New PC Card Sled for Palm Handhelds

Posted By: Ryan Thursday, May 22, 2003 3:03:10 PM

A new PC card sled for handhelds with the Palm universal connector had been released. The Guyver is a universal PCMCIA card slot adapter primarily designed for wireless communication PC cards.

Guyver Palm PCMICA Card adapterGuyver gives people the ability to use a large selection of Type II PCMCIA cards for wireless communications on various data networks. Specifically, the Guyver can be used with GSM/GPRS, CDMA, WiFi (802.11b) and wired modem cards and a barcode scanning card. See this page for a complete list of supported cards

The sled has its own built-in processor, which is powered by an internal 1,000mAh lithium polymer rechargeable battery. The device’s firmware contains drivers for supported devices, eliminating the need to install drivers or configure settings for each card.

The unit dimensions are 5.2 x 3.2 x .47 inches (133 x 81 x 12mm) and it weighs 4.2 ounces (120g).

The distributor, hotsync.com.hk, expects to start taking orders by the end of this month. It will be priced around $170 USD.

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Isn't this old?

s_n_m @ 5/22/2003 5:09:15 PM #
And didn't guyver also work with clies?

I know it never worked with HD's unfortunately.

_____________________________________________
*S*S*D*D*

RE: Isn't this old?
abosco @ 5/22/2003 5:34:01 PM #
It came out for the T-series connector for the Clies. It's now out for lots of models and they're willing to custom produce them. Pretty cool, but it reminds me of an iPaq.

-Bosco
Proud Member of the Top Non-Mods
RE: Isn't this old?
Admin @ 5/23/2003 3:39:41 PM #
Yes, this product has been around for awhile now. I first saw a protype demo'd in the summer of 2000. The news is that it is just now becoming available.

The possibilities!!!

Fahad429 @ 5/22/2003 6:22:09 PM #
I haven't seen a product like this in the past so this is such a turn on! lol :D The possibilites could be endless! I was just looking at a 2 GIG PCMCIA hard drive which is running for less than a $100 right now.

Hmm.... ponder ponder :)

RE: The possibilities!!!
ganoe @ 5/22/2003 11:50:17 PM #
> I was just looking at a 2 GIG PCMCIA hard drive

You've posted this three different places. Go look at their web page. It IS NOT supported.

RE: The possibilities!!!
xtremist5150 @ 5/23/2003 1:52:27 PM #
HAHA Busted!!!

-----------------
"All I wanna do is a zoom zoom zoom and a boom boom." --Wrecks 'N Effects
RE: The possibilities!!!
i2oadi2unnei2 @ 5/23/2003 3:29:28 PM #
LMAO too funny! *GRIN*

...|3eep |3eep!!...

A little late?

epall @ 5/22/2003 7:11:33 PM #
Wait a sec, isn't the Guyver old news?

RE: A little late?
rcartwright @ 5/22/2003 10:20:44 PM #
You are correct. It was announced a few months back and I was looking into doing a review of it but got into the Dana instead when the company pulled back from releasing it. They were talking a $300 price tag then. At that price, I might keep the 515 a couple of more years.

Life is a great adventure or nothing.

Why buy this? Wait for new WiFi SD Cards!

GearHead @ 5/22/2003 7:36:15 PM #
I don't think this is a big deal. I rather get an SD Card with 256MB RAM + WiFi from Sandisk or from another company! Who wants to carry a Tungsten T plus a Sled. Only good thing about this you can share your LapTop's WiFi card with your Tungsten T. I'm sure this will be $50 pretty soon at your nearest on-line auction site.

Free 802.11 No More Wires!!!
RE: Why buy this? Wait for new WiFi SD Cards!
Token User @ 5/22/2003 8:22:43 PM #
Pssst ... WiFi suck down the batteries. A significant advantage of this design is the built in battery. The other is the onboard CPU with support for CF devices, so no need to install drivers on the Palm device.

~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~
RE: Why buy this? Wait for new WiFi SD Cards!
Fahad429 @ 5/22/2003 8:40:56 PM #
I don't think most of us will have to stick this sled onto the Palm at all times. Instead, one could just carry this in their pocket or bag and use it when necessary.

As for the SD wifi card, yes one big factor is that it will drain the batteries faster. Also, if you are using a SD memory card then it would be such a hassle to swap the card whenever you want to use the internet. By using the sled, you can keep your SD memor card "and" internet simultaneously.

Talking of SD memory (and this is going to be off the topic, but..) is there any way to have multiple SD cards working at the same time? A great thing would be to have some sort of a sled where you can stick a whole bunch of SD cards! Hmm...*drool*...ponder ponder :)

RE: Why buy this? Wait for new WiFi SD Cards!
hkklife @ 5/23/2003 12:28:23 AM #
On a somewhat related note, at the recent NAB (Nat'l Assoc. Broadcasters) Panasonic showed a mock-up 3CCD camcorder that recorded to a PCMCIA card housing 4 SD cards. I think it was in a 512mb * 4 configuration. Supposedly that could only handle ~20 mins of full quality video. Still, an interesting concept.

I think that we might start seeing more multi-card-capable gadgets in the near future. For example, Konica now has a 5mp digicam that has a SD and a Memory Stick slow. You can have cards of both types loaded simultaineously.

RE: Why buy this? Wait for new WiFi SD Cards!
GearHead @ 5/23/2003 10:23:49 AM #
They are coming up with new WiFi SD Cards with built-in 128 or 256MB memory. I don't understand why do you need anything more than 256MB. After all it's only a handheld device. On top of all if WiFi SD Card gives me a 5 minutes usage to check my e-mails instantly (without booting my laptop or desktop) say while I was away at bathroom or something, or let's me sync my AvantGO instantly via WiFi that's all I need. For hardcore Internet surfing most of us already have WiFi equipped laptops. So I think WiFi SD Card will be more useful than a sled. I think this sled idea left behind in late 90s. SO I think you should all lighten up!


Free 802.11 No More Wires!!!
Support your local WAN!

RE: Why buy this? Wait for new WiFi SD Cards!
tiger_bb @ 5/23/2003 3:13:34 PM #
have you consider the power consumption of SD WIFI will be??

RE: Why buy this? Wait for new WiFi SD Cards!
cbowers @ 5/23/2003 5:54:33 PM #
"...recorded to a PCMCIA card housing 4 SD cards. I think it was in a 512mb * 4 configuration. Supposedly that could only handle ~20 mins of full quality video. Still, an interesting concept"

Interesting. Being Panasonic I can see why they'd be stretching SD usage that way, but in the real world wouldn't someone just use a 4GB CF card in that slot and get 40 mins of recording?

PricePoint

MSTCrowT @ 5/22/2003 8:49:42 PM #
How many people are going to spend $170 on a sled when they just spent $299 or more on a new Palm? If people really need a sled, they are much more likely to buy a slightly more expensive and all-in-one package such as the iPaq than a Palm and an adapter. The answer would be to release a Palm unit with built-in PC Card capabilites, or drastically lower the price of the sled.

RE: PricePoint
Fahad429 @ 5/22/2003 9:15:25 PM #
In time, just like almost everything else in the market, the prices will certainly come down on this item.

Although the price is quite up there, but it almost seem unfair to compare this sled with a Palm unit! Maybe this sled will not attract "all" the Palm owners, but there are people who will find this quite attractive!

One quick example would be the fact that for someone who needs a lot of memory on the go, this sled will allow for tremedendous expansion at a lower cost. A 512MB SD card comes out to about $300 these days. Keeping that in mind, you can buy a 2 GIGABYTE PCMCIA card for less than a $100! Now, even if you buy the sled at $170, its not hard to realize that you will get more memory for same or less of a cost than an SD card. Of course, you would have to compromise the additional size, but its just one example.

The way I look at it, the possibilities are endless. Also, this could be one way Palm could check and see how many people are willing to use this sort of PCMCIA connection on their palms. If enough people find it useful, then yea it would be great to have it built into the hardware of future Palms if the unit doesn't get TOO bulky. PPCs mostly are quite a hassle to drag along in your pocket because of how huge they usually are.

Hmm...ponder ponder :)

RE: PricePoint
rcartwright @ 5/22/2003 10:25:42 PM #
One thing that you have to consider is that a fair number of uses out there that are not on the bleeding edge and what they have is Good Enough. The idea of a sled that will let me use a WiFi card for BOTH my Palm and my laptop that has its own power source. Not to mention other cards such as microdrives and hotel high speed Internet hookups and the like. This lets you get a lot more out of your tools, rather than buying a built in systen that you cannot upgrade later.

Life is a great adventure or nothing.
Not for storage
bcombee @ 5/23/2003 1:36:12 AM #
It is unlikely that this sled will be able to handle anything other than communciations cards. It is basically acting as a PCMCIA host to the card, and a PPP server to the Palm OS device. So, the Palm thinks it is talking to a modem, but in reality, its talking to an embedded PPP server on the sled which goes out and makes the real network connecting using the attached card. For some cards, it would just bridge the serial ports.

When it comes to memory expansion, there's no built-in support on Palm OS for external memory through the UC port, so while in theory it could use a PCMCIA drive, they would then need to make a driver, and you'd be limited to 230Kbps read/write speeds to the memory because all communication would be through the UC's serial port.

--
Ben Combee, CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Programming help at www.palmoswerks.com

RE: PricePoint
Adalipu @ 5/23/2003 12:50:51 PM #
When it comes to memory expansion, there's no built-in support on Palm OS for external memory through the UC port, so while in theory it could use a PCMCIA drive, they would then need to make a driver, and you'd be limited to 230Kbps read/write speeds to the memory because all communication would be through the UC's serial port.

Sorry, I do not see this point. Every UC has the USB lines, and so by acting as an USB master, the sled could take advantage of the much higher speed, not only for memory card access, but also for using the full speed of Ethernet adaptors and the ilk.

USB circuitry should be available at your local ASIC manufacturer for a couple of cents extra.

RE: PricePoint
cbowers @ 5/23/2003 5:58:14 PM #
"How many people are going to spend $170 on a sled when they just spent $299 or more on a new Palm? "

Plenty I guess depending on needs.
My HandEra 330 at the time cost about $370 or so, then there were the accessories:

$700-Socket CF In-Hand laser barcode scanner
$145-Margi CF Presenter-to-go
$145-Symbol CF 802.11b WiFi card


RE: PricePoint
MSTCrowT @ 5/24/2003 4:41:37 PM #
cbowers, while I respect your point and requirements, most of us do not need barcode scanners. It's a nice market. Can be very profitable, but don't market them too widely.

aimed at consumers?

Infinity @ 5/23/2003 1:56:16 PM #
Why would these be aimed at consumers?

With such a limited number of drivers in development for any given card -- I'm reminded of the PowerChute sleds -- why would a consumer buy one of these at this pricing?

And as for waiting for SD cards that do this-and-that, you can never wait for something that may have no driver support in your handheld.

Add to that the incentive for Palm NOT to supply drivers for 3rd party hardware to drive sales of their models with built-in wireless connectivity and you have the makings for planned obsolescence.

Review of Guyver PC Card Sled using Tungsten T

terrahumor @ 5/23/2003 4:47:37 PM #
I ordered my Guyver PC-Card sled from RV Tech directly. I was able to work out payment via PayPal. I received the unit within 3 days.

Initial charging took 14 hours, but after that full charge is 2.5 hours or with Tungsten attached it takes 3 hours.

The unit connects firmly and is quite well made. I used a Linksys WiFi card. After using their utility to setup WEP128 and SSID, I was able to log onto my network. I had to maually enter the DNS because for some reason it wasn't being picked up properly by the Palms DHCP.

They gave a Eudora Web and e-mail client. I was able to cruise around CNN.com very quickly. I setup the Tungsten connection speed to 256kps. It was very slick.

I could not get the crazy Palm WebPro to work because of the need for a proxy. The VersaMail 2.0 cient worked very well.

I paid $198 including shipping. It was shipped from Hong Kong to San Diego. I was amazed at how fast I received it. I sent the PayPal funds on Monday and received the unit by Thursday.

The unit with Wifi card and Tungsten becomes a little heavy holding it for long periods, but it is not too bad.

Now I can try to cruise the 'Hot Spots' looking for a little Wifi action. (yes I am a nerd...but so are you).

Thumbs up to RV Technologies Ltd for the cool Guyver!!!

If you want one, Patrick.Lee@rvtec.com is the man of the hour!!!! He was great at getting the payment process in place and shippng the unit to me.

Terrahumor

Digital Camera GigaPack!

ggeoffre @ 5/25/2003 3:29:20 PM #
While I can agree with the comments relating to using this sled with a T|T for WiFi (or with a T|C for Bluetooth) is most likely a bad idea, I do see the value of such a device when it comes to using it as a Digital Camera alternative storage device. Just like the-gageteers reportedly used on their spring break to Scotland...

"I have a 5GB DataPak that will be perfect for holding all of these picture files as we collect them. Using my trusty Whitney iPAQ PC BaqPaq, I can insert a 4-in-1 media reader or a CF Reader, move the files to my almost emptied iPAQ (which I did in preparation for this trip), and then I can remove the reader and insert the DataPak to transfer over all of the files."

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/spring-break-gear-judie-article.html

It will be truly great when Bluetooth becomes more of an accepted standard and using such techniques will be a thing of the past. I do travel with a 40GB Hard Drive MP3 Player. I would like to someday be able to use this device via the Bluetooth File Transfer Service from other devices like my PDA and Digital Camera. As it stands now, I need to bring along my Laptop to get all of my mobile devices to work with each other.

I must also agree that the price is a bit much as well. $170 for the sled and an additional $100 for only a 2GB PCMCIA Hard Drive plus about $35 for the 4-in-1 reader. Especially when you can purchase a 10-20GB MP3 player for a little less than the same combined price. However this is still cheaper than a laptop.


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