Let the Visor Mania Begin...

Posted By: @tomic212 Tuesday, September 14, 1999 12:00:00 AM

Color Visors! HandSpring's Visor is all the rage today. The rumor's should come to an end, and you'll be able purchase the Visor on-line very soon from Handspring.com. Pictures have sprung up all over the net, here are a few links to pics & stories: 1 2 3 4 Update: CNN has an article with more details & pictures. They mention the orders placed now will be shipping in October. The Visor Website with all of the details & info can be found: HERE, there doesn't seem to be any ordering info yet. Thanks to everyone who sent in the news, and also stay tuned for some new Gambit developments soon!

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Is it just me....

Justin @ 9/14/1999 12:14:16 AM #
Is it just me, or are you really sick of that Palm IIIish look. I also wonder how think it is...
I'm still happy weith my Palm V.
RE: Is it just me....
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 12:43:11 AM #
Look at it. It is far better than a Palm V. I got one, just shelled 400 bucks for it a month ago. Look at the size of the case around the edges of the screen. It is not as wide as the pilot. At it looks as thin, or near as the Palm V. Are the traslucent cases, particulary the blue, are gorgeous, but that is a personal issue. 8 Megs of ram sound amazing. My Palm V is Full with 2.8 Megs. Faster processor? PLEASE! And the add ons.... hmmmm cell phone module, pager module, mp3 module.... hmmmm... will not have to carry around my cell phone and pilot at the same time. Sounds VERY VERY good to me. And the price, hell, the deluxe is almost half what I paid for my Palm V!!! HOW DO I GET A REFUND??

Any one interested in an almost new Palm V? Will sell it cheap!

:) Best wishes. Lets wait and see...

Thanks for the great site.

Daevosh

True...

@tomic212 @ 9/14/1999 12:17:11 AM #
I am somewhat disappointed with the Palm III look, I thought it would be a little more of a style change. But at least thet finally got the idea right and made multiple clear/color cases! But the best new feature will definately be the 'SpringBoard'. Some of the add-ons named so far include:


  • Cell phone/wireless modem
  • a 2 way Pager
  • Digital Camera
  • and an MP3 player



That springboard has the potential for an unlimited number of uses and enhancements.
RE: True...
vivid @ 9/14/1999 1:42:11 AM #
I keep hearing about this mp3 player add-on for Visor and how excited everyone is about it. But what good is an 8 -- let alone 2! -- megabyte mp3 player unless you want to listen to the same two songs over and over and over again? Visor has a microphone, but I haven't heard anything about a speaker or earphone jack, so the mp3 player will have to come with lots of memory plus a speaker to be useful. Why not just go out and buy an mp3 player? I guess we'll see what the real deal is in a couple hours or so.

I'm *mostly* interested in how fast Visor is, how big it will be, and how much it will weigh. The design, as people said, is disappointingly reminiscent of the Palm III; I too had hoped for a redesign. Kudos for the colors though. I don't know about y'all, but I'm getting the blue one.

RE: True...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 1:13:46 PM #
From the press release on the Innogear site - notice there's 64 MB storage, optional car kit, etc. Doesn't sound so bad if you actually read the specs.
-------------------
Innogear’s MiniJam, for the Handspring Springboard platform is both an MP3 Player and voice recorder. Minijam allows you to playback and listen to the popular MP3 format and Audible’s spoken audio format as well as record voice messages. MiniJam stores the files on its internal (64 megabytes) or external memory (memory card), thus freeing up the Visor memory. Also bundled with the product is desktop software, which lets you manage your MP3 audio files and Audible audio files on a desktop computer and then transfer them via the USB Visor cradle.

The desktop software will also allow you to create MP3 files from your favorite CDs (also known as CD “ripping, which can then be transferred to the MiniJam for playback. The user interface software that comes with MiniJam runs on the Visor and provides large display file management and playback control. Convenient buttons on top of the MiniJam provide standard “CD Player” like control of your listening experience (play, pause, next track, previous track, volume, etc.). A headphone jack is also on the top for use with the provided ear bud headphones.

MiniJam receives its power from Visor. A power management system will insure that users do not run down the Visor batteries. For extended play, an auxiliary DC-IN jack will allow the user to use a variety of optional external power sources including an AC Wall Adapter, a car cigarette lighter adapter, and a cable for use with power jacks that are available on the seats of many major airlines.

Other options include a convenient carrying case that holds the Visor and the MiniJam and has easy access to the control buttons and headphone/DC-IN jacks, as well as a complete “car kit” which provides external power and playback through the car audio system.

MiniJam will ship with 64 megabytes of internal memory and

Price point TBA. Shipping Early 2000.

RE: True...
vivid @ 9/14/1999 5:57:04 PM #
my god. you sound like you work for Innogear. :) Still, it sounds good to me!

Size

Maven @ 9/14/1999 12:30:49 AM #
The size is for the springboard, and well worth it, I think... I do wish they'd gone with a different keyboard arrangement --- ok, I wanna play games!

Looks GOOOOOD

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 12:50:31 AM #
Look at it. It is far better than a Palm V. I got one, just shelled 400 bucks for it a month ago. Look at the size of the case around the edges of the screen. It is not as wide as the pilot. At it looks as thin, or near as the Palm V. Are the traslucent cases, particulary the blue, are gorgeous, but that is a personal issue. 8 Megs of ram sound amazing. My Palm V is Full with 2.8 Megs. Faster processor? PLEASE! And the add ons.... hmmmm cell phone module, pager module, mp3 module.... hmmmm... will not have to carry around my cell phone and pilot at the same time. Sounds VERY VERY good to me. And the price, hell, the deluxe is almost half what I paid for my Palm V!!! HOW DO I GET A REFUND?? Any one interested in an almost new Palm V? Will sell it cheap! :) Best wishes. Lets wait and see... Thanks for the great site. Daevosh

RE: Looks GOOOOOD
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/15/1999 4:49:50 PM #
The new visor does look great, but size is a major issue. I've been waiting to upgrade from my Palm Pro, and now that I've seen the Visor, I think I'm going to go with the Palm V based primarily on size. Let me know if you really want to "trade" your Palm V for a Visor. I'd be interested in buying your V. (Post a reply to this message and we can exchange emails)
RE: Looks GOOOOOD
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/21/1999 2:25:41 PM #
If you seriously want to sell your Palm V send me an e-mail at swallani@uswest.net I would be very interested.

Visor

Riznob @ 9/14/1999 1:23:26 AM #
It looks like the III to me. I love my V because of the razor sharp look. I didnt get it to be everything to me. What kind of mpeg/digital camera or digital phone quality can you expect. I do like the idea of more memory but I'm not too impressed yet.....

The Market Splits-Games vs Business

palmcrazy @ 9/14/1999 1:39:52 AM #
3Com needn't worry about its Palm market share. Palm devices are increasingly targeted at the corporate user. Handspring is clearly targeted at the non-corporate user with its low price and MP3 & Golf plugins, although the 8MB would really benefit Oracle Lite on Palm.
It is also important to note that Handspring is licensing the OS from 3Com. 3Com gets money even if they never sell another Palm unit.
3Com has also licensed the OS to Symbol for use in the SPT1500 & SPT1700 series palm scanners, cell phones and a whole bunch of other stuff.
RE: The Market Splits-Games vs Business
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 9:33:17 AM #
But why can't a Visor do essentially the same as a Palm for a corporate user? It *should* run most of the standard Palm software, comes with more memory, has a faster processor, and is much cheaper. Just because there will be entertainment add-ons available doesn't mean that they are *required*. To compare, is Windows a bad corporate platform just because there are games and mp3 players available for it? And are Nokia cellphones bad choices for corporate suits because it comes with a few games?

what happens to us Palm III users now?

michael medina @ 9/14/1999 5:12:12 AM #
i just got a Palm IIIe and i was wondering what would happen to us now? That concept of 2 way pagers seems to be interesting.

Amateurish

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 9:20:30 AM #
First of all: don't expect me to comment if you ever require a password . . .

Visor looks cheap. The industrial design is like a high school project. Sounds like a great idea and the feature list is terrific. Too bad they fell asleep in design concept meetings.

RE: Picky, Picky, Picky...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 9:50:39 AM #
This is an excellent site first off all. What's really important with a good website is content and being up to date and this site certianly lives up to that! As for the design, it's not what I expected but that won't stop me the features alone are incredible.

Speed increase from...?

ScottR @ 9/14/1999 11:06:48 AM #
I guess I don't understand where the speed increase comes from. Can someone explain?
RE: Speed increase from...?
Maven @ 9/14/1999 3:22:29 PM #
The speed increase is NOT a faster processor - we're at the mercy of Motorola on that. The speed is "a result of optimizing the hardware" - meaning they've tweaked some things here and there. Not a big increase, more of an incremental one.
RE: Speed increase from...?
Stew @ 10/12/1999 11:09:13 PM #
Handspring engineers noticed that some "wait states" in the Motorola Dragonball processor were set too high. By reducing the "wait states", several reviews on the Visor have indicated a 58% increase in speed relative to the 3Com units.

Video? Camera? The Screen!

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 11:03:45 AM #
Well, if the screen will remain 160x160 with 4 shades of gray... And I'll have to *change* batteries instead of recharging them right in cradle...

That's not too much progress in comparision with PalmPilot.

RE: Video? Camera? The Screen!
azrael @ 9/14/1999 3:21:51 PM #
The Visor is advertised as coming with a rechargeable lithium ion battery.
RE: Video? Camera? The Screen!
vivid @ 9/14/1999 6:00:16 PM #
Rechargeable batteries may have been mentioned in pre-release rumors, but Handspring's spec page for the Visor clearly says "AAA Batteries." I can't imagine why they didn't go with lithium ion or lithium metal. Bad choice, if you ask me.
Batteries
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 7:40:31 PM #
From everything I've read about battery life on the PalmV (which has a rechargable
Lithium ion) versus the PalmIIIx, I personally think the AAA route is better. You can run
a PalmIIIx on it's AAAs for like 2 weeks of pretty good use but the Vs battery lasts a day
or so at most (from the reviews I've read mind you, I don't have one). You can pick up
a 30pack of AAAs from Home Depot or somewhere like that for not a lot of money and
you've got yourself a good couple of months of life, without having to recharge every
night. If what I read is wrong, I'd like to know. It's one of the things I was investigating
in my search to either get a PalmV or a IIIx, now I'm getting a Visor Pro though so all my
research doesn't mean much anymore. :)

Frivolous user concern

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 12:33:55 PM #
I want a red one!
RE: Frivolous user concern
vivid @ 9/14/1999 6:03:24 PM #
Totally. THat was the first thing I noticed when I saw the colored deluxes. A pretty glaring omission. Perhaps they didn't test well in market studies.
RE: Frivolous user concern
@tomic212 @ 9/14/1999 7:29:13 PM #
I've got my eyes set on a blue ice one :)

Will my Earthmate GPS works?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 12:35:18 PM #
I am just wondering whether I could still plugin my Earthmate GPS that I bought 2 weeks ago for my PalmIIIx. Anyone know the answer?

RE: Will my Earthmate GPS works?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 1:18:15 PM #
What does is connect to? If its the hot-sync port, then sure why not!

I'm getting a blue one!

RE: Will my Earthmate GPS works?
vivid @ 9/14/1999 6:04:54 PM #
I don't think so. The cradles aren't interchangable, so I'm assuming that neither will anything else that connects to the synch port. I haven't heard of anything beyond SOFTWARE compatibility.
RE: Will my Earthmate GPS works?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/15/1999 1:16:35 AM #
I ordered a visor today and asked handspring they told me that the GPS hardware for the palm will not work on the visor. I guess I am going to hold off untill the springboard gps hardware comes out
RE: Will my Earthmate GPS works?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/15/1999 5:42:38 PM #
I am the original poster. I think HandSpring should provide or create a bridge for people to hook up their old equirements. Springboard GPS is great but at the same time you cannot hook it up with a notebook (for color map display, for example). There is no point to buy 2 different set of GPS equirements for different machine.

Pokemon?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/14/1999 2:26:02 PM #
Springboard is a great addition...

I wonder if anyone can get Nintendo to release a Pokemon cartridge for it!!!

(I'm sticking with my ancient PPro until they release the Pokemon cartridge).

RE: Pokemon?
pmgibbs @ 9/14/1999 3:37:10 PM #
how about a gameboy emulator?
RE: Pokemon?
Maven @ 9/14/1999 4:52:41 PM #
There was some discussion of that... it would have to be Nintendo which developed an adapter to hook GB ROMs into the springboard slot (patented connector on the GB cartridges)

On the other hand, if the companies that actually programmed the games wanted to, they could come out with a cartridge for the springboard slot. I could certainly make their conversion much simpler! (Gambit)

RE: Pokemon?
Maven @ 9/14/1999 4:52:41 PM #
There was some discussion of that... it would have to be Nintendo which developed an adapter to hook GB ROMs into the springboard slot (patented connector on the GB cartridges)

On the other hand, if the companies that actually programmed the games wanted to, they could come out with a cartridge for the springboard slot. I could certainly make their conversion much simpler! (Gambit)

Visor is Superior, but will they buy it?

Palmcrazy @ 9/15/1999 4:44:59 PM #
Very True IM, but it comes down to the same reason that Dell beats out Gateway in corporate arena, marketing. Palm has a conservative look and “strict” set of functions relative to the Visor with its colors and fun oriented modules that will initially appeal to the less business oriented group. Plus, it’s sad to say, but, from my experience, corporate types still use the “you get what you pay for” approach when deciding on IT purchases. They believe the more expensive unit should be the better unit. Plus, having a pouch full of add-on modules is an IT managers nightmare. Making sure that people bring their cradle is one thing, losing a module which contains the entire program is another. Here’s an article that hits on some of my points. “All Hail Visor: Palm's Savior” By David Haskin Managing editor, allNetDevices
http://www.allnetdevices.com/analysis/990913visor/990913visor.html
All said, drop the corporate crap and the Visor appears to be a superior device at least on paper.
RE: Visor is Superior, but will they buy it?
Palmcrazy @ 9/15/1999 4:49:23 PM #
This message is a reply to
RE: The Market Splits-Games vs Business -I.M. Anonymous 9/14/99 9:33:17 AM
I posted it as a new message by mistake.
Thanks,
Palmcrazy
RE: Visor is Superior, but will they buy it?
Thomas Rees @ 10/18/1999 1:53:53 PM #
I think all these comments about the Palm V looks better, the Palm already has an established user base, yadda, yadda, yadda.... Your missing the point. First of all, people buy the Palm most of them I would guess, for functionality. It is a tool. Is a 14 carrat gold plated screw driver set better than a plain old Craftsman? If Gee-Whiz looks is what you want, buy a color WinCE box. Secondly, it's great Palm users and many corporations will probably stick with Palm. Remember, where is the greatest growth happening in much of internet? The AVERAGE user. This is where it will probably shine.

Mac Support

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/17/1999 8:44:56 PM #
I have a Palm III with the new Software from Palm for the Mac. And it's fantastic. Handspring says Mac software will be in the box, but what I want to know is whether I'll be able to Sync my Visor to the Palm software. That'll probably have a huge impact on whether I go for the V or the Visor. Anyone with inside info?
RE: Mac Support
the great rupert @ 10/11/1999 9:49:44 PM #
i got this off the handspring site
"Palm owners can seamlessly transfer all their existing data to the Visor"
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