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jorgem4 · Jul 20, 2005, 12:03 PM

I am looking for a handheld for my father. I don't own one and know very little about them (I am not a business person)

He was looking at the Palm LifeDrive but the reviews on the device are not very clear (some say terrible others great). I am looking fro a handheld that will interact with 10.4.2 and preforms the usual functions (addressbook,calendar, etc)

Any advise would be great.

uicandrew · Jul 22, 2005, 02:37 AM

i have a tungsten t5, as long as you install the firmware update. the problem with the lifedrive is that it is relatively large. and from playing with them in circuit city, they tend to get pretty warm. the lifedrive has a microdrive (like in the ipod mini) for the memory so it is probably the source of the heat. the t5 uses flash memory, so it doesn't get hot.

www.brighthand.com is probably the best place to get an intelligent review from those experienced in palm pilots, instead of someone who only uses a palm pilot for as long as they get to keep the review unit.

i haven't gotten my first mac mini, but my friend who is a mac nut uses software called "the missing sync" to get his palm pilot to work with his mac. see here http://www.markspace.com/tiger.html about the software.

my tungsten t5 is relatively thin and it has a large screen (like the lifedrive) so using it with sailing clicker will be a great experience. sailing clicker (see here) http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/

turns the bluetooth pda into the ULTIMATE remote control for the mac. awesome program.

if you have any more questions, please feel free to post them.

JHromadka · Jul 22, 2005, 05:29 PM

If it's his first PDA, don't go all out and get something expensive like the LifeDrive. If he doesn't use it, you just blew $499. Something from the Palm Zire or E lines would be more appropriate.

uicandrew · Jul 23, 2005, 03:13 AM

i think getting a pda with bluetooth built-in would add a lot of value and usage for the pda. that being said, the zire 72 and the Tungsten E2 (not just E......E2) are the cheapest pdas with bluetooth built-in and they are roughly $200 retail. you might be able to get them for $180 or so from amazon.com

jorgem4 · Jul 25, 2005, 09:18 AM

Thank you so much for your comments.

It is not my father first PDA...this would be his 4th. The PDA for his is of bigger value than his acutal PowerBook (I think) since he is always on the go and has all the important business stuff in it. It is like his business life in it.

I keep hearing about the tungsten t5. Does this PDAwork with MacOS 10.4?

Thanks.

uicandrew · Jul 27, 2005, 04:21 AM

not really. according to their official website

http://kb.palmone.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/W...m_External2001

there are some unresolved issues.

i still have my pc laptop so i use that for my pda needs

Mithras · Jul 27, 2005, 07:09 AM

Also think about a smartphone, like the Treo 650. Having contact, datebook, and note-taking right in your phone is what a PDA is meant to be, IMHO.

jorgem4 · Jul 27, 2005, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by Mithras

Also think about a smartphone, like the Treo 650. Having contact, datebook, and note-taking right in your phone is what a PDA is meant to be, IMHO.

Those phones are nice and I agree having all in one can be really good. But My father does not live in the US and so the phone wounld not work for him. Thanks for the suggestion.

threestain · Jul 27, 2005, 11:44 AM

you can get them elsewhere too - here in the uk for example they're around

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jul 27, 2005, 03:57 PM

Make sure you hold the lifedrive in person. I loved it in paper and was totally turned off in person as the unit is large (thick actually) and the browser doesn't work well on normal sites.

webraider · Jul 28, 2005, 10:46 AM

What is your father looking for???? If he has a computer and just needs to keep contact information with him/ Appointments with him (doesn't need to edit them much) you may even consider getting him an ipod. I was without my handheld for a few days and I was surprised at how much I really could use the ipod. Granted you can't enter information into it.. it will display and remind you of appointments/contacts... Would love to see Apple change it a bit.

On the flip side... Palm devices still support OS X and they plan on offering some route of support for OSX! I had a Palm Zire 21 and it worked great. I never had a problem with it. I have upgraded to a Kyocera (Verizon) Smart Phone which I love is it combines Palm and my phone. You may want to go the cheaper route with a Zire as he may not use it that much.. but of course the ipod is more of a win... win.

JHromadka · Jul 28, 2005, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by jorgem4

Those phones are nice and I agree having all in one can be really good. But My father does not live in the US and so the phone wounld not work for him. Thanks for the suggestion.

Where does he live? The Treo is a quad-band GSM phone, so if his county uses GSM, it will work there.

jorgem4 · Aug 8, 2005, 09:28 AM

So I went and check out the LifeDrive and the T5 and defenetly the LifeDrive in paper is great but in real life and was boomed by the size and the weight. So I am leaning towards a T5.

Anyone outer with a T5? I would love to hear some commets on it. Is it compatible with 10.4.2? So user feedback would be great.

Thanks a lot for all the advise and replies.

outsourced · Aug 10, 2005, 05:45 PM

Check out The Missing Sync at:
http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_palmos.php

I, too, have been considering a handheld. Both the LifeDrive and T5 seem like very nice units, but I have no experience that I would be able to share with you. Personally, the LifeDrive would be my choice because of its more than adequate storage capacity. I plan to use it to download files (software updates, etc). The T5 wouldn't have enough storage capacity, but the slimness is very appealing.

Also, check out this review of the T5:
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/palmOne_Tungsten_T5.htm

blackstar · Oct 1, 2005, 10:08 PM

me I only need a PDA for assistance as it meant to be, adresses, to dos, meetings, shopping lists, memos, I just bought a Palm IIIxe off ebay for 20 bucks to do this, never in my life I would have the need for more than this, and the battery lasts for 2 months!!!

astepanuks · Oct 2, 2005, 06:27 AM

Originally Posted by jorgem4

So I went and check out the LifeDrive and the T5 and defenetly the LifeDrive in paper is great but in real life and was boomed by the size and the weight. So I am leaning towards a T5.

Anyone outer with a T5? I would love to hear some commets on it. Is it compatible with 10.4.2? So user feedback would be great.

Thanks a lot for all the advise and replies.

Just bought T5 and it works with my G4 with 10.3.9 out of the box. So far it is fantastic, but I could be biased as just upgraded from Edge.
Cheers
A.