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| Product: Visor |
Company: Handspring |
| Web: www.handspring.com |
Phone: 650-230-5000 |
| Platform: PC or Mac w/USB |
Retail: US$180, $250 (Deluxe)
Street Price: same |
Cred Rating: | Special Award: |
Handspring's PalmPilot clone, the Visor, has created a monster buzz online and a shipping backlog for the new company. The Visor is not just any Palm clone, but one created by the original architects of the PalmPilot. They wanted to create a PDA that used the popular Palm OS, was "infinitely" expandable through plug-in expansion cards and was cheaper than Palm Computing's products.
The basic Visor sells for a very reasonable price, has 2MB of RAM and comes in one color (graphite, a.k.a. black). The Visor Deluxe has 8MB of RAM and is available in five different colors. Both models use the Palm OS, come with the typical Palm apps (address book, calendar, notepad, etc), use the Graffiti text input software, have Palm-compatible infrared, and have a non-CompactFlash-compatible expansion slot that can accept modems, game cards, pagers, memory and backup cards. So far, only a Tiger Woods golf game and memory/backup cards are available. The 36.6 Visor modem (US$130) should be available any day now (if it isn't already).
The Visor looks and feels a lot like the PalmPilot and is clearly geared towards bringing in late adopters who are looking for even greater ease-of- use and a lower price point (think of it as the iMac of PDAs). The plug-in cards require no special drivers and launch as soon as they're plugged in (like a game cartridge). Set-up of the Visor software for syncing with your desktop computer and the docking cradle are a snap. And good news for Mac fans, this is one PDA that comes with Mac connectivity right out of the box (though you do need third party software for email and expense syncing to your desktop apps).
As much as there is to love about the Visor and its populist mission, there are a few snags:
- There have been many grumblings about availability. Handspring has been toppled with the demand for product.
- The plug-in cards are not the CompactFlash standard (or any other standard). Handspring claims that their new Springboard spec is superior to CF and they've made the specs and support freely available to developers. (Gee, that's big of them.)
- There's a built-in microphone, but no headphone jack and no audio out of any kind (what's up with that?). I can only assume that the mic will be used in Springboard add-ons.
- The Visor comes with USB as the standard interface. If you want serial connectivity (on either a PC or Mac), you need to buy a special cradle for $30.
- And maybe I'm just being picky, but I don't like the case nearly as much as the Palm's. It looks kind of cheap and the plastic ridges on the sides are not very comfortable in your hand.
Still, given the low price, out of box experience, upgradability and access to hundreds of existing Palm OS programs, the Visor likely has a very bright future. That is, if they don't "pull an Apple" and fall down on the fulfillment end. As Chairman Jobs is fond of saying: "Real artists ship!"
- Gareth Branwyn [11/8/99]
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