palmOne Planning Handheld with 6 GB Microdrive

Just a month after palmOne launched the LifeDrive, its first handheld with a built-in hard drive, word has already leaked out that the company is planning one with a higher capacity.

The Spanish branch of Hitachi, the maker of the 4 GB Microdrive in the LifeDrive, put out a press release today touting its 6 GB version.

CanalPDA.com, a Spanish web site, noticed that this clearly stated that the larger capacity drive will be used in an upcoming palmOne model.

Sooner Than Expected?

While it's no surprise that a future version of the LifeDrive will include a higher-capacity microdrive, what's most interesting about today's announcement is the timing.

Based on palmOne's past practices, most people haven't been expecting a new version of the LifeDrive for almost another year. However, if palmOne has committed to using a 6 GB hard drive in this model, then it will quite likely be coming sooner.

Hitachi announced in February that, before the end of this year, it will have created the next generation microdrives. These will be 20 percent smaller than the current models and will have 8 GB to 10 GB of Storage capacity.

If palmOne intends to release a replacement for the LifeDrive a year after the original debuted, there's plenty of time to include the next generation Hitachi product.

Therefore, the fact that the next LifeDrive will include a 6 GB microdrive is a strong indication that this model will be out this fall.

Related Links

• Hitachi Lays Groundwork for the 20 GB Microdrive
• Brighthand Reviews the palmOne LifeDrive Mobile Manager