Palm LifeDrive Mobile Manager PDA (416MHz, SD/MMC/SDIO Card, Palm OS v5.4)

Reviewed by: coldfingers1

Strengths: user friendly, great MP3 sound, Wifi internet is so handy

Weaknesses: There is some delay (1-2 seconds) switching between programs

Overall: This is a great PDA. I upgraded from a Zire 71 and this has everything I want on a palm and more. The MP3 player is easy to use and has fantastic sound with headphones or hooked up to the auxilliary jack in my car. The built-in speakers are adequate, but for the best sound, use headphones. The internet was easier to use than I expected. It pretty much set itself up. If quickly finds new wi-fi connections when I take it places and it downlaods quickly. It also checks my email for me every morning so that I can read it when I'm out and about. I haven't used the document programs yet. It also uploads and shows photos in brilliant color. I have had a bit of trouble getting good conversion for movies, but I haven't tried very hard yet.My one complaint has to do with games. I played one game on my previous palm that required movement of a paddle to bounce balls and knock out bricks above the paddle. I can't play that game on this palm. The movement of the curser is too jerky and doesn't respond fast enough. Aside from that and the 1-2 second delay occasionally experienced when moving from one program to another or when shutting down, this PDA is fantastic. It does so much. It is small and light and has a great pop-out stylus. I'm very happy with it. And buying it "open box" saved me hundreds of dollars.

Reviewed by: lalolagunter

Weaknesses: very slow- it died after a splash

Overall: It is very slow; it dyed after a splash; I called palm and they did not offer even an exchange. I will not buy it again. I regret the purchase

Reviewed by: gardengirl2u

Strengths: You must get Docs to go and then you can transfer or use word, excel and powerpoint, documents which is awesome and much better than using the memo area of the pda.

Weaknesses: The craddle is tricky and if you don't touch it, make sure it's attached right, then hit the button and hope it won't give you an error message which is frustrating.

Overall: I've had to reset my machine a lot because it would lock up. Outside of that and the problems with the cradling mentioned above, this is the first one I've ever own and it does a lot. I have 2 elderly parents and keep their medical records in there in a word document, this has helped me a lot to keep organized and to remember everything that needs to be done. I can't imagine now being without this it's that valuable. You do pay a lot and thought palm would be the leader with pda's but now, I would shop around and see if there is another one that does the same or more and is more reliable. When this one goes I will look at the competitors like Dell to see if they are better or if Palm improved on their problems with this machine. I am disappointed but on the other hand this is like my walking bible with so much information, it's a walking computer and it really works GREAT!!! Would recommend it if Palm improves on the inherrited problems.

Reviewed by: Jande1123

Strengths: I thought this would be a welcomed upgrade from my Tungsten T1 with all of the new features on the LifeDrive.

Weaknesses: Won't turn on at times, stylus entry pops all over the screen, time delay in switching from contacts, calendar and all programs terribly slow, hard resets more than anyone should have to endure.

Overall: I researched the Lifedrive before upgrading from my Tungsten T1 and am soo sorry I purchased it. The first unit I bought was defective in the 1st 30 days, so Palm replaced it. The 2nd unit is no better, and have spent countless hours online with their unknowledgable tech support people and it is a waste of my time. Palm corp. keeps insisting that my problems are due to 3rd party software - but all of this software worked perfectly fine on my Tungsten T1. So I get to use the Lifedrive with ONLY the programs it came with (or suffer another hard reset) and keep my Tungsten as a backup for the files that I can't get to work on the Lifedrive. This is a poor "upgrade" and it appears that once you bought it - you're stuck with it as Palm Corp. doesn't seem to mind how many hours of your life you try to get this thing operational. Would NOT recommend to anyone - stick with the other models. For me - I will go to a windows based PDA on the next go-a-round!

Reviewed by: Tearose03

Strengths: The capacity of a 4GB hard drive and the wireless support makes this handheld a mini laptop, easy to carry as well as weightless.

Weaknesses: The handheld freezes very often, so I have to reset it until it starts working again and it's kind of slow whenever you enter data.

Overall: I like the handheld and the potential it has as advertised, although getting to learn all the features will take me a while, as there's too much info and links and sometimes it's overwhelming. I have had no problems setting it up and downloading the software, all the info from my last Palm M515 was transferred ok and I did not loose data. I'm getting used to it, and I guess when I get to fully understand the LifeDrive I might reconcile with it, right now, I miss my Palm M515.