Life Drive Review - On Going

[Moose Man]

I picked up the Life Drive yesterday and was so busy couldn't even get it in the cradle until today.

Here are a few things:

OS is 5.4.8

PalmDesktop installation was an overwrite of the T5 and during the process it moved several programs out of the T5's backup directory and marked them as "Palm OS5 Incompatible Apps".
(CrashPro and Screenshot were the only two apps moved). Both I subsequently moved onto the device. Screenshot works fine. CrashPro launched into a disclaimer that it wasn't compatible with the version of Palm OS and shut down.

Heat - this might be a problem if you have it on and connected to the charging cable as the vents are on the back. It does get warm. Recommend a cradle with it which I have from the T5 accessories list.

T5 screen protectors fit perfectly and even noted to do so by P1.

This one - RTFM - is a must. This is a complex device and uses a new transfer method called LifeDrive Manager. This replaces the "drive mode" on Windows machines. If your Mac - drive mode is still the method.

Speed- the more often you use a program the faster it will launch. Agendus launches fine since it's my most used app but I'll have to keep an eye on this as I've been loading software most of the day.

The new power switch is "sprung". It's not a detent switch it's a three way switch that basically stays in the middle or on position. You push it to the right to turn it off and it returns to the middle. You can then "lock" it off by moving it to the left and then the switch stays in the left hand position to "lock" the current mode.

I'll provide more later.

[rkevwill]

(Duplicate post from the tungsten forum)

Moose, good stuff. From my measurements, it appears to be about the same thickness as the Garmin Ique, at its thickest point. Am I right on this? When the time is right, let us know how it is to carry around. It's obviously not gonna be as thin as the T5.

One other thing (for my personal use), which of the two would you prefer for using on a daily basis as a PDA with wifi (not a gps at this point) the T5 with card, or the Lifedrive? I ask this understanding you can't answer so soon, but in the near future.

[Moose Man]

The LED is normally orange and flashing when accessing the HD. It's a combination of Orange flash and Green Flash when accessing wifi.

While charging - it's solid orange and does not change when fully charged. This is not what the owner's manual denotes but it was confirmed in the PIC review as well.

Apps so far that work well:

Tealscript
Agendus Pro
Bejeweled2 - yea!
Date Essentials
Automobile
Screenshot
Destaller
FileZ - see screen shot
MobileDB
PowerOne Personal LE
Exp. Diary by AED
MakeSpot in conjunction with Agendus
Icon Manager
Launcher X

[palmrocks]

Hi Moose have you tried the wi-fi,how is the battery,keep on telling the story so that i can be sure whether to buy or not , also i have an excelent T3 so not sure it is worth changing it or not

daniel

[Moose Man]

RK,

It's a hair thinner then the Que. If you put the two of the top to top you can tell. The Que is also a hair longer. The LD is heavier by a noticeable amount.

The daily basis question may take some time. I use the T5 in my shirt pocket and that's definitely not going to happen with the LD. It'll either be in a front pants pocket or a brief case. BTW, it's default slip case reminded me of the Que's slip case although the front of the LD's slip case is more reinforced.

The buttons on the LD and the ability to lock the device in the off position, unlike the T5 will have an advantage when travelling with it in a front pants pocket.

[Moose Man]

The wifi connection is very straight forward. It recognized 3 (two secured and one unsecured) connections in my area and of course the connection to mine required the password but that's no big deal.

The battery answer will come later but I'm swamped with other stuff so I can't run it through it's paces at this time but I'll let you know.

[Moose Man]

Didn't get it in above.

[rkevwill]

I can only reference this to my own needs, but it seems, this might be a pretty good unit to:

1. use the rumored palm GPS10 with
2. To carry around in a briefcase or backback for a sometimes laptop replacement.

Especially if you carry on an everyday basis, a treo like I do. (or a blackberry like you do)

Looking forward to your continued reviews.

[Curious Cat]

Originally posted by Moose Man
.....

OS is 5.4.8

PalmDesktop installation was an overwrite of the T5 and during the process it moved several programs out of the T5's backup directory and marked them as "Palm OS5 Incompatible Apps".
(CrashPro and Screenshot were the only two apps moved). Both I subsequently moved onto the device. Screenshot works fine. CrashPro launched into a disclaimer that it wasn't compatible with the version of Palm OS and shut down.

....
This one - RTFM - is a must. This is a complex device and uses a new transfer method called LifeDrive Manager. This replaces the "drive mode" on Windows machines. ......

Hey Moose;

So how would this affect multiple Palm devices sharing a PC? In other words, is it backward compatible with the non-Life Drive Palms with syncing and sharing a Desktop?

[Moose Man]

CC,

I think you are going to have a compatibility problem. I didn't set the T5 as a different user to try this for reasons of software registrations.

But since the T5 and the LifeDrive use the same basic NVFS they may be compatible. I doubt that if your talking about the Que and the LifeDrive won't happen because of the difference in the PIMs enhanced features which require different conduits.

I'll try that out on my desktop but it will probably be next weekend before I can "test".

[Moose Man]

I'm loading several megs of files via the Life Drive function and at the same time you can still access the other programs on the LD. So the LifeDrive manager is definitely a step in the right direction since you could not do this with the T5's "drive mode".

[rkevwill]

Ok Moose, now we have a REAL off the wall question.

I really like the flip covers of the 3600 and the Te. No way to have one of those on the LD? I haven't seen any mention of it. Just a slide case. Is this neccessary because of the grated back of the LD?

Read the review on Mobile tech review, and it had pictures of him holding it. Either he has huge hands, or it is not nearly as thick as I imagined.

This thing is looking more promising all the time. At least for me. I think a lot of folks are wishing it was like the T5 should have been, but isn't. This however, is a totally different device obviously.

[Moose Man]

I don't think it's as thick as you imagine. It's as comfortable or more than holding the Que.

Correct, no flip cover. I think this is a function of the rotate and the voice recorder button being on that side. Can't figure out a bottom latch flip cover ala Que because there does not appear to be any way to connect it to the bottom. The Athena connector doesn't have any allowable access holes similar to the Que's U.C. plus two holes.

[netvampire]

i think this device will be great. it may be big and bulky, but think about it, some of those media center devices are much larger.
I like the idea that it has a large scale harddrive and can play mp3's or movies without having ot carry so many devices.

Normally you would carry a phone + pda + mp3 player, but not you can combine 2 devices to limit what you ahve to carry around to phone + pda/mp3 thus saving space. The extra size is worth it in the long run if you think about it like this.

[wumber]

I posted my review separately, but I have a couple of questions:

1. On my Visor Prism, I had a weekly view that displayed squares with the actual abbreviated text of the appointments. The new version shows a bar graphy type display. I sync with Outlook if it makes any difference.

Is there any way to get the old type display back or a third party software that works with Outlook that would give something similar.

2. One of the websites I need to visit requires a Java applet download. Is there any way to handle that on the Palm?

Looks like a great device so far, and I was truly amazed at the ease of setup.

[Moose Man]

The VP used Datebk3 for it's calendar application. You can still find it at www.datebk5.com but I don't think it will work with the LD because it really was an OS 3.X preference.

You may want to use Datebk5 or my favorite Agendus. Agendus can be found at www.iambic.com.

I can't tell you about the Java applet for certain except that there is a command within the blazer browser to "disable" JavaScript so there must be a confirmed plugin builtin. I doubt that the device will download the applet but it may open it in a reasonable format.

If you want me to check - either post the web site or PM me if your concerned about it?

[JMckie]

Hi Moose, good job - keep em coming. I'd be curious to see how any the following looks in landscape mode, but specially the first one.


Any app with graffiti area open
Excel to go
a bookreader
PowerOne Personal LE
Launcher X

Program launch time is the most interesting potential problem to me. I'm wondering if you can do a side-by-side test with the T5. Reset both units. Press the contacts (if you have a lot of contacts loaded) button simultaneously.

Then compare:
How fast do each launch the first time?
The second time?
The third time?

The do a number of things like play an MP3, open an ebook, open a spreadsheet, anything big to use up the cache and then do the launch test again.

[Leo854]

When I weighed the LD without slipcase and an IQue 3600 with flip cover and SD card on kitchen diet scale, they weighed the same within the accuracy of the scale. Now without the flip cover the IQue weighed less than the LD.

[Moose Man]

Reset both devices launched Agendus showing contact records - half a second to a second difference with 968 contacts.

It's useable and if your using that program most of the time it's not going to be an issue.

The real time delay is hot sync. The actual sync is quicker but the launch of it takes 4 or 5 seconds to initiate because the "life drive" mode has to shut down.

I'll provide more screen shots tonight - per your request after work.

[Moose Man]

ScreenShot won't capture in Landscape - it remains portrait. Here is one that you can tell I've got VG collapsed but since it's in Portrait it still did only the upper quandrant of the landscape.

Sorry but take a look and imagine the blank area of the frame as the extended to the right.

I'll try and do a digital photo later.

[Moose Man]

I got the proverbial "gray" screen of death on the Life Drive which forced a soft reset - handled by the device. Immediately after the reset the device "flashed" an error message that stated "fatal error caused by Media" (or something to that account).

This may explain why CrashPro won't work. They may have partnered up with P1 and have some sort of on board crash already installed.

More after I RTFM some more.

Also: Soft Resets are painfully slow and get longer as you load more to the device's hard drive.

[rkevwill]

Be interesting to see how well fastfinger works on the LD. Since it appears there is no external volume control, that might be a good initial use for it. Wonder how long its gonna take for Garmin to come clean on that rumored Palm GPS10. I can't help but wonder if its having a bluetooth problem with the Treo 650.

[JMckie]

Great looking landscape mode pic, Moose. When you use your digital camera, please take one with the VG area open, and one with VG closed.

[Curious Cat]

I thought I read somewhere that a hard reset wipes the drive clean. This doesn't sound logical to me. I'm not going to be sadistic enough to suggest you try it out but does the manual address this?

[rkevwill]

Good question Cat. I have read comments from both avenues on that. One that it doesn't, and others that it does. Be nice to know that for sure. I am in your camp, I find that hard to believe.

[JMckie]

You should have suggested that to Moose before he loaded it up with his applications. :)

[rkevwill]

Heck JM, we know he is gonna break it 2 or 3 times before he decides if he likes it or not anyway! I'm surprised he hasn't torn it apart yet to see what makes it tick! :D

(actually, I bet the info on that is in the manual. Hmmmmmm I wonder if that manual is in pdf at their site. Im gonna look)


edit: I sure didn't find their manual on the site. But then I got kinda tired of looking after a while. If anyone finds it, might let me know, or post the link here in the forum.

[netvampire]

Here is the link for the manuels.



there are several on the RIGHT SIDE of the screen.


http://www.palmone.com/us/support/lifedrive/

[Curious Cat]

Originally posted by JMckie
You should have suggested that to Moose before he loaded it up with his applications. :)

Good point! It's hard to stop a big ol' Moose when he's charging full speed ahead....:)

Originally posted by rkevwill
Heck JM, we know he is gonna break it 2 or 3 times before he decides if he likes it or not anyway! I'm surprised he hasn't torn it apart yet to see what makes it tick! :D



I certainly wouldn't bet against this logic either. :D

[rkevwill]

Thanks Vampire. I don't know HOW I didn't see those, but maybe they didn't slap me in the face hard enough!

[rkevwill]

And I quote " A hard reset deletes all records and entries stored on your device, including the username that identifies the device."

Hmmm guess that answers THAT question. Still sounds somewhat fishy that the HD would be erased, but....thats what it says!

[Curious Cat]

Originally posted by rkevwill
And I quote " A hard reset deletes all records and entries stored on your device, including the username that identifies the device."

Hmmm guess that answers THAT question. Still sounds somewhat fishy that the HD would be erased, but....thats what it says!

4 Gig is a lot to re-sync back on! I hope it's stable enough never to need one but with all the software everyone loads, it's just a matter of time and time is what it would take to get everything back to normal as the errant software could be in your backup too.

[rkevwill]

Well, what stymies me, is that when we hard reset anything else, nothing is erased from the sd cards. I guess the HD is REALLY imbedded and integral to the whole LD system. I sync virtually every day, at least with my treo, so no big deal there, but with this device, it would be more of a "toy" for me, and a potential Ique 3600 replacement. It might be sync'd once a week or so, who knows. Not that much new data would be put on. (frankly, I don't need the 4 gigs really, or don't think I do)

I am still scratching my head over this one. I guess a hard reset is akin to formatting your HD! (with the exception of the OS not being wiped on the palm)

[JMckie]

My concern is what if a hard reset happens on the road. Backup software will have to be more selective on what to save on the SD card. As long as you have a system to keep the non-essential files (songs, movies, ebooks) separate then software like BackupMan will be able to save your hide on the occasion of a hard reset.

But you guys are right. It will take a while to restore GBs of data. Does this support USB 2.0 speeds? How fast is drive mode compared to a USB2.0 card reader?

[Curious Cat]

The other possibility is that a backup program could restore essential files that include the necessary files to access the hard drive, such as restoring the FAT on a computer. IMO, this could work because I'm fairly certain that the information is "wiped" by negating the access as opposed to actually removing all the files which would be very time consuming and unnecessary.

[netvampire]

it does support usb 2 speeds.. but it is stupid for the device to wipe the HD upon hard reset.. let's say you have mp3's or video clips on it, bang they are all gone ....

I am guessing the smartest thing to do is try and sync the HD with a 4gig partition on your desktop .... that is a failsafe, but it should not have ot be this way

[Moose Man]

Ok,

A Hard Reset - should wipe everything. It's standard language of Palm that a hard reset wipe everything. It did the same thing on the T5 and all other Palms from before.

Now that that's said: If you look in one of my early posts I noted that the during a forced soft reset the LD noted an error message that caused the "Fatal Reset". Palm has set the LD up to be more reliant and self diagnostic.

I'm certain that a hard reset will be only used upon rare occasion such as selling the device and wishing to have everything wiped......

And since we are dealing with a hard drive - there is an builtin safety net - If a program doesn't load correctly it simply won't load and therefore the need for a hard reset will be averted. Since it's not memory that's being used but hard drive space we shouldn't have a need for a hard reset unless of a hard drive failure?

As I noted with Crash Pro not loading - it warned me and I think it was the LifeDrive warning me not necessarily Crash Pro.

So what happens when you load a Windows Program that doesn't respond you reboot (soft reset) and since the OS is held in the 16MB of ROM the errant program shouldn't impact the device as in the past........

You'll simply go into Files and delete the program....I'm willing to guarantee.


I'm off to take some photos for JM.

[Moose Man]

Excel To Go without VG

[Moose Man]

Excel with VG

[Moose Man]

JM,

Here it is in normal Portrait Screenshot.

[Moose Man]

With VG

[JMckie]

Thanks Moose! Very nice pics. Those are the first landscape pics I saw on a PalmOne device with the VG area open.

[rkevwill]

That screen is SO much nicer for dataviz stuff, over the treo. Especially spreadsheets in Landscape.

Moose, after messin with this for a while, let me know how the battery life is with wifi, compared to the T5 with a card, if you have used that combo please.

[Moose Man]

JM, just for you buddy! BTW - the screen light was full on for the pics but I typically have it a low since I think it's bright enough at that level for most indoor conditions.

RK, I will advise on battery usage. Never used the T5 with wifi card so can't give you that comparison.

This thing is a brick compared to the T5 though. It's not going to be comfortable even in the front pants pocket so a belt clipped case may be a necessary evil if your going to "wear" it.

It's definitely noticeable for the startup lag but it's not bad. I'd equate it to the TH55 that I used briefly last February.

The cache is definitely working though and you can tell which programs your loading more frequently.

For the 24 hour quick take - this is a good all in one device and if you want to carry lots of files it's definitely the way to go. The Drive Mode is still available for USB connection and that means you can carry a cable and connect to just about anyone's computer to transport files to them.

The Voice recorder shows nearly unlimited recording capability but of course is tied to the HD.

The quality of recording is pretty good. Both the side record button and the protrait to landscape button are just about the right configuration so as not to hit them accidentally but still convenient enough to still not require looking at while activating either one.

The button layout is counter clockwise with #1 being in the upper left, #2 bottom left, #3 bottom right, and #4 upper right and the Voice Memo is therefore #5. It can also be remapped to any app. However, just as on the T5 the #1 button can only be mapped to either Applications or Favorites. The home icon is therefore used for Launcher X in this case.

I would have thought that they would not have followed this pattern but would have been vertical left to right and top to bottom. Not a big deal just took me awhile to figure it out for mapping purposes since so many programs now refer to the buttons as numerical values rather then the old 4 PIM apps.

The LED goes out once the device is fully charged which is different then the manual. This took awhile to be discovered because of the overnight charging.

[Moose Man]

BTW, the font choice in the Excel shots was "medium" - actually I mean the Zoom option.

[Moose Man]

This is being entered via a wifi connection from my Life Drive. I wouldn't recommend this on a regular basis.

[xiongli817]

At least the 4GB microdrive is very attractive.
I think the only problem is the running time about battery.

[rkevwill]

Originally posted by Moose Man
This is being entered via a wifi connection from my Life Drive. I wouldn't recommend this on a regular basis.

Moose,

Are you saying that because of the entry with the virtual keyboard etc? I would imagine if you really want it to be a laptop replacement, one would need one of the foldup keyboards.

I enter replies from time to time on my treo, but I have the thumb keyboard there. Its kinda slow doing it though. Bout like a dialup connection.

[Moose Man]

Yes the inputting of text on the VG will slow you down and the refresh rate of the device compared to a laptop etc.

You can do it but if you were Bokkie posting "junk" replies;) then it would just be too time consuming.

Here is the first "power" report:

I played with the wifi for half an hour last night with screen brightness set to lowest possible level. Power level was at 88% so 24% per hour of power while using wifi?

Turned wifi off and continued to use the device by switching applications, playing games and using regular apps - for another hour. Device showed 77% after this combined usage of 1.5 hours.

Left LD out of cradle and power level this morning shows 80%. I'll continue to use through out the day and allow the device to power down and see where we are later.

[rkevwill]

Moose, sorry to boot in on this discussion with this, but its pertinent to all of us Mac users. Note that MarkSpace is a godsend to us mac/palm/pda users, coming up with some incredibly nifty alternatives to HotSync and ActiveSync. As I do Beta testing for MarkSpace, for their palm apps, I wrote them a note about the lifedrive. They responded as follows; "Hi Kevin,

We've tested syncing however we aren't done testing the mounting features yet. We do plan to support this device so if you buy one and it doesn't work with Missing Sync, let us know and we'll help you get it working.

Regards,
Pete"

Reason I wrote them so quickly, is there are mentions that some of the LD apps that do work on windows, do not work on the mac. Knowing how MarkSpace works, my guess is they will have some savvy solutions very quickly for that.

[Moose Man]

The white papers refers to Drive Mode only on a Mac. Actually, the LD's - Life Drive Manager is not the much different from the Drive Mode. The exception is the syncing of files - the LD has the ability to keep the files the same on both devices. The process is similar to DTG syncing of files.

In Drive Mode you can only copy them and not sync them. During a Hotsync the devices looks to see if you've modified any of the files that are marked as "sync" and updates them accordingly.

There is also a way to do it via the Life Drive Manager without the hotsync actually running.


I've attached a screen shot of an error message that was generated last night. This is definitely a new feature of these OS 5.4.8 devices.

P.S. - RK - you can "boot into my threads" without apology since it's always insightful of you. ;)

[rkevwill]

TY Moose <g>

Hey, fill me in on something. The apps that are in Rom, or ram, like address, calendar, etc.....do they still sync like normal? I have figured out the syncing of files on the HD itself, but what about the normally sync'd files?

[Moose Man]

Except for the Life Drive functions the device syncs just like a regular "Palm".

I'm not certain how it uses the HD to sync the regular apps because it shows as a seperate drive via FileZ but it also shows 64MB of RAM. Regardless, it syncs just like before so you should have no issues syncing the normal PIM and add on software.

[Moose Man]

Ok, 30 minutes of Wifi yesterday followed by 1 hour tonight.

Plus the 1 hour of playing yesterday and another 1 hour of playing today.

So 3.5 hours of "normal" use?

I don't know that 1.5 hours of Wifi will be normal but two days of heavy playing - I won't need a car charger and I think that I'll get enough time out of playing MP3's to keep me happy while flying to Hawaii.

So at the moment, this is a keeper. It's not as efficient as the T5 but then the T5 didn't have wifi so.....I think perhaps the next test is to run it without wifi.

Also, I don't think heat will be a big problem, as I earlier thought. Even while running the wifi tonight the device was "warm" but without the wifi on it's just like any other Palm.

Once you turn off the wifi, the battery recover's quite nicely to where you'll always have that little reserve to input a quick calendar or name - at least it appears.

I don't plan on using the wifi for 1.5 hours a day. I don't have a laptop and a 19 inch LCD panel to be surfing the net with a PDA but it does come in handy for checking scores or weather or even potentially syncing via the network in my house (haven't configured for that use yet).

[rkevwill]

Ok Moose, lets get technical here. I am not aware if the newest version of browser they are using, allows java and or its downloads. Any comment on that? I don't even know if the PPC browsers use java. Perhaps Bokkie, or one of the other PPC users could comment on that.

Reason I ask, is I saw someone else mention that, and I also have a use on a protected site that needs a java applet downloaded.

To be more precise, when I travel for only 3 days around a weekend, I never take my laptop with me. If I am gonna be away from work more than one day, in my business, I need access to our VPN, but more important than that, that particular access needs a java applet thats downloaded to connect properly.

That said, its not that important for my future pda use, at least not at present, but the more often I can leave my laptop at home, the better.

[Bokkie]

Originally posted by rkevwill
...if the newest version of browser they are using, allows java and or its downloads. Any comment on that? I don't even know if the PPC browsers use java. Perhaps Bokkie, or one of the other PPC users could comment on that...

Kevin,

I'm not completely sure about the PPC browser, but I do recall from somewhere that IE's java support on PPC is at best limited. I have surfed using the PDA browser and it seems 'smart' enough to be just a basic browser but whether it supports the full JVM I have my doubts. If the browser could switch to 640x480 then it would be useful to me. Admittedly the PPC does seem to render pages in a reasonably user-friendly fashion.

Some other constraints: 1. There is no Firefox for the PDA that I can find. I hope this will be addressed; 2. Because pages are too 'deep and wide' I spend too much time scrolling and 640x480 would reduce that.

I think you might need to consult the oracle, AnswerDude, for his advice on Java support. He will at least point you in the right direction I'm sure.

But as MooseMan implied, beware of Bokkie's posting "junk".:mad::)

[rkevwill]

Thanks Bokkie, appreciate the response. I used my son's axim the other day on my wifi network here at home. I was at first impressed with the browser, because it looked like it does on the computer!! Then, I noticed that because of all the detail, it certainly didn't render any faster. And I needed my glasses to read everything. The palm browser of course presented its own version of the page.

Only reason for me bringing all this up, I was wondering how well the LD would replace a laptop. I think the fair answer is, it just may, for general use on email, basic web browsing etc, but the handhelds' browsers are not quite technically advanced yet I don't think, to do ALL the work you can do on a full computer.

So, guess when I am gone for several work days, I continue to take the laptop. (I need to get a lighter and thinner laptop!!)

[Moose Man]

Originally posted by Bokkie
Kevin,

But as MooseMan implied, beware of Bokkie's posting "junk".:mad::)

Kevin,

As a side note: Bokkie's post's are not junk it's just an ongoing joke over in the Que forum because of his prolific posts. He makes fun of himself and it was my way of seeing if he was lurking here. ;)

Ok,

I'll try and find a web page that has some java applet and see if I can download it but I'm betting NO!

[cdshouston]

Your info is great! I have a 2yr old TC, should I take the plunge for the LifeDrive? I do a lot of Word and Excel sheets, not to mention a whole bunch of games. I saw that Bejeweled worked how about other games? Again, Great info.:confused:

[Moose Man]

Ok,

Blazer 4.1 doesn't appear to support Java applets. I went to the 06 Impala site at Chevrolet which is a Java script site and it won't show anything but the normal HTML frame. There is a "line" where Java portion should be......


Other notes:

Documents to Go - well it will search the Life Drive for any files that exist or that you've got "backed up" or are synching.

So I brought over 1.5+ gig's of file that I'd like to have all the time for transferring? Well there are now hundreds of files to search through in DTG as a result. In some cases I have the same file named but in different directories. This is going to cause some confusion if your planning on carry a lot of files with you on your LD.

DTG is going to have to figure out a better file system IMHO because having to click on the details to determine exactly where the file is located.

In fairness they do show the HotSync icon for 4 files that were in my DTG que but all of the other's are just shown as on the device.

[Moose Man]

Originally posted by cdshouston
Your info is great! I have a 2yr old TC, should I take the plunge for the LifeDrive? I do a lot of Word and Excel sheets, not to mention a whole bunch of games. I saw that Bejeweled worked how about other games? Again, Great info.:confused:


Thanks for the kind words.

Should you take the plunge? Well just from a screen size I'd say yes but be careful because if your used to a keyboard then you may want to spring for one. I've used a Treo 600 and loved it's keyboard but never used the C's but I'm also comfortable with Tealscript and Quick Write so that your call.

I'm not much of a gamer on Palm devices but I'd say that as stable as this device is, as long as you've got an OS5 game you should be ok.

See my note about the DTG file system if your using a lot of docs in the previous post. It's overcomeable and will probably be addressed in a future release.

[JMckie]

To cope with the large number of files, it sounds like this device needs an application like Windows (File) Explorer, where you could browse and select a file, and it would launch the corresponding application. I wonder if there isn't already an application like that.

[Moose Man]

JM,

There is a File program that allows you to surf ala Windows Exploder. And it will "open with" documents.

So it may be easier to launch a file from the Files program however it will take some getting used to since I'm so attuned to launching DTG and finding the file there. It's a minor inconvenience or change of habit.

[rkevwill]

Moose:

Ok, I think I have enough info to decide if this is for me or not. This device is obviously not for everyone, and it has some shortcomings for some I guess. However, here is how I see it.

I only want to carry a maximum of 2 devices with me. One in my pocket or on my belt (treo) and one in my briefcase or pack. I can play mp3's in my car from my treo just fine, but I am limited to storage on the sd card of course. I haven't taken the plunge to get an ipod, because I just don't have that much time to enjoy it. I can still see me getting an Ipod shuffle for exercise times on the bike or treadmill.

Anyway, it sure sounds like this device would be great for doing the following for me. (we all have our different wants and needs)
Playing MP3's and audio books in the car through my system. Possibly using the gps10 in the future. And also, having as a toy to check news, email, and the other various and sundry things on wifi (which is STILL much faster than current wireless on the treo, at least at present). Also, the larger screen is nicer than a treo for those chores.

Now if I can make it work as a solid and loud alarm clock when traveling, thats icing on the cake!

I think I will be getting one soon. I will probably wait to see if the GPS10 is going to support it first, but I think that is almost a slam dunk. (lets hope they do full screen view instead of just 320x320)

[Moose Man]

The speaker on the LD is the loudest of any Palm PDA that I've ever heard so the alarm is handled.

The wifi is not that much faster then the Treo for browsing so don't think that. It's probably tied to the RAM limitation being 64MB and thing of your laptop with 512 or 1GB of memory cache a page in a heartbeat. It's quick for mobile sites but if your accessing say a regular non-mobile enhanced site, your nose hairs are growing as fast as the web page is loading.

If I'm using the Palm portal for web surfing, which you also have on the Treo, I think you'll see nearly the same speed between the wireless phone as you will to a wifi connection and you might have to pay for a hot spot connection. Plus if your only going to check a couple of things the time to establish a connection on the wifi - you'll have a jump already with the Treo. I don't want to sound negative but screen size is the big difference to me but my Blackberry can access similar "ports" in just about the same time as the wifi if using a mobile port for access. Loading a regular web page, the wifi is better than the BB or the Treo was but still painfully slow and cramped.

I've yet to notice the hard drive "skip" when moving around listening to MP3's so the need for a "shuffle" may not be necessary if you can place your LD safely on your excersise equipment. Although a shuffle definitely doesn't have the potential to skip. I've not noticed the hard drive at all except that the LED blinks when accessing it.

The LD will be a great file transporter and MP3 player which is really what attracted me more then anything else because I was looking at an Ipod.

With the pending advent of a GPS10 coupling - it might be the ultimate PDA/MP3/GPS device.

[rkevwill]

One of the reasons I do want a wifi device, is I travel some pretty out of the way places some times. (wild trout don't tend to live in populated areas). And while I can get phone service, I always seem to be out of network on my cell, where I can't get my data service. Oh I have heard, switch to cingular, or switch to this or that, but thats not gonna help. I can be in one area and get data, where you can't on another carrier. Anyway, many of these places still have coffee shops, or truck stops, or even the lodge itself with wifi these days. (many times free) And I was looking at a wireless base station the other day, thats the same size as an airport express, that also has a dialup modem in it. Transportable and really cool.

Anyway, your ongoing review is VERY helpful and insightful (is that a word?), and its great to have someone who is "one of us" giving us the skinny on this thing:)

[Moose Man]

Rk,

As a handheld device goes the wifi on the LD is a good fall back to a laptop and is much easier to lose out of the fishing boat then a laptop anyway. :D

Just didn't want someone thinking that it's blazing fast compared to a Treo GSM/GPRS/CDMA connection. It's much quicker than the old 19,200 modems I used to test for Omnisky/Earthlink but didn't want to give out false hope.

I'm planning on using the wifi sparingly around the house, MP3's on air planes (hopefully 4 hours), file transport IE flash drive, and PDA. For this it will serve my purposes and then perhaps the occasional hot spot connection while waiting but simply to check mail and news but nothing serious to replace a laptop.

Insightful (is a word according iespell). ;)

[JMckie]

It is probable that the wifi connection itself is fast, but the browser might be slow. Is it Blazer that is installed?

This is one site that tests your mobile connection speed, which takes out the factor of complex html rendering.

http://www.dslreports.com/mspeed

[Moose Man]

This thing is a "screaming meanie" and JM Blazer is the web browser which is slow enough.

Nearly 1MB per second but you will get "hampered" by loading tons of html.

One other note: I give wifi a range of 30 feet or so on line of sight. You start getting around walls etc the antenna doesn't seem to good. So the range of 800 feet may not be there but then again this is a handheld with a 5 volt battery and not a linksys wireless router with twin boom antenna's.

See screen shot to pacify JM.

[JMckie]

Yep, that's fast. It figures. It's a shame Blazer is the bottleneck to all that speed. When I tried Blazer on the Que on a 56kbps line, Blazer couldn't even keep up! Maybe there any newer and better browsers out there?

One option to speed up browsing is to use http://www.skweezer.net/

[rkevwill]

just for a comparison guys, on my treo 600, on Sprint CDMA, I just got 75 kbit/sec with a 100k data load. I think wifi might just be a BIT better :rolleyes:

Yep, I think the ram and Blazer hinder Palm surfing a LOT. Would be interested to see how ppc's and their browsers compare.

[JMckie]

I think the RAM is plenty. It's Blazer that's the dog.

I did a quick test using the Axim's default browser (Pocket IE) on www.cnn.com

It took 37 seconds for the whole page to load, although it was readable at the six second mark. It took another 30s for all the graphics to load. If I disabled images, the page loaded in six seconds.

My typical way of browsing is to open two PIE windows. This was what I used to do back in the days of dialup. I would read one page while the other loads in the background.

---

There's another way to browse on the PPC that is actually faster, although I found it hard to believe at first. Using Terminal Services, open a remote desktop session to your PC. This is like VNC, although VNC software is much slower than was is provided in XP. The equivalent Palm solution might be worth looking into.

Here is a link to the trial version of Remote TS (http://palmsource.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&prodID=52506#). If you are running XP Pro, it is very easy to set up on the PC end.

Mobile TS is the first and only application to connect Palm OS handhelds to Windows desktops and workstations via the Terminal Services or Remote Desktop capabilities built into many Microsoft Windows operating systems.

[Moose Man]

I opted to sign up for Rhapsody and load the LD with some files. Well, bluntly put: 611.6MB worth of music took about an hour download to the device via Pocket Tunes connection.

I probably could have tranferred them via life drive manager much quicker but just wanted to see how long.

I used an MP3 codec of 128 sampling rate. This is a combined total of 89 songs and 7.3 hours worth of music according to the Rhapsody screen.

All in all to transfer 7.3 hours of music in around an hour, not bad but not blazing fast either.

The Rhapsody recognizer did not acknowledge the Life Drive. It only shows a T5 as the lastest version but as soon as I plugged in for the T5 the recognizer noticed the total amount of free space on the device so all seems ok.

I may imagine that Real will modify the transfer speed for the LD once they've built a better driver..

[rkevwill]

Sorry Moose, I refuse to move to the desktop version of (lightning flashing, thunder sounding).....THE DARK SIDE!!!

I will just use itunes and convert them to mp3 (I prefer a bit higher bitrate when possible) and play them via pocket tunes.

Are you using the rental feature or purchasing? I kinda look at subscription as similar to renting an expensive apartment. If I am gonna put out money, I wanna OWN it!

BTW, the base station/modem I was mentioning is called the Wiflyer

http://www.alwaysonwireless.com/index.php?page=productInfo#

[ZBear]

Moose;
Do you like your Life Drive? :rolleyes: :D :rolleyes:
I totally relate!
ZBear

[Moose Man]

Good to see you Zbear. ;) ;)

[ZBear]

I'm looking forward to reading the rantings of the previously human Mooseman and possibly ranting along :)

[Camski]

What a long review. Good work with that.
(LOOK at the AMOUNT of VIEWS!!!!)

Anywayz, i've got a question: i've got a T|E at the moment and was wondering how long the delay is to open up a big application. At the moment DTG is taking a lot of woof to get the T|E to open it (stupid DTG 7 seems slow). Now, with the delay, how much faster would you say it is comparing to the T|E/Z31 or any of the slower devices (126Mhz-200Mhz)

If no one can answer dw.....


Just curious,


Camski

[ZBear]

I also have a Life Drive. Moved up from a Tungsten T5. It's going to be difficult to compare to a T|E since the processor speeds differ. But, compared to a T5, the LD does load applications more slowly. It's like it loads the application from its hard drive the same way a PC does. But once in memory, the LD is just as fast as the T5. Since the LD processor is faster than the TE processor, the LD will seem faster to you than it does me. With all the features the LD has, it is one sweet device. PalmOne has done a heck of a job with the LD. It is ready for prime time as where the T5 wasn't, and some would say it still isn't.

[Moose Man]

As many of you know the LifeDrive does not come with a cradle but I have been using one since I'd purchased one with the T5.

Well, I've stopped using the cradle because I've found that for playing and transferring files etc it's just easier at the moment to use the cable.

Since the adoption of the Athena connector and it's corresponding smaller footprint the LD is not as stable nor was the T5 in a cradle. It's just easier now for me to leave it laying on the desk and handle it rather than trying to tap on the screen while it's in the cradle.

I just thought that I'd pass this along.....also I'm more comfortable putting the cable into the connector then trying to line it up on the cradle (never thought I'd say that for you Que listeners). :)

[ZBear]

I've gone down the same road as the Moose and my T5 cradle is collecting dust. Save your money.

[rkevwill]

One must remember though, that Moose is OLD (almost as old as me), eyesight is not what it once was, not to mention usually on his 8th Moosehead by the time he tries to put that unit in the cradle. Naturally he needs a large stable surface to support the lifedrive, since in that condition, everything is moving around!

(little bit of levity ahead of a holiday weekend here from the "que" side of the world):D

[Moose Man]

Originally posted by rkevwill
....not to mention usually on his 8th Moosehead by the time he tries to put that unit in the cradle. Naturally he needs a large stable surface to support the lifedrive, since in that condition, everything is moving around!

(little bit of levity ahead of a holiday weekend here from the "que" side of the world):D

Hey, I resemble that remark! ;) :D

[ZBear]

ah Moosehead.... and I thought it was because you resemble Bullwinkle.... :rolleyes:

[Moose Man]

Actually prefer Silver Bullets for domestics but have been known to drink Moosehead just keep up appearances. :D

One more trip around the web and then the machine is shutting down. ;)

[wumber]

Just thought I'd let you folks know that I bought a Lifedrive last Sunday, and ended up returning it dead to CompUSA last night. It just blacked out and would not reset or get any power.

However, CompUSA was amazingly nice about the return, and I'm giving it another try!

Some of my experiences so far (although not as technical as Moose Man's)
--If you are left handed you may continually turn on the voice recorder if you hold the LD in your right hand. I was actually amazed that it was that sensitive given the fact that the other buttons require much more pressure.

--Unless there's a setting somewhere that I haven't found, the LD doesn't go off after an alarm sounds. (My Visor would turn on and then turn off if you ignored it.) In the prefs, you can set the amount of time for it to turn off when idle, but it doesn't seem to go off after an alarm.

--If you have arthritis in your hands, you may find that turning the device on and off using the switch at the top is problematic. On both LD's I've had, it requires a fair amount of push.

I'll be interested to read the subsequent posts about the Wifi. My main interest in getting the LD is to be able to access the University of Maryland's on-line classroom (Webtycho). In theory, you need a Java applet to load, but I've been able to load the page at work without the Javascript. Thus far, no success with the LD, but I'm still in the process of reading the ....manual (which is, by the way, downloadable from the PalmOne website, but it is huge 300+ pages).

[rkevwill]

I would lay you odds, the java applet loads at work without you knowing it. Possibly it loaded before, and you didn't notice, and its already in there. That has happened with me before.

I have a similar situation with my work. We have two options. One, to load an actual remote access program (which I prefer, and can do with Virtual PC on the mac), and another where we can access it via IE, with a java applet, but only on a PC.

Here's the thing that TOTALLY P****s me off. It will NOT work on a mac, no matter what browser, which is ridiculous cause Java works so well on the mac. And the other thing that is idiotic, is you can't use firefox, Opera, or anything but IE on the PC! Sounds to me like the programmers used the Microsoft version of Java there. (IMHO they should be fired, or made to fix it. Being an officer of the company, I have sent in a not too subtle comment to that effect)

Anyway, sounds to me you may need to purchase an OQO or a very small laptop with full fledged XP if you want to access your School network.

Curious, do you know if Macs can access the network? I know several people who have been told NO, by their IT people at the schools, and that was just not true when we tried it and accessed it. (point of fact, Depaul in Chicago, and IU and Purdue, and University of Chicago)

[rkevwill]

One more comment. I think the time is somewhat near, where we get full fledged browsing on PDA's. My guess it will be on PPC's first, because of them being captives of Microsoft. I don't think we will see compatible browsing on other platforms until the colleges and businesses go more open source.

[rkevwill]

Rather than start a new thread, I thought it might make sense to add to the excellent thread that Moose started, and so eloquently described his experience with the LD. I thought I would share some of my experiences from a slightly different viewpoint. I can't get quite as technical as Moose, as he is far more experienced.

First, I never intended this to be my only pda, if it was, more than likely I would be on something thinner, like an Ipaq 4155 right now. I was looking for something for weekends, some coffee shop surfing, mp3 playing, etc. And every bit as important, the possiblility of using a palm version of the GPS 10 perhaps, one of these days. I carry a treo all the time. It is my main PDA. (it also happens to be a bit thicker than the LD)

Ok, I received the LD today, and opened it when I came home from the office. I use macs almost exclusively here at home. I use MissingSync and Isync for the garmin and this lifedrive. I use palm desktop for my treo at work. The LD sync'd flawlessly first time with MissingSync and Isync. All my contacts, todo's and calendar went over like clockwork. I installed the MissingSync.prc on the LD, because of its interaction with Iphoto and Itunes. Its mounting on the desktop is virtually the same as the drive mode on the LD.

The wifi worked very well here on my secured home network. I downloaded some large websites like ebay, and I must say, they download just fine, but I am gonna stick to mobile enhanced sites, or skweezit enhanced sites. The complexity of full sites is not worth the hassle for me.

Versamail set up easily, and it downloads my .mac email just fine. It does of course support imap, if thats your preference.

One comment I must make. Did you hear recently about men going sterile from setting over heated laptops on their laps? Well, don't sit the LD on your lap. It gets WARM!!!! For you mac users, think of the old Titanium powerbooks. My old Micron PC Laptop was very warm like this. I was a bit surprised at the heat this little thing puts out.

All I have for now. My next test is to transfer some MP3's to the LD, and see how the sound and performance is. Feel free to ask any questions, and I will do my best to respond. Remember, I am not the COMPLEAT (sp) palm expert, just trying to give a users viewpoint.

[rkevwill]

Two observations.

1. The MP3 sound is very very good. Sound quality is better than my Treo, which I tend to say is very good also. Generally, on a daily basis, I listen to MP3's on my treo when walking to lunch or just for exercise. This sound quality on the LD seems to be better for whatever reason. I am one of those that are cursed with a sensitive ear for sound quality btw.

2. The LD doesn't seem to get warm with WIFI and the screen off. I have been listening to MP3's for about an hour now, and the LD is not warm at all. No diff than cold. (MP3's transferred very smoothly with USB2, via MissingSync on the mac, from Itunes)

I am going back to playing and discovery.

[SoS]

Originally posted by rkevwill
... Well, don't sit the LD on your lap. It gets WARM!!!! For you mac users, think of the old Titanium powerbooks. My old Micron PC Laptop was very warm like this. I was a bit surprised at the heat this little thing puts out.




this is bad IMHO. The heat will do nothing for battery longevity!

[rkevwill]

And laptops don't have heat?

Make sure you check the next entry, where I say in regular use there is no heat at all.

The heat buildup was the result of it being constantly on, setting up apps, and using wifi. I mean, on for about 2 hours straight.

Regular use, no heat at all.

[rkevwill]

One thing I might add to the Ongoing review is this. After using this over the weekend, in various wifi places, I find the wifi setup very slick and simple. I would hope however, that people don't buy the LD thinking they are going to get the same performance surfing the web, that they get on a laptop. I find it great for surfing PDA and mobile enhanced websites. Its much quicker than my treo surfing those sites. The larger screen helps a ton for sites, and email.

If a person needs to see whole websites, in their native format, this unit is not for you. It takes some time to render large html sites, and I don't believe it supports the JVM, at least not extensively. This might just be Blazer. Perhaps a new Opera browser might do things better, who knows. Not really enough ram to do large sites however, at least not quick enough for me.

That said, its nice to see the pda enhanced sites on the screen. Its very sharp, they load quickly, and they are SO much easier to see than on the treo.

[SoS]

Originally posted by SoS
this is bad IMHO. The heat will do nothing for battery longevity!

no, you are right and laptops, of course, heat up a lot (especially my G4 Ti PB!!)

[PalmTealLover]

SOS Said:
"no, you are right and laptops, of course, heat up a lot (especially my G4 Ti PB!!)"

I'm thinking SOS has hit it EXACTLY right . . . present PDA technology seems to be attempting a silk purse out of a sow's ear . . .

My current "opinion" is stick with my T3 and get a G4 laptop . . . more room, wifi, backup, lots of stuff - I mean if you can't carry the LifeDrive in your pocket, it has short battery life and gets warm and is slow . . . well . . . then by all means chuck the G4 in the lake and downgrade???!!

Seems to be a G4, a decent cellphone and a T3 solve everything despite being 3 devices. I'm looking hard this week to compare prices and possibly consider . . . dare it be said . . . a Wifi PC notebook if the Apples are "out of sight." Everyone I know with an ibook /ipad loves it and would never change. I'm not a kid any more . . .but I learn a heck of a lot from "kids;" - they're all at Starbucks . . . "wifi'ing away," and they have Apple laptops. Haven't seen a LIfedrive among 'em - businessmen/students/musicians - any group you pick - 60% iBook, 40% PC Notebook. Maybe we should give PalmOne "fervor" a rest until they come up with something we can actually USE and is worth the MONEY.

God I love my T3 though . . .

[rkevwill]

Well, the LD is NO ibook or powerbook, thats for sure. (btw, you haven't seen them with LD's cause they aren't very plentiful yet). However, you also haven't seen them with TC's there either. I have seen a few Ipaqs in the starbucks at downtown locations. Not as many as laptops though.

Yes, it is frankly, too big to carry around ALL the time. It definitely is a briefcase or backpack PDA. (or coat pocket in the winter). It does do a lot more than the t3 though, but not in the traditional PDA sense. It really is not much bigger than some of the PPC's out there that have both sd and CF slots, and its a LOT smaller than some of the multimedia players, and can do most if not all of the same things.

I would definitely say try one before you buy one. The one I have is an amazing piece of equipment. Does a whole lot more than the treo (except the phone of course) and my Ique (except the GPS at present). My guess is it will do all kinds of GPS stuff when those companies get their acts together.

If I was going to make a buying suggestion to someone, it would go like this. If the size does not bother you, buy it. Do NOT worry about the lag or delay. It is not worth worrying about. It doesn't happen all the time, and when it does, its a blink of the eye. And if someone complains that there is a lag because you are playing a 2 gig movie......well DUH!!!!! Of course there is! But not much of one.

All that said, it sure is nice to run in a free wifi place and get email and news on the web, without carrying a laptop. Yep, you can do that with a LOT of PPC's, and many are a lot thinner. That is something to think about. But then again, with the LD, you can accomplish the wifi connection, and go from landscape to portrait etc in a flash. Takes a bit more with a PPC. (oh, and don't let anyone tell you the battery life is that short, its not. I do wifi off and on all day, and use the pda stuff off and on all day, and I don't plug it back in till about 11 pm at night for the next day)

A t3 is SO much smaller and convenient, if you don't need or want the other features. No question.

And NO lifedrive is ever going to replace a laptop. Not this year, and maybe not for a couple more.

[rkevwill]

One more review observation I might mention, that I just discovered today. You know those wifi sites, where you are taken to a webpage to agree to terms etc? Or to possibly pay for the service? Well, they work with the LD, but not real well. It does have a bit of a problem with those sites. I have run into two now. One at Panera bread (a free site) and another at a hotel (a pay site). This is obviously a Blazer issue, but lets just say, Blazer combined with the Lifedrive, is NOT as clean as a laptop in logging in those sites.

Also, I noticed those pay sites seem to have a bit of a problem with cached PDA sites, for whatever reason. Not sure if they were Blazer issues, or the network's issue. Perhaps they don't get along with the proxy servers some of those PDA sites use.

[SoS]

so, the wifi implementation is basically fine, but the browser sucks....the HD is great but the virtual RAM setup with a paltry 4Mb DRAM cache sucks.....becuase of this, the magnificant >1600mAh battery is made to look like it sucks....the sound chip and speaker are great but the 'custom' PT mp3 player sucks (shame on all concerned).....the screen is great but the movie conversion and player suck....must I continue??

p1 instruction to self - 'pick up semi-automatic weapon, aim at foot, fire.....damn, we missed....'

I hear a voice...'Dell, Dell, Dell.......' and then I just decide to sit in a darkened room and wait for it all to pass.

[SoS]

oh, and its too big to carry around in your pocket - like everyone carries a briefcase or tows a uhaul all day. But I keep forgetting, its not a pda, its a mobile manager (as long as you have a towing hitch...)

P1 customer - 'does it come in a 4x4 configuration?'...

aww hell...time for bed!

[rkevwill]

Who said Pocket tunes sucked? Works great for me! And as I said, the battery life is no problem for me. Yup, I charge it every evening, but then again, what else is it going to do while I'm asleep.

Haven't tried any big movies on it, just the ones that came with it, and they play fine. Someone else who is a geek in that area can try it and report.

Yup, its too big to carry in a pocket. Yup, its browser (blazer) is not up to its wifi capabilities.

[PREVOST]

Moose,

How do you adjust brightness of the screen? I just handled a Lifedrive tonight at the retailer, but wasn`t able to find out how to adjust brightness :confused:

Also, have you tried the Lifedrive under sunlight? If so, would you say it is easily readable? How would you compare it with a reflective screen's performance under sunlight?

This is important to me since the main reason I still hang on to my TT is the fact I use it a lot under sunlight or outdoors and its reflective screen is great for this condition.

Thank you for the review!

[rkevwill]

Scuse me for butting in, but I can answer that question for you (If the Ambien hasn't kicked in too much)

You click the little digital clock icon on the bottom menu. Up comes the time, battery usage indicator, available memory in the device, and available memory in Ram. Then there is a slider there for brightness, as well as settings for sound. Nice multipurpose preference editor. Surprisingly not in the preferences themselves, but handy right there in the lower menu. Darn near as good as a button.

I have a no glare screen protector on this unit, and it seems to work very well. I pretty much keep it at 50%, and I haven't changed it in light, or in my office, or here at home. I did turn it up in bright sunlight, and you can still read it, but obviously its not as good as inside, but better than my Garmin, which I always though was pretty darn good.

[PREVOST]

Originally posted by rkevwill
Scuse me for butting in, but I can answer that question for you No problem, you're welcome! Thanks a lot.

Have you tried Repligo 2.0 with it?

Something I found strange is that, as I put in my SD card into Lifedrive slot, I could launch the programs stored there, but I couldn't retrieve any of the categories I have in the card. Have anyone of you noticed this? Is it normal behavior in Palm OS (the last time I upgraded, I had never used cards yet)

Also, how is the performance when searching and playing music files and long playlists from the hard drive? Have any of you tried this? I guess this test would be revealing since Lifedrive is meant to compete against MP3 players, particularily concerning file storage volume.

[rkevwill]

playlists are fiine, I do mine in two steps. First Idownload one from itunes to the ld. then I move them all to their own folder within the audio folder and name it. I continue with that for other playlists. Performance is fine when working while ptunes is on. You will hear clicking when changing aps, system sounds. Searching is fine for me when playing. I have about 300 songs on now in about 6 or7 playlists. So far haven't tried sd cards yet.

Will look at those issues. On ld now, been listening to music and am headed to bed.

Havent tried repligo yet, but will.

[rkevwill]

Prevost:

No, I have not tried Repligo on it. I made a decision a couple of years ago to not run anything that didn't have a mac version. (keeping life as simple as possible these days) I just use the adobe converter, and Docs to go. And so rarely do I use those tools, its really a non issue to me. (I do understand that Repligo is a very slick and nice app). I imagine it would run fine on the LD. One thing for sure, is the Screen is awesome.

The only PC software I run (on my mac via Virtual PC) is the Garmin mapping software for my Ique, and my company's remote access software.

I do still have an old PC laptop, and another up to date PC in the house, but they are used rarely, and do not sync my Palms with them. (the PC desktop is not even hooked up to the internet)

[Camski]

I WANNA ASK A BIG BIG BIG QUESTION!

Does the LD still have the screen whine???


hmm maybe it wasnt so big after all.....



Camski

[rkevwill]

What the heck is a screen whine? I didn't hear any whining from mine for sure.

Although it did ask me for a second beer once. ;)

[Camski]

hee hee.

The screen whine happens with all T|E's, T|T... i think it's the whole Tungsten range?
The zire 72 also has it.

Anywayz enough of that.....

*sigh*.... i want one :p :D

[SoS]

Originally posted by Camski
hee hee.

The screen whine happens with all T|E's, T|T... i think it's the whole Tungsten range?
The zire 72 also has it.

Anywayz enough of that.....

*sigh*.... i want one :p :D

nope, no problem on my TT

[Camski]

I think it's the PDA's with screen res 320x320 or 320x480

[SoS]

Originally posted by Camski
I think it's the PDA's with screen res 320x320 or 320x480

like the TT you mean!! I think the screens changed after the T1 and the trouble started....

[Camski]

oh i thought the T|T had a low res screen, thats why they chaged it to hi-res.... oh well my bad.

All i know is that they changed something related to the screen

[TungstenEguy]

The screen whine happens with the Tungste|E, as I am fully aware of it. It's a subtle whining sound when the screen is on, that is barely noticable, but apparent none the less.

Don't know about other devices, but that's the only one I have read about having a screen whine.

[Syno]

O.K. .... Anyone- MooseMan, etc., etc.. ...........

I purchased a LD and then found terrible reviews all over the web. Anyway, I'm stuck with trying to get it to work for me (despite these aweful reviews I see on other forums). I see good reviews here, but that was early on. Does everyone still agree? Is this still a great device? Can someone please give me some words of wisdom to keep her running without a glitch?

Oh ...... also ........ how can I be absolute certain that I have the latest software update for it? Palm site says version 2.0 but nothing on the handheld says 2.0. Should it say 1.7.xx???

Thanks very much guys!!!!

Syno

[cliebold]

I have had a life drive for three days now and its forever locking up. will not come on when switched on and its in the box for a replacement. I hope this isn't going to be this bad with the replacement. I happly used a zire 72 for the last couple of years and am fully disapointed with this lifedrive. Just wanted email wifi.

Can someone tell me how to do a hard boot on this lifedrive

[Heather Cullen]

Hi Cliebold,

Sorry about your trouble, and I wish you the best of luck with your replacement device. As soon as you receive it, be sure to register it at https://www.onlineregister.com/palm/reg/cgi/index.cgi?LANG=EN&CTRY=United%20States.

Also, be sure to utilize the Palm Support Knowledge Library at http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=PalmSupportKB. The Support Knowledge Library lists many resolutions to issues/queries. Give it a try the next time you have a question. Type in your issue and a list of resolutions will appear.

For example, I typed "hard reset" into the search field in response to your question, and came up with this entire page -- http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,kb=PalmSupportKB,CASE=obj(887),ts=P alm_External2001 -- devoted to hard, soft, and system (warm) resets. Hopefully, some or all of these reset options prove helpful.

Congratulations on your LifeDrive. I'm confident that once you get your replacement device in full swing, you'll see it's a very smart, helpful device.

Best,
Heather

[ConnieL4193]

I read a LOT of reviews before buying my LifeDrive. I found everything from one extreme to the other. It's kind of unusual but I find when you see that sort of thing, that it truly comes down to what the buyer expects and what he tries to do with it. Some people are probably to demanding ("it's to heavy and bulky"). Hello! It's a hard drive and isn't likely to be real light weight. Palm probably could have done a little better in software/hardware compatability but if your "main" use of the LD is the onboard apps and the storage space, it should work fine. If however, you plan to load it down with apps, then it gets risky. I have 4 additional apps on mine and everyone seems to be working and playing well together. (Datebk5, DayNotez, Audible, and SplashID)

[Chere]

First let me say I'm only self-taught (I read the directions and follow some forums :) ) so I don't techno-speak. I bought an LD yesterday. So far, the things I like are the WiFi connection; since it's my first experience with a WiFi capable handheld I have nothing to compare it to but the WiFi works nicely; I was able to retrieve and reply to Yahoo mail and view web pages. All applications (cachemate, hint decoder (for geocaching) Soduku and Universal Keyboard trasferred fine via beaming.
The down side... it is big and bulky; once I got it home, it seemed bigger than in the store. It's longer than my Zire by about 3/4 inch, same width and depth. I enjoyed the size of my old M500 as well as the flap protector... light & convenient (but so lacking in comparison to the LD)... and anyway, the M500 died. Also, the screen on the LD is not as easily viewed in sunlight as the Zire no matter what brightness adjustment is used.
One of the applications that attracted me to the LD is a voice memo (which I can live without). I'm seriously considering taking it back and exchanging it for the lighter, thinner, flap protected TX.
Will I be sorry?
Thanks for having this thread Moose.
P.S. (Sometime later)... I just tried to put the LD into it's sleeve/carrier... good grief! It's very tight, difficult to get in and out, I can see the unit flying across the room upon exit. Is there a solution to this? Maybe it will loosen after some use but geez.

[ConnieL4193]

Chere, Don't worry. It loosens up as you use it. I do wish they had something a little more functional though.

[sail123]

I have had to send this product back twice already under warranty for the same problem. Now it has occurred again, and just out of warranty period too. It simply will not turn on, even with soft and hard resets. This is a poor product, with an absolutely poor warranty repair service. I paid $AUS750 for this lead weight. Now I am expected to PAY more money to repair it AGAIN, for a fault that was obviously not corrected the first TWO times it was repaired(sic). Tell me why I would bother to pay for a repair that will be clearly temporary in nature? I need a reliable product for business everyday. No, I will purchase a new product, DEFINATELY NOT A PALM PRODUCT and not in anyway associated with palm. I will also actively promote PALM products and warranty service as extremely poor and Unreliable to everyone I possibly can for the rest of my life!
I buy a computer or washing machine with only a 1 year warranty on them, but they don’t stop working at the end of it, they go for years longer. Even if they do develop a fault it is usually fixed properly.
Lifedrive-what a DISASTER!