MILPITAS, Calif.-As expected, PalmOne Inc. announced its new LifeDrive mobile device, which features a 4-gigabyte hard disk drive from Hitachi along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. Information about the device surfaced a few weeks ago on Amazon.com and other sites.
Paul Cousineau, product line manager for PalmOne, said the device represents a new device category for PalmOne, separate from the company’s Treo smart phones, consumer-focused Zire personal digital assistants and business-focused Tungsten PDAs. Cousineau said the new LifeDrive would appeal to early adopters interested in storing various media including pictures, video and music onto one portable device.
Cousineau said the device, however, was not intended to compete with Apple’s popular iPod music player, which also features a hard disk drive. He said the iPod is made to play music, while the LifeDrive could manage a variety of files.
Cousineau also countered concerns about the slowing market for PDAs.
“It continues to be a very profitable business for us,” he said.
