VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- Reality Check - Springboard Modules are a bust (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=8470)

OK. Let's admit it.. the springboard module concept is a bust. It's been a year and lots of vapor-modules have been announced but very, very few have shipped. There's a total of 14 that I count for sale today, half of these are either books or modules available since the Visor's intro.

The two items I 'lusted' for most in October 1999 were an MP3 player and a GPS module. A year later, only one MP3 has just begin shipping, and it's overpriced for what they deliver. $269 for an MP3 playing plugin? That makes the Visor Deluxe a $520 64mb non-expandable MP3 player. WHAT?!? I can get a stand alone unit for a fraction of that with more expandabilty. There may be a few bleeding edgers with sinkhole bank accounts that fall for it, but not me. I don't need a single integrated (and poorly) product that bad. I'll use my PDA for what it's good for and my MP3 player for it's strengths. Maybe if it was around $100 - which I don't think any module should be over.

The MP3 fiasco is just the warning sign. A GPS module makes more sense for the Visor and yet we've not seen a shipping product though they were announced at the beginning of 2000. These seem to be priced more reasonably than the handheld GPS, but I think this Christmas I'd be more likely to see Santa with a handheld GPS than a Springboard GPS module.

The other announced modules sound interesting (airport, bluetooth, etc) but I'm not holding my breath. I believe the economics of developing and selling to such a specialized (read small) market is what's really behind the delays and lack of any real number of shipping modules. Throw in some development problems and it adds up to no real springboard modules - ever. Maybe if Palm adds it (yeah right) it will reach critical mass. Right now, it's nowhere near that and I'm doubting that it ever will be.

I still think the Visor Deluxe is a great deal for the money, but I'm through waiting for or recommending others on its expandability. I'm also still lusting for the Palm V form factor. With the springboard modules a non factor now, I think I'll switch to the smaller, cooler form. And I can surf wireless from it today.

Thanks. I feel better. Well, not really. Maybe if there were some shipping affordable valuable modules, yes, then I'd feel better.

Thoughts? Am I drunk, stupid and way off base with no clue? Or just too impatient in Internet time?

Peace,

-Gary

Total agreement

All that has been done is a competitor to the pilot. I do have a cool blue visor that is great. But thats all there is, I'm not going to pay near 300 bucks just for a phone mod. The idea of a multipurpose pda was a great idea; however, it has not to come to pass. And don't say wait for them, they will come. That line was used in movie and it failed to meet expectations too.

But the hoards will scream in protest, and they will man the battlements. But the the fact remains the same. ITS A PALM PILOT within a colored case. no more only less.

Screw the mods and enjoy the visor for it is a copy of a palm. Hell you can't even update the os. God bless us one and all because MS hasnt figure that part out.

[Edited by edhensley on 10-04-2000 at 11:32 PM]

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Originally posted by gleatherman
OK. Let's admit it.. the springboard module concept is a bust. It's been a year and lots of vapor-modules have been announced but very, very few have shipped.

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

I previously had a Palm III. I liked it a lot, but it didn't have enough memory. I also had a problem one time where it ended up getting a hard reset and it took quite a while to get it restored to its previous state, even though I backed it up regularly.

I now own a Graphite Visor Deluxe with two springboard modules: a backup module and an Innopak/2V.

I am very happy with my Visor and the modules. I love being able to get a complete backup of my Visor that is easy to restore from, unlike the standard Hotsynch restore. It's also nice being able to backup my Visor when I'm away from my computer. I also really like the vibrating alarm in the Innopak. I hate being bothered by other people's cellphones, etc.

My only complaint so far is that I'd prefer an Innopak/2V with more memory.

I think the springboard has worked for a lot of people. I doubt I'll be buying any modules that cost more than my Visor, but I never really planned to.

I COMPLETELY agree with GLeatherman. I have been a very vocal complainer about being dupped. The promise of springboards is why I bought two VDx's. Specifically I was interested in GPS and the 6-pack. Well, the HandyGPS has shipped sort-of, but I believe about 75% of those don't work. The 6-pack, well, we all know the VaporGear story...

Anyway, I thought the perspective he presented was right on target. The market is a niche, and with the currectly pissed off customer base, I think most SB manufacturers will stop development or at least put it on hold. Furthermore, I believe that Innogear is the PRIMARY reason folks are so pissed off about available springboards. The company promisses, fails to deliver as promissed, then charges WAY TOO MUCH!

That's my $.02 worth...

__________________
Visor Enthusiast and Innogear/Geodiscovery basher.

Re: Total agreement

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Originally posted by edhensley
All that has been done is a competitor to the pilot. I do have a cool blue visor that is great. ITS A PALM PILOT within a colored case. no more only less.

Screw the mods and enjoy the visor for it is a copy of a palm. Hell you can't even update the os.
[Edited by edhensley on 10-04-2000 at 11:32 PM]

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__________________
Jeff

I guess the DVD player is a bust too since in 1998 there weren't that many titles for it. /sarcasm

I agree with dkessler in that companies are going for the "cool" springboards when they need to release "killer" springboards like memory storage and connectors (serial, usb, etc) to make a killing.

Right now, there are few modules that appeal to all users. Hopefully module makers will make less-glamorous modules soon.

__________________
James Hromadka
Old Friend

Re: Re: Total agreement

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Originally posted by PDAENVY

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Originally posted by edhensley
All that has been done is a competitor to the pilot. I do have a cool blue visor that is great. ITS A PALM PILOT within a colored case. no more only less.

Screw the mods and enjoy the visor for it is a copy of a palm. Hell you can't even update the os.
[Edited by edhensley on 10-04-2000 at 11:32 PM]

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I can't agree. The backup module alone makes a distinction with Palm products. As for the OS, true you can't flash it, but I don't know of anything that a new OS can do that there isn't a hack for.

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Broke down and bought my first springboard

And it wasn't an MP3 player, or a pager, or a modem or anything else that costs $100+. I just bought the Innopak/2V (vibrating alarm with 2 MB memory). Didn't really want to discuss this springboard in particular, but I just wanted to point out that I bought it because it fufills the ideals of what I thought of when I first heard of the springboard idea: it's cheap (i.e. under $100), it fufills a need (more memory AND no more alarms going off in class), and it doesn't change the Visor's form (i.e. not sticking out of the expansion slot.)

I agree with a lot of the posters here that point out the new springboards coming out are not really piquing my interest. A $250+ MP3 player that's either not expandable or slow in loading and not currently configured to play non-MP3 material? bought a Diamond Rio 500 MP3 player for $200 with a coupon from Buy.com, and there's even a $50 rebate on top of that; that means $150 for a 64MB MP3 player that's USB ready, and can play audible content. Or a phone module for over the same price? I have personally bought individual components because they were cheaper and because they were separate (i.e. didn't lose the ability to use the others in case my Visor died or became incapacitated). I I also have a Nextel i1000+ phone that is web-ready. While I admit the screen is inadequate for anything other than text, the phone does allow me to log into my yahoo account (which I sync with my visor) and look up names to directly call or email. While I'm missing out on a VisorPhone's ability to write via graphitti and to display simple graphics, my phone makes up for this fact by the fact that it IS a phone, and shaped like one. And don't let me get started on the $150 camera add-on fiasco. For only $300, I got a digital camera that feels like a camera, accepts its own memory expansion, and takes much higher resolution pics (1.3 megapix); it even has a flash!

I guess I could go on and on about how springboard developers should take price and advantage over standalones in design of their springboards (looks like I already have.) My point is that they shouldn't just assume that most of us consumers will pay a premium just to plug it into our Visor.

Having said that, I am anxiously awaiting a wireless network adapter springboard for my visor, esp if our school puts in the wireless network. But, I think that's my point, people will pay for boards that truly expand the functionality of their visor, not just replace and save space on another device.

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Originally posted by JHromadka
I guess the DVD player is a bust too since in 1998 there weren't that many titles for it. /sarcasm

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Originally posted by JJR

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Originally posted by JHromadka
I guess the DVD player is a bust too since in 1998 there weren't that many titles for it. /sarcasm

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{...}
A better comparison for the Handspring would be DIVX - a fresh novel concept, with a ton of potential. However, DIVX died out after the initial hype and buzz, due to the fact that it was overpriced and wasn't widely accepted.
{...}

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Originally posted by JJR

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Originally posted by JHromadka
I guess the DVD player is a bust too since in 1998 there weren't that many titles for it. /sarcasm

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A better comparison for the Handspring would be DIVX - a fresh novel concept, with a ton of potential. However, DIVX died out after the initial hype and buzz, due to the fact that it was overpriced and wasn't widely accepted.


[Edited by JJR on 10-05-2000 at 09:46 AM]

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Originally posted by gleatherman
[1- No module should cost more than $100.

2- It should expand the functionality of the PDA basic tenants.

3- Networking and wireless modem modules would be a priority in this newly networked world.

Please add to my meager list!

Peace,

-g. [/B]

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Originally posted by edhensley
A network diag tool mod would be nice.

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Originally posted by gleatherman
OK. Let's admit it.. the springboard module concept is a bust. It's been a year and lots of vapor-modules have been announced but very, very few have shipped. There's a total of 14 that I count for sale today, half of these are either books or modules available since the Visor's intro.

(snipped)

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Originally posted by Toby

Ummm...people are complaining about the costs of cellphone mods and mp3 mods, and you think they're going to put out a network diag mod when a good standalone will run you in the $1000s?

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Agree, SB very well may (should) end up as a 'bust'. Too costly and with debatable usefulness. Perhaps they should be sold strictly by 'TOYS-R-US'. Afterall the only difference between men and boys is the Co$t of their toys.

Also (and I don't mean it as a personal attack), I'm soooo tired of hearing these SB's described as "Cool, Way Cool, Sexy, Bleeding Edge, etc.). It would refreshing to hear descriptives such as "usefull, functional, cost effective, needed)

[Edited by RJT on 10-05-2000 at 02:37 PM]

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Originally posted by edhensley
Doesnt need to be a full blown fluke tester, but that would be easier to justify spending $$ than tiger woods golf or an MP3 player.

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Plus you could build say several mods that perform different network testing functions. SO you could buy different level of network mods that cost a 100 each and build up from there.

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Originally posted by Toby



I'd be curious where there exists and single function device that cheap. Even simple cable testers usually run a couple hundred IME. That'd be believable in a SB size, but I'm not sure if they could meet the sub-$100 mark.

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Originally posted by edhensley
Well in under 15 minutes I've found a cable test for 50 to 65.

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A multi-network cable tester with tone generator for 67.

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Try the internet its a wonderfull tool.

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A simple ping program and few bells and there you go.

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