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- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- Advantage of springboards? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=11985)

I need some re-inforcement on the advantage of springboards. I own a Prism, and chose Handspring largely for the springboards. Now I see that many of the accessories provided by springoards, are also available to Palms (GPS, digital camera, backup modules, voice recorder, cell-phone, wireless modem, barcode scanners).

Are there applications of springboards that will never be possible through the hot-sync port of a Palm? Other advantages?

Tough call.
I, too, have been pretty amazed at the innovation of all the products that have sprung up around Palm since HS' debut.
On the one hand, I guess theoretically it's possible to cry conspiracy -- on the other, you'd have to doubt any of them, at the top of the biz., is just gonna lie down & roll over & play dead for the rest; it's prob. just "tough comp." (as M$ always asserts).
Speaking of M$, they just barely got their butts in gear w/3.0 of 'CE ... if it wasn't a hit, who knows how many wasted billions that would've been. (They just cut their now-famous $400/MSN deal to all vendors ... because it was just breaking the bank, after 200,000 users accepted the deal, I read.)
Now the wireless world becons -- & Palm has sworn to get it all done by the end of the yr.
Word is the new M505 (color V) should sport a MMC/SD slot, maybe 16 bit color.
I just saw (I forget where) a color Sony Clie on a Web page selling for $629 (I think) -- and I can see them getting it, from the execs. w/the V or Vx model now.
Can they "really" jam a camera &/or MP3 player into a MemStick &/or MMC/SD?
They've pulled off their little miracles before....

I've taken to saying:
It's prob. a testament to each "doing their job well" if even the power users among us walk around all day every day wondering if we got the "right" PDA, if we should switch, wondering what's around the corner, etc.
Yeah, it's agony for us....
But you've gotta admit they're doin' their jobs well....

Springboards offer a few advantages over the Palm that make them more attractive, though I'm not sure if they're enough to really convince anyone Springboard is better.

1. Drivers on the card make it plug & play + saves space
2. Springboard slot is faster so its possible to, for example, use the screen as a view finder thats constantly updated for the EyeModule. The Palm camera can not do this.
3. You can access any memory on flash springboards directly unlike Palm solutions that require you to move it over before using it.
4. The form factor is better because many modules add nothing to size. Yes, you can have a super slim Palm V but if you add a modem to it, it is practically the same size as a Visor/Palm III.

With OS 4.0 and the SD cards we're going to see the difference narrow to very little. I'm a tad skeptical about the price/form factor of some of those add-on devices however...

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Matt Nichols
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Modems + keyboards

quote:

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Originally posted by darton
Are there applications of springboards that will never be possible through the hot-sync port of a Palm? Other advantages?

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another advantage

The Palm add-ons are form factor-specific. If Palm changes the design on the device, most add-ons won't fit the new designs. Springboards are specifically designed to avoid this problem.

As said before, most Palm add-ons clip onto the back and use the docking port of the palm to communicate. Basically, that leaves the engineers about as much space to build into as the palm footprint itself. Costs should be low. Modules will be big.

Springboard modules are a bit more of a challenge. The nicest of them don't exceed the Visor case. Some project out the top and back, simply because the components (batteries, antenna) can't (yet) be made any smaller and still work. When they don't exceed the visor case, they are heaven. Getting them small requires advanced engineering, and that makes them pricey.

And memory stick options are going to be severly limited, simply because of the size. Sony may have the technology to make anything that small, but it will be (too) expensive. There will be few if any third party memory stick products.

I went with a Visor. Haven't regretted it yet. I've seen nothing else to compare favorably. Springboards make their designers think. I like products that have been thought out.

Dave

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You can hotsync with a module in as well. Goes along with the keyboard/modem comment.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.