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-- 2 MB enough? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=791)

Hi there,

since I�m a student, I�m always short on money and so I went with the standard Visor. Now I�m concerned if the 2 MB memory will be enough. I�m planning to use the normal stuff like calendar, address book, to-do list, some games and maybe ebooks. So what do you guys think, will my Visor be full soon?
I can�t use apps that are bigger than 2 MB, right?

Thanks, DrPepper

Student here too;

I think the 2 megs would be enough (maybe more) for regular use. 8 megs is a great convenience and great for the heavy user.

Here's my list i plan to put in my Visor:
Normal Apps: 200 kb
Avantgo: 700 kb
E-mails, todo's, etc. 600 kb

That's about 1.5 megs with some room to spare. But since i'm not a Visor owner yet don't take my advice very seriously

-------
28 more days to go...(hopefully)

Before I got my VDx, I had a 2MB Palm III. It was ok for doing "the basic stuff", but I find that with 8MB I'm able to use the Visor to do stuff that the Palm III would never have been able to do (large databases, etc).

If all you're worried about is using the built-in apps and a few ebooks and games, you should be ok for a year or two. Games are generally small. Textx *can* be large, but for the most part you should be alright as long as you don't try to carry the Library of Congress or half the Gutenberg Project with you.

You might even have enough room for a few Avantgo channels.

I'm a student as well, and I don't think 2MB is enough.

If you think about it, the extra money for the deluxe is more economical in the long run. The author of the first post mentions doing basic stuff, and some e-book reading as well.

I'm using 47% of my 8MB and I have 3 e-books, the entire bible, and 1/2 MB of AvantGo pages cached. If I only loaded one e-book, or the bible, at a time, I could probably fit within 2MB. I just don't see how I could work without the extra space.

Just something to think about.

[This message has been edited by wrp (edited 12-19-1999).]

For the students,
If your budget is tight you can go with the 2 meg unit. This will give you a nice machine to do the standard PDA stuff with and will allow you to save your money for the next generation of Visor to come.

If your budget isn't a concern buy the 8 meg unit and you will be able to add all the things you may not really need, but will use once and a while.

If I were a student I would go with the 2 meg unit.

Just remember that the Visor Solo doesn't come with a cradle.

I've found the 2MB Visor to be adequate -- and the memory limitations help keep me vigilant in terms of loading only the things that prove useful. (ie, I haven't gone nuts with AvantGo, but have 6 small channels that provide useful daily information, like weather & movie times.)

I decided to go with the basic unit because adding the 8MB expansion springboard (if/when necessary) will bring the total cost up to that of a VDx, and I'll end up two extra MB (10 vs 8) than if I had spent the money up-front.

See http://www.handspring.com/products/mmemory.asp for info on the 8MB module -- it's $79.95

[This message has been edited by BadAstronaut (edited 12-20-1999).]

So I can simply buy the 8 MB backup springboard module if I need more memory? That would be cool.

DrPepper:

The backup module and the expansion module are different units. You can't run apps directly from the backup module, while the expansion module doesn't have handy one-touch transfer from Visor memory -> Springboard.

2 Mb RAM + 8 Mb backup = 2 Mb. The backup module is for backup plain and simple.

2 Mb RAM + 8 Mb flash doesn't really equal 10 Mb RAM. You cannot do all the same things with flash that you can do with "real" RAM.

Visor Deluxe (includes cradle): $250
Visor Solo + cradle + flash = $260.

If money is tight and you don't need lots of memory, get the Solo + cradle. If you DO think you need more memory, then just get a Deluxe. Read some of the other threads. It's interesting how others are complaining about their 16 Mb Deluxe's.

Actually, you would need the 8MB 'flash memory' springboard, not the 'back-up' springboard. But yes, this would expand the Visor's memory to 10MB, sort of...see threads in springboard section relating to incompatibility issues with certain programs.


tyler

Wow, these boards are active! I pushed <respond> to clarify on the 'backup' -v- 'flash' issue, and by the time I submitted my comments two people had already made the same clarification. Now I look like the dolt who has to make the same point for the third post in a row!

tyler