PalmOne introduces LifeDrive, its first mobile manager tool

Venturing beyond its well-known focus on the handheld and smartphone markets, palmOne Inc. has introduced the LifeDrive mobile manager, an innovative product that fuses business productivity tools and entertainment applications.

Designed for people with a significant volume of digital information, the LifeDrive mobile manager offers 4GB of hard-drive storage (3.85GB user available), a large 320 x 480 high-resolution color screen, and wireless access through built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technologies.

Consumers today demand more from their mobile devices as their digital information continues to increase in size and scope. Many people want easy access to all of their essential documents and e-mails as well as wireless Web access.

They want to be able to entertain themselves and to share personalized content such as photos, home movies or their entire MP3 collection. The ability to do these things in an all-in-one device has become a reality with mobile managers.

"The LifeDrive mobile manager comes at an inflection point in the market when people are ready for more advanced devices that meet their growing mobile computing needs," said Paul Blinkhorn, palmOne vice president for the Asia-Pacific.

"LifeDrive is versatile. For the business executive, it’s a personal mobile briefcase; for the photo enthusiast, it’s a camera companion," he said.

With LifeDrive, people can easily carry virtually all of their essential desktop computer files and folders. Crucial documents can be set to update automatically at each HotSync operation, and users can receive secure wireless e-mail with attachments whenever they are within range of a Wi-Fi connection or by connecting via a compatible Bluetooth phone. People can even remotely retrieve Microsoft Office files left behind on the desktop computer.

The 4GB Hitachi Microdrive weighs less than a AA battery, is smaller than a matchbox and transfers data 30 percent faster than the previous-generation Microdrive, so users can get to their music, pictures and data more quickly.

With 3.8GB of usable storage, users of the LifeDrive mobile manager can store and access all of the following on a single device: 1,200 office documents, 6,000 e-mails, 1,000 photos, 300 songs, 2.5 hours of video, 50 voice mails, 10,000 contacts, and 10,000 appointments.

Stored information, media, files and documents are available at any time on the 320 x 480, high-resolution color screen, which can flip from landscape to portrait at the touch of a button.

With support for native Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat Reader, the LifeDrive smart file management makes it easy for users to carry and access thousands of files.

This new innovative software system saves time, making it easier for a mobile professional to work efficiently while away from the office.