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-- new generation of "springboard modules" (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=24834)

new generation of "springboard modules"

I was origanally attracted to the handspring products because of the expandability provided by the springboard slot. I was wondering if any of the new PDA's coming out have similar expandability?

Strange Tanks

There are sort of three answers to this...

1.) The Springboard is a unique design that no one else has emulated to its fullest extent.

2.) Handera, Sony, and Palm offer built-in memory expansion slots (using Compact Flash, memory Sticks, and Secure Digital/MultiMedia Cards respectively). The majority of modules purchased by Handspring owners involved memory, so this takes care of about 80-90% of the module market.

3.) Some manufacturers are coming out with 'modules' based on the exansion memory cards- bluetooth memory sticks, the Sony Memory Stick Camera, etc. I have heard about- but do not know anything about- GPS and more built onto or into memory cards.

Besides memory card-based devices, many other PDA makers offer some sort of 'sled' or cradle that allows other uses- Palm offered several such options and Sony has a modem 'sled'. The new Sonys offer built-in MP3 and/or digital cameras, and many of the older Sonys can handle cameras in the MS slot and MP3 through the hot-sync connector.

So the answer sort of depends on what you are trying to do.

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Re: new generation of "springboard modules"

quote:

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Originally posted by strangetanks
I was origanally attracted to the handspring products because of the expandability provided by the springboard slot. I was wondering if any of the new PDA's coming out have similar expandability?

Strange Tanks

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Margi now offers a Presenter-to-Go module that uses the SD slot of the m125 through m515 as well as the i705. They also have a CF version for the Handera. Here is a link with the specifics.

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From a technical standpoint, CompactFlash can do almost everything Springboard can. The only things it doesn't support are on-board plug-and-play driver software (which was a nice Springboard idea but it ties the card to a specific CPU and OS) and an "open" form-factor. The open form factor was also a nice Springboard idea "on paper" but in reality, going beyond the standard size module caused incompatibility with aftermarket carrying cases and made users much less likely to accept the module. CF gets around the form-factor constraints by adding "blobs" onto the end of the card. Not quite as elegant as the Visor's open-back solution, but equally effective (and problematic).

Unfortunately, all PalmOS device makers except Handera have rejected CF because of size and power requirements. CF is much more common in PocketPC and Linux based handhelds. CF cards exist for memory, wired ethernet, Bluetooth, 802.11, modems, GPRS, serial ports, etc. Granted I've seen no "personal massager" CF cards - but I'm not sure that's a bad thing You're also unlikely to find anyone developing MP3 CF cards since the majority of PDAs that take CF can already handle multimedia internally. But the CF interface would "support" the development of such devices just as the Springboard slot did.

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<ul><li>Dave Kessler<br>President - Kopsis, Inc.</li></ul>

There are also MANY SD "module" in the works
there is a GPS, mp3 player, modem, bluetooth, memory(of course), just to name a few. it looks as though SD is going to be the future. but tr�o doesnt have SDIO.
oh well
later
-alex