Slashdot Mirror
The New Handspring Visor: The Edge
Bono writes "Handspring had their site down until 11:30am today so they could announce their new handheld...the Visor Edge. Looks pretty sweet at .44" thick...although the Springboard expansion requires a little add-on that comes with it." When I first read the name all I could think was a thin Visor...with pizza toppings. In any case, the device looks pretty darn cool. The Springboard expansion reminds somewhat of the iPaq does, but hey, more devices, better.
If you like the idea of a credit-card sized PDA that gets you a lot of the basic functionality of a Palm/Visor, try the REX 6000. You can get it now for about $120-$150, a little pricy but still reasonable.
...I'd be a little suspicious. Someone called "Bono", submitting a story about a product called "The Edge"? Looks like someone's got a U2 fixation! :-)
arnald
You wouldn't happen to have a definite name would you? I wouldn't mind have a CF slot on my IIIc.
---
--
Insert Witty Sig Here
I bought my Visor because I like the idea of Springboard modules. If you go out an look at the Springboard modules available, maybe you'd see that there is alot more to them than extra storage space.
'Same speed C but faster'
In fact, the last time I checked DataBk3/4 had a few more features. And it is only about $25 with profits going to a Gorilla sanctuary in Georgia. http://www.pimlicosoftware.com/
This is one of the very few apps that I thought was worth paying for.
Now more than ever, I have to remember a lot of things, make a lot of notes, be at certain places at certain times, etc. Over the years I've tried a whole host of non-electronic notepads, planners, appointment books, organizers, etc. Every single time I lose the bastards...you know why? Because they cost $5.
My Visor Deluxe was $250, plus $30 for a nice beltclippable Rhinoskin case. I've had it for a year and a half now...and you know why? Because I paid too damn much for it to accidentally leave it somewhere. When I first got it, I constantly checked for its presence on my person to make sure I hadn't lost my investment. Now that I've become very dependent on it, I still check for it so I can do things like jot down the model numbers of the routers at a customer site, or make a few notes to myself about things I need to do when I'm back at the office, or maybe write down the trouble ticket number the telco just gave me for that messed up frame relay line. It's now an integral part of my daily processes. Sure most of the things I use it for could be handled with a good notepad and datebook, but I'd lose those in 10 seconds flat.
"That's Tron. He fights for the Users."
Handspring was started by some of the original Palm engineers. They license the PalmOS from Palm. I'm sure that they would not share the cost with us. :-)
Perhaps Palm recognized that competition is good for the marketplace.
Floating face-down in a river of regret...and thoughts of you...
I don't know if it works with the IIIc. Certainly not with the hardware that comes with the kit, as the IIIc is much larger than the III.
/ in dex.html
The kit consists of a gizmo that fits into the memory expansion slot on the Palm III, and a plastic clamshell replacing the back of the III's case. The clamshell has a slot in the side to accept the CF card. There's a link to a review of the thing here:
http://www.geekvortex.f2s.com/reviews/colorcase
I'd paste the review to the expansion directly, but geekvortex absolutely SUCKS over slow connections.
You know, on further reflection, I'm not sure it's CF at all...it might be SmartMedia expansion cards...oh well. You'll look at it and see if it suits you. : )
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
--
Don't forget the enhanced calculator. That's right, you can set it to scientific. It's a pretty damn good replacement for many other calcs, and better than the freeware ones (if you hate RPN as much as I do).
-no broken link
The vanity. The arrogance.
The defensiveness! Just because you suck at writing, don't take it out on the poster. I always find it amazing that people who can't write worth a damn seem to need to imply that it's some sort of useless skill that you shouldn't be judged by.
There is no question that a lack of writing skills limits your effectiveness.
Instead of whining, why don't you take a few classes and learn to write? Your coworkers who have to read your pathetic specs, and your boss who can't trust you to respond to customer questions would surely appreciate it.
--
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
what was not mentioned was the amount of 3rd party hardware and software available for the palm. Tons more then for the revo. this is both consumer as well as developer software. If you are simply looking for a fast chip, the iPaq has a 206mhz ARM chip, tons of emulators, and other apps. True, you have to run a M$ OS, but they are getting a ton of traction these days....
Basing someone's skill as a programmer based on their grammatical abilities is idiotic. It's similar to basing physicist's ability on their physical appearance. Or a girl's personality on her looks.
And yes I've hired people. And yes they're not perfect, nor would I have wanted them to be perfect. If I sat around waiting for those types of people, I wouldn't have anybody working for me. I'd have drones. Can the people that make grammatical mistakes work well? Yes. Do they have personalities? Yes. Can they do the job? Yes. Will they fit the job? The only way to find out is to meet them. Are cover letters a good indicator into an employee's ability? No. To make as rash a judgement as that based on a cover letter is moronic. I know what a coverletter is. It's a BS statement filled with buzzwords and action verbs. They're a complete waste. You might as well believe Marketing material. In order to get a true understanding, you must meet the person. Ask them questions. Look at their examples. Give them problems to solve on the spot. Converse with them. So what if it wastes 30 minutes of your day. That's part of your job when you're responsible for hiring people. Where is the meticulousness you mentioned now?
Of course you could also just be a jerk and exercise your little bit of power over some nameless, faceless prospect. Crush his hopes. How dare he waste your time. Those idiots who end sentences with propositions. Sanitational Engineering is too good of a job for them!
I'm happy I do not work for someone as close-minded as you.
Huh? the m505 is due to be released next week.
Wanna see what it looks like?
Sony are also planning on releasing a new Clie in Japan today (no more information available yet)
It was also announced that the Handspring range will go on sale in Australia this week. They're being distributed & supported by Vodafone. Prices range from AUD$349 - AUD$1043, the Edge will cost AUD$899. There was an article in yesterdays's AustralianIT and there's a small article over at cnet today.
*** I am the real stylewagon
Actually the site wasn't down all of that time... I think it was just being jammed by all of the people looking at the new Edge. I was able to get to it yesterday (after they posted the Edge info). It was just really, really slow.
Just so everyone will know, the whole reason they chose to release the Edge yesterday is because I finally bought a Visor last week. Most companies seem to be watching for me to register their first generation product so that they can immediately release their next generation.
I'll take credit for that...I posted it! :-) It was the first time one of my attempts made it onto /. Thanks for catching that...I thought it was pretty clever. ;-)
There is no gravity...the earth just sucks.
Remember, son, when we bought you that Palm, we told you that you'd have to feed it and play with it every day. If you can't remember to take care if it nicely, we're just going to have to take it to the Palm pound, and we'll never buy you another pet again!
What disturbs me with pocket PCs is that M$ attempted to squeeze a desktop user interface into a PDA, while the Palm UI appears to be designed for just that.
It's sort of like some braindead marketers cooked up WAP, to give you the convenience of Web browsing on an eeny tiny display in black & white. I have yet to see a WAP service that a) works and b) adds some sort of value.
Further, I don't need features like color, the ability to play videaos or to listen to sound. I need (simple, almost primitive) software like Titrax to bill my customers and mangle the data into a perl script at the end of the month, which in turn mangles it into a nice, proper invoice.
I'm not slamming CE here, I'm just definitely not in their focus group.
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk
Um, it seems to me my now old school visor deluxe is also equipped with a backlight... RTFM.
So you're saying you wouldn't prefer the hot chick to a Palm?
--
Palms are still a few years out. They have severe memory restrictions. Once we get to 128M palms, we will be there. The applications will follow.
This is a great area to start boning up. They will be a hot item. I have seen some really good projects involving palms and analysing weather and insect data for growers. But the memory restrictions are holding them back.
If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem
I think flash is cool, but I think it's not very well applied. I *loved* the flash demo of this thing, what a great use. User controlled zooming, user controlled 3d rotation, and color swapping. That's just slick.
yadda
FYI red is only available from handspring.com
Cheers!
*** I am the real stylewagon
Well Duh.
Palm tried to make itself sexy by hiring Claudia Schiffer to promote it and releasing a special "Claudia" edition (a Vx with metalic blue faceplate)
I wonder which supermodel handspring will use?
*** I am the real stylewagon
kind of off topic but i hear even edge's mother calls him edge.. and the rest of hte band reffer to her as "mrs. edge"
I believe sex is highly over rated... unless it involves me
I bought a Vx about 3 months ago. I spent an extra $50 on a leather slip case. Then, after a static charge, the Vx destroyed my serial port, so I spent $50 on the serial-usb adapter, which still runs at serial speed.
The Visor Edge has USB syncing (yes, it is worth it- those avantgo web pages take too long to sync) and a nice flip cover (the leather case for my Vx doubles the thickness). My Palm Vx runs natively at 24mhz and I have it overclocked to 33mhz. There is an absolutely noticeable difference in responsiveness.
The Edge also has a little light that can be used to alert you. This is important after your Vx goes off in the middle of class and the prof chastises you!
The Visor Edge is a clear winner.
So.... anyone want to buy a Vx? I have one here for sale, excellent condition...
Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
With the exception that the visor is rechargable,
the Ebookman is a better unit, and quite a bit
cheaper. The 'high' end model runs about $230.
Franklins page doesnt give much technical detail
other than dimensions and memory, but some can
be found here
Jesus, don't they have separate development and production servers? Someone should teach these people how to update a website...
-- Yoz
thanks for the ego boost, Visor. sheesh
I mean..I'm right, right? You know what I'm talkin about. bah...
::goes to console himself with a cheeseburger and fries::
Found it. It's called an AxxPac, and it's SmartMedia, not compact flash. So I'm on drugs. : ) I know that the TRGPro (http://www.trgpro.com) accepts Compact Flash, but I don't know of any other way to do it.
http://www.ams-fl.com/axxpac/e_index.html
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Funny, I was thinking of U2 with pizza toppings. Did anyone else notice that "Bono" submitted "The Edge" article?
Well, I guess the story here is how thin the device is, not that there is yet another device out on the market.
Agree do me to, but maybe Hemos checking speller or/and proof reed before posting? Not maybe look idiot, than.
I was disagreeing with this post. It has since been modded down as flamebait.
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
and then I realize the Vx is actually smaller and thinniner and I realize, as many have before me, the story posting process is rather..uh...fnargled...
they put out the Palm m105, a model inferior to the Palm IIIxe, at a higher price
I'll agree with this. I have the Palm M100, which I chose over the Palm IIIe because of the newer software and the nice rounded shape.
I figured I have good eyes, the smaller screen doesn't matter. Unfortunately, whenever I see someone's non-m100 palm, I drool over the screen. So big. So much space.
For this reason, I can't recommend these small-screen models (m100 and I assume m105).
-Erik
The fairest way to measure that is to get the old harddrive from the 486, load it into the P2/333, and then do a crunvhing calculation that took a couple of minutes on the 486.
Most of the fill time is the User Interface bloat.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
I would probably venture to say Palm makes their money on the deal. That is to say, licensing fees for the design of the product itself, not to mention the software platform, are what gives Palm operating capital. Handspring is definitely not the only Palm licensee, just maybe one of the most visible. IMHO I can see Palm moving out of the direct hardware production business entirely and move to strictly software production and platform enhancement. This would still mean hardware would be developed, but the production sourced out to the licensees who might tweak the design for full-out performance.
Then again, this is just my opinion.
-----
I think I'll call this one Bob.
Live with Love for Love is Life. --mine.
-----
I think I'll call this one Bob.
Live with Love for Love is Life. --mine.
-----
Springboards I & II, which are aparrently incompatible
Memory sticks, for Sonys incarnation of the Palm platform
Palm, which doesn't really provide expansion, save for a keyboard, or a modem
Methinks, that if I'm in the business of building peripherals for the palm platform, I'd search for another field.
As much I love the Palm for it's simplicity and it's straightforwardness the concept of multiple, incompatible extension slots/ports is just damn stupid.
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk
I'm sure that the PalmOS license is at a sensible level for them both, and if you are going to have competition for handheld devices its better that a larger overall market share is running your OS.
Do you think Microsoft would have been better off if Windows 3 only worked on Microsoft hardware, or would OS/2 (or an early Linux, or SCO Unix, or whatever) have turned them into Apple?
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Seems there dae is a litle off... cert was signed last week. WHOOT
SPOON!!!
Yes, but whats that got to do with the price of tea in D'ni?
*QwkHyenA sits down*
Great! Broke another one!
I hope they make'm cheap! at this rate, I'll need 3 every week!
LFS. Have you built your system today?
the fact that this company reinvented the wheel
More specifically, they probably invented it in the first place. =)
Handspring was started by the original PalmOS designers who left when 3Com bought USRobotics.
WWJD? JWRTFM!!!
The Edge has an advantage over Deluxe or Platinum in that it's a lot smaller (Palm 5x size), and runs on rechargable internal batteries. Other than that, not much difference, but that will be enough for a lot of people.
Linux isnt supported by their software, big suprise. I don't think they realize the market they would expand to if the box just said "linux supported". It's incredibly hsrd to install some of the higher end palm applications on Palm OS as it is. Developers like to package their applications in self extracting zip files, with installer programs. I guess i'm pissed because I have to use a console program just to load avantgo. (fun).
No, I don't think you are missing anything at all. It is a Palm Vx, with a USB connector instead of a serial connector, a slightly faster processor, slightly enhanced apps (enhanced calculator woo!, and enhanced calendar). The Vx is smaller. The price is the same. So you basically pay for faster syncs and miniSpringboard. Until miniSpringboard devices appear there isn't much point of that unless you want to add a brick to your Visor. The stylus looks nice though. I will still get a GBA though, wait for a GBA keyboard, and some PIM software for it. Mostly game playing, with some PIM (todo, calendar, birthdays, notes) functions is all I need. COsts a lot less. Bigger screen. Colour. So what if the games are on cartridges, and the PIM stuff would be as well. About the same speed as well! Graham
- 2001-03-09 15:45:01 Palm m505 (aka "Palm Vc") to be Released March 19th (articles,pilot) (rejected)
Funny, that. Anyhow, here's the article that I originally linked to (with some Edge info as well).Alex Bischoff
---
Alex Bischoff
HTML/CSS coder for hire
For me, the main advantage of the Handspring products is the enhanced calendar app. It seems trivial, but integrating the To-Do list and allowing several new views is a really nice feature
The Visor includes both the Palm calendar app and Calendar+ (the Handspring version), and there just isn't any reason to use the original Palm app (other than some very slight slowdown on the larger views).
So, for those who think the Edge is roughly equivalent to the Palm Vx ... maybe the Calendar+ app will sway them... ;)
why don't you just clip $250 cash to your notepad, then you wouldn't lose it.
--
0x00
Nice clowns finish last.
"The Handspring Visor Edge(TM) is the thinnest, infinitely expandable handheld computer"
I don't suppose they have an even thinner, but finitely expandable handheld computer. (I'm assuming infinity requires a bit more space) I don't really need to store life, the universe, and everything, and I wouldn't mind saving another hundred bucks.
-----
D. Fischer
ShoutingMan.com
You seem to believe that Resumes and Cover letters should be written in the exact same way
that you would write anything else. Well, that's not correct. A Resume and cover letter is a test, It is proof to the employeer that you are capable of doing at least one thing with absolute precision, just like a math test should be proof that you are capable of at least doing those problems. You may not be able to do those problems on request off the top of your head, but at least with concentration, you should be able to do those problems again. It is a universal convention that resumes and cover letters should be as precise as possible. Therefore, not being error free on those items makes it appear that you would be unable to be precise, no matter how hard you tried.
Your analogy is bad. You're not comparing everything that a person did with perfection, you're comparing a persons BEST POSSIBLE WORK with perfection. If you make mistakes when precision is key, then you ARE sloppy. And I've had to deal with many subtle bugs that sloppy programmers left behind where their code didn't QUITE do what they thought it would do. No one said that they had to get it right the first time, but they obviously didn't double check their work, because the bugs remained in there for YEARS.
I don't understand where the classist argument comes in. Someone who is presently poor possibly has the same ability to be precise as someone who is well off. In fact, the poor person may actually be more precise because s/he gained more discipline in his/her upbringing. It is often not a matter of resources but a matter of attitude and discipline.
Now, this doesn't mean that I agree with all the grammar nazis on here. I don't expect that all of my posts here will be completely grammatically correct. As long as I am somewhat understandable, I'll be happy. That's because there is a different standard for Slashdot comments compared to Resumes and Cover Letters.
The sad thing is almost everything we run on our superfast new computers, other then the 3d games worked fine on a 486. A good example is that a Pentium 2 333 was not ten times faster in real life then a 486/33, excel to 2 seconds instead of 7 to load up, but during the actual work not much different. And I have a palm color and my 486/25 with 4 megs of ram could do a hell of a lot more. Palms are toys simply put, not a real computer, because if they were who would have a desktop or a lap top.
+5, funny
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk
A) I'd spend the cash eventually (grr...checkout line taking too long already...hey, I've got $250 in cash, I'll just pay cash and get out of here)
B) I wouldn't get the side benefit of games to play during boring meetings.
"That's Tron. He fights for the Users."
one small difference you didn't note; the Edge is roughly twice as fast. Not much call for extra processing power on your average diary app, but it might come in useful on some things.
Oh, and in my experience the IR port is much better on the Visor - the little learning remote app is really useful on basic Visor, while testing it with a Vx was a disaster.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Well, you can look at it that way, or you can look at it as Handspring finally coming out with an answer to the Palm V and Palm Vx, which are quite possibly Palm's sexiest models out there (though, when the Palm VIIx comes out in the Palm V case, the wireless will push it over the top). Handspring now has an alternative to their (in my opinion) rather ugly cases that they used in the past, allowing more buisiness type people to pick them up and use them (though I guess they weren't really stopped before).
Handspring is continuing their past trend and taking the old Palm model and giving it a kick in the ass. In this case, they bumped up the processor (which actually makes a good deal of difference) and added a few amenities to make it prettier to the end user.
The one thing that I've never been sure of is why Handspring chose the route that it did for expandability. Why didn't they choose the compact flash format rather than their format? I'm sure there is a good explanation, but right now it seems sort of silly that they would have their own proprietary format when they could vastly expand their compatibility if they would just have compact flash ability.
At dealcatcher.com do a search for staples.
Find the $40 off for purchase more than $200, and use the $50 rebate from Handspring...
Gawd, Palm seem to be creeping up on Handspring. The m100 is clearly better than the old Visor.
How do you figure that? The m100 is smaller than the original Visor but it also has a smaller screen. The Visor also has enhanced Datebook and Calculator apps in ROM and a Springboard slot. The m100 has changeable face plates. I'd say that they are both equivalent low end models with a different focus.
The Visor Deluxe needs a $50 rebate to look like it competes with the IIIxe. Sure, the Handspring devices use USB, not serial, which is nice, and include microphones, nice for quick voice memos I am sure, but in the end it just doesn't look comptetitive enough. You can't update the OS without installing a springbrick module, etc.
I have a Visor Deluxe and it competes quite nicely with the IIIxe, rebate or no rebate. As I mentioned before, it has enhanced Datebook and Calculator apps in ROM. I also find that the Visor fits more comfortably in my hand than Palm III machines and that its button have a better feel to them. And the Springboard modules are very useful, I can make a complete backup of my Visor anywhere with the Backup Module and the Flash Module gives me a machine with 16MB of memory.
Now the only thing that you don't get the details for is the speed of the processor. Handspring say that they use the latest PalmOS processor technology (you what?) and that everybody else doesn't - but the IIIc uses the 33MHz Dragonball just like the Prism, etc. Palms are flash upgradable as well.
The IIIc uses a 20MHz Dragonball EZ processor, while the Visor Prism, Platinum, and Edge use a 33MHz Dragonball VZ processor.
Someone care to ease my mind about Palm actually being better value than Handspring?
For me, the Springboard slot is what really makes Handspring a very good value. I have a Backup Module and two Flash Modules. The Backup Module gives me the peace of mind that I can always have an up to date backup of my Visor even if I can't get to my PC to sync. The Flash Modules allow me to have dictionaries, maps, a complete copy of the Bible in two languages, and numerous e-books at my disposal while still maintaining a large number of AvantGo channels and Usenet postings on my Visor and still have plenty of room left.
As far as upgrading the OS is concerned, I don't really worry about it too much. I upgraded my old Palm III from PalmOS 3.0 to 3.3 and only saw minor differences (Euro support, better IR). I have a Palm IIIc and a Visor Deluxe and the only feature from PalmOS 3.5 that I miss on my Visor is the ability to mask (instead of outright hide) private records. In exchange, I get a faster machine (Handspring does a better job than Palm when it comes to tweaking the PalmOS for speed) with tons of extra storage through Flash Modules. I'd say that's a fair trade.
Does this
Are normal? *Is* normal!
I think the original poster had it right. It's
rather than
And please no flames for diagramming instead of munging it all into a sentence.
--
"200 Quatloos on the newcomer!" "300 Quatloos against!"
Both Casio's E1XX Series & Compaq's iPaq and 2XXX Series use Industry Standard CF devices. There are far more CF devices available than 'SpringBoard' Modules.
SpringBoard modules are based on a proprietary interface. From what I understand Handspring will license or bless 3rd Party Modules. There is therefore less competition - less variety - and higher prices in "SpringBoard" modules vs. CF Cards.
I never understood why people were excited about SpringBoard modules - it sounds like 'Memory Stick' from Sony: An unnecessary proprietary interface who's sole purpose is to provide control and limit choice to the Proponents. Silly really.
That is an awful lot of money for what you get here. 8mb, .44" thick, and no color... $400... I would much rather a slightly larger machine w/more processing power (33mhz is slow) and more ram and upgrade capabilities...
.02
Just seems like an upgrade to nothing.
Just my worthless
Rich
------
"Could you, would you, with a goat?"
Rich
I like it, but already being an owner of Palm, I won't go out and buy one of these, unless the company is willing to expense it ;-)
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
I think Handspring would do well to offer a longer attachable Springboard slot for this, so it mounts flush onto the back of the unit and includes its own battery (yes, like the iPaq expansion sleeve). The eyemodule kills my Visor's battery in about two minutes. How long would an 802.11b springboard module be useful? Modules that solve the problem by including their own battery like the VisorPhone feel clunky. Those are the issues that affect the market I'm developing for. Sigh.
--
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
while i feel for you, i'd have to agree w/ the /. editors on the decision. when the m505 launches at cebit, i'm sure it'll hit the news. until now it's just a rumor.
for anyone really interested in all the latest, i've found the palminfocenter to be the best source of info. (pdabuzz, brighthand, and palmstation are some other good ones for ppl interested)
Nope, I didn't admit to that either.
But, I did admit to being an a$$hole, and you can't even admit to that. But, then again, who would care if you admit to it, becuase you're hiding behind being an AC.
--knick
I was looking around the site and ended up at the purchase screen. Up pops a "Certificate Expired" window telling me either their certificate is dead or my clock is mis-set. My clock is fine so what gives?
Competition is good. I'm glad PalmOS licenses are so popular (and available!). But so far Palm has the only CS department in this market that actually answers the phone. ("What? You cracked your screen? Poor baby. OK for $100 bucks plus your broken unit, we'll sell you a repaired unit. No, you don't have to send it in first.") Even if they were more expensive, I'd stick with them.
__________________
I won't even think about gettting a Visor until they fix the flashable ROM issue. I don't want to be stuck with the same OS for the life of the unit. Why hasn't this been fixed? I would think this would be a big issue for people in the know. I love the springboard concept, but come on Handspring!
Hanspring doesn't believe that the lack of flashable ROM is a problem and after using a Visor Deluxe for over a year alongside a Palm III and now a Palm IIIc, I tend to agree with them. There is only one feature in PalmOS 3.5 that I miss on my Visor, its ability to mask private records. Most of its other improvements could be duplicated on my Visor with third party software.
On the other hand, I always keep an 8MB Flash Module in my Visor's Springboard slot, so I can access the Noah dictionary as well as numerous DOC files and several large applications like Datebk4. Overall, I have 11.4MB of data and applications on a a machine that is only supposed to be able to hold 8MB -- there's plenty more storage space left to use up.
I have owned a Palm III, a Palm IIIc, and a Visor Deluxe. I upgraded the PIII's OS to version 3.3 once and there wasn't much new in it besides Euro support and some some minor bug fixes. The Visor already had Euro support and bugfixes can still be installed in RAM. PalmOS 3.5 brought color support and software improvements that, for the most part, could be duplicated on my Visor with software hacks. The truth is, that by the time the PalmOS has changed enough to make an OS upgrade necessary, rather than optional, the hardware will be obsolete anyway.
For me the Springboard concept trumps the lack of Flash ROM.
Does this
You can't, according to their web site. You must remove the folding cover to expose the edge connector for the springboard module. Hence the name for the Visor model, methinks.
I can't imagine the justification for dropping that much money for something that a $5 appointment book will do better. Aside from the geek-chic thing, I suppose.
And people why the economy's goin' to shit -- everyone's wasting their cash on useless crap like these things (well, ok, I'll admit, they are useful in so far as any sort of personal management doohickey is useful) that cost 10 times what they should, and then when they realize that they really shouldn't have thrown their money away, they uh, lose their confidence as consumers, and stockholding idiots freak in reaction to the confidence index drop of other idiots and for some reason it affects even the sane people, and that's what really bothers me.
I'll shut up now.
---
Gawd, Palm seem to be creeping up on Handspring. The m100 is clearly better than the old Visor. Maybe Handspring should update their low-end market? How about a 4MB device with the latest OS for $150?
The Visor Deluxe needs a $50 rebate to look like it competes with the IIIxe. Sure, the Handspring devices use USB, not serial, which is nice, and include microphones, nice for quick voice memos I am sure, but in the end it just doesn't look comptetitive enough. You can't update the OS without installing a springbrick module, etc.
The Clie looks more enticing than the Platinum, even though it costs $50 more. It is smaller, has some interesting looking apps, and also has its own proprietary memorystick expansion.
The Prism looks like it would compete with the Palm IIIc, but then you compare the prices - USB and a few more colours for an extra $120? Yeah, right.
Now the only thing that you don't get the details for is the speed of the processor. Handspring say that they use the latest PalmOS processor technology (you what?) and that everybody else doesn't - but the IIIc uses the 33MHz Dragonball just like the Prism, etc. Palms are flash upgradable as well.
Someone care to ease my mind about Palm actually being better value than Handspring?
Trust me - that 33MHz Dragonball makes a difference on your apps. I've got a Visor Platinum (same powerplant as the Edge, just a bulkier box) and it blows away a Palm Vx when I'm doing text searches on huge documents. The 33MHz unit takes about 6 seconds to do a search through >1500 (printed version) pages, while the 16MHz Vx takes 10-15 for the same search.
Tragically, though, it actually runs too fast for some of the games out there (i.e. try to turn left just a hair and you've spun halfway around by the time you can get your finger off the button). Oh, well.
-Phil
Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, will be quoted out of context on
You can no longer afford a $500 useless piece of plastic
--
Je t'aime Stéphanie
Incidentally, unless Visors have changed that much since their initial release, the microphone is only connected directly to the springboard slot and is inaccessable from the rest of the hardware within the device. In other words, the microphone is only useful in conjunction with a springboard.
I first owned a Palm 500, Palm 1000 (if I remember correctly that far back), a Palm V and now a Palm Vx. I simply love the Vx. All I can say is that Handspring's new offering is simply not competitive - I might have bought it if I did not already have a Vx. And I might think about buying one in the future if they double the memory and halve the price (or add color and price it at around $300).
These companies are still trying to make Mac like profit margins in a market that is rapidly being driven to PC like commodity level economics. It is only because the few current vendors of Palm devices participate in a de facto form of price fixing (they are all greedy) on their high end models that these damned things are still so expensive.
I can't wait until there is some *real* price competition in this market.
-josh
1. It doesn't use existing cradles. I purchased an extra cradle for my home when I purchased my VISOR. Handspring says I have to purchase another one now?!?!
2. At $399, Jumping up to one of the WinCE devices isn't going to be that much of leap. For myself, I'm going to wait for a Linux device. But for other people, the incentive to buy a WinCE device will be greater: Color, Multimedia, the MICROSOFT (tm) name.
The older Visors offer many of the benefits of the new Edge Visor without the price hike. Is $200 justified for more memory? Sure you also get an OS upgrade, but this is invisible to the average user. Over the past few years I've seen 2 classes of devices: The cheap (around $150-$200), but powerful Palms/Visors and the expensive WinCE devices. Anything in the middle usually includes wireless (like the Palm VII) and doesn't seem to be as popular. I don't see the real appeal of the Edge Visor as it doesn't seem to offer a decent performance for the price.
3. Wireless connectivity. Forget these stupid subscription services. I want to see REAL wireless networking. I want to see wireless TCP/IP capable devices NOW. I want to see these handheld companies team up with manufacturers of wireless hubs and access points and give me something I can use to connect to my building's wireless network. I'll worry about the ultimate connection to the internet. As long as I have a choice in the matter, I'll be able to negociate the best deal for ME.
USB and Springboard would be enough for me to choose the Edge over a Palm. USB syncs much faster. And the Springboard Backup Module is something I wouldn't want to give up.
you are the one who looks like the idiot. Sitting around waiting to complain about a humorous grammar check on a news for nerds site. This is not a news for complainers site. Or the Law Review. Do you read newspapers? Look how much gets complained about there. Does it matter? No. Why? Content is king. Start your own site. Call it complainerz.org and repost /. replies with all your petty complaints.
bp
Why do they do this? Yup, chasing the buck with proprietary "innovations".
.wav files which the HotSync won't transfer, but the Pro will play if they're on the CF card.)
I have had a Palm IIIx (only 4Mb) for a year and a half. The last 6 months or better I have been salivating for a TRGPro. Same specs as the Palm IIIxe (8Mb ram) but with a compact flash slot on the back. It's form factor is identical to the III series except for a 1mm raised area on the back to make room for the CF slot. The speaker is louder and it can do multifrequency sound.
This thing is wonderful. I got a 16 Mb CF card for it for $40.00. The CFBackup software that comes with the Pro allows a one tap backup of your ram as a monolithic file (a la Ghost). The CFPro software allows you to transfer files back and forth from ram to CF, and AutoCF allows the PalmOS to directly access apps or databases on the CF card transparently as if they were in the memory.
My next purchase is a USB CF card reader which I will plug into my old PowerMac 7600 and be able to transfer files directly to the CF card without having to sync them through the PalmOS (necessary for
The CF card uses DOS file structure and naming conventions (restrictions?) but I can live with that.
In addition to memory, the Pro is compatible with CF cards that provide modems, bar code wands, and even IBM's 1Gb Microdrive ($459, so I don't think I'll be getting one, but it's nice to know it can be done.) No GPS yet, but I'm sure someone will do it.
I didn't buy my Pro until I saw it in the local Sam's Club for $249. TRG's site had them at $329 forever, they have now dropped to $299.
In short, there is another option from the memory sticks, Springboards, etc.
I recommend the TRGPro highly.
War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. - George Orwell or George Bush?
Now all we need is a Visor Edge that comes in color. And don't these things get lost easyer when they are smaller? I bet you wouldn't loose your car keys if they where as big as my Visor Deluxe. Oh well, obla de obla da.
-Grant
|grant.henninger.name|
Available colors Metallic Silver, Metallic Red and Metallic Blue
OK, so it doesn't come in Apple, Grape, Strawberry, Blueberry...oh, wait, wrong overpriced artsy toy. Sorry. But it does have color.
From the 1st paragraph:
"the thinnest, infinitely expandable handheld computer"
"organizer with endless expansion possibilities."
Cool! Can I turn it into a pony?
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Well, I must say that I'm impressed with the Visor Edge. But I really think it has been released a bit too late (for me at least).
I've had a PalmVx for about a year and a half now. Mine was one of the first ones that do not have the PalmVx logo on the front, but the PalmV, and came with PalmOS 3.3. Check it out on the net, it really is one of the first ones that came out...
The reason why I'm writing this to prove that it took Visor more than a year to catch up with the Palm. And now Palm is planning to move to ARM processors, which are a lot faster than the Motorola ones (200Mhz ARM vs 20Mhz Dragonball I think). It will also mean that all (or at least a large number) of the apps written for OS 3.x will not work on the next verion.
So why buy the Visor Edge? I'll stick with my Vx untill something significantly better comes along.
Palm IIIxe's for $150?? I might have to wander over to Best Buy this Friday. What's Palm doing for their m105 promotion?
Between the Edge and the Vx, I'd probably pick the Edge..IMHO, it looks better.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
This app is just a licensed version of DateBk3 or DateBk4. Noting is keeping a Palm owner from purchasing this app.
Comments which have been thoughtfully written and given a 5-second review are the ones which I take more seriously.
A 6-second review would have let you notice you lack of commas.
Comments, which have been thoughtfully written and given a 5-second review, are the ones which I take more seriously.
Based on your own rules, I am ignoring the rest of your message.
--knick
Check out: http://www.handspring.co.uk
you will find it on that site for the price of
£280 plus VAT. You can even order it online there.
I guess once it finds its way to the streets the price may be around 280 including VAT.
If M$ is the solution, can we have the problem back?
I've got a Palm III and IIIxe. Great stuff; got a Kodak Palmpix camera for quick digital pictures. Couldn't live without one of these things. Well, life wouldn't be as fun anyway.
But Palm has come out with four incompatible hardware lines: Pilot/5000, III/VII, V/Vx, and M100/105 series. Cradles are different, expansion devices like modems are different. Who are they kidding? All they've done is shoot themselves in the foot.
Now Handspring is coming out with one great product after another, all using the same cradles and expansion boards. Is there any reason to buy a Palm anymore?
--
it's = "it is"; its = possessive. E.g., it's flapping its wings.
The lack of a blinking light has been a tremendous drawback to the Palm design from the beginning. Now, with "Das Blinkenlights", you can program the thing to hypnotize the moron across from you on the bus into doing your bidding.
Yum
That being said, of course Visor Edge is playing catch-up -- in case anyone hasn't noticed, the Palm Vx has been Palm's best-selling model, largely because Handspring has no comparable model. Handspring is making a good business move by putting out an essentially equivalent model with a flashy design, which nearly guarantees that they'll capture at least a piece of the Palm Vx market.
I know you were only commenting on the model itself and not Handspring or Palm, but I just have to point out that Palm's new marketting strategy is absolutely absurd -- they put out the Palm m105, a model inferior to the Palm IIIxe, at a higher price, with a flashy appearance and an extensive advertising campaign. And it'll work, too.
That being said, I prefer Handspring to Palm in general, mostly because I've always been rooting for the underdog. But when Best Buy started selling Palm IIIxe's this week for a mere $150, I went out and bought it. I'm appalled by Palm's promotion of the m105, but everything boils down to money.
-- Imagine how much more advanced our technology would be if we had eight fingers per hand.
A real question that should be on their fake FAQ is "Can you use the flip cover AND the springboard adapter at the same time?"
And then you read about the Palm m500 and m505 and it just makes you think that Visor is really gettings its butt kicked.
The Palm m500 will cost the same as the Visor Edge. It has an expansion port for SD-card devices (a standard if ever there is one for small form factor expansion slots), and it has Palm OS 4.
If you want colour, pay $50 more and get the m505 with a superior sidelit screen.
So why buy the edge when you can buy the m500?
A backlight. My mom's $99.00 Wizard has one of those, and it's incredibly useful,
since it lets you continue to SEE the screen, even in poor light.
'bout friggin' time.
I might be pretty daft, but it looks and feels like a Palm Vx for the prize of a Vx. Ok, the flash LED is cool, but else? Maybe I'm missing something here...
---
For a real millenial disaster, computer glitches cannot hold a candle to global warming.
For a real millenial disaster, computer glitches cannot hold a candle to global warming.
(New Scientist)
Apparently you've never driven faster than the posted speed limit. Or never spilled milk. Or never tripped. Or never miscalculated an expression. Or never received less than perfect on a test.
Maybe the individual whose resume you summarily disgarded made that mistake intentionally. Maybe he put errors in his resume so jerk bosses like you would throw his resume out before hiring him. Behavior like this is childish. I'm sure the programmer is doubly happy now that he wasn't hired by you.
I'm sure you also weed out applicants from inferior universities. If they were any good, they would have gone to a better school, right? Nevermind the fact that they might not have been able to afford better.
Have any of the programmers whose resumes contained no mistakes ever made a mistake programming? I doubt the answer to that question is "no." Mistakes do not equate to sloppiness. Otherwise you can kiss about half of the inventions that make our lives better goodbye.
Lastly, try not to take your shortcomings out on others. You are far from perfect. Try showing some mercy next time.
Yet, this new "Edge" is simply not that much better .... here is a link to a handspring hosted comparison table. It shows that the Vx is smaller and lighter. Where the Edge is better is only because it has the latest software (which can be upgraded on the Vx anyway), has a microphone, the "springboard" (which I have never seen used...) and has a blinking light ... ;-)
Really, Visor Edge is playing catch up still.
.. if only.
If you put 7 of these bad boys together, do you get to make a wish?
--
Peace,
Lord Omlette
ICQ# 77863057
[o]_O
This looks really cool, as it solves my main complaint about my Visor. With a complete lack of springboard plugins that I'd want to buy I don't like having a thick bulky box when compared to my mates Palm Vx ones. People will pay good money to have the slightly smaller, cooler looking model - just look at mobile phone sales.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Now what's that thingy made of, aluminum? Doesn't matter too much. The specs are one thing -- they're as good as a Palm device needs to be (which is still nothing special, but the beauty of the platform has always been its ability to milk hardware that the more upmarket of its competitors would consider marginal). The alarm light is pretty cool as well, though I have issues with the outboard Springboard board.
What bothers me about it is that it seems to be such a plain and obvious ripoff of the new wave of titanium portables (i.e. Apple and IBM). At least as it looks online, it doesn't even seem to be a particularly slick ripoff; it doesn't even begin to compete with the Palm V for elegance, for example (just IMHO).
I've always thought Handspring's big virtue was cheap, expandable hardware. The Edge certainly manages to carry on the expandable tradition, but I've never thought too highly of Handspring's industrial design. This tradition carries on as well (sadly).
/Brian
So. Every time I see the icon I think back to the Pilot 1000 that I used to use. It is a good warm feeling. The same one I get when thinking of the many hours I spent hacking assembly code on my Apple II+...
I won't even think about gettting a Visor until they fix the flashable ROM issue. I don't want to be stuck with the same OS for the life of the unit. Why hasn't this been fixed? I would think this would be a big issue for people in the know. I love the springboard concept, but come on Handspring!
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
I respectfully disagree. I just read an article on K5 which I totally agree with.
In a nutshell, sloppy writing tends to indicate sloppy thinking. This leads to disorganized thoughts being put down in a barely coherent manner. Comments which have been thoughtfully written and given a 5-second review are the ones which I take more seriously.
Likewise, when I'm hiring somebody, I toss their cover letter and resume in the can if I catch a mistake. Why, you ask, would I care about spelling and grammar for a programming position? Because if they didn't take the time to check their work then I feel that they will produce sloppy results if I hire them. The one time I relaxed this requirement of mine I was quickly proven right.
I didn't even care so much that their own writing was so sloppy. They could just as easily have taken the effort to have it corrected by somebody else and would have, and then their resume wouldn't be in my fine paper recycling box, but instead perhaps in the "interview" pile. That they didn't know how to spell is of no consequence. I only cared that they take the time to do it right, and perhaps get the resources they need to do that. That way I know they'll make an excellent programmer.
Let's face it. Nobody is going to understand you or take you seriously if you can't get your thoughts across in writing. Content can only be king if people can read it.
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
The flashback for me is that this compares to the 486 desktops when they were shipping consumer desktop models some years ago.
One has got to ask what will they be like when they get to have the power of todays' low end desktops in 5 to ten years?
Let's face it, when the 486/33 was king, if you told people that gigahertz machines with dozens of gigabytes of storage would be commonplace, who would have beleived you? or imagined that it would be like it ?
So my flight of fancy for today is to imagine what one of these would be like when they have todays desktop PCs.
Wooo - head rush!
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
It has lousy graphics, but I can still play "LodeRunner" or other classic x86 games on it during boring meetings. It's not quite as small as a regular Palm, let alone a Palm Vx, but I've still managed to carry it with me all over the world for the past 4 years. It takes standard AA batteries, so I'm never far from a power source, and it'll last me for 3-4 weeks between battery changes.
When they come out with a palm device that at least equals this one for usability, then I'll consider the upgrade, but I haven't seen one yet.
If the 200LX ran Linux and was backlit, I wouldn't even be thinking about an upgrade. Where are the Palm devices for the geeks?!
Help find a cure for Gidget.
Handspring had a chance to leap ahead here and grab some market share from Palm. All they had to do was make it sexy and increase the spec by, say, 30%.
I have a Palm V and I would be tempted away if the Edge had a significantly higher spec or was about $150 cheaper.
Give us a cool-yet-useless built-in laser pointer. How about a headphone jack and a memory pack to have mp3 capability? Give me the ability to hold the speaker up to a phone and tone-dial numbers from my address book...
Without sexy features to match the sexy design, you can forget that $400 price tag.
Asikaa
Asikaa
Come in, twenty-seventy-seventy, your time is up.
Would it be difficult to get a Free (beer) working version of the PalmOS' API for Linux?
...
I mean, can someone do the same to the PalmOS' API that the (incredible) people of WINE is doing to the Windows one?
Imagine if you can run all the PalmOS programs w/o having to pay for the OS
Read your Strunk and White. The lack of commas in the line you quoted from the original post is marginally correct, though the sentence construction is awkward at best. Your use of commas, on the other hand, is incorrect.
A decent (though not perfect) rule of thumb is to read the sentence without the phrase that would be bracketed by commas. If it makes sense, then the comma usage is correct.
IANAET
I'd rather have the colour of the Prism. That plus an Minstrel modem with OmniSky, and PalmVNC, I can connect to my linux box from anywhere, and have the nice rich full colour of my KDE desktop.
-no broken link
wtf, no color model? bah! and watch, as soon as i decide to purchase the eixting color model, an "edge" version will be available.
"True refinement seeks simplicity."
But what are the other advantages? Reading the site it looks roughly comparable to a Palm V and costs as much as a Palm VIIx, but without the built in wireless. I suppose the new form factor is more convenient, but for the same price I'd rather have the Palm VIIx's wireless internet.
How does Palm allow them to exist, does Handspring pay a lot for the licence?
But the device is cool looking. I still perfer the pen and paper.
hmm... for fun I enjoy launching DDoS attacks against 127.87.42.5
I know it's Amazon, but it's interesting
After compareing these the Handspring to the Palm, I'm left shocked and amazed. Not in this engineering marvel, but the fact that this company reinvented the wheel; or more specifically, the Palm V(x).
Flashing lights and expantions slot are great bells and whistles, but other than that, I see no major differences.
It's the same size as a Palm V. They don't tell the screen size but it seems to be the same as the V. So what you get is a Vx that will take Springboards, has a metal flipcover and a USB cradle. Both the Vx and the Edge are us$ 399.
Another thing that could be interesting is the battery life, I wonder how it compare with the Vx.
--
TC - My Photos..
Today, Palm announced that they were introducing a new model. Breaking with their current naming traditions, they decided to call the new model "Bono".
U2 can have one, for the low low price of $399.
Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
33Mhz is slow for what ???
Certainly it's fast enough for the Palm OS and it's apps, I have a Palm Vx which has less processing power and it seems "fast enough" for me.
- sigs are for wimps.
Soon there are no palms that look like that anymore...
Sorry, I just couldn't resist the bad joke.
Anyway, I'm sure that they thought it was some sort of wacky promotional thing to make people wait for the site to open, unless they didn't want the world DDOSing the front page with refresh requests until the news was up.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
does it run linux?..
Does anyone know when this baby will be available in the UK, and what the pricing will be??
Live today. Tomorrow will cost a lot more!