VisorCentral.com - Handspring, You are not what you used to be.

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-- Handspring, You are not what you used to be. (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=17621)

Posted by acajigas on 08-16-2001 05:31 AM:

Handspring, You are not what you used to be.

I've just read the following on CNET:

One device will replace the $199 Handspring Visor Deluxe, and the other will be the successor to the $249 Visor Platinum. Both of the new handhelds will offer minor improvements to the existing units, such as faster processors and more memory.

Handspring, What are you guys thinking about? What happened to all that Marketing strategy? All those professional people that are behind this young company. You guys mean that 8 more MB of RAM and 10 or so more MHz on a CPU will make this company stand in front of Palm, Sony and the Pocket PCs? Nah... If this is the case you guys have to think things over. We are in year 2001 not back in 1999 where having more RAM was a great idea and expandability was revolutionary for PDAs. On these days there are a lot of Memory options like the MemPlug and the InnoPocket, which make Visor users have no need for more RAM.

This is what most if not all of us were expecting: A nice slimmer high resolution color device. Not like the edge, but something close to the shape of the VDX. It doesn't have to be that thin, but of course much thinner than the Prism. A metallic body will be great. And please DO NOT get rid of the Springboard slot or do not implement a separate adapter.

Also, we need to have rechargeable lithium batteries that can hold a bright color screen for at least 5 hours of continuos use.

THIS IS WHAT WE WANT...! we don't want to leave you Handspring but you are forcing us..!

Al

__________________
It all started way back in February 2000 with a Blue VDX.

Posted by dick-richardson on 08-16-2001 05:45 AM:

Re: Handspring, You are not what you used to be.

quote:
Originally posted by acajigas Handspring, What are you guys thinking about? What happened to all that Marketing strategy? All those professional people that are behind this young company. [/b]

I'm not blindly defending HS, but I think they definitely needed to revamp their current line-up before advancing. They stuck themselves good by not upgrading, and they're now forced into a position where they need to clean it up.

quote:
You guys mean that 8 more MB of RAM and 10 or so more MHz on a CPU will make this company stand in front of Palm, Sony and the Pocket PCs? Nah... If this is the case you guys have to think things over. We are in year 2001 not back in 1999 where having more RAM was a great idea and expandability was revolutionary for PDAs. On these days there are a lot of Memory options like the MemPlug and the InnoPocket, which make Visor users have no need for more RAM.

So you can use the memplug and another springboard at the same time, or have some guy add more internal memory w/o voiding the warranty? HS has pushed PDA MHz and memory more than any other company, and those are 2 of the 3 areas the Palm OS hasn't been able to compare - on paper - to the competition (the 3rd being screen resolution).

quote:
This is what most if not all of us were expecting: A nice slimmer high resolution color device. Not like the edge, but something close to the shape of the VDX. It doesn't have to be that thin, but of course much thinner than the Prism. A metallic body will be great. And please do not get rid of the Springboard slot or do not implement a separate adapter.

Also, we need to have rechargeable lithium batteries that can hold a bright color screen for at least 5 hours of continuos use.

THIS IS WHAT WE WANT...! we don't want to leave you Handspring but you are forcing us..!

Al

You're really jumping the gun on this one. They haven't even been announced yet, and regardless of what they announce, if anything, on Mon, there's always more in the works when it comes to HS. I do agree that an external adapter is not a good idea. I, personally, would like a couple more of their devices to sport the edge connector to get more developer acceptance, but I honestly have to say it would be in their best interest to kill it off.

__________________
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Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by thorin on 08-16-2001 11:39 AM:

maybe, but are competing device reeaaallly a much better value?

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Posted by grilla on 08-16-2001 01:28 PM:

innovation

the new toshiba with linux that comes out in about two months is the only device that even looks worth waiting for. the pda market is stagnant, and palm and handspring are the worst.

Posted by septimus on 08-16-2001 02:01 PM:

listen, the devices that HS has in the wings are going to be competitive, the VDX is already competitive with the upcoming m125, so I'm not concerned. I'm also not concerned about the fact that they're midrange, they gotta put out midrange devices sometime. The problem people seem to have is that this is the first time that HS hasn't really tried to outdo itself, it went from Solo/Deluxe to Platinum to Prism to Edge, with new innovations & a steeper price with each iteration. Now they need to go back to the basics (hasn't HS always excelled at the midrange?).

From their hints and innuendos, they're working on high end, don't worry. My question:

How will the HS wireless visor stack up against the m(i)700?

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Posted by yardie on 08-16-2001 02:53 PM:

Willing to bet

I am willing to bet that these two new as-yet-officially-announced models are just a stop gap. HS mid-range line needs revamping. The Deluxe is still their best selling unit and it is now old, outdated and slow. People will get excited about the new Visor at the $199 price. With 16 MB on the PRO, people will also get excited about that as well. Memory is one of the biggest things for PDA users these days...just do a search for Memory on the boards to see what I am talking about.

I think the real treat for us Visor Fanatics will be in the Fall when new color and wireless units are released.

Posted by Techie2000 on 08-16-2001 10:47 PM:

I concur.

Posted by autocode1 on 08-17-2001 05:24 AM:

What's the fixation on native wireless capability for the Visor?
I have my SprintPCS phone with me at all times and simple cable
connects it to the visor's charging jack for 14.4kbps internet
access. As SprintPCS updates their networks, this speed will
increase. Buying a PDA with native wireless capability is like
buying a TV/VCR combo; it locks you in to mediocre varieties of
both. Better to get the best PDA and best phone and hook them
together. Then you can upgrade independently.

Posted by dick-richardson on 08-17-2001 06:02 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by autocode1 Buying a PDA with native wireless capability is like buying a TV/VCR combo;[/B]

Or an iMac?

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by thorin on 08-17-2001 10:01 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by autocode1
Buying a PDA with native wireless capability is like
buying a TV/VCR combo;

if you had to carry your tv and vcr around with you all the time.

Posted by ubik on 08-17-2001 12:24 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by autocode1
What's the fixation on native wireless capability for the Visor?
I have my SprintPCS phone with me at all times and simple cable
connects it to the visor's charging jack for 14.4kbps internet
access. As SprintPCS updates their networks, this speed will
increase. Buying a PDA with native wireless capability is like
buying a TV/VCR combo; it locks you in to mediocre varieties of
both. Better to get the best PDA and best phone and hook them
together. Then you can upgrade independently.

For me the biggest issue is always-on connectivity. I don't want to have to dial in and check if I have any messages, I want to be told when I have an email, and be able to respond immediately. At this point cell networks are so crowded in the US, that cell phones are little more than portable answering machines, so I need a way that people can be sure to get hold of me quickly, without having to call me multiple times leaving repeated voicemails because I happen to be in a building with too much metal. This is the appeal of something like Blackberry. However, I have a lot of PalmOS software, and a few springboard modules, so what I would really like is the functionality of a Blackberry on a Handspring platform.

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Posted by D ev R ay 4Real on 08-21-2001 02:13 AM:

I think Handspring is still a great company. Their most innovative machine was the Deluxe, but every PDA they have came out with has been top-notch, and i wouldn't worry about them.

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Posted by Keefer Lucas on 08-21-2001 03:47 AM:

The Natives are Wireless and Restless

quote:
Originally posted by autocode1
What's the fixation on native wireless capability for the Visor?
I have my SprintPCS phone with me at all times and simple cable
connects it to the visor's charging jack for 14.4kbps internet
access.

And have you not noticed how much the Internet sucks at 14.4kbps?

If the synch cradle doubles (yes, in true TV/VCR combo fashion) as a Wi-Fi antenna with a 500' radius we will have true broadband access in the palm of our hands. Forget that Memplug; as long as you are in the same building as your synch cradle (or get this....someone else's synch cradle) you have instant access to your desktop, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Bigger isn't always better, but faster is.

Posted by John Cholewa on 08-22-2001 05:00 PM:

> Forget that Memplug

Unfortunately, there is no software that allows you to run prc files directly off of computers on the 802.11b ("wi-fi") network or directly view images and PalmDocs and movie files and such. MemPlug supports this. Additionally, MemPlug can transfer data in real world scenarios at one megabit per second. The 802.11b is *rated* at 11 megabits per second, but we don't know what that translates to in terms of real world performance. Additionally, you can walk fifty feet and your 802.11b connection may suddenly drop down to 1mbit peak (and much lower average DTR??)! With memplug, you always have that fastish connection.

For that matter, the only 802.11b solution for the Visor is a Springboard module, not a cradle (there is a wired ethernet solution which is a cradle, but it pisses me off that it doesn't support my Prism!). And it costs $300. Comparatively, a MemPlug with 128MB storage card costs about a hundred bucks.

Interestingly, I'm finding myself drawn towards the Handera 330 PDA. The lack of colour is a turn off, though. The battery setup (4AAA, I think?) is a bit of a downer, but I can pretty easily get around that problem). The nice thing about it is that you can use a wireless modem (the Minstrel III) and either Compact Flash or SecureDigital/MMC memory all at the same time, which I'm finding to be something that I'd really like. Additionally, of course, the Jog Wheel, Aux button, extra resolution, and speakers that don't suck Myrdraal balls (like the one on the Visor family) help to make it more attractive to me. ^_^

-JC
http://www.jc-news.com/

Posted by Keefer Lucas on 08-30-2001 02:58 AM:

What will be will be.

quote:
Originally posted by John Cholewa
> Forget that Memplug

For that matter, the only 802.11b solution for the Visor is a Springboard module, not a cradle (there is a wired ethernet solution which is a cradle, but it pisses me off that it doesn't support my Prism!). And it costs $300. Comparatively, a MemPlug with 128MB storage card costs about a hundred bucks.

Ah but you missed my point in its virtual entirety. We aren't talking about this month mind you. I am talking wireless integrated into the unit; not a module. And the cradle would double as the necessary transmitter/receiver. Lost within the ridicule of the Xirom module's $299 pricing is the fact you still need a wireless hub (another $175) to connect to your computer. In my scenario you would get it all "out of the box".

I was fondling an iPaq at Staples today and I noticed that their 801.1 module was only $149. Bastards.

Posted by laird on 08-31-2001 02:34 AM:

Come on people...

True, the Handspring family would benefit from connectivity but they do not seem to have a clear idea how to get there. There's the GSM phone but until AT&T deploys a GSM network, lack of coverage is common as you travel which means you get to carry two phones. CDPD is another bill and kinda pricey at that for the speed you get. Two way paging networks are expensive to use by the byte. Bluetooth is stalled or dead thanks to Intel. 802.11 is pretty cool but power consumption is a concern.

In a better world, we would all have mobile phones with bluetooth. Handspring would integrate bluetooth and without cable, our visors could detect the cell, make the call, and get the data. Low power, cheap and small parts.

Grrr... but here we sit with cables because Intel sabotaged the Bluetooth standard efforts trying to make it into the 802.11b killer that it was never designed to be. Thank you very much.

Alan

Posted by Keefer Lucas on 09-01-2001 01:30 AM:

A Horse With No Range

I'm not sure that Bluetooth, with its 6 meter range, has the potential to provide the killer connectivity we've all been looking for. I've always considered bluetooth to mean "personal wireless", 801.1 to be "office wireless" and the various pager and cell protocols to be "wide area wireless". I'm not even sure that the standard to bridge this triumverate of coverages (at a minimum constant 11Mbps) is on the horizon.

And with their anemic market cap and hemoraging cash flow Handspring is poorly positioned to drive innovation at this point.

Posted by nwzmn on 09-01-2001 05:26 PM:

Sounds to me like the rumors of these being "replacements" was a little off. It looks to me like HS is trying to tap a different market, seeing as how there are no springboard slots on the Treo.

Maybe they know something about user needs that we haven't guessed... that there are very different segments of potential PDA users out there, and not all are willing to pay a premium for expandability.

Posted by EJSHUMAK on 09-02-2001 05:19 AM:

2 Points

1) -- If you look at other threads here -- specifically the < Best Buy to Stop Carrying Visor Deluxe> It seems these(treo) may be new directions as opposed to direct replacements.

2) Bluetooth is now not expected to be a "dominant protocol" if you look at nerws on this site and others -- even based on the assertions of its own developers.

Posted by thewitt on 09-04-2001 03:24 PM:

The people who thought that Bluetooth would be the dominant wireless technology were not paying attention.

Bluetooth was never intended to be anything other than a short range protocol, and it's limitations are significant. It is a great low power PAN enabler, however it would never fly beyond that.

People who treat technology with recless abandon are now realizing that and writing about it. Bluetooth engineers have know this all along.

802.11g will be the dominant player in the wireless LAN market for some time, and the 3G cellular services will most likely dominate the broader wireless market - but the jury is still out in this space. It will take coordination between Europe, Japan and the US in order to finally determine the winner here.

-t

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