Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

So anybody buying one?

I might buy the Neo Smoke just cuz I love that color and it would be nice to have a backup unit. I could justify having a second visor for beta testing purposes for my programs

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 37

That's the ultimate question, isn't it?

I remember when Apple released the Cube. I thought to myself, wow, I love this thing. But then a little later, I asked myself if I would buy one, and the answer was no.

Evidently, a lot of people felt the same way. Everyone loved it; no one bought it. I think the Edge reaction was similar.

In the end, what people on message boards say about a product really doesn't matter. What matters is whether the average consumer in that market actually goes out and buys it.

That being said, the only new Visor I would consider is the Pro. I'm just plain tired of switching batteries, so the Neo is out for me. (I do think the new colors are way cooler than the old ones, although there should still be a solid black.) The Pro's big advantage over the Edge (and any Palm device made by someone other than Handspring) for me is the compatibility factor. Not having to buy another Stowaway, a new cradle for work, or a new case is rather appealing. At the same time, if there were a Stowaway for the Edge available right now, I don't think I'd give the Pro a second glance. 16 MB is great for some people, but not me. I use Springboards, but not all the time, so I'd rather have the thin form factor.

I still say if the Prism were black or gray instead of that awful blue, I would have bought one a long time ago, though it's getting very weak-looking next to the competition. I really want to go color, but Handspring has the weakest color unit on the market right now (because of the screen, of course, not the color of the case). I don't think I'm alone in thinking that, either.

So now I have to decide whether or not I want to wait it out with my Deluxe until HS comes up with the a better color unit, or go for the Pro or Edge now and ebay it later.

As of today, Deluxes are still nabbing over $100 on ebay. Who's to say that will be the case three or four months from now?

Decisions. Decisions.

__________________
mrjoec
www.mrjoec.com

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

I dont think the prism is as bad as you think. My understanding is that the Sony although it may be 320x320 is still only 256 colors whereas the m505 is 65k colors but has a very weak screen. The prism is 65k colors and very bright just lacks 320x320 (which isn't supported by a lot of software yet) If HS makes a 320x320 color unit i'd probably buy it right away for development purposes of course.

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 142

I did not buy one

I accidentally dropped my Platinum over the weekend and broke the cristal. A while back, I signed up with PDALostorStolen.com to insure my VPL. Since I could not wait to talk to them, I went to the local Best Buy and purchase a replacement. I could have waited and buy the Pro, however I will hold out for the next color Visor (w/ built-in wireless support).

My 0.02 about PDALostorStolen.com: they modify their policy AFTER I signed up and did not notify me. The customer rep told me this morning that it IS my responsibility to check for update of my policy online, which is NOT what I expected. My other insurance companies always notify me if there are any changes to the policy. Thus, I do NOT recommend this insurance to anyone. As soon as I get my re-embursement from them, I will cancel the policy. (Thank you for letting me vent 8-)

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 383

My deluxe does what I need it to. If I didn't have a Deluxe right now I'd probably get a Neo but the Deluxe is still a pretty solid PDA. If I upgrade to a new PDA I'd probably get a Prism.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: SoCal
Posts: 115

I've been holding out for a unit with more memory and color. Guess I'm going to have to wait awhile longer. I just hope the color upgrade is made to the Prism and not the Edge as I want the springboard slot and not the sled. If it turns out the Edge gets the color I'll probably go with the PRO for the added memory and pass up color for now.

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: ILLINOIS
Posts: 227

quote:

---

Originally posted by xstitcher
I've been holding out for a unit with more memory and color. Guess I'm going to have to wait awhile longer. I just hope the color upgrade is made to the Prism and not the Edge as I want the springboard slot and not the sled. If it turns out the Edge gets the color I'll probably go with the PRO for the added memory and pass up color for now.

---

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 43

ash:

> My understanding is that the Sony although it may be 320x320 is
> still only 256 colors whereas the m505 is 65k colors but has a very
> weak screen. The prism is 65k colors and very bright just lacks
> 320x320 (which isn't supported by a lot of software yet) If HS
> makes a 320x320 color unit i'd probably buy it right away for
> development purposes of course.

You have it not quite fully right. The Sony screen is 16-bit, just like the Prism's. The 710C, however, is packaged with PalmOS 3.5.x, so it does not support 16-bit colour. The 610C currently comes with PalmOS 4.x, so it is 16-bit. The 710C will be upgradable to 16-bit colour via a simple OS flash.

With respect to the screen, the m505 and the Clies have lower clarity basically because they are passive matrix screens. In order to see them, you have to reflect light off them, and that's a bit tricky. The Prism is active matrix, and is incredibly bright (but falls prey to glare, something from which the Clie and m505 does not suffer).

The tradeoff (not counting the Prism being bad in daylight and the Clie/m505 being bad in darkness thing) is that the passive screens look a little bit washed out, but the active screens eat power at many times the rate of its competitors. At lowest brightness, my Prism would barely last a quarter of a day. The Clie, on the other days, would (I'm told) last for days on end, unless you needed to apply the built-in front light.

-JC

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Manhattan
Posts: 12

John-

FYI, the Clie and m505 screens are, in fact, active matrix (TFT) screens -just like the Visor Prism's. The difference lies in the fact that they are reflective, which means that light must be shined on them, as opposed to through them.

As is the case with most things in life, there are compromises to be had with either choice: the traditional backlit TFT screens consume a lot of power and are not visible outdoors, yet, under "typical" PDA conditions (i.e. office flourescents) their color depth and saturation is unrivaled. Reflective TFT screens lift the outdoor viewing restrictions, but at the cost of clarity indoors, where the sidelight is incapable of reproducing the richer colors afforded by a backlight. I might also add, that when using the sidelight, the power savings that one might have otherwise gained from utilizing a reflective screen is effectively thrown out the door.

-Adam

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 43

acra:

Oh, crapola! I feel like a total idiot now! I made a foolish leap of reasoning and have been equating passive matrix with reflective screens.

Can you point me in a direction of some place which will clear me up on these terms?

Bad wording aside on my part, I agree with what you said about richer colours on the screen that the Prism uses.