stevevo
05-09-2003, 12:40 PM
I was wondering if the iQue has a SD Slot would that be for the Compact Flash card and Secure Media Card? Just wondering. Thank you and still waiting for it to get out.
Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : Secure Digital Slot
ebisix
05-09-2003, 07:02 PM
The Garmin iQue 3600 does have a Secure Digital slot. CompactFlash cards cannot be used though.
cohenc
05-09-2003, 07:25 PM
I am not 100% sure what I can do with the SD slot. My guess is that first and foremost, I can add memory to the unit with it. I also believe they sell some somtware on these cards, ala Atari VCS :-) (true/false?)
But when trying to do my research, I swear I saw that there are SD cards for both Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. Is this true? Now the question still begs if those cards would work in the 3600. I know the Garmin folks are on record as stating there is some interference issues between bluetooth and the GPS receiver, so even though there is a card we might be able to add, it may do us little good.
Is there a Palm-specific web site that lists the available cards we could buy to use in the slot? I'm more curious than anything...
Cheers,
Caleb
But when trying to do my research, I swear I saw that there are SD cards for both Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. Is this true? Now the question still begs if those cards would work in the 3600. I know the Garmin folks are on record as stating there is some interference issues between bluetooth and the GPS receiver, so even though there is a card we might be able to add, it may do us little good.
Is there a Palm-specific web site that lists the available cards we could buy to use in the slot? I'm more curious than anything...
Cheers,
Caleb
ebisix
05-09-2003, 09:47 PM
See this link for more information about Secure Digital cards.
http://www.palm.com/products/accessories/expansioncards/
There is a Secure Digital card for Bluetooth. One is being made for 802.11b.
http://www.palm.com/products/accessories/expansioncards/
There is a Secure Digital card for Bluetooth. One is being made for 802.11b.
beeaitch
05-27-2003, 01:31 PM
I'm new here, but since I recently left my Visor on an airplane, I suddenly find myself very interested in currently or soon to be available Palm OS products. Like everyone else in this forum, I am quite interested in the Garmin iQue 3600. I think it provides a very appealing mix of the latest hardware and software without including useless gimmicks like the Zire 71's very bad camera. If I want to take a picture, I'll use my Olympus which has a flash, the ability to focus, and about 4 times the resolution.
Regarding the 3600, I am most curious about whether or not the SD slot suppports the newer SDIO specification which (I believe) is required to support extra functions such as Bluetooth and WiFi cards.
At the moment I have no need for either wireless standard, but it might be useful in the future. Compared to many other Palm PDA's on the market, which include either one or both of these wireless standards, wireless is the only feature that I can possibly see lacking in the iQue 3600. Having the ability to add WiFi or Bluetooth with a card in the future would be wonderful insurance against premature obsolesence.
Oddly enough, I emailed this very question to Garmin about 2 weeks ago, but I never received a response. If anybody knows the answer please let me know.
Regarding the 3600, I am most curious about whether or not the SD slot suppports the newer SDIO specification which (I believe) is required to support extra functions such as Bluetooth and WiFi cards.
At the moment I have no need for either wireless standard, but it might be useful in the future. Compared to many other Palm PDA's on the market, which include either one or both of these wireless standards, wireless is the only feature that I can possibly see lacking in the iQue 3600. Having the ability to add WiFi or Bluetooth with a card in the future would be wonderful insurance against premature obsolesence.
Oddly enough, I emailed this very question to Garmin about 2 weeks ago, but I never received a response. If anybody knows the answer please let me know.
Moose Man
05-27-2003, 11:30 PM
Based upon all of the stuff I've been able to see both domestically and abroad - no it's only SD not SDIO compatible. But since the unit has been delayed until July - anything is possible (we can still dream)? That being said - specs could change before release. Garmin is supposedly working on a bluetooth version as noted in another post so one would assume that a wifi wouldn't be too far behind.
I think the key will be how many units are sold after the initial "newness" orders are filled. If there are tons sold then more development should be forthcoming....but until we get a production unit we will continue to "surmise" the inter think tank at Garmin.
Hopefully, the reason they haven't responded to your email is that they are consumed with an early rather than a late release of the unit (ha, ha).
I think the key will be how many units are sold after the initial "newness" orders are filled. If there are tons sold then more development should be forthcoming....but until we get a production unit we will continue to "surmise" the inter think tank at Garmin.
Hopefully, the reason they haven't responded to your email is that they are consumed with an early rather than a late release of the unit (ha, ha).
beeaitch
05-28-2003, 03:57 PM
It will be an unfortunate ommission if they SD slot in the 3600 does not support more capable devices such as Bluetooth cards. Although SDIO is necessarily newer than the base SD spec, it is not exactly brand new. The new Bluetooth SD card from Palm reportedly works on some of their older models such as the M505 and M125 which are older OS4 models. If Garmin did not include this added capability in their ONLY means of expansion, then that was a bad choice.
As you say, they may be working on a unit with built-in Bluetooth or WiFi, but how many people will ditch a new $500+ unit to upgrade a few months or even a year later, just to add wireless?
If they have plans to release an upgraded model anytime in the near future, I sure wish they would make their plans known. If I knew a WiFi model was coming out in 6 months, I'd just buy a used visor for now and wait until the improved model is released.
As you say, they may be working on a unit with built-in Bluetooth or WiFi, but how many people will ditch a new $500+ unit to upgrade a few months or even a year later, just to add wireless?
If they have plans to release an upgraded model anytime in the near future, I sure wish they would make their plans known. If I knew a WiFi model was coming out in 6 months, I'd just buy a used visor for now and wait until the improved model is released.
Moose Man
05-28-2003, 04:57 PM
Beeaitch,
In doing further research, your question got me looking, I believe that the SD slot is the same on all Palm based devices and that the SDIO feature is a function of the card and not the slot. Now, that being said, the SDIO card manufacturer will have to build the card with a driver that will work the individual device. The Palm Bluetooth card for example states that it will work with the older M series of devices but doesn't say any thing about working with a Zire.
I'll equate it this way, some PPC devices have SD slots but obviously the Palm Bluetooth won't work on a Pocket PC device because of no supporting software.
It looks as if the SDIO will be a feature of all devices provided the manufacture of that device chooses to support a specific platform or Palm unit.
That being said - I don't know who at the moment could build a Bluetooth card for the iQue until they start shipping some units because I they just released their developer kit a few weeks ago so it will be awhile before anyone attempts to market.
If a lot of units are sold early then more developers will "try"?
I'm not an expert, obviously, so the only sure fire way would be to get a response from Garmin.
The iQue, I'm certain will cause developers issues because of it's integration. It's like Handspring, the Visors all had a slightly different OS then Palm's because of the Springboard slot and this caused conflicts from time to time. The same will probably hold true for Garmin and the iQue because of the necessary tweaks that their software will have to have in order to integrate the Address Book with mapping.
Us earlier user's will probably start reporting software conflicts right out of the box but most will assuredly be solved by the larger software developers early but other's may never "tweak" their stuff to satisfy every Palm based handheld unit.
This doesn't definitely answer your question and it actually adds to some confusion - but with my 7 plus years of Palm experience - all conflicts and issues do get resolved but some will require new hardware to fix. Whether a BT card or WiFi card will ever be developed to work with the iQue will probably be decided only by the number of units sold.
Here is a "definitive article" from PCWorld that goes into a good amount of detail to help answer the question:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/1,aid,86951,pg,2,00.asp
In doing further research, your question got me looking, I believe that the SD slot is the same on all Palm based devices and that the SDIO feature is a function of the card and not the slot. Now, that being said, the SDIO card manufacturer will have to build the card with a driver that will work the individual device. The Palm Bluetooth card for example states that it will work with the older M series of devices but doesn't say any thing about working with a Zire.
I'll equate it this way, some PPC devices have SD slots but obviously the Palm Bluetooth won't work on a Pocket PC device because of no supporting software.
It looks as if the SDIO will be a feature of all devices provided the manufacture of that device chooses to support a specific platform or Palm unit.
That being said - I don't know who at the moment could build a Bluetooth card for the iQue until they start shipping some units because I they just released their developer kit a few weeks ago so it will be awhile before anyone attempts to market.
If a lot of units are sold early then more developers will "try"?
I'm not an expert, obviously, so the only sure fire way would be to get a response from Garmin.
The iQue, I'm certain will cause developers issues because of it's integration. It's like Handspring, the Visors all had a slightly different OS then Palm's because of the Springboard slot and this caused conflicts from time to time. The same will probably hold true for Garmin and the iQue because of the necessary tweaks that their software will have to have in order to integrate the Address Book with mapping.
Us earlier user's will probably start reporting software conflicts right out of the box but most will assuredly be solved by the larger software developers early but other's may never "tweak" their stuff to satisfy every Palm based handheld unit.
This doesn't definitely answer your question and it actually adds to some confusion - but with my 7 plus years of Palm experience - all conflicts and issues do get resolved but some will require new hardware to fix. Whether a BT card or WiFi card will ever be developed to work with the iQue will probably be decided only by the number of units sold.
Here is a "definitive article" from PCWorld that goes into a good amount of detail to help answer the question:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/1,aid,86951,pg,2,00.asp
beeaitch
05-29-2003, 08:48 PM
Thanks, I guess I struck a nerve with my question.
As it turns out, I resent my question to Garmin and today I got a response, which follows
The iQue is still very much under development, so features and uses are still very fluid. At this point in time, the below information is all we have to share. Unfortunately if the information is not here, we can not talk about it. Since becoming a publicly traded company, we can only talk about features that have been released to the public. Please keep an eye here for more information: http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/
Seems like they neither confirm nor deny, or they just don't know whether or not their device will be capable of SDIO support.
The article you linked to was interesting, and it does point to some sort of support in the SD card itself, but one line near the end "The SD slot controllers need to be upgradable or already capable of handling the new I/O duties--that will vary by vendor. " still has me thinking that some part of the standard needs to be built in to the device reading the card. Guess I'll just cross my fingers that Garmin was forward thinking enough to at least build in this flexibility.
As it turns out, I resent my question to Garmin and today I got a response, which follows
The iQue is still very much under development, so features and uses are still very fluid. At this point in time, the below information is all we have to share. Unfortunately if the information is not here, we can not talk about it. Since becoming a publicly traded company, we can only talk about features that have been released to the public. Please keep an eye here for more information: http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/
Seems like they neither confirm nor deny, or they just don't know whether or not their device will be capable of SDIO support.
The article you linked to was interesting, and it does point to some sort of support in the SD card itself, but one line near the end "The SD slot controllers need to be upgradable or already capable of handling the new I/O duties--that will vary by vendor. " still has me thinking that some part of the standard needs to be built in to the device reading the card. Guess I'll just cross my fingers that Garmin was forward thinking enough to at least build in this flexibility.
beeaitch
05-29-2003, 08:57 PM
I guess your extra legwork inspired me to do some of my own.
Reading that article you linked me to, I was intrigued by the final note about SDIO support in Palm OS5. This led me to palmsource to see what they had to say about it. The good news is that they appear to have an SDIO SDK available for developers, AND a HDK for SDIO bluetooth.
While I was looking around the site I also stumbled upon a blurb about "certified" ARM processors. One of the things that caught my eye was that the Samsung chip claimed to have SDIO support. I decided then to check and see if the motorola chip slated for the 3600 said the same.
Well, I did a search and found a beefy PDF data sheet for the motorola processor. I don't pretend to understand even a fraction of it, but I searched for "SDIO" and I got a lot of hits. It seems to me that both OS5 and the processor support SDIO. Now, as you said, all we need is someone to write the proper software.
In theory, one could even try the Palm Bluetooth SD card. It could work unless there is a conflict with a Garmin "tweak" of the OS. Maybe I'll find a vendor with a generous return policy and give it a try.
Reading that article you linked me to, I was intrigued by the final note about SDIO support in Palm OS5. This led me to palmsource to see what they had to say about it. The good news is that they appear to have an SDIO SDK available for developers, AND a HDK for SDIO bluetooth.
While I was looking around the site I also stumbled upon a blurb about "certified" ARM processors. One of the things that caught my eye was that the Samsung chip claimed to have SDIO support. I decided then to check and see if the motorola chip slated for the 3600 said the same.
Well, I did a search and found a beefy PDF data sheet for the motorola processor. I don't pretend to understand even a fraction of it, but I searched for "SDIO" and I got a lot of hits. It seems to me that both OS5 and the processor support SDIO. Now, as you said, all we need is someone to write the proper software.
In theory, one could even try the Palm Bluetooth SD card. It could work unless there is a conflict with a Garmin "tweak" of the OS. Maybe I'll find a vendor with a generous return policy and give it a try.
Moose Man
05-30-2003, 01:58 AM
beeaitch,
With the Bluetooth card supporting Palm OS 4.1 devices M500 and I705 series devices - the SD slot is definitely dependent upon the card being the IO portion along with a "driver" compatible with the device - IMHO.
Garmin is probably non-commital due to this being their first device using the Palm OS and thus being "gun" shy? I'm certain that SDIO will be available on the 3600 provided the developers support the device. If Handera can support a flashcard using 4.1 then Garmin's got to support SDIO.
Time will only tell and if the iQue is "still very much underdevelopment" then time might be longer?
You could always buy it from Comp USA and pay their 15% restocking fee ------ but that's a whole 'nother thread.
With the Bluetooth card supporting Palm OS 4.1 devices M500 and I705 series devices - the SD slot is definitely dependent upon the card being the IO portion along with a "driver" compatible with the device - IMHO.
Garmin is probably non-commital due to this being their first device using the Palm OS and thus being "gun" shy? I'm certain that SDIO will be available on the 3600 provided the developers support the device. If Handera can support a flashcard using 4.1 then Garmin's got to support SDIO.
Time will only tell and if the iQue is "still very much underdevelopment" then time might be longer?
You could always buy it from Comp USA and pay their 15% restocking fee ------ but that's a whole 'nother thread.
PDA Street
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