Rumor: Additional LifeDrive Details and Images

Posted By: PIC Wednesday, March 30, 2005 10:46:36 AM

More information on the rumored palmOne LifeDrive has been posted along with two potential images of the handheld. The LifeDrive is said to feature dual wireless and a built in hard drive.

Our previous info states the LifeDrive will have built in WiFi and Bluetooth and a 4 Gigabyte internal hard drive. It will not have a removable battery and is said to be as thick as two Tungsten T5's. Life Drive could be a code name for the device.

Two new pictures (shown below) were posted to Engadget. A user in the Brighthand forums found that palmOne had filed a trademark for "LifeDrive" last August. PalmAddicts chimed in this morning to report that the unit may retail around $500 USD and is rumored to launch on April 18th.

rumored palmOne LifeDrive pics rumored palmOne LifeDrive pics

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Not the only new trademark...

karrock @ 3/30/2005 1:51:46 PM # Q
If you search USPTO trademarks for "palmone" (Field: ALL), you'll find that on the same day that they filed "LifeDrive" PalmOne put in another for "SuperSync" and on 1/28 for "Foleo"

http://tinyurl.com/5ryh5

The plot thickens!! =D

"SuperSync" serial# 78474735
"Foleo" serial# 78555579


~Tony

Pilot --> V --> m505 --> Tungsten T3

RE: Not the only new trademark...
hkklife @ 3/30/2005 3:09:39 PM # Q
SuperSync (cheesy name, btw)===Hot Sync w/ USB 2.0 support
Expect an overhauled or at least heavily faceifted Palm Desktop that will likely be tweaked yet again before Cobalt devices ship this fall or next spring.

P1 is likely looking to put the remaining vestiges of the old Palm Pilot glory years behind them--retiring G1, shifting away from Hotsync, elimination of cradles, renaming the built-in PIM apps etc.

WHile it looks like yet another clunky, uninspired piece of industrial (non) design, I'll reserve judgement until I've given one the grope test personally. At the very least, the specs look decent enough to upgrade but I'd STILL rather have the option of buying a "naked" OEM LifeDrive w/o the Microdrive and bring my own storage cards to the table.

2nd scandalous thought of the day--what if Wi-FI isn't built-in but instead it has two SDIO slots with one of them being "deep" like the T4 was rumored to have last year? Or it has a SDIO slot & a CF slot and you can use your choice of wi-fi cards as long as it's the PalmOne branded SDIO card in addition to a CF storage card?

I could actually envision a few of these being sold for industrial applications IF the build quality & battery life were up to par. The Symbol units are impossibly long in the tooth and ther are no other alternatives out there running POS. P1 would be wise to license the hardware & software to another manufacturer to repackage them in a ruggedized body with a bigger battery.



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Snake eating itself

mikecane @ 3/30/2005 2:07:16 PM # Q
>>>PalmAddicts chimed in this morning to report that the unit may retail around $500 USD and is rumored to launch on April 18th.

Man, it's getting to be Ouroboros Time around here.

The above should actually read: Palm Addicts quoting Mike Cane who was passing along information from Gekko via Vampire Lestat and another unknown source.

Spooky, ain't it?

RE: Snake eating itself
LiveFaith @ 3/30/2005 2:10:27 PM # Q
Mobile Read actually reported that the Tungsten C2 was rumored for the 18th release date, according to publisher.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=3704



Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

RE: Snake eating itself
twizza @ 3/30/2005 2:55:41 PM # Q
I read somewhere else that palmOne would be releasing models in April and May. Maybe there would be the regular models (E2 adn Z73) in April, and this one to come in early May.

antoinerjwright.com
RE: Snake eating itself
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 2:57:34 PM # Q
Yeesh! I'm being quotd again! I speculated on that to Palm Addicts. That the 73 and Te2 would come in April and they'd hold off on the LD to give it its own announcement/spotlight. But now that there's a TC2 in teh wings too, I expect an all-in-one blitz. It's Gotterdammerung for you, Gates!

RE: Snake eating itself
twizza @ 3/30/2005 3:02:31 PM # Q
My hearing somewhere else wasnt PA Mike ;)

antoinerjwright.com
RE: Snake eating itself
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 3:04:13 PM # Q
OK. Then the same thinking is in the air...

RE: Snake eating itself
hkklife @ 3/30/2005 7:03:15 PM # Q
Remember back in'03 the T|T2 was released mid-summer (like late June or early July?). Perhaps the Zire 73 & T|E2 refreshes for spring with the two biggies for the summer. I somehow think it might be stretching the P1 marketing coffers a bit thin to try and get 4 new models (with at least 2 of them pretty much deserving quite a bit of hoopla) simultaneously, what with varied target audiences/markets for each model.

Perhaps P1 is adopting a modified release schedule:
Low-end: spring
High-end: summer
Treos: fall

??

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Another Tungsten?

rasty @ 3/30/2005 2:11:39 PM # Q
I know it's blurry and everything, but doesn't the logo on top of the device on the left image look a lot like a Tungsten one?

Regards!
Rasty.-

RE: Another Tungsten?
Gekko @ 3/30/2005 2:13:49 PM # Q

yup - either a Tungsten T6, T7, or T2005.



RE: Another Tungsten?
Gekko @ 3/30/2005 2:14:46 PM # Q

p.s. Is that a Condom or a D-Pad???

"Let's get crazzzzzy!" - Pat O'Brien



RE: Another Tungsten?
Foo Fighter @ 3/30/2005 2:16:26 PM # Q
And notice that the D-pad doesn't match the one represented in the earlier rendering?

-------------------------------
Editor, http://Pocketfactory.com
Contributing Editor, http://digitalmediathoughts.com
RE: Another Tungsten?
crimewave @ 3/30/2005 2:23:29 PM # Q
The logo does look like a tungsten. But does anyone else find it suspicious that there is a leak with April first 2 days away?

Computers don't make mistakes, people do.
RE: Another Tungsten?
rasty @ 3/30/2005 2:27:08 PM # Q
Would be a bit too early as an April Fool!
Still it doesn't necessarily mean it's true.

RE: Another Tungsten?
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 2:40:57 PM # Q
Listen, dammit, I'm sitting right here with Santa Claus playing with this thing. That's good enough for me!

RE: Another Tungsten?
crimewave @ 3/30/2005 6:12:42 PM # Q
I was just told at work that the T5 will no longer be selling in may. If this is a tungsten, its the replacement for the T5.

Computers don't make mistakes, people do.
RE: Another Tungsten?
Gekko @ 3/30/2005 6:29:05 PM # Q
>I was just told at work that the T5 will no longer be selling in may. If this is a tungsten, its the replacement for the T5.

So much for the T5. It had the shortest executive career since that Pope that got poisoned. Even palmOne realizes it was garbage.

"Go now and leave your life of sin, palmOne... Go And Sin No More!"



RE: Another Tungsten?
E Ben G @ 3/30/2005 8:59:33 PM # Q
Stop selling the T5 in May??? That just doesn't make any sense.

I know the T5 comes nowhere near being a worthy successor to the T3, but having it sit in the 275-300 price bracket for another 6-9 months could really help stem the tide to PPC.



It's the data, stupid.

RE: Another Tungsten?
acidreflux @ 3/30/2005 10:21:48 PM # Q
"Go now and leave your life of sin, palmOne... Go And Sin No More!"

Too funny, Gekko.

RE: Another Tungsten?
svrontis @ 4/4/2005 6:53:27 AM # Q
> It had the shortest executive career since that Pope that got poisoned.

Which one? (No offence to the Catholics among us, but quite a lot of the Bishops of Rome went this way.)

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Mysterious message on right side?

Foo Fighter @ 3/30/2005 2:12:06 PM # Q
Can anyone identify the strange markings that run along the right border of the screen? I can't make out what it says, but I have a feeling it has some significance. Perhaps its a message from the author, calling us all suckers?

-------------------------------
Editor, http://Pocketfactory.com
Contributing Editor, http://digitalmediathoughts.com
RE: Mysterious message on right side?
Gekko @ 3/30/2005 2:16:59 PM # Q

a alphanumeric code to track the prototype/pre-release device?



RE: Mysterious message on right side?
Mr T @ 3/30/2005 2:20:57 PM # Q
could these be pre-release (prototype) serial numbers??

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
Foo Fighter @ 3/30/2005 2:26:18 PM # Q
Hard to tell because the image quality is so damned poor, which in itself usually indicates a fake.



-------------------------------
Editor, http://Pocketfactory.com
Contributing Editor, http://digitalmediathoughts.com

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 2:34:58 PM # Q
I don't think these are the original photos. I think they were enhanced before submission/publication.

I believe these are links to the originals:

RE: LifeDrive Trademark
boldman @ 3/30/2005 8:31:51 AM

I believe this name to be true and it does make sense. Your life (i.e. notes, appointments, tasks, documents, photographs, music, etc) fits into this 4GB "Drive"...

Anyway, take a look at these two photos:

http://briefcase.pathfinder.gr/download/Myster/23684/405727/0/Photo_0.jpg
http://briefcase.pathfinder.gr/download/Myster/23684/405728/0/Photo_1.jpg

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 2:39:16 PM # Q
Also: What is that "dent" in the upper right corner of both photos?!

And what are these, new icons on the 4 buttons?

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
twizza @ 3/30/2005 2:52:13 PM # Q
I enhanced the images and that is what you are seeing. The originals I got from the other thread abuot this.

THe numbering on the right is some kind of ID number.

The icons are the same as those on the T5 (said that in the other thread too).

It says Tungsten up top. My guess is T7 as all efforts to clear it up pretty much destroys the pixels needed to ID whether it says C2 or T7. Comparing it to my T5 (here on my desk), it would look to be T|7.

If I could have a pic that didnt have the big glare spt then I could pick everything out it that would verify anything else.

antoinerjwright.com

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 2:59:52 PM # Q
OK, I missed the bit about the icons on the buttons being the same. Bad brain cells, bad, bad!

There's a TC2 coming out separately. See Forums below. It has to be a T7 then -- unless it's "LD" up there.

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
karrock @ 3/30/2005 4:19:24 PM # Q
Futzing around with the photo and looking at it at different angles on an LCD panel, I can almost positively say that the first three characters from the left are ENG#

The remaining are just a blur and so far, no amount of tweaking has improved their readability.

~Tony

Pilot --> V --> m505 --> Tungsten T3

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
karrock @ 3/30/2005 4:23:23 PM # Q
...and possibly 741 on the right end...

~Tony

Pilot --> V --> m505 --> Tungsten T3

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 4:31:19 PM # Q
Listen, what are all of you looking at? Is it Photo_0? I see nothing...

In this photo of Copy:

http://briefcase.pathfinder.gr/download/Myster/23684/405728/0/Photo_1.jpg

See it says Disk Lib as next to last entry?

It might also tell us one more irritating thing: The G area *still* has to rise in this mode? Why not use the full 320x480 screen?!

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
karrock @ 3/30/2005 4:41:05 PM # Q
Yes, Photo_0, along the right side of the PDA in the lightest colored section of the metal bezel -- starts from the Web icon down to the top of the application buttons/bottom of the screen.

~Tony

Pilot --> V --> m505 --> Tungsten T3

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
twizza @ 3/30/2005 4:43:17 PM # Q
It still has to rise for some Coblat and Garnet apps as not all are HVGA aware. Even dialogue boxes can bring up the DIA area.

I have gotten busy at work and stopped futzing with the pics, glad to see someone else here is getting a chance to chime in.

antoinerjwright.com

RE: Mysterious message on right side?
acidreflux @ 3/30/2005 10:26:20 PM # Q
2) That is THE ugliest 5-way imaginable. You could take a bath in it. People will get their fingers stuck in it, like the Pringles can on Clerks.

3) It still seems like the battery icon is in a "charge" status. You can see a hint of orange on the battery indicator. Maybe not.

4) Obviously the Life Drive concept is true.

5) I have the Treo 650 which runs Garnet. In the copy dialog it shows the "Copy To" and "From" fields which are opposite of this. I know that the T|T5 Garnet OS varies a little...but still.

7) Quick Tour is not listed alphabetically, and where is Contacts, Bluetooth, etc?

9) I would still suspect that if this device had Wifi, it would show in the taskbar next to the bluetooth icon, however it does not.

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Thickness?

Wolfgard @ 3/30/2005 4:48:15 PM # Q
Awww...come on! We want to see how thick it actually is!

pen & paper -> m515 -> Zire72 -> TH55 & Handera 330
RE: Thickness?
twizza @ 3/30/2005 4:58:25 PM # Q
Seriously, if this is it and it has a HD, look at the larger iPod and add .1 or .25 in to it. That would make it about the same as a TC (dimensions from sight memory and not actual numbers).

antoinerjwright.com
RE: Thickness?
mikecane @ 3/30/2005 6:26:16 PM # Q
Well, I hope you mean the latest generation of iPod; those are thinner than the original. I don't think this will be so thick as to be a deal-killer. I'm carrying a TE and a GENIO in my shirt pocket. I expect the LD to be thinner than this combo and lighter too!

RE: Thickness?
mclove @ 3/30/2005 8:22:04 PM # Q
Why would it be the larger iPod? If this has a 4GB drive then it's probably one of those small-form-factor drives which Apple puts in the iPod Mini; that's only 0.5 in thick (to the T5's 0.61), and the T5's extra width and height leave plenty of room for a decent battery, so it's quite possible that we could be looking at a device of the same (or nearly the same) size as the T5.

I think this has the potential to be with the T5 tried (and failed miserably) to be, a PDA/multimedia convergence device. But I'm hoping that they'll still include 64MB or 128MB of internal memory on this; otherwise, unless they use a very aggressive caching strategy a lot of applications are going to be miserably slow.

RE: Thickness?
twizza @ 3/30/2005 8:35:08 PM # Q
My only reasoning that it could be the larger iPod is because of the shodow that it casts. Hey, I have been taking a ton of guesses here and I should be wrong in a few of them (if you would have seen my NCAA bracket you would understand - though I did get the CHicago bracket right).

I actually think that if palmOne is going to be them, that it would have to be nearly as thick as the TC to accomodiate a good iszed battery (we are saying that it has wifi and palmOne is never one to want to not be able to do a day's worth of wifi).

antoinerjwright.com

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