Palm Mobile Manager

I had this device for 2 days now. My first palm is Palm 3X many years ago. Then I got iPaq, Zire, and another Zire, Blackberry and finally the lifedrive. I bought it through eBay and while waiting for it to arrive, I read a lot of review on the Internet...

I got worried because many people got upset about how this device crash often. I have used it for over 1 day now and couldn't understand how it would crash. Maybe I'm a lucky person? So far it only crash once when I was running many things at

I like how Palm Synch with Outlook so all the contacts, appointments, and todo have a backup and ways to view and edit on the go.

Especially with Palm system the ability to view and edit with a touch screen. It out perform the Blackberry system or Windows Mobile system. I can talk on the phone and write down appointment with one hand with a Palm system. With blackberry, you need two hand in order to put down appointments, phone number and name. However, on a blackberry device, you can type faster than palm.

I do regullarly back up all my documents on desktop to a small USB Flash Drive. So I was hoping I can have a device that can synch all my documents and have a mobile back up as well as view and edit them.

LifeDrive finally is the perfect solution. I now have it synch with all my business documents. So anywhere I go, I have my complete documents for my business as well as view them, edit them and sync them. It is very POWERFUL!

It also come with Wifi connecion, so I can get it to go on Internet surf the web and sending and recieve messages with attatchments, PDF, Word file and etc. Something Blackberry have some trouble. Blackberry if you buy software can read and edit office files and pdf files, but because it doesn't have a touch screen it's a major limitation. Also the screen can not go sideway. Blackberry can do other thing but really limit to messaging. And best at messsaging.

Lifedrive also have the ability to access my network sharing file through Wifi. That make it even more powerful. All my collecion of photos, music, documents, are all in there I can download any time I want anywhere in my house.

I also use it to load photos from my digital camera and the picture on it look wonderful with very sharp display and able to view it horizonatally. Very good way to show pictures to friends and clients cause really on a digital camera, the LCD is just too small.

That was one major problem with iPaq where I couldn't view the screen sideway. Viewing documents and picture sideway, make it a lot better.

I was a bit disappointed that this device couldn't read native PDF file. You need to convert and read it in a special program. So I was looking on the net. And guess what it cost money. But lucky, I found an alternative. After you install this program, you can read any PDF file just like on a desktop. Just click on it. It's call PalmPDF. It's a free program and can be found on the Handago website.

Major disapointment with this device is the battery life time and how to charge this thing. You can not charge it through USB cable like Zire do. You need to use the special adaptor in order to charge this thing. Also it use a special cable, you can't just plug any usb cable. I read the manual, it actually recommend people to charge it every day. I really hope the battery life can be much longer like something you don't need to charge for over 10 days at least.

In conclusion, considering its ability to wifi, view, edit sync . I give it 4 *

The Palm LifeDrive Mobile Manager has a 4 GB hard drive, built-in WiFi and Bluetooth support, capacity for incoming and outgoing email, fully functional office programs such as Word and Excel, viewing photos/videos, and listening to MP3s. Quickly and easily drag and drop PC files to the LifeDrive using the Mobile Manager. And the LifeDrive's already large storage capacity can be increased with the available SD card slot.

My digital camera also uses a SD card, so I can now view my photos on my LifeDrive simply by putting the card in it. Finally, something is compatible with something else!

With a flip of the switch on the side of the unit, I can change the view from vertical to horizontal and back again. This is a great feature for viewing certain documents as well as for playing particular games. I prefer syncing with the Palm Desktop software although I have also used Outlook. Both function well with the LifeDrive.

I don't particularly care for the on/off button located on the top of the unit. For one, it's difficult to get to. Secondly, it's difficult to move. At first I thought that would be a problem, but I just stopped using it. End of problem. The unit has an auto-off feature that will turn it off on its own in a few short minutes anyway. The on/off button isn't needed.

I bought my LifeDrive in June 2005 after upgrading from a Palm Tungsten C. I admit that I miss Tungsten C's built-in keyboard, although the LifeDrive has an onscreen keyboard, and Graffiti 2 is an option, as well.

The Palm LifeDrive is on the high end price-wise, retailing new at most stores for $399, although some still sell at the original selling price of $499. It's possible to find a good deal if one takes the time and does the research. I firmly believe that the Palm LifeDrive is one of the best investments I have ever made. I highly recommend it and give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

The wait is over. PalmOne's golden egg has finally hatched, and the LifeDrive is here. The firstborn in the company's new Mobile Manager line, the LifeDrive is the first handheld to have an integrated hard drive--4GB, to be exact--for all your storage needs, and lo and behold, this baby finally has built-in Wi-Fi. Like the HP iPaq rx3715, the LifeDrive aims to converge productivity and digital entertainment into one slick device, and overall, it does it well. It lets you store and work on your Microsoft Office files, check e-mail, surf the Web, listen to music, and organize your photos, to name just a few capabilities. While these features are impressive, at a costly $500, the LifeDrive isn't necessarily ready for prime time. The idea of PDAs as portable media devices is just starting to take off, and though the PalmOne LifeDrive is sure to garner lots of interest, only hard-core gadget hounds or early adopters may be willing to part with that kind of cash.Chock-full of features, it's no surprise that the PalmOne LifeDrive is larger and noticeably heavier (4.7 by 2.8 by 0.8 inches; 6.8 ounces) than the company's earlier endeavors. Still, it won't take up too much room in your bag; plus, it feels solid in your hands and has a stylish silver casing to boot. The LifeDrive's 3.7-inch-diagonal screen grabs your attention with sharp, crisp text and images, thanks to its 320x480-pixel resolution. Plus, colors jump, as it display 65,000 hues. Unfortunately, as with many PDAs, the screen looks washed out in direct sunlight.

What attracted me to the LifeDrive was the fact that it was more than just a PDA. It could be used as an MP3 player, an external hard drive, an SD card adapter, among other things...

Shortly after first receiving it, I had to download and install the operating system update from Palm. That resolved several issues with the LifeDrive, mainly frequent reboots.

I have installed the Palm pdf reader, with which I am able to read pdf books without having to reformat them (though the screen is small but it's great when traveling), plus plucker and iSilo to read other books and keep my Bible library with me. Then I installed an open-source media player (TCPMP) and am now able to play *.ogg files as well as some other video files. Pocket Tunes, which came with it wanted money to play ogg files, so I just went open source, which is my preference anyway.

It is not perfect, but it serves my needs quite well. It is used as a media player both with the built-in speaker and with headphones, so it has replaced my mp3 player. I am delighted with the fact that should I want to increase my music or switch types, I can just swap out SD cards, which is much more convenient than hooking up to a computer and swapping out the contents, as I have had to do on my old mp3 player. Plus my daughter uses it to play a couple of games and to work on "The Wizard of OZ" and I use it to keep track of my life, my shopping lists, and the stack of notepads I carried around with me is being dutifully entered into this little wonder. No longer do I need multiple notebooks to carry my notes and info - it is all in this little PDA.

It is the perfect size to fit into a side pocket on my purse, and also in the chest pocket of my jacket when I'm so inclined. At times I wish the screen were larger but if it were it would not be near so portable....

While Palm does not offer upgrades there are a few aftermarket companies offering tools and software so that this little LifeDrive can be upgraded, made faster with a longer battery life with larger disk space by replacing the microdrive with flash memory. Of course, these aren't covered by warranty but later on I am seriously considering the upgrade, especially as Palm is not planning on making more of these little gems.

I can surf the Internet using wifi, check my emails, use bluetooth to transfer files, but mainly I use it to keep track of my life and notes and as a very portable media player. It does all that I wanted to do and more. It is the closest one can get to having a miniature laptop to tote around, and in fact was chosen just for that reason....

I was looking for a Palm secifically due to a program available I could use for my work. My boss had a Palm 515 and showed me how the program worked, and I was excited. Although, I was not ready to give up my Day-Timer, I wanted one to use for this program.
So I researched, via BizRate, for the best Palm, and found the top ones to be the Z22, the tungsten EZ, the TX, and the LifeDrive. Initially the selling factor was the 4 gig of memory, versus 16MB, 32MB, and 128MB. After reading about the wireless, wi-fi, and bluetooth features, along with the ability to work on Excel and Word, I chose to bid on the LifeDrive. I won!
I have had it for about 10 days, and I am completely amazed! It's like having a baby laptop in my pocket! I have gone online at home via my wireless network. I've gone online at work via a wi-fi connection (Wayport). I've set up a worksheet on Excel already, and am getting my email from three different accounts when I'm online!
The special work program made for Palm was downloaded and synched, and works perfectly. Then there's the host of applications that I haven't even tried yet, but am anxious to get into. The voice recorder could be a little cleared, but I saw on another review that I might be speaking into it to closely. The jot a note feature is easy to use and fast. The change from portrait to landscape position is a real handy (no pun intended) feature. The scheduling and calendar features are nicely set up and easy to synch from your desktop to the Lifedrive.
Four gig of memory is beautiful, but it will also take an SD card, and I can actually pull the one out of my digital camera, and load the pictures right on the Lifedrive. The memory card can also be used as a portable memory disk between my desktop and the Lifedrive.
Simply stated, it's like having a little wireless laptop in my pocket. And should I hook up the earphones, it's an MP3 player to boot. And thanks to Ebay, and a certain retailer, I got it for $125 less that at Staples and brand new! It's worth the extra bucks from a Tungsten EZ or TX to move up to this portable wireless computer to put in your pocket or pocketbook! If you've got the change, get this one, it's the best!
Update over a year later...I bought two for my wife,the first one got hurt by the car door. She loved it so much, I immediately Ebay's another. Sentiment caused her to have the first one repaired..and we sold the second one a year later for $9 less than the $214 I paid for it. They hold their value too! Since my granddaughter was born, it's filled with her pictures and it actually runs a little photoshow with the pictures, just like my desktop!