LifeDrive Clearance Pricing at CompUSA

Posted By: Kris Keilhack Monday, November 20, 2006 10:03:40 AM

For those in the market for a new Palm OS device or perhaps seeking a gift for the holidays, the LifeDrive Mobile Manager is now available for $199 at some CompUSA stores. This price is valid only on the remaing stocks at CompUSA's retail stores and not on their web site. The product SKU is #320055 and the price is $199.98. As always is the case with clearance deals, stock and pricing may vary drastically by location.

The LifeDrive originally debuted at a $499.99 MSRP in May of 2005. It features an internal 4gb MicroDrive, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity in addition to a 320x480 screen and a voice recorder. This is the final PalmOne-branded unit widely available and it stands to reason that Palm is looking to finally phase out this model.

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palmOne Tungsten E2

bcombee @ 11/20/2006 1:12:25 PM #

Actually, the Tungsten E2 is also still branded as palmOne and generally available.

RE: palmOne Tungsten E2

legodude522 @ 11/20/2006 2:30:09 PM #

Palm came out with a 2nd rebranded version.

Palm m125 > Palm Zire 71 > Tapwave Zodiac 1 > Palm Zire 72 > Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000

RE: palmOne Tungsten E2

hkklife @ 11/20/2006 2:33:03 PM #

Actually, if you wanna get picky about it, the E2 was partially rebranded a few months ago with silver "Palm" packaging but "PalmOne" was still printed on the unit itself. This was the "Essentials" bundle, btw.

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!!!!

legodude522 @ 11/20/2006 2:30:41 PM #

Thats a freaking good deal. I'd totally get one if I needed a new PDA. But I already have a 4gb MicroDrive for my Zaurus. I'll wait for Jeff Hawkins' secret project.

Palm m125 > Palm Zire 71 > Tapwave Zodiac 1 > Palm Zire 72 > Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000

LifeDrive is a piece of cra* not worth buying - even at $99.99

The_Voice_of_Reason @ 11/20/2006 2:27:30 PM #

Despite the glowing review the LifeDrive received here (http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/7840/palm-lifedrive-review/ Sorry, Ryan you rally missed the boat on this one!) The LifeDrive was proved to be a horrible device in daily use.

I wouldn't recommend anyone get one of these lemons unless they are either sadists (giving the LifeDrive as a "gift") or masochists (buying the LifeDrive for themselves).

Isn't it amazing to see how many of Palm's devices over the years have been sabotaged and rendered nearly-useless because Palm decided to save $5 or $10 by speccing the cheapest parts possible? Imagine the LifeDrive with 128 MB of RealRAM™ + the 4 GB MicroDrive? Might have made a decent device for its time (for around $350 - $400). Instead, Palm merely added to its T(D)ungsten T5/T(D)ungsten W/Treo 600/Treo 650/etc legacy by producing yet another needlessly-crippled device.

Why, Palm? WHY? Is a Microsoft employee making the decisions on the hardware for Palm devices? The only other explanation would be that Palm's product planners are imbeciles.

TVoR

RE: LifeDrive is a piece of cra* not worth buying - even at $99.99

Dera @ 11/20/2006 3:40:09 PM #

Sorry you didn't like yours. I happen to have one (got it at the Palmsource conference last year), and I love mine. I do use more as a glorified MP3 player and video player most of the time, with WiFi access here and there, but I have no problems with it whatsoever.

$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.

RE: LifeDrive is a piece of cra* not worth buying - even at $99.9

Adrenochrome @ 11/20/2006 3:56:04 PM #

I keep forgetting I'm supposed to hate my LifeDrive. I use it as a 5-gig MP3 player, and forget I'm not supposed to like it. I watch movies on it on the bus, and forget I'm not supposed to like it. When I grab my Gmail in five seconds instead of powering up my computer, I think, cool, but then I remember that I'm supposed to hate it. I forget how much I hate using it as a mini-laptop when taking notes at lectures, or recording interviews, or charting my workouts on a spreadsheet, or when I lose my remote but can use the LD with Noviiremote, or wake up to my music, or show movies of my kids to friends, or run 2Sky in hi-res+, or pop it into Drive Mode to take a file with me.

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.

RE: LifeDrive is a piece of cra* not worth buying - even at $99.99

hkklife @ 11/20/2006 4:30:54 PM #

I would not even pay $100 for a LifeDrive with the original shipping ROM. I would probably pay $200 or less for one with the 2.0 update pre-installed in ROM (I haven't spent enough time "playing" with a fixed LD).

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

RE: LifeDrive is a piece of cra* not worth buying - even at $99.9

freakout @ 11/20/2006 5:18:36 PM #

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.

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

RE: LifeDrive is a piece of cra* not worth buying - even at $99.99

The_Voice_of_Reason @ 11/21/2006 1:09:02 AM #

I keep forgetting I'm supposed to hate my LifeDrive.

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

TVoR

RE: LifeDrive is a piece of cra* not worth buying - even at $99.9

Adrenochrome @ 11/21/2006 10:16:05 AM #

Enlightenment is also bliss. But I promise to work hard to become dissatisfied. I just have to keep reminding myself that I shouldn't like something because it does what I want it to do, but rather I should dislike it because someone else does.

Isn't it strange that some people actually LIKE the Life Drive?

Polyglott @ 11/20/2006 4:41:12 PM #

It never ceases to amaze me that some people actually HATE a particular product. After all, we know that we will never have the perfect PDA. It just does not exist and in the future I doubt it ever will. That's just the way it is.

If the perfect PDA already existed either with Palm or Microsoft OS the whole world would know about it.

The Life Drive remains one of my favourite PDAs. I know it is slow and it crashes sometimes but if you are careful with the software you use it actually is a stable device.

It is great for watching movies, listening to music, storing hundreds of photos, books etc.

If I did not already have one I would go and buy one immediatley for $ 199.

Polyglott

Some success in replacing hard drive with flash memory.

AdamaDBrown @ 11/20/2006 4:45:03 PM #

I've heard that some people have successfully replaced the 4 GB internal hard drive of the LD with a 4 GB CompactFlash memory card, greatly improving performance and stability. Given that 4 gig CF cards are dirt cheap right now, the technically inclined might be able to get an LD and modify it for around $250.

RE: Some success in replacing hard drive with flash memory.

hkklife @ 11/20/2006 9:18:48 PM #

Don't they have to be a "vanilla" blue-label Sandisk non-Ultra/Extreme 4gb CF? And those are now out of production?

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

RE: Some success in replacing hard drive with flash memory.

jfme @ 11/20/2006 9:58:35 PM #

It is possible. Lifedrive lag is 100% eliminated. Speed and battery life sky rockets. The 416 Mhz Processor shows its true life.

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?

RE: Some success in replacing hard drive with flash memory.

theog @ 11/21/2006 12:28:55 AM #

Who cares if it voids the warranty... Palm is not going to be around to service it anyway....

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.

RE: Some success in replacing hard drive with flash memory.

AdamaDBrown @ 11/22/2006 12:08:51 AM #

I have a TX... I can use SD cards.... ummm.... why would I want this?

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.

Clearance? What Clearance? ......

BGAMOH @ 11/22/2006 3:17:26 PM #

Thanks for the Wild Goose Chase. No stores (and I visited four)in the NYC area had them in stock. Didn't need this tease at all.

Palm has saved my life every day since 1999. Since my IIIx to my T3, It's been the other half of my brain. And in my job working for the Mayor of New York, it's critical! Thanks, Palm!