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So it comes as a bit of a surprise that Internet rumor mill chatter indicates it is already readying a new LifeDrive Mobile Manager (see top image) for possible release this fall. That’s less than a month after introducing the first model in the series.

Additional reports say the PDA vendor is preparing a sequel to the Tungsten T5 too (see This PDA Never Forgets & Review: Tungsten T5).

LifeDrive is the PDA pioneer's bid to open itself up to a whole new class of user and get back on the cutting edge of mobile device development with superior multimedia, syncing, and business orientated features.

Central to LifeDrive is its 4-gigabyte (GB) Hitachi Microdrive, which makes all these applications for the device possible (for more on LifeDrive, see PalmOne Debuts 4-Gigabyte Gamblee & Review: PalmOne LifeDrive Mobile Manager).

LifeDrive
Spanish language site CanalPDA.com has seen a press release from the Spanish division of Hitachi that says palmOne will use that company's new 6 GB Microdrive (see 6 GB Squeezed Down to an Inch) in its next LifeDrive.

As per palmOne's usual business practices, the next generation LifeDrive wasn't expected to come until a year after the first one saw daylight. Hitachi's assertion could mean a release for a higher-capacity LifeDrive as soon as this fall.

Hitachi plans to release an 8-10 GB hard drive, nicknamed “Mikey”, that is 20 percent smaller than the current one-inch models later this year. Perhaps palmOne is looking to get some mileage out of an intermediary 6 GB LifeDrive before going with these higher capacities next spring?

Tungsten XX
In the forum of Indonesian Web site forumponsel and on smugmug, there’s information and pictures about a possible new Tungsten handheld, the follow up to the Tungsten T5.

Called the Tungsten XX (codename anyone?), the update purports to correct a major hole for many T5 users, the lack of integrated Wi-Fi. It also includes support for the most up-to-date Bluetooth protocol, version 1.2


Tungsten XX?

The Tungsten XX should also feature a slower processor (312 MHz) than the T5's 416 MHz type to save battery life—most likely due to the implementation of power hog Wi-Fi. It seems to have the same 320 x 480 pixel resolution screen and basic design as the earlier model.

A major change in the Tungsten T5 was palmOne's decision to use non-volatile memory, the first PDA to do so. Since the T5's 160 MB of user-available storage is static, its contents can survive an accidental power drain.

It isn't clear whether the Tungsten XX will include the same type of memory. You'd think the handheld would, as all devices (including the Treo 650 smartphone and Tungsten E2 PDA) released by the company since the T5 feature non-volatile storage. If it didn't, then the Tungsten XX would be a step backwards from the T5.


Back View

Purportedly, the handheld won't run on the latest Palm platform from PalmSource, (the still missing in action) Cobalt. It'll run on Palm OS Garnet 5.4.9 instead. It seems palmOne—and judging from the zero number of Cobalt smartphones and PDAs released since the platform's introduction a year and half ago, other vednors—is skipping Cobalt in favor of Palm OS Linux.

We'll report more on the Tungsten XX (whatever it ends up being called) as information becomes available.