Comments on: Handspring Gets FCC Approval for Two Wireless Handhelds

Landscapable screen w/ virtual graffiti

More built in RAM

A reliable wireless network

A land-based modem for when I'm vacationing where there are no reliable wirless networks

...

and 7 of 9

I looked at the pics of these and the i705, then I looked down and my IIIc and giggled. I have a Handera in the mail on it's way to my office tomorrow. Giggle.

It's only been a year, and I'm already retro-tech!

I don't care what the haters say. This is great ****.

Hells yeah.

:-)

In fact, these units are really Palm OS based smartphones, direct competitors to the Kyocera 6035 and the upcoming Samsung i300. Time will tell how they compare against those units, but this seems to suggest a bit of a shift in Handspring's emphasis.

Could this be the end for the Springboard expansion format? Considering how few Springboards ever managed to ship, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if true.

The smallest PDAs are not color, and when you add wireless capability to them they are no longer small.

The best wireless PDAs are neither color nor small.

Nice girls are not beautiful, and beautiful girls are not nice.

PDAs are getting better but these rules still seem to apply.

I do however think that the wireless outlook [Palm and Handspring models] is looking pretty sweet right now....you gotta love that! I can hear the pitch to my boss now...

AT&T has a pilot network operating commercially in Seattle now, and both Cingular and VoiceStream are in testing mode. If their plans go as announced for once, most of the US should be covered by GPRS by the end of 2002, at 800 and 1900 MHz. (The older cellular systems in the US have always been referred to as "800 MHz", whether analog, CDMA or TDMA. They are now trying GSM on the same frequencies, but the GSM naming convention will call these "850 MHz". Go figure.)

Most of Europe is already covered by GPRS, of course, though at 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies. I presume Handspring will have version for our friends across the pond?


-cashman

Now, how 'bout including one on some non-wireless devices...

(By the way, I am very proficient at Graffiti, but I thing that Graffiti has been an intimidating barrier for the majority of hopeful Palm users out there.)

I like some of the ideas they borrowed from Sony (jog dial, adapter) but I don't like that they also borrowed the idea that products should have confusing names. Though maybe Palm dreamed that up first.

"However, at this time these devices appear to lack the "always on" e-mail capability of the not yet released Palm i705."

If it's a GSM 'phone' released, or about to be released, at this time, chases are pretty big that it's a GPRS one, witch means it's always on...
They would be plain stupid to release this gsm/palm thing without utilizing the possibilities of GPRS technology.

the Dragonball used is as expected:
IC, Dragonball VZ, 33 MHz,

Gacel

Picky, yes - but a committee implies a different thing then a commission....

On request from the companies, one wonders?


-cashman

BUT THIS TEXT IS ALMSOT EXACTLY THE SAME AS VISORCENTRALS!! And VC broke the story first!

Can you be a bit more original next time?

The combination of wireless data access and voice wireless is a good idea too, even without the "always on" feature (a misnomer since such units aren't "always" on, they're just set up to check the network at intervals). All that would keep that from going over really well would be usability issues (the "sweaty screen" and such) or access restrictions/costs (I never did like that you can get access for Palm's integrated-wireless units only from them). On those two things only time will tell, but I like that these units have both voice and data capabilities.

And I have to say, the picture of the Treo k-180 with the flip-top closed was a heck of a lot better looking than Palm's 705, whether that should matter or not.

Neat ideas, and it will be interesting to see if they're actually released, and how they'll fly if they are. At the least, it's a step along the path.

http://makeashorterlink.com/index.php?C2F542C0

(http://makeashorterlink.com/index.php?E27641C0)

The Federal Communications Commission, which earlier this week approved new wireless handhelds from Palm and Handspring, has set aside its decisions at the request of the companies.

The reason for the FCC's initial actions was that Palm and Handspring originally failed to indicate on their applications that they wanted to delay approval until they were closer to announcing their products, said Bruce Franca, acting chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology.

"We will, at the request of the manufacturer, defer the grants," he said. "All they have to do is check a box."

Franca said Handspring has asked that the grant be held until Oct. 15, although that date could be amended later. Franca said he did not know when the Palm approval might be reauthorized.

Please don't flame me - I really am interested in reading feedback on this. Maybe there's some huge technological innovation here that I'm missing. So what is it?

There are so many changes in the PALM field I am getting confused.

Thanks.