Technology changes in this high-tech world in the blink of the eye. Mobiles are passé handhelds are the new in-thing. PalmOne Inc. has come out with the long awaited $500 hard drive equipped PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Oops, my fault! It’s not the old PDA. Its been marketed as a smart mobile data carrier, though it works as the PDA too.
This young thing flaunts a 4GB hard disk made by Hitachi Ltd., of which 3.9GB can be used. The hard drive is smaller than a matchbox and works 30 percent faster than the other older PDAs. It also has a larger and a high-resolution screen (320x480 high resolution) that supports both portrait and landscape modes, 416MHz Intel XScale processor to speed up your data transfers, wi-fi, bluetooth and short range wireless technologies that lets you surf the Internet, view pictures and listen to music and video. PalmOne's Universal Connector allows the device to connect to the office or home PC through the USB 2.0 ports.
The LifeDrive also boasts of the file manager (from the year old Tungsten T5 from the same company) that makes it possible to connect to a host system as an external drive. Another extra feature, the flash memory, keeps information safe even if the device loses its charge. It has a slot for SD, SDIO and MultiMediaCard cards, if you need one.
How is this thing different from the features we see nowadays on a mobile? While making LifeDrive the company has kept in mind those consumers who have a roaming lifestyle. So this device comes equipped to let you work on word processing documents or spreadsheets. “People can easily carry virtually all of their essential desktop computer files and folders,” the spokesman from the company said in a release.
Also, it uses RealPlayer, which is a step in the right direction for future handheld devices. It also supports the Ogg Vorbis format that is popular among the open source communities. LifeDrive can also be upgraded to the Pocket Tunes Deluxe and the songs can then be streamed across the Wi-Fi link. It also contains the now almost forgotten voice memo recording. And for just $500, it is a good option. Especially if you keep in mind that its light (only 190gms), faster than all the PDAs in the market at present, has a host of features that would interest any user and can also keep your files protected from repeated break-ins through 128-bit encryption and the convenience of carrying only one device with all of the features that you need.
Only a limited quantity is being put on the market at present. Market analysts say that the LifeDrive could once again hot-up the market of PDAs that was till now in a decline as more and more features were finding their way into traditional mobile phones. We only wish that it could also make and receive calls.
