Palm LifeDrive Mobile Manager
by Palm
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Palm LifeDrive Mobile Manager
Customer Review: Great device-- Very pleased!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my Lifedrive for about 3 mos. now and have been very pleased with it. There seems to be quite a few negative reviews about the Lifedrive so I was a little wary at first. Many of the complaints seemed to stem from running older Palm software that didn't operate on the new Palm OS or from people who weren't used to using Palm PDA's. Although Palms are very easy and intuitive to use I think the Lifedrive is a little more complex due to the integrated hard drive, which at first doesn't seem integrated at all.
I didn't reuse any of my older Palm OS software which must have spared me from some of the re-starts and lock-ups some people experienced. Once my unit was charged I started with a new user name (so a new synch profile is created) and then immediately installed the 2.0 software update. I've only had 2 restarts on the device since I started using it, but I use it quite a lot. One restart was apparently due to a poor wireless connection and another I think was caused by Versamail while downloading an e-mail with an attachment. Other than that the device has been very stable and the restarts haven't been repeated.
At first I wasn't very pleased with the new Graffiti II but now that I'm used to it I'll concede that maybe it is an improvement over the older version. Handwriting recognition on Palms has always seemed far superior than on Pocket PC's to me and the Lifedrive's no exception.
Some reviewers have mentioned a "lag" problem when starting a new program. I was a little worried about this before I purchased the Lifedrive after reading it in several reviews. However, I tested a couple of Lifedrives first at electronic stores and didn't really notice any lagging or hesitating. It might have been 3rd party software issues as I haven't noticed this problem-- and I'm very impatient.
www.palmfocus.com has a list of Palm software rated for compatability with the Lifedrive. Before installing older Palm OS software it would be a good idea to check this list rather than struggle with your device. (Any software written for the new OS isn't an issue as far as I know.)
Pros:
+Wireless works well and connects easily.
+Being able to store, view and edit MS Word and Excel in their native format is a plus. (no conversion step as on Pocket PC)
+Store tons of videos, music and photos and take it with you everywhere.
+Synchrone entire folders from your desktop computer (Only folders on the root drive of your device can be synchronized so nested folders won't be synchronized unless you spread them out in the root directory of the drive. This will change the folder heirarchy on your device but not your desktop if you want to keep all the folders synchronized)
+The USB synchronization and connection has been flawless. (This hasn't been my experience with Pocket PC's)
+Very powerful yet elegant PDA!
Cons:
-Battery consumption high when using wireless. Don't leave on any longer than you have to.
-It's a little big and bulky to hang on to compared to older Palm PDA's. (Wish it had a place for a lanyard)
-Working with other applications while listing to music causes interuptions in the music playback.
-Versamail synch setup didn't go very easily for me. Make sure your default e-mail profile on your desktop is Outlook before you even get started with mail sync setup.
I've installed Dataviz Smartlist which is an excellent and fairly sophisticated database application which can sync with Microsoft Access. It works very well on the Lifedrive.
Also installed Mapopolis and it also works well. You must install maps to RAM or on a SD card and not the hard drive.
Customer Review: Not only a fine product but a great vendor
Summary: 5 Stars
There is an iPod on my desk. I have never used it. I bought it in a panic when my Palm LifeDrive began to fail. I'd owned it since it first came on the market. It quickly became indispensable, in business and later in juggling the myriad chores and appointments confronting a family caregiver to an ill wife.
Through Amazon from guaranteedTech.com, I ordered a replacement LifeDrive. Even before the unit arrived, I received page upon page of helpful information -- how-to's, links, software recommendations, tips, tricks, etc. All of this was presented in a clear.thorough, friendly way.
The unit that arrived wasn't up to par in holding a charge. I was sure replacing it would be a problem, especially since guaranteedTech.com is in Canada. But a single call to the firm's tech support brought a reassuring conversation with the firm's owner, and almost instantly by email I had all the completed forms and labels to ship back the item via UPS,at no cost. Within a few days, I had another LifeDrive in hand.
It had been so long since I's bought my original unit, I was unclear about how to update the firmware and do other setup. In another, lengthy conversation, the owner took the time to walk me through the entire process. He even offered some maintenance and diagnostic tips that Palm's own tech support had never told me about. Months have passed, and this LifeDrive still works fine.
So, Why stick with an old, discontinued palmtop? Why ignore iPods and iPhones?
I am a researcher and writer. I deal with vast amounts of documents, spreadsheets and databases. Excellent document editing software for the Palm abounds. MobiSystems Office Suite costs little and is by far the best. I've found no comparable app for smartphones. A fine cordless keyboard travels around in my pocket. Palm's Destktop utility is elegant in its simplicity and more than adequate for managing appointments notes, contacts, tasks, etc.
Much of my stored information is highly sensitive. Once I have it, I own it. I can keep it a secret between my palmtop's drive and my desktop's hard drive. Benefits of Palm Desktop sych benefits bot convenience and data safety.
Smartphone providers insist that I entrust my data to them, storing it in a "cloud" (more like a fog). I've no idea who holds and controls what part of it, how they are securing it and to what purposes they are putting it. Then they want me to rent my own data back from them, byte by byte? Get real.
In return, they offer me games. This week, I watched the C.O.O of a major U.S. nonprofit spend about 15 minutes demonstrating how he could put his iPhone to his lips and play it like a harmonica. I figure his tinny renditions of Delta blues cost his organization a substantial sum.
As for data security, he declared, "Well, I don't think privacy is all it's cracked up to be." As I went out the door, his assistant gave me a peek at his palmtop. "I think those amartphones," he confided, "are mostly for dumb people."
I'm told there's still a robust LifeDrive user community. If guaranteedTech.com offers more LifeDrives through Amazon, I'll order a a couple more for backup. I'm sure to be satisfied with the results.
Customer Review: Mine is perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the pleasure of reading some of your reviews, and quite frankly, I don't know if I should feel fortunate or laughing out loud, not to be rude, but literally, given that there is absolutely nothing wrong with mine.
After you received your LifeDrive, the unit turned on ok, the jacks don't fall out, the screen is not scratch etc, then, folks, there is nothing wrong with your unit. I can say with 99% confident that it is all software related.
Here's some advices for you that might help:
1). You should not use the operating software come with the CD; instead, you should download the latest version from the Palm site. And you should install the update 2.0. Then you need to know how the unit works, there are two storage areas in the unit, the internal memory and your 4 GB hard drive. You need to understand how backup works, and how to backup your cache as well as the files in the hard drive. Use Drive mode to backup your hard drive to your pc, and resync often for backing up the other portion. There is no need to use LifeDrive manager come with the CD.
2). You must have some sort of Uninstall software installed in your unit, because chances are you will installed something and want to get rid of it. I am using Uninstall Manager from Palm, and it works great. Oh, and for the one who complaints about the unit turned itself off after 3 minutes of inactivity ... There are softwares to prevent that, check the web.
Now here is the truth. This unit by itself may be over-priced; however, the synergy this unit can provide after you cleverly match it with well chosen softwares will give you a return on investment that is completely unmatched even at 2 to 3 times their combined price point. It's like having an assistant working for you 24/7 and you pay him/her 50 cents a day.
My LifeDrive is a powerful breast after I mate it with the following personally chosen softwares: Uninstall Manager, DateBk5, ShadowPlan, DayNotez, Supernames 2.0, Repligo PDF Mobilizer. Doc to Go 8.0, SmartList to Go, MyBible, etc. You get the point. (alternatively, you can replaced Datebk5 with Agendus, and Supernames with Beyond Contact, ShadowPlan with ListPro, or Life Balance etc). I don't play games, watch videos, or listen to mp3, but you can if you like.
I have not had one single reset that I am not aware of. Perhaps the only down side is that the unit does take an extra second to load, but after a while, I hardly notice it. It doesn't have a camera which some of you might prefer. Other than this, great unit.
Customer Review: This is a great PDA
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had the pleasure to own this PDA for about two weeks. I purchased it used and must say I am very impressed. I have been involved in the technology business for about 8 years. I service and repair computer systems and have had to repair many Windows system's. I have heard all the good and bad reviews and understand peoples frustrations with tech products. Now I do not own any of the windows PDA's so I can only review my experience with this Life Drive PDA. I like the storage capacity of this unit, and it's expansion capabilities. I have added 100 photo's, 100 songs, and 2 movies using TCPMP and find the experience to be quite good, especially the sound quality with a good pair of headphones. So I have a multimedia device that works very well in this capacity, and with the ability to switch views from vertical to horizontal, this is very cool, and would not buy any device without this function. I also have a internet device that I can surf the internet and check Email's. Being a tech guy, I just love this ability, though I probably would use my laptop for a truly pleasurable experience. Having said this, I am so glad that Palm put this in the Life drive. I decided to try using just the Palm Lifedrive on a business trip. It worked just fine for my needs. The real reason I purchased the life drive was to get more organized. Well I must say this has a life saver, Such the name Life drive. I have never owned a PDA before and since I needed to take notes on the business trip, I decided to use just this PDA. I could have used the built in voice recorder, which I feel will be a great benefit, but the speaker asked me not to, so I took notes in the notepad. I had purchase the universal wireless keyboard and when I returned to my room, took my handwritten notes and transcibed them to word. When I returned home and networked with my home computers and instantly had backed up all of my work. Since then I have found many more use for this PDA and I am sure have just begun to scratch the surface what this little wonder will do. I hope you don't let those bad reviews, keep you from going out and test the Palm Life drive at a store near you. I must say I will be walking with this device just about every where important I go. I hope this review helps you make the right choice. Like I said earlier, I have only tested Palm PDA's.Customer Review: Been using Palms for a good ten years...
Summary: 5 Stars
First I must mention that I never had a Lifedrive with the original hard drive, I've always purchased upgraded with a CompactFlash card.
Speed: faster than all other previous Palms that I've had.
Battery life: it's not bad, probably due to being a few years old it probably is limited compared to new, but still last a few days easily unless watching movies or such.
I love this machine so much I've gone and got 2 more (and another on it's way), all with the CompactFlash drive upgrade, before they get too rare and expensive.
The only bad things I can say about it are:
1) that the internet is unstable and crashes a lot, someone needs to make a better browser.
2) a lot of software should have come with it, but you can get most of it for free.
3) From the ones I have, the screens are manufactured from various suppliers and differs a lot in terms of brightness. One at max is comparable to another at minimum.
4) Palm should have made this model user serviceable, such as replaceable batteries, and even the hard drive, as they knew that CompactFlash would catch up, that they limited the size to 4GB in the OS.
5) the connector is a bit flimsy and slightly hard to plug in.
6) not able to synch on 64bit OS (Vista or Win7) via the USB, but can be done via the WiFi/network settings.
The good:
1) Too many things... it's a full pocket computer. It does just about everything a laptop would be used for. Get a folding full size keyboard with it and taking notes on it, is as good as any laptop.
2) With the proper 4GB SD cards, you can have a 8GB machine, which means hours of videos, audio, hundred of ebooks, games, utilities, etc.
3) SDHC card can be used if one purchases the drivers (I haven't as I've never needed more than the 8GB so far).
4) large screen, decent speaker
Had Palm been smart, this machine could have been the ultimate media player, laptop replacement, and killed the competition.