Been there, done that
by Volker Weber
I was wondering what other device I had with a 3.5 inch 3.8 inch 300 by 480 screen with 4 gig of storage, and which lets you look at photos, view videos, browse the web, do email — and it has been sitting here for years: the Palm Lifedrive. It's got Wifi and Bluetooth. It connected through both my UMTS phone and GSM phones within seconds, and also plays nicely with my WPA protected WLAN. It shows more messages in a very readable font than the iPhone if I rotate into portrait mode:
OK, it's bigger and somewhat heavier. But if you run down the battery, you can still make phone calls with your mobile. :-) Steve's got Google Maps in June? We've got it today:
And let's not forget, there is actually a ton of software out there, that you can install yourself.
Comments
But its missing a phone and for me thats a major drawback.
... jupp. Auch mehr Battery life ;-) Und es funktioniert mit den meisten Handys (see http://www.novamedia.de/d_pages/d_produkte_palm_mhs.html ) Ist schon ein nettes Teil ...
There are more like that. Ever had a look at the Nokia 770 and its new successor, the N800? Not a cellphone, but a full wlan and bluetooth internet client mini tablet, weighs just a bit more than 200 gramms.
A wonderful 800x480 screen, X Windows server, runs Opera. Maemo Mapper is a full blown standalone Google Maps (or any map server) client that can use GPS.
It's a dream for Linux developers, so there are lots of applications by third party developers (most nice, some just quick hacks). I played my (legal copy of) Monkey Island using the ScummVM port on it and use it to watch DVB recordings on the subway. Thanks to its screen, it's a very nice ebook reader, as well.
Uses Nokia cellphone batteries and chargers, so you don't have to pay a premium for replacements.
It's not quite yet ready for "normal users". That, however, appears to be Nokia's strategy: They are trying to hook up with FOSS developers and build an infrastructure to build on.
I wish them luck. Liked the 770 so much that I am selling it on ebay now and ordered the upgraded N800 they released this week.
Regarding the iPhone: Apple's major selling points are not just the applications, but the UI and the lifestyle/luxury aspect of the device. The UI they demonstrated for the iPhone looks a whole lot more advanced than what I know from Palm and Nokia and any other cell phone.
And Nokia's N800 also doesn't score high in the lifestyle/luxury aspect of its pr material.
Did anyone see this coming? :-) Cisco is suing Apple:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/corp_011007.html?CMP=ILC-001
The Linksys iPhone:
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Promotion_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1165633244027&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper
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