VisorCentral.com - Visor Neo and Pro to be announced Monday

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Visor Neo & Visor Pro (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=36)
-- Visor Neo and Pro to be announced Monday (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=18281)

Posted by ILikeDatabases on 09-14-2001 05:55 PM:

Reality Check

I think it is time for everyone to step back into reality.

I don't think you would be happy with a 2"x3" 32bit color VGA screen with 128MB of memory, that is only 5mm thick, weighs 2oz, has built in wireless (802.11b and Bluetooth and Cellular) and is voice operated with a 90 day rechargeable battery for $199.

You would wine that it didn't have a built in DVD player or something else. GROW UP!

Handspring and Palm are trying to build devices to sell to the masses. If they can sell tens of thousands of these new devices the design was good. Most people don't need color, it is just an overpriced gimick.

I bought a Handera 330 because of the high resolution and virtual grafitti. I also liked the dual memory expansion among other features. The screen should be implemented on ANY new Palm OS handheld released next year. It is far superior to any other.

If you think there needs to be more innovation in the Palm OS hardware community then why don't you use your personal R&D departments to come up with one?

Posted by foo fighter on 09-14-2001 06:13 PM:

Re: Reality Check

quote:
Originally posted by ILikeDatabases
Most people don't need color, it is just an overpriced gimick.

No offense, but that has to be one of the most ignorant statements I have ever read. Whether or not most people "need" color, to trivialize color as an "overpriced gimmick" is very shortsighted.

In its most practical use, color offers something your monochrome displays never will...true black on white backgrounds. We call grayscale screens "black and white", but they are in fact black on pea green. That's hardly something I would want to stare at day after day. I switched to color long ago, and I'll never go back. It makes the experience much richer than simply black text on murky green hues.

Overpriced? Maybe, but its much more than a gimmick.

quote:
I bought a Handera 330 because of the high resolution and virtual grafitti...The screen should be implemented on ANY new Palm OS handheld released next year. It is far superior to any other.

Hmm...you can see the value and use for higher resolutions screens, yet you see no practical need for color? Fair enough.

quote:
If you think there needs to be more innovation in the Palm OS hardware community then why don't you use your personal R&D departments to come up with one?

In a highly competitive market, every company needs to be innovative. that's how the business world works. If I have to use "my own personal R&D department", that means Palm and Handspring's R&D isn't doing their job. Besides, if SONY and Handera can offer truly innovative features, certainly Palm and HS can meet the challenge.

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Posted by Tyrone Slothrop on 09-14-2001 07:29 PM:

The visorcentral article about this also mentions a new $59.99 16 MB flash module. Is this price a typo? That's about half the price of the Hagiwara 16 MB module.

Posted by bd24340 on 09-14-2001 07:43 PM:

some questions

quick questions?
Does the platinum currently use the same cradle as the deluxe?
Does the platinum work with the keyboards designed for the deluxe?
WIll the pro work with the delux keyboards (stowaway)?

Posted by potter on 09-14-2001 07:49 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
The visorcentral article about this also mentions a new $59.99 16 MB flash module. Is this price a typo?

I was thinking it might be a description typo. Instead of being a 16MB flash module, it might be a 16MB Backup module. That would sound about right seeing that the current 8MB Backup module is $39.95.

Posted by ricojrossi on 09-14-2001 08:09 PM:

GUYS DONT KNOCK IT UNTIL YOU SEE IT. I HAVE HAD MY PLAT AND PRISM UPGRADED TO 16 MEGS OF RAM. IF THIS HAS A BETTER MICROPHONE I WILL BUY IT - THE ONE ON THE PRISM AND PLATINIUM MAKE USING MY VISOR PHONE DIFFICULT..

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Posted by mensachicken on 09-14-2001 08:10 PM:

Re: some questions

quote:
Originally posted by bd24340
quick questions?
Does the platinum currently use the same cradle as the deluxe?
Does the platinum work with the keyboards designed for the deluxe?
WIll the pro work with the delux keyboards (stowaway)?

the plat uses the same cradle as the deluxe. the plat works with the same keyboard.

dunno about the pro.

mc

Posted by bookrats on 09-14-2001 08:11 PM:

Re: Re: Its OS3.5!

quote:
Originally posted by yardie
What would be the point of having Palm OS 4 on a Visor?

VFS support, mainly. (Particularly for a Visor, which can have all sorts of secondary storage Springboard modules.)

__________________
Jeff Meyer

"And he died like he lived: with his mouth wide open."

Posted by JHromadka on 09-14-2001 08:27 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
The visorcentral article about this also mentions a new $59.99 16 MB flash module. Is this price a typo? That's about half the price of the Hagiwara 16 MB module.

That's the price from the press release.

I see these models as replacements for the Visor Deluxe and Visor Platinum, and expect to see those models phased out soon. Not something necessarilly for those that already have a Visor, but to a new user they do offer very nice features. That said, I still need a replacement for my Prism.

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Old Friend

Posted by bookrats on 09-14-2001 08:32 PM:

16MB module == Backup Module?

Perhaps the 16MB Handspring module is a backup-only module? That would explain the lower price.

__________________
Jeff Meyer

"And he died like he lived: with his mouth wide open."

Posted by bradhaak on 09-14-2001 08:32 PM:

Re: Re: Its OS3.5!

quote:
Originally posted by yardie
What would be the point of having Palm OS 4 on a Visor?

OS4 also gives the Notification Manager, timezone / location support, VCard, VCal, and the telephony manager.

A number of these features are APIs that developers will expose in their applications. It will be the same as 16 grayscale apps on the Visor Deluxe. A few apps will go to the trouble of implementing full versions for older OSs, but most developers will just say that users with the old OSs just don't get the features.

Posted by Athena on 09-14-2001 08:33 PM:

I don't particularly care about color, I was hoping for a rechargeable replacement for my Deluxe. What am I missing about the Neo? Why isn't it rechargeable too?

Posted by NightVisor on 09-14-2001 08:43 PM:

VFS Helper

VFS Helper is a (still-in-beta) driver that allows Virtual File System aware programs (usually written for OS 4) to see/use external memory solutions like Compact Flash modules as native memory on a Visor.

That's the quick and dirty whatsit, for more detail go to Kopsis Engineering http://www.kopsisengineering.com and hang out at the Flashadapter-Forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flashadapter-forum

You have to register Kopsis Engineering's FAFileMover software ($10) to have access to the beta VFS Helper. You'll also need some patience as this is beta software and there are bugs to work out. But in spite of that, that fact that I now have a 40MB Visor has tickled me PINK!!!!

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You know when you have been around computers for too long...you dream in digital.

Posted by ILikeDatabases on 09-14-2001 10:01 PM:

Re: Re: Reality Check

quote:
Originally posted by foo fighter

No offense, but that has to be one of the most ignorant statements I have ever read. Whether or not most people "need" color, to trivialize color as an "overpriced gimmick" is very shortsighted.

In its most practical use, color offers something your monochrome displays never will...true black on white backgrounds. We call grayscale screens "black and white", but they are in fact black on pea green. That's hardly something I would want to stare at day after day. I switched to color long ago, and I'll never go back. It makes the experience much richer than simply black text on murky green hues.

Overpriced? Maybe, but its much more than a gimmick.

Color is necessary on the PocketPCs because the OS was designed for color but the Palm OS was designed for monochrome. When the Palm OS is redesigned with color in mind then that may change. I will be looking for a screen combining color with QVGA.

Until color can be implemented with a lower cost and lower power consumption I find it lacking. I can see color being useful if you are playing games or taking pictures but don't see how it would provide an improvement in the average application that justifies the cost and battery life. I find the higher resolution much more useful than the color for day to day use.

I thought the Clie looked fantastic but the size of the screen holds back the benefits of the color and resolution. I think the Prism and M505 look blocky and are hard on my eyes after using my Handera.

As for the R&D part, My point is that they must design devices that they can sell at a price reasonable enough to sell large quantities. The wish list I see everyone building with their comments is well beyond these criteria.

Posted by miradu on 09-14-2001 11:04 PM:

Jsut a quick thing about the 16 mb flash/backup thingie..

At bestbuy it apperas that the backup module is being discontinued ($38.70 on clearance, and .70 at bestbuy is a sign for a dead project)

Handspring might be hoping to sell a multi function device - 1 $60 item that will backup and be 8 mb flash for those neo users, and 1 $60 device that will backup, or be 16 mb flash for hte pro users. Just a thought.

__________________
-miradu

Posted by robert sibell on 09-14-2001 11:30 PM:

IM GOING TO GO CRAZY!! I AM SLOWLY GOING CRAZY 123456 SWITCH, CRAZY GOING SLOWLY AM I 654321 SWITCH!

i cant decide from color or not. at fist i decided i didnt need color and was fucosed on the platinum as me next device for 2 months. until i saw fish tank terror with red on white i was amazed. i decided with color the backlight wouldnt be crummy like on grayscale devices. so now i want color. but now with the new devices im going crazy. the only thing keeping me sane right know is the fact i believe handspring will release a very much better color device with all the new features this december or january. i mean at 30$ at month or more alowance(decides on if more people want us to mow their yards) its only 7 months more till i get to $400 unless i decide to want all cash for christmas. so a color devise that i want that i hope in under $400 i could afford

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Posted by argent on 09-14-2001 11:46 PM:

Why rechargables in the Pro?

I understand why the Prism has rechargables... it needs them for the color screen. I am utterly befuddled as to why the Pro needs them. It's just a Platinum with more RAM otherwise.

Or was that a typo?

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Posted by mrjoec on 09-14-2001 11:52 PM:

I still can't figure out why people would actually prefer NOT to have a Li-ion rechargable. The biggest beef I've always had with my deluxe is having to constantly change sets of Ni-MH AAAs.

If you top the thing off daily, or even once or twice a week if you're an average user, you'll never have to worry about batteries again.

There's a reason why cell phones, laptops, and even now most digital cameras have rechargeables.

I think it's high time that all PDAs were rechargeable.

__________________
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www.mrjoec.com

Posted by mnartker on 09-14-2001 11:56 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by ricojrossi
GUYS DONT KNOCK IT UNTIL YOU SEE IT. I HAVE HAD MY PLAT AND PRISM UPGRADED TO 16 MEGS OF RAM. IF THIS HAS A BETTER MICROPHONE I WILL BUY IT - THE ONE ON THE PRISM AND PLATINIUM MAKE USING MY VISOR PHONE DIFFICULT..

Huh? Who said anything about a better microphone? Pop some rechargables in your 16 meg Platinum and you'll have a Pro.

Posted by argent on 09-15-2001 12:01 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by mrjoec
I still can't figure out why people would actually prefer NOT to have a Li-ion rechargable.

I didn't make any judgement as to the desirability of LiIon batteries, I'm just trying to figure out why the Pro has them and the Neo doesn't. The only thing I can figure is there's going to be a Prism Pro (Chrome?) with color, and they're trying to keep the model line simpler.

__________________
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