Toshiba Begins Mass Production of .85 Inch Hard Drives

gfunk ... gfunk,

I know where you're comin' from on the T5. I've stuck my neck out saying that the rumors CAN'T be. Even if they are I won't believe it I don't think. With Sonly out of the pic, HP producing those Darth Vader Pez dispensers and Dell in delay, it was PalmOne's chance to shine.

I think my palm-dreams shall be crushed too, if PalmOne lays an egg Tuesday. Notwithstanding Brutas! :-D

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

They've apparently screwed the Treo650 with it's palty 20MB available storage... :-(

JLM.

Some of us have pursued machines that can play music or video files.

Those files, or groups of them require alot of storage space.

Yes, smap77, you are missing something. Space (memory card) has always been the final frontier. Look at the HD space that was available to PC users a couple decades ago, and look at it now. Look at where memory cards started. I just purchased a 1G SD card, and I'm happy for the moment. I use it for apps, music, and at least two feature movies for business trips. Without the movies I was maxing out a 512. You know how the saying goes, "build it and they will come." So, now matter how spacious cards become, someone will find a way to use it up.

I, Captain

"You will never make progress trying to sail into the wind - chart your course!"

>>>>Sony UX50, Sony TH55 - not just the Tungsten|C has wifi.

Yeah, but I was referring to PalmOne specifically. Besides Sony left the market...

Also, how the heck do you italicize on the front page discussions anyway?

I support http://Tapland.com/

--------------------
GNM

You got that right. A Micro-sized hard disk has no place in a PDA. The usage scenarios are just way too different for a flat file system to work with a PDA. Flash is where it is and the minority that tries to pack their entire life in a PDA can wine. The real majority of people that buy this T5 will love it.

* Very very few people use WiFi on a PDA. Why?? Several reasons:
-- PDA screens are to small for the amount of data that you get from most WiFi terminals.
-- PDA input is not dynamic enough to place in enough data to make it useful.
-- WiFi was never designed with PDAs or any other handhelds in mind. Power consumption is always an issue.

* Dual WiFi / Bluetooth hot spots are becomming more common. If you want a LAN and a PDA, think Bluetooth and not WiFi.

* The T5 will sell VERY well since it hits what most people want:
-- Thin
-- Big display
-- Good looking and low profile docking connector
-- Better battery
-- MUCH better memory retention.

If you want WiFi, get a T-C -- the best selling enterprise PDA of all time! -- or a WiFi card for your T5.

PalmOne has another winner and the moaners here can just kiss off.

For those keeping score at home:

Gekko = +1
RhinoSteve = -2

Any PDA released in 2004 should have integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and at least 64 MB of user-accessible RAM. Period. Anything less is simply unacceptable. If Palm tries to Palm off any new release without INTEGRATED Wi-Fi (sorry, coupons for 50% off the Wi-Fi SD card don't count in a device with just a single expansion slot) they deserve the fallout this will bring.

After trying out some of the latest PPCs, I'm now convinced that while Microsoft's user interface is still lacking compared to Palm's, I doubt people will be able to resist the PPC hardware and prices much longer.

The advent of these new monster sized flash cards obviates the need for micro hard drives. In portable devices, no moving parts always beats moving parts. After filling up TWO 1 GB Memory Sticks with movies, MP3, etc., I'll be looking out for these puppies when they arrive.

******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

I knew this would create a firestorm. Well here is my view.

-- Guys like you are not worth supporting. If you want a "all mondo PDA" you are going to put in a WiFi card and load it up with OS patches. You are in the minority. You are not a computer user, you are a consumer electronic user and that is how PalmOne is selling this.

-- Sure, other branded PDAs have WiFi but guess what? Once they are purchased, WiFi is not used very much at all. It is a novelity that it is "geek cool" to have but proves not to be useful.

-- The rumored T5 in fact hits all the points of what is needed by most of the market and not the "ubergeeks" that bitch and moan on this site. Again, you guys don't matter in volume sales. If things were done right in your view, you'd bitch about something else like a lack of designer colors or the battery not running a double shift. Oh, and then you'd only buy one unit.

Man, a beer and reading this list is more amusing than the wackos that go to coffeeshops and only concentrate on their laptops as they refuse to make conversation with the people on the table next to them. (Hope at least one guy is reading this is at a coffee shop and looks up to notice the real world around him.)

Also, I don't recognize the authority of any scorekeeper here. Impressing geeks don't make money. Selling to masses that have a social life does.

I think you mean "any [u][i]flagship[/i][/u] pda released in 2004 should have wifi and bt", and I wholeheartedly agree. Sony leaves, releiving the pressure on P1 to innovate, and they simply kick back and release same ole meager updates.

Actually, I meant exactly what I said. ALL PDAs released this year should have come with at least integrated Bluetooth, 802.11b/g and 64 MB of RAM. It takes around $15 worth of parts to include those features. High end PDAs ($400 +) should have also been adding 4 inch OLED screens, 256 MB RAM, dual expansion slots (CF and SD or Memory Stick) and improved battery life.

Unfortunately, people's expectations are now so low that Palm and company have been able to continue serving up moldy, re-warmed leftovers. With innovation nonexistent, it's no wonder the PDA market is moribund.

Imagine a CLIE UX50 style unit with Palm OS 6, 4 inch OLED screen, 6 hour battery life, MP3 player, 1.3 MP camera that can also shoot videos, voice recorder, Divx/MPEG player, integrated 802.11b/g and Bluetooth, 256 MB RAM, Documents To Go, email software and web browser. Can you say laptop replacement? That's where the platform needed to move to in order to ensure its survival. If you want to push Palms as just an organizer, a $60 basic monochrome Zire already fills that function very well without the added cost + complexity.

Smartphones may soon bring in more money than PDAs to Palm, but Palm seems to be giving up on the PDA market far too easily. Palm needs to cover these niches:

- Ultra-basic monochrome organizer - $50
- Basic color unit - $150
- Midline color unit - $250
- Higher end Tungsten C style PDA with keyboard - $300
- High end model with all the bells and whistles - $400
- Ultra-basic Treo - $99 with contract
- High end Treo - $250 with contract

And to the clueless poster above: Hard drives are pointless in (often-abused) PDAs, since flash memory is durable and can now be had in decent sizes for reasonable prices. Most people that use + abuse their PDAs would likely take a 2 GB Compact Flash card over these fragile hard drives any day.

Palm's missing a big opportunity to advertise themselves as an "iPod-killer"/laptop replacement/portable movie player/"Blackberry-killer"/web browser all rolled into one. Pity.

******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.