The Great Lifedrive Update 2.0

Well, yes, it is finally here. And let me first apologize for my prior post a few days ago, doubting Palm's sincerity towards us Lifedrive owners. It seems as if they have come through for us once again! Secondly, before I get into a review of my findings, let me wish Jan, our fine deputy editor, much better luck in updating hers, as I know what its like to have a screwy device (as my ex-Treo650 can attest - we're divorced now!) Jan if you need any help, holla my way!

So I decided after spending a day debating whether or not I wanted to update to take the plunge. I figured what's the worse that could happen? - I would ultimately wipe my Lifedrive clean after a bad update install and start from scratch with the old system. But I will report that I, luckily (...and I don't usually have ANY), had a smooth update and I must give props to Palm for finally making the Lifedrive the unit it should have been 6 mos ago!

It took me approx 1 hour from starting it to making sure all my passwords were correct and that all the software was back on the unit after the update was completed. Not an unfair amount of time for what occurred. For all those looking to update their unit, MAKE SURE you follow all directions TO THE "T". The reason I say this is that I spent a nice while on the 1src and Brighthand forums reading some of the issues of some writers who skipped or missed steps, causing the update to malfunction. So please be aware - I'm sure it will save you time and grief.

After everything was loaded correctly (the final hotsync put everything back as it was prior to being wiped clean by the update), I started to test it out. Here is what the Palm support website states as should happen post-install:

* Wi-Fi coverage in low signal areas
* Roaming performance
* File system stability
* Sound quality when listening to MP3 files
* More flexible multimedia functionality
* Browser performance, including more efficient, faster page rendering
* The VersaMail® application to version 3.1C for large document attachments
* The Docs To Go application version 7.006
* New hard reset option to erase Program Memory but not Internal Drive contents more info

Let me try to break these down (plus remember I've only had the update for 12 hours or so so I guess we still have to take these issues with a grain of salt.

I seem to get a low coverage area outside the front steps of my apt. Don't ask me how - it's friggin NYC! There are routers everywhere in half the apartments around here. I used to have a laptop that would connect so that's how I know we had some good signals around here. I stepped out the door, tried to connect, and low and behold, where it would have difficulty connecting before, NO MORE PROBLEMS! It seemed to connect within 10 sec the three different attempts that I tried. One thing I found was that I used to get impatient and continue to tap the screen hoping it would go faster (my OCD) before, which I thought may have caused it to move slow. So don't do that! Tee-hee.

When Wi-Fi turned on, I quickly shot over to Blazer. Let me just say I was absolutely stunned! The speed was magnificent. No sluggishness at all. Zipped right through 4 different web pages that I frequent. The only issue I saw was actually on the PalmAddict mobile site where a box came up and said "Page too large to load." Any ideas, Sammy? But two thumbs up for the increase in speed. Makes a huge difference in your browsing pleasure. The one issue remaining was that it continues to take approx 15-20 sec to satrt Blazer up. I'm wondering if that's something they couldn't fix.

Next thing I checked was Pocket Tunes. I used to have this sandpaper type sound, loud, prior to the beginning of a song and then when it went from tune to tune. Gone. This makes me happy if only for the fact that I can now use my Lifedrive as my backup mp3 player. It was too disturbing before. Sometimes I dont feel like taking my iPod with me - this is a great backup since I normally take my unit everywhere I go. There is still some hissing when I plug in my earphones however. I'm thinking this is due to the hard drive having to spin. Maybe I'm wrong but its do-able.

What seems to be the most significant change (and remember its been less than a day) is the speed and recognition of the handwriting and the unit itself. Wow! So much better, so far. I didn't wipe my unit clean - I simply installed over what I had. So I didn't give the unit a chance to clean itself up (which, had I did, may have made me doubt the improvement of the stability of the unit). Tapping is faster, page to page is faster, graffitti recognition is smoother and faster, without lag. There is now VERY LITTLE lagtime overall when tapping on icons and applications. Some lagtime remains, however, with some of the bigger games and applications, as I am attributing this to the hard drive as well. It is never going to be 100% perfect because it is a hard drive and I think sometimes I forget that :)

Another great thing is that Docs To Go seems to not be causing a soft reset for me now. I absolutely couldn't use it before because each time I tried to open a document it would reset the device. Literally every time. So I had given up. But when I saw that it was updated I thought I would give it a try. Voila! No reset. Nice to have it up and running again. I've been opening numerous pages and turning the device off, hoping that would bring my REAL Docs to Go back (HaHa!) but didnt disappoint. Seems to be OK now, and I know that was very problematic for alot of people.

The new hard reset is a nice idea as well. Gives us more options, depending on what type of fix you may need. I don't use Versamail so I didn't even bother checking that one.

Well, that's about it for my findings on the update. I will post again in about a week and let you all know after some time has elapsed. I'm glad it finally came out and it appeears (remember our grain of salt...) to improve the functionality of the device on the whole. I was of course hesitant at first, especially reading on the different boards about some of people's issues with the update. But I went for it and I'm glad I did. I would suggest trying it. Give yourself a block of time, say 1-2 hours, to make sure it goes smoothly. If it doesn't, while a certain pain in the neck, you can always hard erase and start from scratch (bye bye little devil treo 650 from Sprint...)
:)

-Jason Rak, Associate Writer (Manhattan, UES)