LifeDrive Clearance Pricing at CompUSA

Then earlier this month I saw E2s in Circuit City and CompUSA brandishing a slightly modified version of the silver Palm box and having the new Palm logo printed on the handheld itself. This one had the "Win $10k" sweepstakes sticker on the packaging.

So it looks like the E2, with a minor facelift, is here for the long haul along with the Z22 and TX.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

$199 for it is a great deal, IMHO. I think they were $220 at the conference last year if I remember correctly, so that is cheaper than what we paid.

I know I'm supposed to hate my LifeDrive because some people who like to see their opinions in print keep telling me it's terrible. I know I'm not supposed to like it.

I just keep forgetting.

In some ways the LD is the best device Palm has produced in years:

1. Build quality is superb

2. Plenty of hard buttons (VR button + screen rotate button) in addition to a solid d-pad

3. If all else fails it makes a servicable portable hard drive/mp3 player.

But with the rapidly falling price of 4gb (even though they're non-spec) SD cards, a TX + SD is really a better combo. Sure a LifeDrive with a 4gb SD card would give you nearly 8gb of storage but the size/heat/fragility/stability tradeoffs just aren't worth it.

I stick to my guns that the original LD 1.0 was the worst product in Palm's history. The T|W/VII/i705 et al were flops but they at least (mostly) worked as advertised. The 2.0 update was nigh miraculous in managing to turn the LD from an utter disaster to just a slow, big, laggy handheld.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

I just keep forgetting.

Reminds me of a column I read on Wired the other day: http://tinyurl.com/ycvsp7
You'll like it, Adrenochrome. It's about online games but applies well to pretty much anything online. I see these two everywhere I go on the 'net:

The Eternal Quitter

Just comes on the forum to let everyone know he's quitting for good and to spend a dozen paragraphs explaining why. Then does it again three months later.

Sample Quote: "For real, this time."

Punishment: Forced to actually quit.

One-Issue Poster

Only has one complaint, but posts about it 15 times a day. This is because nobody else cares.

Sample Quote: "THE LAVENDER STARBELT IS ACTUALLY PERIWINKLE!!!! WHY DON'T THEY FIX THIS??!!!?!"

Punishment: Lavender Starbelt changed to lilac.

Not that there's any riff-raff like that here, of course. ;)

Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650

Ignorance is bliss. You are apparently quite blissful. Take care, Sunshine.

TVoR

Again, OTHER than the inclusion of a microdrive instead of a standard CF slot or 4gb internal flash (as well as the size/heat/power negatives that are inherent in using a microdrive) the LD WOULD BE as close to a perfect PDA as I've ever seen running Palm OS. Great build quality, decent styling, solid feature set for Garnet etc etc.
64 or 128mb of RealRam and 4gb internal flash would make it a world-beater, especially for 2005.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

This mod makes it the best of all world's PDA.

4GB CF + 4 GB SD = 8 GB

Warning: Voids Warranty

http://howto.wikia.com/wiki/Howto_replace_microdrive_with_compactflash_in_LifeDrive

"LiveFlash" anyone?

MMMMuuuhhhhaaaahhhhaaaahhaaaaahhhhaaaaa

I have a TX... I can use SD cards.... ummm.... why would I want this? For the voice recorder? A $200 voice recorder. Wow... what a great idea!

My goodness I do hope palm has something in the works for next year.... maybe palm will launch such great products next year that we won't remember these last couple of years of pain.

Vote for John Kerry... best man for the job.

It's not just for the voice recorder--the LD has a 50% larger battery than the TX, plus a metal case, drive mode, and with 4 GB internally, adding a 4 GB SD card would bring you up to 8 GB of memory. You might even be able to mod it further to stick more battery power in the space formerly used by the microdrive and its anti-shock padding.