors.

Left to right: Treo 650 on full brightness, LifeDrive on full brightness. The main focus on the front of the LifeDrive is the display. The way the case is constructed, it even frames the screen like a picture frame.

While the display is crisp and easy to read, on full brightness, the display is noticeably dimmer than my Treo 650 when on full bright. Colors aren’t quite as vibrant as they could be. If I hadn’t been using a for the past few months, I might not even notice this. But since I have, I felt that I should put that out there. Below the display are the 4 main application and 5-way navigator button. The application buttons are assigned to Favorites, File manager, Media and pTunes by default.

Of course, you are free to reassign them to any applications you desire. The application buttons are large flat plastic slabs and have great tactile feedback. The 5-way navigator button is oval shaped and made of metal (I think). The middle (select) button is smooth and concave. Surrounding it is a ring that can be pressed up, down, left and right. On the left side of the LifeDrive there are two square buttons. One that toggles the screen from portrait to landscape, and one for the voice memo.

Holding the voice memo button will launch the app and initiate recording. Recording stops when you let go of the button. Above the button are two small holes for the microphone.

The top of the LifeDrive has the Power / Hold switch, IR port, SD slot, status LED and stylus silo. When clicked all the way to the left, the Power switch is in Hold mode.

In this mode, button presses will have no effect. To power the device on and off, you slide the spring loaded switch all the way to the right and let go. I hate this type of power switch because it seems like I never slide it far enough the first try to toggle the power status. I’ve taken to using one of the application buttons for powering on the device instead. The status LED blinks orange when the internal microdrive is being accessed and blinks green when an alarm goes off. The LED glows amber while the device is being charged.

I assumed it would turn green when fully charged, but I’ve yet to see this happen. It just remains amber. The stylus included with the LifeDrive is identical to the telescoping variety used with the Tungsten T series.

This has been one of my favorite stock styli used with a PDA, so I’m glad to see it here. The bottom of the PDA has the 3.5mm earphone jack, hotsync port and reset switch. This devices uses the same hotsync (multi connector) as current palmOne devices. The LifeDrive ships with the same hotsync cable (with sync button) that my Treo 650 shipped with. I’m disappointed that a regular cradle was not included with this pricey PDA. That seems to be the trend these days and I don’t like it Cables are ok for traveling, but I want a cradle for my desk.

The LifeDrive uses a 1660mAh Lithium Ion battery. Problem is that the battery is not user swappable. There isn’t a door on the back of the PDA for access to the battery. There aren’t even any screws on the back of this device to facilitate battery removal of any kind. Since the LifeDrive is being marketed as a mobile manager that can allow you to view your photos, movies, MP3s, Word, Excel, etc.

You would think that they have might given us the ability to bring along a spare battery in the event that we run out of juice while doing all this cool stuff. But nope we are out of luck. I’ve only had the LifeDrive for a couple of days, so a full battery test will have to be added to the second half of the review. The sound quality through the earphone jack (BTW: palmOne didn’t include earbuds with this device at least there weren’t any in the eval box I received. Not that I ever use the freebies that come with PDAs) is very good.

Max volume will make your ears bleed. Sound quality through the built in speaker is fine as long as you don’t turn it all the way up to max. Doing so will give it a slightly distorted sound depending on the song. That said, this PDA has the loudest alarm that I’ve ever heard. Set to high, I think it could wake the dead!

I also wanted to mention that the location of the built in speaker can be a little inconvenient if you like to hold the PDA in your hand while watching videos. Since the speaker is on the back, it is easy for your hand to muffle the sound. When it is all said and done, the LifeDrive has two major hardware features: built-in WiFi and a built-in 4gb microdrive. This is palmOne’s first PDA since the to offer WiFi. I have to say that it’s about freaking time!

Having WiFi built in is much easier to deal with than having to carry around an SD WiFi card. Setting up and connecting to an access point with the LifeDrive was a snap. There’s even an icon on the menu bar now just for WiFi. Tapping this icon shows the WiFi power status, network name and signal strength.

If you’re not connected to an access point, you can just click the connect button and the PDA will search for networks. This is a painless operation and makes surfing via WiFi on the LifeDrive a real joy. This is especially true if you rotate the display. I couldn’t get my screen shot program to capture the rotated screens, but you get an idea of how websites look from the pictures below. Of course the biggest news with the LifeDrive is the built in 4gb microdrive.

Although microdrives have been around for awhile now, palmOne has not had a PDA with a CF slot in order to use one. So instead of adding a slot, they just slapped the hard drive directly into the body of the PDA. They went with an Hitachi drive due to their faster seek times. That’s important when your OS and all your applications are stored directly on the drive. The only memory on the PDA itself is 32mb of RAM where the programs run from. When I learned about this, I was worried about several things: battery life, noise, vibration and system speed. As far as battery life, I mentioned above that I’ve yet to conduct a real test.

But I will say that so far the battery life has not been too shabby at all. I’ve surfed, played videos, loaded programs, played games, listened to MP3s and still had more than 50% battery power left. Some of you might be wondering if you can hear and feel the drive spinning inside the PDA. So far I’ve not noticed any hard drive type noises at all.

I have noticed the very slightest hint of vibration though. It’s almost imperceptible, so it isn’t a problem whatsoever. Now we can talk about a big issue: system speed. Since the hard drive in this device is used for EVERYTHING, this means that you will notice a definite lag when launching applications as it has to go out and load the app from the drive.

While you won’t see an hourglass or anything like that, you will notice a blank white screen for a second or two as an application is loading. This does not happen all the time, because there is 32mb of on board RAM where programs are cached.

So, if you happen to launch an application that you had opened not long before, it should pop right up with no lag. I’ve also noticed that doing a soft reset takes quite awhile longer than other Palm PDAs I’ve used. Hard resetting now gives you 2 choices: Quick Erase which takes 5 minutes and Secure Erase that can take 30 minutes. It should go without saying that a hard reset will wipe the drive of all your files, apps, etc. My Treo 650 has a slower processor (315mhz), but feels much snappier than the LifeDrive with its 416mhz processor. Could I overlook this lag as the price you have to pay for gaining 4gb of space? Yes, I suppose I could But I’m not sure it is entirely worth it for me as I have a 1gb SD card in my Treo that isn’t even full yet.

2gb cards are already available, so 3 and 4gb cards should follow soon. That said, the 4gb in the LifeDrive is built-in. I don’t have to remove it if I want to use the SD slot for something else That’s where the LifeDrive shines. It has a card slot, a hard drive and WiFi all in one package. The LifeDrive package is very nice but could be better. The screen could be brighter.

The system speed could be faster. Hardware is one thing, software is another This PDA has some new software tools that are very interesting and may make this device worth the $500 price tag. Included in ROM: Quick Tour – Simple overview of features. Addit – Application that enables you to download and buy Palm software Calc – Same old calculator. Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Memos, Note Pad – PIM applications. Card Info – Displays data about the SD memory card in the slot. Camera Companion – Allows you to use your LifeDrive as a card reader for SD cameras.

Contacts – Address book Dialer – Bluetooth phone dialer Documents to Go v7.0 – Word, Excel and PowerPoint viewer and editor that can read and write native files. No more conversions are needed.

Drive Mode – Simple toggle application that turns on/off USB mode. Expense Favorites – Simple application launcher Files – Finally, an actual file manager. Not nearly as good as, but it’s a start. Julie, thanks for the review. Maybe I’ll change my mind after reading your software portion, but just the hardware specs/performance are enough to just disappoint. No user-replaceable battery is a joke, especially when such a feature is de facto on most PPCs.

I think the placement of the headphone jack on the bottom of the unit is inconvenient to say the least. And the sluggishnesh and DIM DIM screen don’t really boil my potatoes. At least Palm got the form factor right, and features seem right on. But for $499, why oh why no swappable battery?

And I agree on the cradle, too – stingy of them to not throw the thing in. Once you get past all the hoopla over 4GB and the high-flying name, you have: 1 bog-standard Palm, with wifi and a 4GB hard drive. The drive of course sucks power, so the battery is big.

This of course makes the device both big and heavy, at least comparatively speaking. Slow application starts and other latency due to the hard drive, negating one of the real edges that Garnet has over Windows Mobile. Oh, and a hard reset of the device reportedly wipes the hard drive, although of course I haven’t tried it since I don’t have a Lifedrive. An Axim with dual batteries and a 2GB SD card will set you back maybe another $100, and you get more capable gear all round – and still have a CF slot free for a GPS card or whatever.

Once again Palm comes out with an entirely underwhelming device. There is a very limited market for this kind of device that is also willing to pay $499. Another Palm screwup IMHO. There is still a large product gap between the Tungsten E2 and this device and the T5 ain’t it.

I’ve have seen some say you can buy a Pocket PC and a 4 GB solid state CF card for less than this device. I don’t know if thats true but I imagine the numbers are pretty close. How many people want or need a 4 gig drive in their PDA especially since it is not removable, load slower and sucks up battery? Also no cradle for $500??? Anyway thanks for the fast review Julie. I’m waiting for a VGA version of the HP 24XX series Pocket PC myself. Thanks for this review, Julie.

I’ve been looking forward to the LifeDrive for awhile, and although finances prevent me from purchasing one at this time, I will get one eventually and retire my T3. The only thing I dislike about this, so far, is the lack of a cradle. I’m with you: When I’m home, I want my PDA resting in a cradle. I’d use the old cradle, but since they’ve switched.yet again. to a new “Universal Interface”, I can’t use my existing models. This is the biggest disappointment I’ve seen yet.

However I’ve been using Palms for the past 8 years, since I got my Palm Professional 1000. I’m sold on the OS, for all its flaws and foibles. I’ve tried a Pocket PC, and while they’re good, they can’t match the range (IMHOnot trying to start a flame war here) of software available for the Palmespecially the FREE software. This is a solid PDA. Granted, it’s got Garnet. Will we ever see Cobalt? Probably not.

But I’m satisified with this OS. I’m not using my PDA for moviesI’ve got a laptop if I wanna watch a DVD. I’m not using my PDA for musicI’ve an iPod and a MiniDisc player for that. I use my PDA to store my contacts, to-do’s, grocery list, database.it’s information at my fingertips, which (once again, IMHO) is what a PDA is for. It’s got WiFi, which’ll be greatbut the other bells and whistles? That’s just icing on the cake, and I’m trying to cut back on the sweets. Lorcro2000 wrote: Oh, and a hard reset of the device reportedly wipes the hard drive, although of course I haven’t tried it since I don’t have a Lifedrive.

If the hard reset is initiated by the security protection while someone is trying to hack into your device, yes. Otherwise, a hard reset caused by a bad software bug or other problem leaves the data that is NOT on the 64MB partition alone (according to palmOne). Julie can test this though 😉 Agree about the speed issue. That’s always been a fave feature: instant response. However, if you do something that requires resources from the hard drive, and the drive is idle at the moment The ideal design would have used 64MB of RAM or ROM as the location of apps, with a running backup written to HD in the background when CPU utilization is low. Better yet, just use 4GB of flash to reduce size and improve perfomance/reliability. Still, this device will suite some users perfectly.

At least we got wi-fi, and BT, and a big battery, and the voice recorder back, and finally a multifunction indicator light (which IS supposed to turn green when fully charged). Guess we have to accept the fact that it is the only mainline PDA with an HD built in, and deal with the limitations of that. Well your review made the appeal of this device somewhat comprehensible to me by comparing it to a Tablet. Judging it by that standard rather than as a PDA is helpful. Because Palm (Source or Center or whatever the “red” logoed side of the company is called) has not made this clear!

(Did they get the idea to split into red and blue companies from the silver age Superman imaginary story, btw?) They are in a “Sculley Apple” era where they can come up with great features but fumble away their lead even while innovating in some respects. At one point, after hearing about the LifeDrive, I was looking forward to replacing my Zodiac 2 with it. I love my Zodiac 2, but its gaming capabilites have never been used or exploited to their fullest potential.

I mostly, if any, play Bejeweled! 2 and other multi-platform friendly games.

One thing it does have over any other mass-produced Palm OS device is dual expansion capabilities, and I usually have both slots filled at any given time. I’d love to have the LifeDrive, but honestly it is still not quite complete in my opinion. With almost all PPC/Windows Mobile devices, and cell phones, having removable batteries. I just ordered my replacement backup PDA, and it isn’t a Palm OS device. I decided to try the PPC camp again and I’m getting a HP iPaq 2215. Once equipped, it will have the same capabilities as the LifeDrive, and be $50 or more less then a LifeDrive.

I love that it has both WiFi and Bluetooth, and a SDIO capable slot, but it still needs more done with it. I say wait until the LifeDrive 3 next year, and hope it fixes the original’s shortcomings with lack of true RAM, and removeable/replaceable battery. I just wish Palm had gotten it right this time, because at one point it was the PPC/Windows Mobile playing catch-up, now it is the other way around. I had a few questions for Julie/Judie: 1) Can the lifedrive be used for making PPT presentations to an external display? Whats the output port?Is it possible wirelessly using any software or device (accessory)?

Does it come with a remote? Whats the best presentation software available for this in the market today? 2) Is the HDD response response TRULY slow enough to make it a showstopper? 3) Is the email client, always on, all the time, like Blackberry? Does email get PUSHED or is it PULLED? 4)Im planning to purchase the virtual keyboard?

To go with this. How does one assess compatibility of the device? 5) Whenever Skype mobile gets released, is this compatible with it? Thanks a lot. I am an old and loyal fan of your website from India.

Made all my decisions after reading your reviews only. Cheers Athreya. I’ve been upgrading my Palm since my plastic Palm III, and have decided the technology forces telling me I need to constantly upgrade are just lying to me.

My purchase Tungsten C was my last stop on the tech train. Going further, I’m worried that this latest generation of devices (PSP, LifeDrive) is part of the American problem of litterally amusing ourselves to death. We need reality, not devices that keep us away from it. I won’t disagree the siren call of a 4gig drive in my pocket isn’t aluring. I’ll just have to wait out this generation. Athreya wrote: 1) Can the lifedrive be used for making PPT presentations to an external display?

Whats the output port?Is it possible wirelessly using any software or device (accessory)? Does it come with a remote? Whats the best presentation software available for this in the market today? I can’t help you with this question. I have never really played with PPT presentations on a Palm or Pocket PC for that matter. The built in Documents to Go application will allow you to view PPT presentations.

2) Is the HDD response response TRULY slow enough to make it a showstopper? It’s not dog slow, it’s just slower than what I would like it to be.

3) Is the email client, always on, all the time, like Blackberry? Does email get PUSHED or is it PULLED? The app is only ‘on’ when you launch it. You have to pull the email. 4)Im planning to purchase the virtual keyboard? To go with this. How does one assess compatibility of the device?

I do not have an answer for you as I have not used that specific keyboard for any length of time. 5) Whenever Skype mobile gets released, is this compatible with it? Sorry, not sure of the answer to that question either I’ve not used Skype. Maybe someone else can help answer the questions that I was unable to do.

Seems like a lot of people are nit picking about this device. For those complaining about the speed, get a large SD card and run your programs from there. Yeah, when you have a physical hard drive you will always have a lag. To me except for songs or photos, I don’t see why so much space would be needed on a PDA.

This device to me seems like an attempt by Palm1 to make a combo PDA and ipod. To all the complainers about this not having a removable battery, Apple has been able to sell millions of ipods without one. I think a removable battery just invites loss of data. Once I got a Palm with a nonremoveable battery it seemed much more reliable than the first ones with removeable batteries. To me, it seems that dropping a unit with a removeable battery causes the battery to fall off half the time. My data is more important than being able to change batteries.

Buy some kind of auxillary battery charger if you need more battery time. Just my 2 cents. And to me the screenshots of the Blazer browser in operation look pretty freaking good. Good review, I’m a Zodiac 2 owner and computer technician by trade and am thinking about moving over to the Lifedrive for the extra harddrive space, built-in WIFI, etc. My questions are: INDENT1. Would you replace a Zodiac 2 (outfitted w/1GB SD, Sandisk WIFI, etc) with a Palm Lifedrive?

You’ve reviewed both the Z2 and Lifedrive unitsis the load times on the Lifedrive enough not to upgrade? How do the two units compare performance wise? NOTE: I’ve owned a Z2 for about 6 months and use it for both PIM, WIFI, etc. The Lifedrive has a few features that would be very handy like 4GB HD and built-in WIFI, which are both blessings since my external Sandisk WIFI can be annoying having the insert and remove anytime I use it and the HD storage could be used in my business for moving files, security updates, etc. Finally, should I wait or purchase something else (Palm’s next Lifedrive, Dell Axim X50v, or Dell’s next Axim unit)? /INDENT I’m looking forward to you response and would appreciate complete honesty since making another change can be both time consuming and costly.

BTW, I’ve looked at the Dell Axim X50v before and cannot quite get ahold of the interface and software compared to the usual Palm interface and standard I’ve used previously. Is changing from Palm OS to PPC that difficult and how does Palm OS Garnet and Windows Mobile 2003 compare? Thanks, BrianS. It’s hard for me to compare the Z2 and the Lifedrive since I haven’t had the Z2 in a long time. Judie still has hers, but she’s not tried the Lifedrive.

Sooooo, here goes. If it were me, I would probably stick with the Z2. The screen is better on the Z2 from what I remember. It also has excellent controls for game play. I would just deal with the lower storage capacity because I don’t think I would personally need 4gb on my PDA. I only say that because I’m not using my PDA as an mp3 player or an image tank.

In order to do either of those tasks I would want at least 80gb and that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Performance on the Z2 vs.

LifeDrive is another area where it’s hard for me to comment. All I can say is that I remember the Z2 bing very snappy.

Hope this helps. Pay $499 for a device with a 4 GB HD and not use it? Deal with the associated lag (if you read the review the apps run from the HD) and poor battery life to run from an SD card? I don’t think so. As far as a removeable battery goes I don’t much care but alot of people do and it is a competitive factor that Pocket PC has going for it against Palm.

Palm still acts like they are in a PDA market with no competition. Instead of going by what you saw on screenshots go and look at the actual screen. It might have been really nice two years ago but now it’s just average. I expect more from a $499 PDA.

FFSteve wrote: Seems like a lot of people are nit picking about this device. For those complaining about the speed, get a large SD card and run your programs from there.

Yeah, when you have a physical hard drive you will always have a lag. To me except for songs or photos, I don’t see why so much space would be needed on a PDA. This device to me seems like an attempt by Palm1 to make a combo PDA and ipod. To all the complainers about this not having a removable battery, Apple has been able to sell millions of ipods without one. I think a removable battery just invites loss of data. Once I got a Palm with a nonremoveable battery it seemed much more reliable than the first ones with removeable batteries. To me, it seems that dropping a unit with a removeable battery causes the battery to fall off half the time.

My data is more important than being able to change batteries. Buy some kind of auxillary battery charger if you need more battery time. Just my 2 cents. And to me the screenshots of the Blazer browser in operation look pretty freaking good.

Julie, Thanks for the reply and I agree with you on many notions with Z2 being snappy and very useful. The harddrive and WIFI on the LD would be convenient, but as with most thingseverything comes at a price.

Having everything built-in would also be convenient and helpful, but I’m going to have to wait and see what a LD can and cannot do compared with my present Z2 handheld. If your partner still has her Z2 unitI’d like know what she thinks in comparisonif that is possible. Thanks again BrianS. Outstanding review. You answered quite a few questions that I hadn’t thought of yet.

Palmone Lifedrive Software

I have been watching the PDA market very carefully. I am a long time PDA user (I even had a Newton for a short time). My current unit is a CLIE 615T (you can see I like to hold onto things for a while).

Of course, Sony discontinued the line here in the US last year, which was a shame as I thought they put out a pretty good product. I appreciate the fact that PalmOne continues to move forward, but I’m still waiting. BTW, I am a Realtor, and I use the hell out of the CLIE. Primarily MLS, Contact Management, and mapping (mapopolis, GREAT product.) I have considered the Treo but it looks like the screen is just too small.

Anyway, again, great job, very informative. FFSteve wrote: Seems like a lot of people are nit picking about this device. For those complaining about the speed, get a large SD card and run your programs from there. If you do that, you may as well ignore this device entirely and get a T5. The whole point of the Lifedrive is the hard drive. The problem is the whole hard drive in a handheld-approach doesn’t fly for normal PDA users, at least not a mere 4GB drive. To all the complainers about this not having a removable battery, Apple has been able to sell millions of ipods without one.

I think a removable battery just invites loss of data. Once I got a Palm with a nonremoveable battery it seemed much more reliable than the first ones with removeable batteries. To me, it seems that dropping a unit with a removeable battery causes the battery to fall off half the time. My data is more important than being able to change batteries. Buy some kind of auxillary battery charger if you need more battery time.

Just my 2 cents. The fact that the battery pops out of the handheld if dropped is a good thing. The forces that impact the device get diluted into the parts popping out to the left and right as opposed to a totally solid device where the force may concentrate in a way that something critical snaps. It’s the same principle as having cars that deform a lot in accidents; the deformation of the car soaks up energy that would otherwise impact what’s inside the car the people. A properly engineered device won’t lose data just because the main battery pops out.

There are backup batteries in any properly designed PDA and a prudent user takes backups in addition to that. My PDA does automated backups to the SD card regularly and recovery from there is a snap. The big issue with this device not having a removable battery is the fact that it’s a power hungry device to start with, and not having an easily swappable battery makes it impossible to carry a spare. You can work around it with external power packs, yes, but that’s not very elegant Also, an ipod and a PDA are different. Few people ever need their ipod to work music is nice to have, but you won’t lose money if you can’t listen to it. Meanwhile, if you have data on your Lifedrive you absolutely must access or lose money (in a business situation) or miss a meeting because the Lifedrive was dead and didn’t remind you then battery time becomes a much more serious issue.

A great review – as always. I did have my heart set on a LifeDrive but I think I’ll hold off for now. In fact, I just managed to snag a Tungsten E for a rather cheap bargain price. Anyway, I just wondered if you could post a bit more information about the software uninstall thing from Microsoft – I’ve got an old copy of Palm Desktop which is proving a proverbial pain in the rump to uninstall in order to install the new version with all the bells and whistles. A link would be great. Many thanks and congrats on a snazzy new site – I was rather shocked at the new look (in a good way 😀 ). We bought two LifeDrives to test in our office environment, and both of them have been returned.

The first one died after two days. It went into a continual soft reset until it finally died. Now, I’d been reading other newsgroups and Palm forums saying that there could’ve been some application that might have caused the problem, but no software was installed on that model.

The second one faired a little long, so it supposed to be tested by the whole staff. That is, until the last person (an experienced Palm user, I might add) tried to do a hard reset (following the instructions posted at Palm’s website) and it didn’t recover. We followed their recommendations to try and recover the unit, but it didn’t work. I’ve been one of the most vocal supporters for Palm at my job.

It was on my recommendation that they get the two units in. It was also my recommendation that they return them.

As useful as the unit is, some factors could not be overlooked. Most important is the lag time in accessing the hard drive. I admit, it’s a great idea, but keeping the programs on it, and having to access the drive whenever you wanted to run them, isn’t the best solution. Of course, the fact that two units we ordered both died didn’t help matters. I’m going to steer clear of the LifeDrive. I’ll wait for the next Palm to come along. As long as it has WiFi and Bluetooth and Flash memory, it’d be a far better investment.

After my T3’s screen cracked while in a pants pocket this weekend (my fault), I bought a LifeDrive today. It’s still charging so I only have my few minutes with the Staples demo unit to go on, but I tapped the Info menu item while in the store and it said the unit has 64MB of RAM (55MB usable) and 4GB of LifeDrive space (3.55GB usable). Your review says it only has 32MB of RAM. What happened? Has the unit been updated since your review? Why else might your information be incorrect?

A related question is, can I install ALL apps and data using just the 64MB (my T3 wasnt even close to full) and keep the LifeDrive available solely for MP3 files (my primary intended use for it)? Or do I need to install apps on the LifeDrive for it to work properly? I hate to have to ask this kind of question, but there doesnt seem to be any Owner’s Manual in the box with my unit. Is this lack of proper documentation standard PalmOne policy? No cradle, no manual, and not one of my several expensive T3 accessories (two cradles, a USB cable, a car charger, a PalmOne keyboard, and, just purchased and received one day too late, a beautiful nSignia case) is usable with the new unit.

Palmone Lifedrive Driver For Mac Pro

This, after being assured on the phone two years ago by someone at PalmOne that the T3’s “universal” connector will be used “with all upcoming new models.” How cheesy can you get? I’ve still got a box somewhere full of old and useless accessories for my long-replaced 3C! Another question: You had problems after sync’ing all your data from your Treo 650. Will I have similar problems with installing the LifeDrive’s Palm Desktop and/or sync’ing all my data from my T3? 1) the “64 MB” is actually a partition on the internal microdrive.

The OS thinks it is RAM. The actual RAM is much smaller, maybe 6-10 MB 🙁 That is the main reason I bought a Zodiac2 to replace my previous one (recently stolen). 2) You should use the “64 MB” for programs, since it is easier for the OS to find things. Store your movies and music on the “drive” portion of the microdrive, since most multimedia apps are programmed to look primarily in external memory. 3) The manual may be a PDF file on the install disk. 4) Sell your accessories on eBay. There is still a market for them.

This will help offset the high cost of your new LD. Perhaps you can find a cradle and case for it there too.

New Palms have this new “universal connector”. Look around here for more answers.

Judie wrote: I am hoping that Tapwave will continue to produce exciting devices. A pity about Tapwave bowing out of the market – like Sony before them, they’ve discovered that ‘Palm’ and ‘innovative’ do not go together with ‘profitability’.:confused: I’ve seen the Palm LifeDrive in the stores, and my thought on the matter is that it’s WAY too big for everyday use – it’s almost the size of the Toshiba Libretto U100 I saw in the same store, or the QD0-01 which came out fairly recently, and those are full-fledged computers with WinXP, but with fewer features and even slower response times than those PCs. I’ve always liked handhelds which actually performed snappily, which is why I’ve been fairly dissatisfied with most of the PocketPCs I’ve handled, with but a few exceptions and with the way Palm’s going, I’m afraid their LifeDrive2 or whatever will be about the same. Which, in my case, is probably going to send me over to the PocketPC camp, since at least there I know they’ll probably be around for more than a few years. Hi, I am new to the world of pda’s and would really appreciate some advice. I originally intended to buy a Portable Media Player like an i-river or similar but thought to myself how nice it would be to have something that i could play a game on or better still access the internet with when i am not listening to music (primary reason) or watching movies. Now i know you might be thinking that is not what the palmOne (judging by the pricetag) is for, but i am having trouble finding another piece of kit that i can access the web using wi-fi and listen and watch media with.

The price doesnt really matter that much, i just want something portable that will let me do these 3 things. Obviously, the fact i can read email/docs etc is a bonus but not that fussed really.

Basically, I am looking for a handheld device that has a decent battery – does anyone know if i can say, tuck the LD up in my rucksack and listen to music (also, i presume i could have mp3’s stored and create playlists etc??) with the screen switched off maybe, to save battery? Is it kind of like an ipod but with the video and internet access bonus as well? What do you reckon to using one of these as a multi media device? Good/bad idea and why. Is it ok to use for this intention? Can you suggest any other devices?

Thanks for your time, any responses really appreciated. Nimrod wrote: The price doesnt really matter that much, i just want something portable that will let me do these 3 things. Obviously, the fact i can read email/docs etc is a bonus but not that fussed really. Basically, I am looking for a handheld device that has a decent battery I currently use a Tungsten T3 and when the screen recently cracked I bought a LifeDrive. I was so unhappy with it (it’s just too damn SLOW) that I returned it and had my T3’s screen repaired instead. But now the new Palm T/X is out for $299, and if you get one of those instead and then buy a 2GB card for the SD slot, you should be able to get all the useful capabilities of the LifeDrive along with the speed of a conventional Palm-OS PDA, plus it has a newer OS, longer battery life, smaller size (thinner), lower weight, and you should be able to save a few bucks while you’re at it.

If the T/X was available when my T3 broke, I’d have one today instead of my repaired T3 (which I’m pretty happy with, but the T/X is cool!) Hope this helps! I have allergies and sinus issues 24/7 365 days a year. My nose is almost always a little sniffly. But I know I'm not the only person who has these types of issues. While several people on the team have reviewed air purifiers, the Airdog X5 is the first one I've tried out and the first one I'll be reviewing.

Why have I waited so long? I didn't want to deal with replacing (and buying) HEPA filters.

The Airdog has no consumables. Stay tuned for my review coming soon. Please or subscribe to our newsletter so you won't miss my review.

(12/11) Latest News.