Comments on: SanDisk Releases WiFi Memory SD Combo Card

SanDisk has announced the availability of a new 256 MB + Wi-Fi SD Combination card, the world's first card to include both memory and WLAN (802.11b) communications in a single SD card. The card is currently compatible only with Windows Mobile handhelds, Palm OS support is planned but the timeframe is uncertain.

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Still Waiting?????

s_teve @ 5/25/2004 11:02:38 AM #

I wonder if there will ever be drivers, we were promised them last summer if I'm not mistaken and we are still waiting sigh...........

RE: Still Waiting?????

sgingras @ 5/25/2004 11:06:57 AM #

SanDisk = Smoke & Mirrors

No need to wait...for something that is never coming. That would be like waiting for a bus in the middle of the desert. Don't waste your time.

RE: Still Waiting?????

Lucky Bob @ 5/25/2004 6:33:39 PM #

"I wonder if there will ever be drivers, we were promised them last summer if I'm not mistaken and we are still waiting sigh..........."

The card itself was supposed to be released with Palm OS drivers last March. So if you look at it that way, it's been over 14 months...

(Why do some people say you can kill two birds with one stone when it's hard enough killing one bird with two stones?)

Holy grail

spiros @ 5/25/2004 11:03:35 AM #

The drivers for the Wi-Fi SD card in the Holy Grail of the Palm community: everybody is talking about them, everybody is searching for them but nobody has never seen them.

RE: Holy grail

Strider_mt2k @ 5/25/2004 6:14:06 PM #

I saw them!

Wait, no I didn't --Ahhhhhhhh! (sproi-oi-oi-oing)

Sorry, you did mention grail...

;)

RE: Holy grail

Bartman007 @ 5/26/2004 3:01:01 AM #

HEAD KNIGHT:
Therefore, we must give you a test.
ARTHUR:
What is this test, O Knights of-- knights who till recently said 'ni'?
HEAD KNIGHT:
Firstly, you must find... another shrubbery!
[dramatic chord]
ARTHUR:
Not another shrubbery!
RANDOM:
Ni!
HEAD KNIGHT:
Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must place it here beside this shrubbery, only slightly higher so you get the two-level effect with a little path running down the middle.
KNIGHTS OF NI:
A path! A path! A path! Ni! Shh! Knights of Ni! Ni! Ni! Shh! Shh!...
HEAD KNIGHT:
Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest... with... a herring!
[dramatic chord]
KNIGHTS OF NI:
A herring!

Sadly I think that a complete Monty Python reunion will come before SanDisk releases Palm OS drivers. Those who have followed the Monty Python gang recently will realize what I am really saying...

Peace,
-Bartman007

Fool me once, shame on me...

sgingras @ 5/25/2004 11:03:59 AM #

Okay, on the count of three...everyone start holding your breath.

the end of all rumours:

gijsraggers @ 5/25/2004 12:04:38 PM #

the palm driver will not ship.
thank god. we can go on with our lifes now.

And this is Palm OS new because...?

rsc1000 @ 5/25/2004 12:23:51 PM #

This is just some sort of sick tease - why is this mentioned on a Palm OS website? No drivers for Palm OS - so why is it even given space on PIC?

I dont buy it

Konstantin @ 5/25/2004 12:46:42 PM #

I dont believe that the driver for PalmOS present impossible to resolve issues.
Bool Shee It!
I believe that PalmOS handhelds are the ones that have most of the SDIO slots.

In other news...

sremick @ 5/25/2004 1:03:02 PM #

...Garmin has announced a cellphone attachment for their line of eTrex GPS receivers.

Palm drivers have not been announced, but who knows... maybe we'll see them someday?

Bluetooth WiFi adapter

Doc Logic @ 5/25/2004 1:38:11 PM #

Let's combine the top two stories on PIC:

Invent a Bluetooth WiFi adapter. Works just like the Bluetooth GPS units (or Bluetooth phone), but gives you a WiFi connection instead. :) When not connected via BT, it works like a WiFi hotspot detector.

Of course, BT and WiFi should have been built into the T3 in the first place. Today, I use a European Sony TH-55 with BT & WiFi. Great battery life, but I miss the ergonomics of my T3.

BTW, one of the big prizes at PalmSource 2004 in February was a WiFi SD card with working drivers. Apparently, it CAN be done...

RE: Bluetooth WiFi adapter

rmfuller @ 5/25/2004 2:35:52 PM #

It can be done but it seems like it is NOT being done. If I were Palm, I would be concerned. Once again, Windows Mobile is making their hardware options more flexible and Palm is screwing around with limited hardware. This smells like another example of where Windows has an inferior product (Apple, OS2) but gains mindshare and marketshare by having vendors sign on and support their systems.

SanDisk in Microsoft's Pocket???

frankdjr @ 5/25/2004 6:05:41 PM #

Maybe Microsoft is forcing SanDisk not to release the drivers for the Palm OS so they can gain more ground on the PDA front. And honestly Palm is so stupid not to have even a single PDA with 802.11b/g, Sony already has 2. Shame on Palm and SanDisk.

RE: SanDisk in Microsoft's Pocket???

Lucky Bob @ 5/25/2004 6:32:49 PM #

"And honestly Palm is so stupid not to have even a single PDA with 802.11b/g, Sony already has 2."

What about the Tungsten C?

(Why do some people say you can kill two birds with one stone when it's hard enough killing one bird with two stones?)

RE: SanDisk in Microsoft's Pocket???

I.M Anonymous @ 5/25/2004 8:13:05 PM #

The T|C is 802.11b, not g.

RE: SanDisk in Microsoft's Pocket???

Duku @ 5/25/2004 8:51:16 PM #

Will you people stop blaming Sandisk while leaving PalmOne and Palmsource scot free. It has been almost 2 year since i bought my 505 and now using TT but still PalmOne has not come out with a device that has both wireless connectivity could (yeah yeah clie has them, only in Europe??? for TH55 or the UX whatever) Probably PalmOne or Palmsource should work together more closely to rolled out a built in wifi and bluetooth device.

RE: SanDisk in Microsoft's Pocket???

s_teve @ 5/26/2004 10:04:40 AM #

Getta load of this

www.brighthand.com

palmOne is preparing to release a Wi-Fi SD card for the Tungsten T3 and Zire 72. This will be the first SD card of this type for any palmOne model.

According to a tip sent to Brighthand, palmOne's latest sales guide for spring 2004 includes an accessories chart that shows this wireless networking card.

Unfortunately, details on this are very sketchy. The price isn't given, nor is there a release date.

The guide does make it clear that this WLAN card will not work with all current palmOne handhelds, only the Tungsten T3 and Zire 72.

SanDisk can stick that SD Wi-Fi card you now where...

GearHead @ 5/26/2004 12:12:25 AM #

It's too late. Almost all of the manufacturers one way or another they have their own version of built-in Wi-Fi access on their devices. I needed this card on my Tungsten T last year not now. I am sure Palm is coming with their own version of BT+Wi-Fi bulit-in device pretty soon. Also prices on these new devices less than $350 with the new Dell Pocket PC. SO why should I waste my hard earned dollars on this???

Simply too late! Too bad! Don't care for it anymore...

Free 802.11 No More Wires!!!
Support your local WAN!

how well is the wifi gonna work via a SD card anyway?

scaught @ 5/26/2004 1:06:31 AM #

isnt the read/write speed on an SD card kinda bad? i know sandisk SD cards are certainly not terribly respected for their speed. there was a long thread in the forums about how slow they were.

palmIII>HandERA330>SonySJ20>TungstenE

RE: how well is the wifi gonna work via a SD card anyway?

Winter_ @ 5/26/2004 5:05:00 PM #

If the WiFi card is at least as fast as a memory card, then there should be no problem... don't you think? :)

Error

nlippa @ 5/26/2004 4:03:34 PM #

I placed this under the wrong story.

How does this story help me. Is there finally a WiFi SD card I can use on my T2? I do not really care if there are new and improved WiFi SD Cards for PPC after all this Palminfocenter not PPCenter. I come here week after week and still nothing. Maybe you can all help me, is there ever going to be a Palm OS5 WiFi SD card or do I have to go buy the Enfora Case.

Yeah, Right.

tsunami25 @ 5/26/2004 9:56:51 PM #

Without Palm drivers this isn't worth the bits it took to type it... I am starting to wonder if SanDisk is taking kickbacks from microsoft to keep these drivers off the market.

Since this is a palm site, maybe we shouldn't announce products that NEVER work on the palm???

fed up,

tsu

Community Project/Contest?

achitnis @ 5/26/2004 10:28:17 PM #

Remember the contest to produce drivers for the Sony Compactflash memory/IO card access on the NV/NX? Where drivers were eventually produced by someone other than Sony, proving that it could be done (and opening up a complete new line of expansion for owners of such Sony units)?

What stops the community from doing something similar for this hardware?

If the Linux guys can produce opensource drivers for just about any piece of hardware with nary a specsheet from the manufacturer, can't the PalmOS community pull a similar rabbit out of the hat?

What it needs is someone with an understanding of APIs involved, and a bit of a hacker mindset, to buy/borrow/steal (the price includes 256 MB of storage, so it isn't a complete waste if all else fails) a card, and start digging, sharing info, etc.

Last I checked, reverse engineering was still legal (or the Linux community would have ceased to exist) and in fact encouraged (AMD v/s Intel, anyone?).

The only thing that I could see holding up such a project is if there is a physical problem - for example, if this card was incompatible with the basic PalmOS PDA hardware.

Atul Chitnis
http://atulchitnis.net

RE: Community Project/Contest?

Winter_ @ 5/27/2004 8:00:36 AM #

Perhaps another reason stopping the project would be it being too painful. (I don't know!)

The linux community has made lots of drivers for Linux in a variety of platforms; perhaps the problem is, the linux community can be more attracted to other PDAs. Zaurus is an obvious choice, and PPC allows them to put a full Linux on the PDA - so the drivers are already there. They even have GCC running native in PPC's Windows, for Dog's sake. :(

Last time I looked, they had 2 (3?) different bluetooth stacks to use...

I mentioned some time ago that PalmOne/Source could get some benefits if they "opened the platform". The answers were just got flames.

However, I've started this post mentioning development pain. In other thread(s), I've also said that looks like the PalmOS isn't an "easy platform to develop for". I have no first hand data, but the facts point to that direction. In this drivers subject, you can see there are a number of companies trying to bring to market a number of devices; and some of them have failed with the drivers. SanDisk is an example.

But, the best damning example is the very PalmOne/PalmSource/whatever case: they OWN the hardware. They OWN the OS'es. They OWN a bluetooth SD card that worked on OS4, so they OWNED the working drivers. And yet they fail to provide drivers for OS5??

I can only see two options: either they are utterly disinterested on providing compatibility (to the point of absurdity, since they could be selling cards AND lower end Palms that later would be upgradeable), or they just CAN'T provide the drivers for some reason.

I guess... if they suddenly popped out some bluetooth SD drivers for OS6, then we'd know that there was some problem with OS5. :P

However: you mention a project that ended providing drivers for Clies? That certainly looks interesting, but makes me wonder what they are waiting to engage on more of that! Do you have any more info? Any website? Please point out...

Of course not for Palms

atrizzah @ 5/31/2004 3:36:02 PM #

What you guys don't understand is it's Palm that's preventing the drivers from coming out. Think about it. Palm's been holding back on releasing a PDA for more than the past year, just to protect it's current line up. If all Palms had Wifi available, who would buy a T|C? If all T|C's had the media capabilities they should have had, why would anyone buy another model? Why else would they not make the Tungsten C the killer device it should have been, one year ago?

Palm has been intentionally crippling their own devices in some stupid, misguided attempt to segment their own market and to protect their current product strategy

Peace Out
Alan

SanDisk speaks

dfsmurth @ 6/2/2004 8:57:24 PM #

we would LOVE to offer palm support for SD Wi-Fi products. We have palm source rights to OS and have developed drivers for the OS - in its pure form. palmOne makes driver slot (SDIO host side driver) and netlib (networking files) modifications to the files in the OS and will NOT give access to the mods. This month SanDisk is releasing Zire 71 support but has had to hack the modified files for this device to accomplish this. SanDisk got all kinds of help from MSFT for their OS's and only obstacles from palmOne. This is Monty Python business logic.

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