Rumor: Images of Color HandEra Device Leaked

Someone who says he is the biggest Handera dealer in Germany has posted pictures and some details of what he says is a prototype color handheld from HandEra in PDABuzz's forums. According to him, the device runs Palm OS 4.1, has 16 MB of RAM, and 4 MB of ROM. It uses the Palm III connector which HandEra has modified to run at USB speeds. It uses an internal li-ion battery.

A few months ago, details of a color HandEra prototype that sounds virtually identical to this one were posted on PalmQ Online, a Russian site. According to PalmQ, the device is very similar to the the HandEra 330. It has a jog wheel and, of course, still has a Compact Flash slot and an SD/MMC one. The casing is 4.75 by 3.2 by .7 inches, which is slightly thicker than a 330. It weighs 5.65 ounces.

According to the German HandEra dealer, this unit might never be produced. HandEra needs dealers to commit to buying 50 thousand of them before it will begin production. The German dealer is willing to buy 10 thousand of them but is looking for dealers willing to buy the others.

In February, the president of HandEra said his company would certainly be releasing a handheld running OS 5, though he wouldn't go into specifics.

Thanks to the numerous people who sent in tips on this. -Ed

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Huh, bulky?

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 12:18:42 PM #
This one really looks like a brick...
RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 12:21:13 PM #
Whatever. Its essentially the same size as the 330, which is slightly larger than the "thin" Palms, and noticably smaller than the bigger ones like the NR-series and most Pocket PCs. All while packing in more functionality and expansion options than any other Palm (and some Pocket PCs for that matter). If it's the same as the 330, it'll be much lighter than most as well.
RE: Huh, bulky? then its not for you!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 12:31:47 PM #
i am an m505 owner and i wouldnt buy this thing but i know a lot of people would. So my friend, its not for you and me but it doesnt mean we're the only consumer out there... in other words.. Sh#t up. =)
RE: Huh, bulky?
cykalan @ 6/8/2002 12:34:35 PM #
a brick? yes, but it's a brick and the only brick running on palm os features a built-in CF slot and SD slot. this is a brick but it is a pretty damn useful brick.

btw, the NR series is not big at all, it's long, but big would not be an appropiate description.

Alan
----
Read your manuals before you ask!!

RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 1:55:37 PM #
if this is a brick, than the NR70 is a cinder block!
RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 2:03:12 PM #
well, it's me again... I didn't say it's a bad palm OS PDA, it's just looking big. I own palm m515 and I'm happy with it, but that doesn't mean I am not allowed to comment on handera.. ok? :)
RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 3:14:17 PM #
> if this is a brick, than the NR70 is a cinder block!

No comparison here, NR70 is the BEST and most POWERFUL PDA available in the market today and Handera ? What is that ? It's only a brick, an ugly brick.

Best, huh?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 6:16:12 PM #
There is no one "best" handheld, because everyone's needs are different. For instance, I don't need Wi-Fi if I don't have a Wi-Fi network around--or if I don't choose to use a handheld on one.
RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 7:00:57 PM #
..and the world is beautiful place, where everything is equally magnificent and devine....

(what is this? kindergarten trip to the Zoo?)

RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 9:34:27 PM #
Sony is crap. Everything looks like the ugly a$$ stereos of the 70's. Hell even their car stereos are the same awful fake metallic look. Ugly exsits everywhere in each of the manufacturers product lines. Most of these people probably want Abercrobie & Bitch to brand a Palm device.

Those who predict that every company that produces a Palm based unit should be purchased by Sony are IDIOTS. Why do you want one company to produce all Palm devices? we all know how well that has worked in the IT sector.

Sorry for the rambling but the comments on this board have degraded to the Slashdot level. I want useful information and opinions. That is what I used to find here.

RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 10:07:23 PM #
Hey genius, you wrote:

"Sorry for the rambling but the comments on this board have degraded to the Slashdot level. I want useful information and opinions. That is what I used to find here."

But you began buy saying:

"Sony is crap. Everything looks like the ugly a$$ stereos of the 70's. Hell even their car stereos are the same awful fake metallic look. Ugly exsits everywhere in each of the manufacturers product lines. Most of these people probably want Abercrobie & Bitch to brand a Palm device."

Yeah, very two-face of you.

RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 10:38:20 PM #
It is the only thing you people understand.
RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/9/2002 1:11:41 PM #
you speak trash.
RE: Huh, bulky?
Bartman007 @ 6/10/2002 1:12:25 AM #
"No comparison here, NR70 is the BEST and most POWERFUL PDA available in the market today and Handera ? What is that ? It's only a brick, an ugly brick."

Come again? I have to hand it to the Sony Visual Appeal Design Department but....

The shape of the NR70 is too cumbersome. You have to either use it sitting open (sometimes a very hard proposition, like when walking) or sacrifice the app buttons and be left with only the jog dial. and back button. I won't even start on the button layout for gaming but then again I will **** now, even though I am an owner of a 710c the handheld with the stiffest buttons in the world (I had to modify them so I could play games.... quite fun) But I also have to look at the fact that many PDA owners do not play games...


hmm.. this post may not make no sence what-so-ever because I'm on muscle relaxants right now - torn muscle in my back =(

Oh well,
Peace
-Bartman007

RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/10/2002 6:10:49 AM #
dude, I hope you didn't suffer that muscle tear from "gaming" on your PDA too much. Buy a gameboy and leave the mature electronics to the grown-ups.
RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/10/2002 8:55:23 AM #
Leave the "mature electronics" to people who start their sentences with "dude"? Gaming is a perfectly mature way to use a PDA. I'm a "mature" CEO and I love games on my PDA.
RE: Huh, bulky?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/10/2002 10:18:26 PM #
The original Palm III was 4.7 by 3.2 by .7 inches. This device would thus be .05 inches wider. This is larger than the Palm V/m5xx units, but much, much smaller than most other units, including the PocketPCs.

Where do I sign up?

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 12:39:36 PM #
I want one.
Where it says ''SUCKER!''
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 12:44:45 PM #
It shouldn't be too hard to find, the list should be blank...
RE: Where do I sign up?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 10:10:28 PM #
ha ha

Uuuugly

kevdo @ 6/8/2002 12:39:37 PM #
I didn't think making a PDA uglier than the Handera 330 was possible.

Until now.

Boy that thing is a dog...

-Kevin Crossman

RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 12:43:40 PM #
Unless you're comparing it to an m5xx or a Palm V, I think it looks darn good.
RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 2:11:59 PM #
Wow Handera Certainly has a Talent for making the ugliest PDA's EVER!
RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 3:17:56 PM #
Yup,cannot agree with you more. 50 thousand ? I think it should be 5 thousand .
RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 4:15:48 PM #
I'm sure there's no point in responding to the ugly troll, but I just don't get where the ugly comments are coming from. Handspring has never produced any device that even looks this good, and the Palm m1xx devices are nothing to write home about either. Other than the Palm V and m5xx devices and the Sony T series nothing looks very good, and you won't be packing this kind of functionality in those size devices for a while yet.
In the eye of the beholder...
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 5:37:16 PM #
If you look over the various comments, you'll see a variety of opinions. On this new device--most of the comments on the aesthetics of it are negative. But there's a lot of range in what people do like. I think it means that HandEra does need a good industrial designer. Does that mean everyone will like the results? No.

To me, at least, it just goes to show that you can't expect one aesthetic design to please everyone any more than one featureset will.

I for one, like the Treo design--90, 180 and 270. I'm mixed on the Palm V/m5xx design. The Palm III series was ok, but lackluster (better in the darker tone, though). The m1xx--blah, ho-hum. The i705 would be better in actual metal rather than silver-painted plastic. Most of the Visors were ok; I liked the Edge, but not its stylus. The only Clies that really look worth much--IMO--are the T series. (That's aesthetically, remember, not in terms of the screen.)

But looks are only part of the picture anyway. While it would be good for HandEra to use a simple, understated design, there are a lot of other areas where their handhelds really deliver, and sometimes more so than other companies. And if this is a prototype, there may be other features and enhancements with more "wow" factor on the final result. Who knows? They may even give it a new look.

RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 9:25:16 PM #
Some people are drawn to the Pontiac Aztec by its looks. some--but probably not as many as those who run from it. The Ford Taurus is probably nobody's dream car but gobs are sold. Understated styling excites few but repulses few. Handera could learn from this. Personally, I like the looks of the 330. It reminds me of a 50's jukebox. If Buck Rogers ever had a handheld it would surely look like a 330-a futuristic vision (from the past.) Am I the only one that likes its looks? And before anybody asks, I don't own one.
RE: Uuuugly
drac @ 6/8/2002 11:12:37 PM #
I don't understand it, really. Although I do lust over the extra pocketability of the Palm m5xx form factor, I absolutely LOVE the styling of the HE330- and I was delighted to be able to continue using my old keyboard, extra cradles and so on.

There's room in the market for many types of devices, and it is sad to see a quality board such as this one being polluted with the kind of juvenile rhetoric that we have seen such far.

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1819-1892)

d r. a. c h a r l e s
barbados

RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/9/2002 1:22:43 AM #
Objectively speaking, there's little denying that the prototype we're all commenting here on got hit with the same ugly stick that went to work on its predecessor - Handera really needs to drop some coin on an industrial designer and fire that 12 year old they currently have on the payroll.

That said, on paper it's hard to beat the functionality that this device brings to the table, provided it ever gets built. Frankly, if I didn't already buy a hideous, overweight cinder block of an NR70V, I'd really consider adding this one to my PDA "stable" - CF, SD, color, virtual grafitti, a wealth of accessories... Aside from the looks, what's not to like?

-Adam

RE: Uuuugly
Spitz @ 6/10/2002 6:32:17 AM #
Yeah, that thing is hideous.

First PDA: PEG-NR70V

Comments: Amazing and well worth my money. However, if you're not a fan of the camera than you're not a fan of the NR70V. Buying it sans camera would be a big mistake. IMO

RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/10/2002 9:01:58 AM #
I think it's ugly too, but the functionality really is more important to most people. There has always been a niche of consumers for whom the Handera has fit the bill perfectly. The dual expansion slots and III series accessories make it a very good choice for those who need versatility. It has a very unique set of features and they are important ones to some people.
Wow, that's ugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/10/2002 11:46:34 AM #
The only way that could get uglier is if they made 2 of them.
RE: Uuuugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/10/2002 12:05:09 PM #
Quit talking to yourself.

Not the Right Time

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 12:42:01 PM #
HandEra is too small a company to waste time on an OS 4.1 PDA now. I'm looking forward to what they can do with OS 5.
RE: Not the Right Time
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 5:43:15 PM #
maybe this unit is using some of the technology they plan to implement in their OS5 product
RE: Not the Right Time
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/11/2002 4:30:01 PM #
And yet, to NOT release one, would waste all the development time spent on it. Remember the color QVGA Symbol prototype that was shown at PalmSource. It was running HandEra OS4.1 A fair amount of time has gone into it.

This Would've been AMAZING....

big_raji @ 6/8/2002 12:57:07 PM #
I personally admire the Handera 330, and will probably admire this device as well.

I just wish it came out a year ago.

I traded my Palm IIIxe for a Clie n610c last year, and I was amazed at the size difference. Realistically, it's not THAT big a difference when you're looking at it, but when you put it in your hand, it's like comparing the feel of a pencil with a thick magic marker.

I just couldn't go back to a Palm III form factor today.

---
What's Wrong With This Picture?
http://raj.phangureh.com/picture.html

What reason does Handera have for existing now?

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 1:03:19 PM #
OK, this begs the question. So, they are going to come up with a color version of the brick. BFD. It seems that almost all of the innovations that people bought the Handera 330 for (memory, hi-res, virtual graffiti area, expansion card) have been incorporated into sleeker Palm OS devices from both Palm and Sony. So why Handera? Aside from tech geeks, who is going to buy this over the others?

The company's reluctance to produce the unit without retailer committments shows that they are wondering also. Even they don't know if this will sell. The Palm III form is so five-years-ago. A couple of years ago they may have had a niche but I just don't see it now.


RE: What reason does Handera have for existing now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 1:17:02 PM #
How exactly does this "beg the question"? Begging the question is a term used in argument, and I don't see how this begs the question:

http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/begging.htm

Anonymous Howard

RE: What reason does Handera have for existing now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/8/2002 1:59:21 PM #
Oh god...****.
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