Why Apple Should Already Offer a PDA
Apple should have released the LifeDrive before PalmOne did, not because the LifeDrive is going to be much of a challenge for Apple, but because Apple is going to look like a copy-cat if they come out with something similar to it in the next few months or years.
I’ve said for a long time that what was most interesting about the iPod was the fact that Apple had made it cool for us to carry a hard disk in our pockets or bags. If it wasn’t for the whole digital music thing, relatively fewer of us would be willing to walk around with hard disks in our pockets.
The LifeDrive takes that concept to another level, adding a nice screen and support for wireless technologies. Now you can have a hard disk in your pocket — which means you can carry a non-trivial amount of data, documents and multimedia files with you — as well as your contacts, e-mail, calendar, photos, music and so on. Plus…with the wireless access built in, you’ve got a big enough display for serious Web surfing using near-ubiquitous WiFi service. (Que Sera Sera, the cajun restaurant and bar across the street from my office, is advertising free WiFi.)
This is a cool trick because it’s more than just a gimmick — it’s a near-complete desktop replacement. Right now when I go to a film festival meeting in our local indy-movie-rental-store-slash-coffee-and-sandwich-shop I take my PowerBook in order to connect and look things up. With the LifeDrive, no need. Plus, someone can ping me with e-mail. Very nice.
If it were an iPod, all the better, as I’m constantly striving to replace my current pocket and portable devices with one all-in-one (or, at the most, an all-in-one and a mobile phone), and I haven’t gotten there yet. Palm makes good stuff, and the LifeDrive looks like a neat move in the PDA space. Apple could so pull this off, and with a larger disk and more Apple-friendly stuff, to boot. Oh — and let it stream tunes to an AirPort Express. Yowza.
The only thing would be what to call Apple’s version. The iPod PDA? iPod Life? iPod WiFi? The iPod AirPort? The iPod Everything?
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