Visor Phone Released

Tihstae writes "Since this hasn't been mentioned yet, I figured I would bring it to everyone's attention. Of course I did ordered mine before the slashdot effect. You can get yours visorphone here " This looks a lot nicer then the clunky Qualcomm/Palm III version that was available for awhile, but I still think its a bit large. I'm still waiting for the handhelp PDA/Phone with a nice built in game system, and enough memory for a few days of MP3s tho. Oh, and 802.11 networking, and the ability to remotely display X11 apps. And it should cook rice perfectly every time.

Comments

Re:Interfaces?

[SEWilco]

Several of the pages in that site state that it is a 1900MHz GSM phone interface. SMS is supported. A "14.4Kbps modem" is mentioned, but the phrasing makes it sound as if it is an analog modem, not GSM digital data. Odd, as usually access to SMS also means support for digital data in a phone. I could get GSM digital data in my cell phone with my carrier's $40/month "unlimited Internet" service.

Re:Reasons for lack of coverage.

[TheSync]

Coverage is going to suck in the US, and likely all of north America. It uses (only) GSM, whereas TDMA/CDMA is all the rage in the States, and Canada (I believe).

True - my "wunderPDA" would combine a Palm Vx with CDPD data (an AMPS service, I believe) and a TDMA or CDMA phone - preferably able to do both CDPD data (uses TCP) and CDMA voice (uses "Huh, what did you say?" for error correction :) at the same time.

I love my combination Palm Vx and OmniSky - can do Web browsing, telnet/ssh, email, etc. nationwide on AT&T CDPD network. (OK, Slashdot articles usually are too long to load into memory, I'll have to set up a separate account that only looks at 20 messages per page). But I have to carry a dang cellphone as well.

Re:I still don't get it

[TheSync]

You get a modem -- think internet connection from your pocket. It's at least as useful as the OmniSky or Palm VII, both of which are very cool

OmniSky is far cooler than Palm VII because it is basically full Internet over CDPD, as opposed to email/web clipping.

Also I'm sure that if the Visor Phone is a cell modem, there are probably connection time charges (OmniSky uses a flat rate nationwide AT&T CDPD network.)

Of course, where you have 128kbps Ricochet, one would prefer that.

How right you are

[Ravagin]

Yah, I noticed that after the fact. I even used the Preview button! ;) I got a general sense of wrongness looking at my post, but...

My brain is muddled from too many Palm sites and too flaming many acronyms with "P."

-J

Cost?

[Shotgun]

This thing is $299. You have to buy the Visor PDA seperately, another $150 to $250.

$500 plus somewhere around $30/month for the service to be able to talk on the PHONE?!! Isn't the price/benefit ratio lacking just a little here?

It seems that there are a LOT of people with more dollars than cents out there.

Re:Cost?

[tswinzig]

$500 plus somewhere around $30/month for the service to be able to talk on the PHONE?!!

No, you see, it's $299 for the phone. That's what lets you talk on the phone. I saw plenty of $300 phones out there a year ago, and even some now at the high end. Then you've got $150 to $250 for the Visor, which is much more than a phone.

Now, if you combine them together, the total cost is $500, but as anyone can see, you can do much more than just "talk on the PHONE."

Re:Cost?

[Danse]

$500 plus somewhere around $30/month for the service to be able to talk on the PHONE?!!

First of all, talking on the phone is hardly the only thing you can do with the Visor, which makes your statement seem kind of silly. Second, most people interested in the phone have already bought a Visor. Third, while the phone may be a bit pricy, it's also quite small, light, and integrates nicely with the Visor. I'm sure that's worth something.

Re:Cost?

[Lonesmurf]

That's funny: I don't live in the US. Why would you suppose that I do. Oh ya, you must be an american.

Re:Cost?

[Lonesmurf]

Uhm, not really. The last two cellular phones that I bought were $325 (Nokia 5120) and $300 (Motorola Timeport, which BTW sucks ass). Having all of the functionality of a PDA and internet on a screen that you can actually use, plus the pen interface is WELL worth the extra $200.

Rami
--

Re:I still don't get it

[plover]

You get a modem -- think internet connection from your pocket. It's at least as useful as the OmniSky or Palm VII, both of which are very cool (my coworkers use them almost every lunch hour.)

You get a phone, while adding only 2.9 oz to your pocket (and that includes the LIon battery.) And you get the full functionality of dialing straight out of the address book application.

The three reasons I don't have a cell phone on me 24x7 are the weight, size and subsequent wrangling of an additional device. I'm thinking I can even ditch my alphanumeric pager if the SMS thing pans out. (Of course, that won't happen until GSM coverage becomes more widespread around here.) The only drawback I can see is it won't do analog dual-mode (for those times when GSM just ain't gonna happen.)

John

Programming info

[maddogsparky]

Below is a reply received on December 3rd to some questions I submitted on their developer site a while back.

Is there any technical information available to facilitate creating 3rd party apps for the VisorPhone?

Specifically, I'm interested in possibilities involving the microphone, speaker and headset. Also, is there any memory available for apps in the module?

Hi xxxxx,

Sorry for the long delay in getting back to you.

We will be making an API for VisorPhone available that will allow you to manipulate the phone. I believe we'll be publishing the APIs later in the month. The microphone is passed up from the handheld to the Springboard slot directly. The speaker and headset are part of the module electronics. I mention this because some developers are interested in manipulating these features with software running on the handheld which isn't possible outside the phone. For example, the APIs will allow you to establish a call from software. They won't include functionality to utilize the mic or speaker directly though.

Data is handled by using the phone just like a circuit switched modem.

The space in the Flash module is likely to be pretty tight. App space on the module memory is a great idea, but I don't think we were able to do that this time around.

Business related inquires can also be directed to DevInfo@Handspring.com if you'd like to discuss the commercial aspects of this product.

Mike, DTS

Re:Around for a month?

[plover]

But it hadn't been available for purchase. I know, I've been checking their website almost daily.

John

Pardon, is my obsession showing?

What's with all the food remarks?

[banky]

Are you not getting enough to eat, Taco? Yesterday it was stromboli, now its rice. Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters, and great deli sandwitches.

Subsidising the cost of the visor with the service

[stienman]

So when can we expect them to start selling the visor/phone combo for $50 and a one year service contract? Or better yet, 1 cent, one year contract @ $39.99/month with 1500 minutes/month, no roaming or long distance charges, and basic cell phone wap or internet service...

-Adam

Failed products:
Jalepeno Toilet Paper

Re:Don't have high hopes for US coverage.

[stripes]

What is with the americans and GMS? The rest of the world seems to love it

I won't claim to speek for the other amaricans, but I had GSM service for about two years, until Sprint changed the wasington area from GSM to CDMA. The switch was a botch from a customer relations point of view (bad choice of free replacment phones, accessory upgrade only if you took the free phone, tight deadlines, phone shortages; going to the local stores and talking nice seemed to help alot though).

The new CDMA service is slightly nicer then the old GSM-1900 service. It sounds a little better. It has somewhat better covrage, the phone was smaller and lighter (well, that would have been true if I had traded my old GSM phone for a new one). I lost the ability to send text messages from the phone (can still recieve them), but got the wireless web stuff... ...the wireless web stuff is just a cut above crap, but not by a lot.

So from my point of view it was a modest improvment, but an improvment none the less.

From their point of view it in thery lets them get more calls in the same bandwidth (I think original projections were for 40x analog usage while GSM is about 8x or 12x; I think the estimates have come down to far less then 40x, but still a bit above GSM's).

That doesn't really do much for me, unless a cellular price war forces prices down to close to costs (or if I had FON or AWE stock). Prices are coming down, so maybe that is happening.

When I had a GSM (at 1900Mhz) phone, Sprint didn't have roaming agreements with the UK. That was about the only place I went outside the USA, and no covrage from orange or vodaphone, or anyone. I was even willing to rent a phone for my SIMM, but no dice.

So I don't really miss GSM much. Maybe the visor phone will come out in a CDMA version. Who knows. I'm not sure I would want to pay $200 for it, my existing phone is pretty small...

First Order!

[plover]

and I can't wait to see it under the tree!

Re:First Order!

[British]

So are you gonna "did ordered" yours today?

Re:First Order!

[stu72]

Actually, $499 without a service plan is pretty standard. The provider cannot guarantee the phone will only be used on his/her network, so they cannot guarantee any residual income from selling you a phone. If they sold it far, far, far, below cost, as most phones are sold, you could walk across the street (or the border) and use your phone on someone else's network.

All those fancy PCS phones you can get for anywhere from $0 to $100 are actually worth many hundreds more, but the provider is counting on the phone to be used on their network. That's why the phones (gsm or not) are locked in some way to the network. If you buy an unlocked phone, you can use it anywhere, so it's not going to be sold below cost. And if you have service with a company that subsidizes the purchase price of your phone (aka all of the cell co.'s) then if you don't upgrade your phone every year to the most outrageous model, the air-time rates you pay are subsidizing those who do!

Re:Advantage / disadvantage

[plover]

The Visor continues to function normally while the phone conversation continues. So, the question then is: do you continue your hand-held phone conversation while Graffitiing notes, or looking up addresses, or do you set the phone down while you trot out the memopad?

Yes, it's a compromise, but it may not be as bad as you're thinking.

John

Re:Usability?

[plover]

They angled the speaker at a 45 bevel from the top of the device. It's an attempt to get you to try to "stick it in your ear," which (theory says) will make you want to hold it away from your face.

John

Re:Watch out for coverage!

[Dannon]

Indeed. This goes even if you're getting a regular cell phone. Certainly check with someone who's actually employed by the provider.

A friend of mine was told by a salesperson (for a 'middleman' store) that he'd be able to get service both in Savannah and Atlanta, and that he'd be able to set it up so that he could call 'locally' to Atlanta. He found out, months later, that his his particular phone provider only covers the eastern seaboard. Roaming -and- long distance charges should he actually wish to use his phone in Atlanta.

---

Re:I still like the pdQ Smartphone better...

[sammy baby]

there didn't seem to be much in stating if it would work with other Palm style units or not

It won't. The Visorphone connects using the proprietary "Springboard Module" interface on the back of the unit - this feature is essentially what distinguishes Visors from Palms.

I'm not familiar with the pdQ device, but the Visor does have some pretty cool stuff going for it. In addition to running the vast majority of PalmOS software out there, it's... well, it's a phone, so even though you might not like the shape of the thing, you'd be able to play Dopewars while you talked to your mom.

The thing that bothers me about the Visorphone is the coverage, but plenty of people have mentioned that on /. already, so I'll leave it to them to discuss.

Re:Why no one seems to have done the obvious???

[British]

Maybe they are sticking to proprietary so THEY can sell you the expansions instead of everyone else.

Re:Would be nice,

[stienman]

BTW, can anyone explain why Visor chose not to make its OS upgradable other than via RAM-resident patches?

Sure. A ROM memory (Read Only Memory, programmed once (either when it is made, as in a mask rom, or later, as in a prom - programmable)) is significantly less expensive than flash memory, and requires less interface circuitry. Flash generally requires a 12v programming voltage (provided by voltage converters, adds an extra 20 cents to the design or so).

And given that the palm os is mature, RAM patches are not a bad idea. The visor will be obsolete before a new os would be required to run newer programs that will be produced several years from now.

-Adam

Failed Products:
Helicopter ejection seat.

Re:Advantage / disadvantage

[Lion-O]

I'm continuing the conversation offcourse. Esp. when you're trying to tell the one you are calling with some names or numbers. I can read them while talking, reread them while the other person repeats it to prevent mistakes, etc.

I have my PDA for a very good reason and that is to store and retrieve information. It would not be the first time that I'm looking up stuff while talking with someone to either check their story, look up and double check my own notes, or even when planning a meeting. That is kinda impossible with this device as far as I can see.

Re:I still like the pdQ Smartphone better...

[plover]

Well, the pdQ looked like a phone, worked like a phone, weighed like a brick.

They were missing the old "human factors testing" that went into the original Palm (and made it such a success) like carrying around a chunk of wood in a shirt pocket, determining max weight and size empirically. A friend of mine who owns one carries it around in his briefcase! Hardly usable.

John

Re:Subsidising the cost of the visor with the serv

[jonnythan]

You're thinking of sprint PCS ($35 for 1500 mionutes, no long distance, no roaming, free wireless web... ;)

God I love my PCS phone :)

Don't have high hopes for US coverage.

[Andy Dodd]

While GSM may be the standard in Europe, GSM is rare in the US. Even at the maximum possible rollout (All GSM providers support the thing), that still isn't much coverage.

CDMA is the way to go. Either in the old 900 MHz cell band or the 1900 MHz band.

The pdQ's main drawbacks were price and the fact that it's single-band, single-mode. I wouldn't be surprised if its successor, the Kyocera QCP-6035, is much better.

Oh, just checked Kyocera's site: http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/showroom/showcase/ coming_soon_6000.htm

It IS better. 8M memory, dual-band/trimode. Digital in both bands, and analog fallback for the phone part. This will work with many providers. (Well, actually at this point I think Verizon encompasses all of the non-Sprint CDMA providers. So it'll work with Verizon and Sprint.) Highly unlikely it'll ever work with any provider that uses TDMA anytime soon - Kyocera's wireless division was just bought from Qualcomm, which means CDMA only for a while at least.)

Re:Don't have high hopes for US coverage.

[macpeep]

While GSM may be the standard in Europe, GSM is rare in the US.

GSM is the standard pretty much everywhere in the whole world except the USA.

Re:Don't have high hopes for US coverage.

[kenydl]

What is with the americans and GMS? The rest of the world seems to love it. My phone has no line rental, cheap calls and i can't remember when i last had a poor qualilty line. The UK coverage seems to be almost total and with several phone companys all at each others throats for customers, the price of phones and calls are falling each month. EG last month my phone company (orange) asked me at which time in the day i would like my offpeek calls! The americans should patch up there coverage, tell the army to give up the radio bands for GSM (the europe frequencys) and disband the analog network. The analog network in the uk was turnd off two months ago.

Re:VisorPhone stupid, will fail

[plover]

It's a matter of priorities.

The trouble with your analysis is that you're looking at it from a cell-phone-junkie perspective. I'm looking at it from a PDA-junkie perspective. I carry a PDA because I can't function without it. I carry a pager because my job causes me to. I do not carry a cell phone because I don't want to have another device drooping my pants pocket or hanging around my belt like some high-tech albatross.

Would I like a cell phone? Yes. Do I use a cell phone when my on-call rotation week comes up? Yes. Is it annoying to carry a cell phone? Hell yes!

I'm not a cell phone junkie, nor a constant traveller -- if I were, I'd want the tiniest little triple-band tri-mode phone out there. The VisorPhone will give me the opportunity to carry a cell phone for the few occassions when I need one, without the hassle of physically carrying a separate cell phone. It has the added benefit of wirelessly networking my Visor.

If you need both a high performance cell phone AND a PDA, you already own both, and don't need VisorPhone. But, if you need a modest usage cell phone and already own a Visor, it fits the niche perfectly. And I suspect more than ten of us are waiting in this niche.

John

Re:Nice, but...

[bluGill]

The GSM standard appears to require SIM cards. I have never heard of a GSM phone that didn't use a SIM card. I have also never heard of a non-GSM phone that had a SIM card.

Too bad really, SIM cards are a good idea, and there is no technical reason why you couldn't design a (for example) CDMA phone that took a SIM card so that you could use a GSM phone in Europe and then in the US switch to a more popular CDMA system.

Re:Advantage / disadvantage

[ptomblin]

It would not be the first time that I'm looking up stuff while talking with someone to either check their story, look up and double check my own notes, or even when planning a meeting. That is kinda impossible with this device as far as I can see.

If you look at the web page, I think it's on the Shockwave "tour" of the phone, they do something very subtle. When they mention the ability to use your Visor for taking notes while you're on the phone, they juxtapose that text opposite a picture of a hands-free unit. So there is your solution - you plug a headset into the Visorphone, and then you can use the full functionality of the Visor while you are using it as a phone.

Rice!

[Bud]

Cooking rice is easy. Just measure the right amount of water and salt and let it boil (under a cover). Add the rice, wait for a minute and stir it a little so it doesn't get cloggy. Then turn off the stove and go do something else. Within 30 minutes, the rice will be ready.

You can also do this in a large frying pan. Then you can start by frying some base ingredient, e.g. chicken or vegetables (chili is a vegetable, right?). Then add the water and rice, cover the pan and let it be on a low temperature until the rice is done. Add seasoning. Easy, fast and a minimum of washing up.

--Bud

Reasons for lack of coverage.

[fidget]

Coverage is going to suck in the US, and likely all of north America. It uses (only) GSM, whereas TDMA/CDMA is all the rage in the States, and Canada (I believe).

There is a version of GSM in the States, called GSM1900, which eats into the UMTS bands, and represents less than about 10% of the total market traffic. It is that small fraction of the wireless traffic that this module will support.

For me, to buy a product at a 200% increase to the most expensive phones in common service, which only supports a tiny market segment, is ludicrous.

Also, to answer the guy who asked why Handspring chose to only allow upgrades via RAM-resident patches, the answer is blindingly obvious: It costs less to burn ROMs than to install flash RAM in the Visors.

--*> Some of this is opinion. Some of it is fact. /You/ figure it out for yourself. *--

weird timing

[sckeener]

I was actually interested in posting a similar article today, but I knew it wasn't much of a post...I'm x-mas geek shopping and a cell phone with pda features is at the top of my list. Unfortunately it looks I'm going to be out of luck for x-mas. I've ruled out the handspring phone as being too expensive and too bulky. Plus as mentioned before it's not going to be available across the country. I think CDMA is a better option in the US at least for now.

Here's what I'm interested in: the Kyocera Smartphone Series - QCP 6035 that is supposed to be available early next year. It's CDMA with palm 3.5 with 8 mb.

Here are some articles about it:

News article about it here and here (with some pics) and here.

Here's what they filed with the FCC here. The FCC has some nice pics of the guts of the pda phone. (Side note: I figured all you hardware geeks would like this)

Ok, here's what I want: a cell phone with PDA, pager features, 8 mb of ram for under 600 bucks and is small.

I'm not going to get that with the handspring phone. It's going to cost me 800 plus after taxes to get that and Kyocera says they are going to be selling theirs for under 800 and it's going to be smaller.

If you don't know about Kyocera, they bought Qualcomm CDMA phone business which included the out of date PDQ phone. Here's a link to their site

Ok...that's all I know....does anyone on /. know of a palm OS cell phone deal that is or is going to be better?

Re:Nice, but...

[lizrd]

According to the site it is a GSM phone. This means that it'll use any SIM card that you care to stick into it. The reason that you can't use it in Ireland is that it's not a triple band phone. In Europe and much of the rest of the world GSM operates in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands. In North America moblie phones operate at 800 and 1900 MHz with GSM being used only in the 1900 MHz band. It's a bit unfortunate that this happened. The Europeans tend to turn their noses up at the North Americans as if this incompatability were somehow their fault despite the fact that the frequency bands were allocated in North America before they were in Europe.

This problem can be overcome by getting a triple mode phone or borrowing a phone (putting in your own SIM) when you cross the pond. The site also indicates that Handspring is working on a triple-band phone module that will be avaliable for those who live in !North America or frequently travel around the world.

As for the SIM cards, why would you expect them to be provider independant? They are your means of authenticating yourself to the network. Seems kind of silly to think that they would be provided by someone other than the network operator.
_____________

Re:They break to easy

[JatTDB]

Get a Rhinoskin case (www.rhinoskin.com). I've got the ShockSuit Sport Case...durable as hell. I've only managed to break the case once since I had it, and all that happened was the belt clip came apart. Rhinoskin sent me a replacement clip, no questions asked.

Would be nice,

[laetus]

but no service in the nation's capitol yet.

BTW, can anyone explain why Visor chose not to make its OS upgradable other than via RAM-resident patches?
----------------------------------

Re:Would be nice,

[ptomblin]

And given that the palm os is mature, RAM patches are not a bad idea. The visor will be obsolete before a new os would be required to run newer programs that will be produced several years from now.

Only one problem with that theory: there are already products out there (mostly Springboard modules) that only work with the two new Visors (Prism and Platinum) because they've got Palm OS 3.5 instead of 3.1. Handspring hasn't said anything about bringing out a 3.5 RAM patch for the older Visors, and even if they do, nobody knows if that will make these new Springboard modules work.

Don't get me wrong, my Visor is wonderful and does everything I bought it for and then some, but I don't believe that there will never be a need for an OS upgrade.

BTW: There are helicopters with ejection seats, all designed for the Soviet military. They blow the helicopter blades off with explosives before firing the seat.

Is that..

[handybundler]

"And it should cook rice perfectly every time."

with or without the boil-in bag?

Yes, well...

[Ravagin]

Yes, it does look nicer than the old PQA. Though the new PQA actually looks pretty nice. Very cleverly designed, if naught else. And cooler, form-factor-wise, than the Visor+VisorPhone.
I'm not a huge admirer of the Visor (I fear that's due to loyalty to my Palm IIIxe), but this is a great application of the Springboard. However, read the discusison threads on the Visorphone on any handheld site (like Palmstation) and you'll see the problems. Cost, coverage, compatibility, etc. I won't rehash each of those issues here.

For the disposable-income-laden power user, this looks like The Way To Go. But otherwise... I'm not so sure. This seems partially to be a "because we can" feat that will need time to become perfected.

-J

Address Book

[_SIGKILL_]

The only really cool feature about these handheld phones is that you can sync your addressbook. Right now, if I were to lose my cellphone, I would lose quite a few contacts.

Re:I still don't get it

[DukeofURL]

"You got your Cell Phone in my Visor"
"You got your Visor in my Cell Phone"

"Two great tastes that taste great together"

Re:Wuzzup w/ 802.11?

[generic-man]

Xircom is rolling out both 802.11 and Bluetooth Springboard modules next year.

www.adbusters.org

[SubtleNuance]

I'm still waiting for the handhelD PDA/Phone with a nice built in game system, and enough memory for a few days of MP3s tho ugh . Oh, and 802.11 networking, and the ability to remotely display X11 apps. And it should cook rice perfectly every time

You can get this with a iPAQ or Casio E1XX and the right array of CF cards. None of this 'springboard' proprietary interface stuff. Ive got a CF 56K modem, 10/100NIC & (2pcs) 96MB CF mem for my E100. Of course the E100 runs WinCE - but with alittle more maturity Pocket Linux will be a nice alternative.

What the HandHeld industry needs is a separation between OS and hardware - Ive said this before on /. - I hope the Handheld industry 'goes the way of the IBM PC' vs the 'Apple way' that it is now... I would much rather have an opportunity to choose the OS independently of the Hardware for my Handheld. If you have a look at your 'Palm' hardware vs your average 'WinCE' hardware I think you'll understand my frustration - I would like a more elegant OS with a more open 'attitude' but Im not willing to hobble myself with under-powered/under-capable hardware.

Does anyone know if someone is developing a CF Phone with WinCE

Re:Interfaces?

[plover]

This web page says that it'll act as a modem. It'll also do SMS messaging.

John

Why not sooner?

[KrunZ]

For many years PDA and cell-phones have been cheap, light and full of fancy features.

Concerning hardware all you need to make such a PDAPhone-gizmo, is a cell-phone and a PDA. Remove the phones keyboard and display and connect the remaining transmitter/receiver-pieces to the PDA. Then cook some nice source and you are up running.

Why have this taken so big companies so long? I wonder!!!

Watch out for coverage!

[RebornData]

Coverage for the service plan is really weak. Although "Georgia" is listed in the quote below from the Visor website, I live 5 miles from downtown Atlanta, and my zipcode isn't covered. What's the point of rolling out a device like this with such weak coverage? So many of the people that need something like this travel extensively.

From the visor website:

Regional Rollout
Handspring will be rolling out service coverage on a regional basis over the next several months, beginning with Pacific Bell Wireless and BellSouth Mobility. We currently have coverage in California, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. We expect to be adding both VoiceStream and Powertel in the new year.

I still don't get it

[rw2]

What additional Visor functionality do I get by having a phone attached to it?

What additional phone capacity do I get by having a Visor attached to it?

Modulo some really compelling synergies I'll stick with my seperate devices.

--

1st Visor phone + Millionth Visor (prism) = $4550

[toybuilder]

The editors ignored my original mention of this (oh well), but Handspring auctioned the first "official production" model Visor phone with the one-millionth Visor (Prism) on eBay starting about two weeks ago.

The auction finished last week. The product page itself is already off the system, but the auction ended at $4550.

Of course, that price didn't include service activation, which is required.

Special Slashdot Offer!

[rich22]

For the first thousand nerds who think this is really cool, Handspring will jack the price up if you dare take advantage of another service provider.

PalmVNC

[Col. Klink (retired)]

the ability to remotely display X11 apps

Get the PalmVNC vncviewer to display your X11 stuff.

I still like the pdQ Smartphone better...

[TWX_the_Linux_Zealot]

... because it looked and felt more like a phone. Don't get me wrong, from what I saw looking at their site, that's a really really nice device for the Handspring units, but unfortunately there didn't seem to be much in stating if it would work with other Palm style units or not (granted, I didn't comb the entire site for every page, but nothing stood out). I have and old Pilot 5000, and I seriously doubt something like this would work, and I wonder if it would work on any of the other non-Handspring models. At least the pdQ Smartphone was it's own PDA in addition to the phone, with all the nifty features like a hotsync, IR, address/phone book, etc. and still had that flip down cover for protection from the elements, and I think that it had a dial-keypad on it to make it useful without ever getting out a stylus (but I could be wrong, it's been a while since I looked at it). I wish the pdQ Smartphone had taken off, I'd have liked to have seen it like, in stores or something...

"Titanic was 3hr and 17min long. They could have lost 3hr and 17min from that."