Registered: Aug 2000
Location: San Marcos, CA
Posts: 29

I would like to hear from Visor Deluxe, Visor Prism and Palm V owners about the backlighting for these PDAs.

I was wondering if it is possible to be able to write in a dark room, a dark taxicab, outside in the dark, etc..

I have read that the Palm V has a tiny flourescent tube as a backlight- does it work enough to light the screen? How does the Visor Delux do?

(or, do you need ambient light to shine on the screen to be able to write things?)

The major reason (for me) to have a color screen is because it is so darn bright- so you are able to write clearly everywhere you go. (also to veiew avantgo pages in color..) My friend has a PocketPC (cassiopia ?) and he swears he can't imagine living without a color screen.

Is this color screen worth the extra $200? Will I have to wait another year for the prices to come down?

GAA!

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postscript: Just so you know, I'll primarily be using the pda i buy for constant noting of events, reminders. Also, I plan to do some Blogging. (quick posting to websites from my PDA, using avantgo.) Link is here: http://prometheus.frii.com/~vampyr/blogger/about.html
its really neat!

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Posts: 790

None of the PalmOS PDAs have backlit Graffitti areas. That said, the VDX is fine for writing in the dark, especially if you use TealEcho, a hack that draws your penstroke on the main screen as you write Graffitti.

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Jeff

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

IMO, the backlight of a VDX/VPL is adequate for complete darkness but not for dim lighting. The Prism is great in the dark.

None of the devices offer a backlit graffiti area, but I'm sure a Prism's light would reflect off a white shirt well enough for you to see. Besides, you now have an excuse to master Graffiti!

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Inglewood, CA, USA
Posts: 390

quote:

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Originally posted by JHromadka
None of the devices offer a backlit graffiti area

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That's been on my "wish list" since I bought my Visor. My Graffiti accuracy is good, but I still find myself drifting to the left, accidently hitting the little house icon, and knocking myself out of whatever application I was using. I don't need the whole thing lit up, just the tiny separating lines.

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"Attitudes are contagious... Is YOURS worth catching?"

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 431

quote:

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Originally posted by JHromadka
... Besides, you now have an excuse to master Graffiti!

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James,
With the Prism, I think that you have LESS of a reason to master Graffiti! The overall brightness is so good that one can probably use a keyboard overlay such as FitalyStamp (my choice), Silky Board, TapPad, etc. in the dark.

AN UPDATE:
I've done some testing and, even though the Prism is so bright, you cannot see the graffiti area overlay in the dark. We'll just to have wait for the vendors to produce "glow in the dark" overlays

[Edited by kalahari on 10-31-2000 at 12:35 PM]

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

As usual, I'll hype TEXTPLUS, etc., the way I did here:

http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...p?threadid=8991

Even if darkness is harder, writing like 1/5th the amt. of chars. (which are LISTED on the VISIBLE part of the screen for you) must suerly help.

Lastly, I once read that there was a HACK on a Japanese site posted that lit the Graffiti area.
I don't write in darkness much, so didn"t check into it...

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Nazareth, PA
Posts: 99

Yes it was on the same site that someone first spotted the rit dyed ice visor, just do a search and you should find it. BTW the hack was for a PalmV not a visor.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 15

backlight conversion

backlight article from Japanese site: (Palm V)

http://www.fureai.or.jp/~mori-t/a05...htl.htm#english

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: San Marcos, CA
Posts: 29

Thanks a lot. The link that VisorCentral had was outdated/broken.

Are there any hardware mods like this for the Handspring Visor? I would love to trick mine out like that!

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: San Marcos, CA
Posts: 29

Backlit main screen- not a backlit graffiti area.

Excuse me.
I was actually looking for a hack or a mod or any information on there being a backlight for the MAIN screen- not the graffiti area. I would easily be able to use the Teal Echo program (and Jot) to be able to write graffiti on the main screen.

But, I am not even sure if the main screen has a backlight. I re-read everyone's comments only one person said that there WAS a backlight for the main screen of the Visor. I would LOVE to have a hack that put some tiny lights in there so I can view the main screen in the dark!!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Simi Valley, CA
Posts: 110

I hear the new SONY Clie uses the old style backlight like the original Palm III. That backlight was FAR superior to the newer "inverted" backlights.

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Joe V. - Simi Valley, CA

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Nazareth, PA
Posts: 99

The Visor and Visor Deluxe are backlit, but not by lightbulbs, it's more of an indiglo type of thing where the whole screen looks like it's glowing. It is more than bright enough to read in the dark. The Visor Prism does not need a backlight because of the nature of the screen it is lit all the time like a laptop display.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: San Marcos, CA
Posts: 29

Visor Deluxe is backlit..

Thanks. That is good to know..

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

H-Java,
Why would the hack work for the Palm V, but not say, a Visor?

Nancy,
I was under the impression all this time you already had a device, but now it seems not. This is not very super of you! (Just kidding.)
Anyway, I think TealEcho (and the same ability in the TextPlus app I've mentioned) function fine w/the current Visor backlight.
But people have complained about the "half-light" (twilight, I guess) situation - where it's not quite dark enough to use the backlight, but not bright enough to see the regular screen.
Again, I just don't seem to find this situation all that often. But there is a hack, LightHack, that is supposed to re-invert the screen's backlight to the "classic" way the old Palm III did, and I hear the Sony Clie does.
Last, I think there is a "dot-command" w/in the Palm OS that does this, too. (Can't rememember which, though.)

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: San Marcos, CA
Posts: 29

BKBK:
Ah, you have found me out- I don't have a Visor. BUT, thats not a bad thing, is it? This just means that I am being sold the visor by you guys/girls. Plus, my comments are just fodder for your burning desire to talk about these pdas.

[qoute]But there is a hack, LightHack, that is supposed to re-invert the screen's backlight to the "classic" way the old Palm III did, and I hear the Sony Clie does.[/qoute]
I have heard this different way that these things are lighted, but I still don't get it.

note: Found the LightHack page:
http://www.quartus.net/products/lighthack/

[qoute]A neat feature of the Palm IIIx and Palm V: when the backlight is activated, the dark pixels light up instead of the background. LightHack provides a similar feature for the Palm III (and older Palm devices with backlights) -- whenever the backlight is activated, the screen is inverted so that the text lights up, and the background stays dark.[/qoute]

It would seem to me that if I was in a dark room and only the black pixels were lighted, then wouldn't they be less dark? I guess it doesen't matter. I just need to choose a cheap PDA and then fool with some hacks. Thanks for the comments, guys.

Supernancy

postscript:
BKBK: I would love to buy a Visor Deluxe, but I know that in a year I will be buying a color pda ((probably) and so it doesen't make sense for me to spend anything other than a cheap Palm III with 4 mb of memory.. (I would probably buy a Visor Deluxe with another 8MB memory module, which is around $300. In a year, I would have bought something else, so it isn't a waste of my money. sigh. I kept trying to find ways that I could use a PDA- and thus justify the price:
Use your pda tomake web graphics:
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/00/32/index3a.html
Posting to a weblog on your pda without having to have a wireless account:
http://prometheus.frii.com/~vampyr/blogger/about.html

but, alas. nope.

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Nazareth, PA
Posts: 99

bkbk,
I have no idea why it wouldn't work, I also have no idea why it would work, since the V-Vx uses a different type of backlight from what I understand and it uses rechargable batteries. Despite having the same basic hardware the two machines are different. That's why I mentioned that.

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Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Redwood City CA
Posts: 472

My understanding is that there's a single bit that determines whether or not the Palm OS device shows an illuminated screen with black characters (like the original PalmPilot Pro) or illuminated characters on a black screen (like the Palm IIIx and so on up except for the Clie). I have something called "GreenLightHack" which should work on any Palm OS device.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Clarksville, VA, USA
Posts: 74

quote:

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Originally posted by supernancy
BKBK:
...I would love to buy a Visor Deluxe, but I know that in a year I will be buying a color pda ((probably) and so it doesen't make sense for me to spend anything other than a cheap Palm III with 4 mb of memory.. (I would probably buy a Visor Deluxe with another 8MB memory module, which is around $300. In a year, I would have bought something else, so it isn't a waste of my money. sigh. I kept trying to find ways that I could use a PDA- and thus justify the price:...

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: San Marcos, CA
Posts: 29

yeah, but I am obviously going to get a cradle.

And that would bring me to $179, which is still a chunk.


Thanks for the comment, tho.

I wonder how much I can get a used Visor for..

"you can have my visor when you prey it from my cold.. dead.. yadda yadda.."

heh. alas.

Charles

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

s.n.:
Yeah, yer right -- we just like to yadda, yadda about the devices, devices...
If the Palm OS is your main interest, though (and presuming you want to go to color w/in a yr.), you can check out e-Bay, etc. for devices from the Palm III forward (the 1st one w/beaming capability - I wouldn't get one before that, almost no matter how cheap).
I've seen them for cheep, cheep, cheep.
And you still have access to the Palm OS' 9,000 apps (that's Handango's recent stat).
If you have your heart set on a SB, tho, no dice.
Just food for thought...