Someone who is interested in a life drive

[bxyugoslavian]

I looked at the life drive and I can't deny that I was drawn into the idea of carrying a 4 gig hard drive + a 4 gig card with me, all full of memory. Take all your files with you everywhere you go. Not to mention the usb 2.0. Just want to know from all the experienced users if there are any downsides to the units. Thanks.

[dsaroff]

Hi,

I've now owned two LD (one kept breaking), and I have the 4GB SD and 4GB HD. Honestly, I find it the most troubling Palm I've ever owned. While it has nice fit, feel and screen (and I LOVE drive mode), it is buggy, slooow, crash prone and the hard drives fail.

I would suggest a TREO 680 with the 8GB SD (it can handle it) or the TX with 4GB SD. When I consider the amount of time I've WASTED on rebooting, waiting to reboot, testing 3rd party software, , slow program starts, hard resetting & reinstalling, restoring saved preferences, the Palm breaking, I think I would have been better off buying an iPod for my 2.6GB of mp3s and simply sticking with something with a 4GB SD.

As background, I've been using Palms since 1997, so I am not having issues due to ignorance. They've also discontinued it.

[militumxpisti]

Not sure how many agree with me but I don't experience as many problems as others report. It (the LifeDrive) only seems to "act up" on me when useing a vary small list of programs. The only big issue I have faced was getting a database corrupt error when launching programs from the hard drive or SD card when using Zlauncher. I switched to only using power run and no longer have the issue.

Other then that I love the LD. The 416Mhz cpu really shows when watching movies with TCPMP. Yeah it may take a second or two to get into the player but I'm used to it from using 3rd party apps to launch software from the expansion slot anyway.

Just keep reading post here and make the decision. I say go for it!

Owned mine for almost a year now and love it.

Matt G

[peterjb31]

I'm finding my Lifedrive increasingly better. After I limited the application to stable (ie not beta's) I have not had a reset for weeks. I recently got rid of my ipod preferring instead to use pocket tunes. The touch screen interface is nice for PTunes. Having done a CF conversion I do not notice a difference in speed between the lifedrive and other NVFS devices (TX and Treo 680).

I personally think it's a great device and you may well be able to get a good deal as they are no longer in production.

[bulls96]

Another Lifedrive Lover here!

I have had this Palm for over 9 months now and it has been a gem! :) No need for an ipod. No need for a Zune. No need for a laptop to go online. All my Life is in this Lifedrive.

I am still hoping they come up with a new device like this. Maybe a Lifedrive-Phone to compete with iPhone?

At any rate, i am holding on to this :)

[hgradeca]

To say it shortly - I love it!
I am using mine for a year now and it is really great! I am so glad that I bought it! This device is really amazing! Yes, it is a bit slower than other handhelds, but you get used to it quite soon. It is excellent for watching movies, listening to music, reading, writing and editing documents, playing games, astronomy, surfing the net, etc, etc... It is a really excellent laptop replacement.
A friend of mine recently bought used LifeDrive and he is also very happy that he bought it. I suggest you to try to get a used one, since the price can fall dramatically - that friend of mine paid half the price for his unit and it is working perfect. If you have sone specific questions, just ask! :)

[Donald H Brown]

My experience of my life drive has been mixed - sure the 4 Gig (plus the various SD cards I've played with) is a great feature BUT (and it's a real concern) the micro drive is so easily damaged. I'm in the process of retro-fitting a SD card due to a slight knock (not even enough to cause the slightest of marks on the case.

I would recommend getting a TX and a few SD cards - the lifedrive is just too fragile a unit for any serious use.

Don

[1lessLifeDrive]

I'm on my 6th LD LOL yep 6 and I was really upset but Palm took good care of me and I just did the FlashDrive hack and it's like I have a all new PDA. Battery life is 1000 times better. I just uploaded 1.4gb of Mp3s and played 10 of them and my Battery is still at 100% With the MD I was at 90% after playing 2 songs. Get a LD and turn it into a FD and you will love it. Oh did I say how fast it is now? It was as fast as a KZ1000 and it's as fast as the new ZX1400.....

[Icecruncher]

You WILL spend more time for starters getting a STABLE lifedrive. It is usually more difficult than a TX to get running properly.

It needs the LD 2.0 upgrade and several programs to stabilize the NVFS and avoid crashes. The Flash card upgrade is unbeatable, but even with those, the Wifi is unstable.

That being said, I love it. I prefer it over my wifes' TX.

I run a plethora of programs I purchased, including GPS, Novii Remote, Clicker, iSilo, Core Player and TomeRaider 3.

With the GPS SD card it is a much better option than a TX for bluetooth GPS with maps on NAV card. It is native Fat32.

Supports DriveMode and File browsing, out of the box.

But, if you aren't the techy type opt for TX or a Treo. If you can handle the learning/education/stress curve on the Lifedrive, it's better for some things.

[bulls96]

I'm on my 6th LD LOL yep 6 and I was really upset but Palm took good care of me and I just did the FlashDrive hack and it's like I have a all new PDA. Battery life is 1000 times better. I just uploaded 1.4gb of Mp3s and played 10 of them and my Battery is still at 100% With the MD I was at 90% after playing 2 songs. Get a LD and turn it into a FD and you will love it. Oh did I say how fast it is now? It was as fast as a KZ1000 and it's as fast as the new ZX1400.....


1lesslifedrive, Palm should give you a loyalty award or something!

i dont know if i would even reach 3 replacements before goin another direction. Some are lucky in Palms, Some are lucky in Love, i am lucky in both so far (dont ask me where that came from i dunno)

[Sky-Craft13]

I just bought a Lifedrive from an ebay seller. I started out with a refurbished Palm IIIxe I bought at Fry's electronics about 3 years ago. The more I used it the more I liked what it did and got to wanting more. We shall see. Got it charging up now for the first time. Anyone know how long it takes for a good first change?

[bulls96]

you dont have o "first-charge" it if its not brand new :)

[hgradeca]

Congratulations! :D I hope that you will be satisfied! :)
If you are concerned about its speed and the lags that some people are complaining about, I think that you won't notice them, because in the end it works smoother than the older Plams. I had m125 previously and did not notice any significant lag at all when I upgraded.
Please tell us your impressions! :)

[1lessLifeDrive]

1lesslifedrive, Palm should give you a loyalty award or something!

i dont know if i would even reach 3 replacements before goin another direction. Some are lucky in Palms, Some are lucky in Love, i am lucky in both so far (dont ask me where that came from i dunno)

They know me by name over at Palm :)
On my last call they said they would refund me. So far this last one is working good. I think I got a good one now or it is the MD that are going bad and being I have a card now I'm good to go.

[Sky-Craft13]

I got the LD charged and loaded the software from the disk. I am guessing I got an OEM drive or something because everything looks original, but did not come in retail packaging. It was the LD and leather case cover, charger, original disk and sleeve. No screen protector though. Have some of those on order.

Impression, does not seem to have much of a lag with the applications I used. I did not get all the old ones copied over from my PalmIIxe. Setup program said it set the ones aside that were potentially too old for the OS 5. But looks like the ones I use the most are there. Access to my home's Wireless internet? Wow!! I did not have to do anything. It found it and I started checking the weather ( need to repaint my house you see) and such in the comfort of my easy chair. So easy! Love it! That is something I always wanted to do without having to go to the desk top to check internet stuff.

I read about the lag a lot and came across a London times writer who suggested Sharkcache to combat the lag problem. He also suggested Snappermail bundled applications so I am going to try that next. So no reservations yet.

For size and weight, does not seem to be much different than the size and weight of my PalmIIIxe. So I am quite satisfied with the form factor.

Anyway that's it for the moment.

[peterjb31]

I'm really pleased your happy with it. The screen makes browsing the net quite pleasent though it will never be as pleasent as on my Zaurus - 640*480 - didn't have to zoom, content just stayed the same size.

[hgradeca]

I'm glad you like it! :) If you have any questions or concerns, just ask!
Browsing the web is really fun, but did you try playing some of the games designed for OS5? There are many addictive ones and some strategies are quite good.
I wish you lots of fun with your LifeDrive! :)