Rex-type MiniPDA Springboard Coming?

Posted By: Ed Friday, October 20, 2000 9:15:00 AM

According to Cnet, Citizen and Handspring are working together to create a credit-card-sized miniPDA that would be slipped into a Visor's Springboard slot, filled with info, then allow a user to access to that info with its LCD screen, removing the need to carry the Visor everywhere.

This product is in the early stages of development, it doesn't even have a name yet, and it might be dropped if it proves impractical.

This is the same design concept behind the Rex, a credit-card-sized PDA that plugged into desktops and laptops to have its info updated. The Rex failed for several reasons; its screen was too small for many to read, updating the info in it was too much of a hassle, it was expensive, and the Palm took off and dominated the PDA market.

What do you think of this idea? Would you buy one? Chime in below.

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Not as New as I Thought

Ed @ 10/21/2000 4:23:27 PM #

I found a mention in an old Handspring press release about the Citizen miniPDA from way back in June. As the Japanese release of the Visor, "the company will also demonstrate Citizen Corp.'s prototype for a matchbook-size information viewer that will synchronize PIM data and applications with Visor via the Springboard slot. "

http://www.handspring.com/company/pr18.jhtml

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RE: Not as New as I Thought

Ed @ 10/21/2000 4:32:48 PM #

And look, Jeff Hawkins made a mention of it being at Demo 2000 back in February.

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2435187,00.html

p.s. I think I can predict already that, with the commas in that URL, it is going to correctly be turned into a link. You may have to cut and paste.

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Picture of Citizen miniPDA

Ed @ 10/21/2000 4:45:35 PM #

Here's one from a site called WapLand:
http://www.wapland.no/art/1255.html

Is that Norwegian?

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RE: Picture of Citizen miniPDA

Ed @ 10/21/2000 4:54:29 PM #

Here are some better pictures from a French site called VisorGuide:
http://visorguide.online.fr/lancement3.html

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useless?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2000 1:40:17 AM #

what value is would this be, other than looks?
i carry my palm because i like having the broad range of apps, even though i mainly use it for the calendar.
I might pay $25 for a module like this, just to show it off, but otherwise I might as well by a palm m100.
what do you think?

RE: useless?

Ed @ 10/22/2000 9:19:48 AM #

I don't see much point to this, either. Since when is a PDA this huge, hulking monstrosity that's too hard to carry around? If a Visor is too large, consider a Palm V. You could manually enter data into it, unlike the miniPDA.

Let's think this through. You'd have a desktop at home or office that you'd sync your Visor on, they you'd have a Visor (in your car, maybe?) that your sync the miniPDA on? That seems like an awful lot of work.

If this is what you want, you can still buy a Rex off eBay.

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