VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Visor & Deluxe (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)
-- The Handspring SmartHand (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=218)

What would you have called it? I like Visor plus the little story behind it. Now, Smarthand is a little cheesy.

I agree. Visor isn't too bad. And yes, Smarthand does sound cheesy. Although not quite so bad as those for Windows CE devices.

I've always liked the name for IBM's Palm...the WorkPad!

Hello folks, ever heard of the PC hardware industry? Ever heard of Intel? Announce a Pentium III this month with 400 mhz, and then turn around and sell a 450, 500, 550 every other month after that. I mean GET real, technological advances happen and they are sold incrementally. The marketing folks thrive on this because they know that there is a certain group out there who ALWAYS has to have the best technology available.

At least with the Palm OS, backward compatiblity is largely available so that you don't have to upgrade your software and your device every year. At least not yet, but hopefully bloatware will never evolve on the handheld platforms like it has on the PC.

Seriously, you know how the market works, the only way they keep you interested in a platform is by evolving it on a regular basis. HS makes much more money if they have 2-3 revenue events/year (i.e. new device releases) rather than one. I'm sorry but I feel no compassion for folks who ***** because they bought a device today and a new device comes out 3-4 months later.

If you're that upset then do what I've done, hold on to the device you've got (a Palm III), use it for what you bought it for, and then when real changes evolve that you MUST have, buy a new one. Personally, I'm waiting for the Handspring version of the Palm V. That should become available about 6 months from now and it fits quite nicely with my upgrade schedule of every 18 months since I bought my III a year ago.

Amen Jackal!

handsprung,

you mentioned some story behind the visor name. I just got into the pda scene after hearing about visors around mid sept. kind of interested to know that little "story" that you mentioned

The Visor was named by one of Hawkins' kids, who suggested "Advisor", which got shortened to "Visor". I've read this in a couple of different places, including an interview of Hawkins himself. It might even be true.

Jeff Hawkins' (original creator of the Palm computer) daughter thought up the name "Advisor" and it was shortened to "Visor". Thats probably not the whole story but thats the basics of it...

bearpaw -> ya beat me to it

As for the name "WorkPad" for IBM's unit, I don't know why they didn't use "ThinkPad". My Dad worked at IBM for 25 some years and he would always be carrying around these little brown notepads that said "ThinkPad" on the cover. They were about the size of a Palm V. I believe one of the founders or maybe the founder of IBM had a motto/saying of "Think".



[This message has been edited by handsprung (edited 10-07-1999).]

IBM's ThinkPad notebooks are great. I recently purchased a Gateway SOLO 2500se. It's nice, but it's NOOOOO ThinkPad!

That would be because IBM's laptop line already uses the "ThinkPad" name.

-- Wizard

My dad worked at IBM for about 30 years (they give nice pensions!) and he has a butt load of gear that says "Think" on it. Pads, mugs, pens, you name it.

Achillies, I don't think my earlier statement is shortsighted at all. I totally agree with you that people have always been able to better products, and yes the next one will be better. I was trying to offer counterpoint to the "Oh my lord, Handspring wouldn't dare.." reaction that everyone had. The one you get now will work just the same as the new one. Usually with multiple versions that come out like this, without a technology break all they do is shrink the size. Jackal's post has some relevence, but I am not sure if it works with PDA's. Yes, intel jacks the MHz on thier chips all the time, but the first pentium looks almost like the most recent one, it just works faster. Does the same things. The only noticeble change to the user is speed, not a different machine with different capabilities.

For those of you who still doubt the existance of the SmartHand. Check out this qoute on PalmStation web site from the Senior Product Manager for the Visor:

"There will be no visors shipping with a Flash upgradable OS, they will all come with OS3.1. There will be a device in the near future that will have OS4.0".

Told ya' soo!

Marketing better get control over these guys. Pre-announcing (or even discussing) when your still dealing with an undelivered product is suicide (except for us technogeeks who have jumped on the first batch).

You pre-announce to clobber the other guys product, not choke your own.

I really do wonder what are the other three products that Hawkins had been talking about in his interviews. Maybe one of them is the Smarthand. Just thinking about it makes me regret wanting the visor, should wait for the new products to come out.

btw - I think IBM should rename "ThinkPad" and "WorkPad" it works better if they reverse them.

I have to agree w/Jackal...I bought a Dell desktop computer last November, and not more than 3 months later the system had dropped a couple hundred $$ and the components seemed to be, shall we say, "dated."

The point is, the PC/PDA/Electronics world is fast-paced (duh!)...the best we can do -- unless your last name is Gates or Ellison -- is to buy something we like that is useful and expandable...then try to stretch its functionality out as far as possible until we "just gotta have the new ________."

(BTW, it's called "Geekitis" or "Gadgetitis" in some circles! )

Stepping off the soapbox,
Chuck

While the Tech world is fast paced, I think all we have to do is look at how Palm has conducted its improvements and new products to see a sample of a good way to advance a product line and not alienate a customer base.

Intially, the 1000 and 5000 came out. Followed by and upgrade path to more ram (1 meg) and OS 2.0. Then Professional and Personal (backlighting) come out ~nine months later. Followed by the III (IR, better design, flip cover) and OS 3.0 and and upgrade path for all the other Palms already on board. Then more of a deversification to other users outside the original set.

IIIx - power users with expandibility
IIIe - more consumer price oriented users/ students
V - Fashion, sleek cool design
VII - wireless connectivity

And above all I can beam from my upgraded 1000 to a V with no problem at all.

I know everyone here knows the story, but Palm really took care of the early adopters (rare in the industry). Lets hope that handspring, trys to do the same.

jonpod

I hope that they will, too...I would think that that would be the case, since the same folks who used to run the show at 3Com/Palm started Handspring. But we'll see.

Chuck

I believe that this new unit will be a well-executed color version of the visor with built-in wireless capability carefully timed to build market-share momentum for Handspring.

I must admit that I am torn. Just introduced to the PDA realm three weeks ago I order a Visor Deluxe with the idea that I am getting a more powerful product @ a better cost. Now PIIIx is less than $220 in some places and its OS is upgradeable, what is a novice PDA guy to do?

Get a Visor Deluxe! Faster than a Palm IIIx, more memory and supports Springboards. Simple choice really.

-Eric

Whatever it's called, I think that by the end of next year, Handspring will introduce a model to compete with the Vx.

The Visor and VD seem designed to attract IIIe and IIIx buyers. Palm users who want the thinner, sexier model are purchasing the new Vx.