Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 44

Visor Build or Packaging Date

Does anyone know how to determine when a Visor was built or packaged by it Serial number or other identying numbers?

Thanks,

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Dan

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

Not off hand. But I still have my box and it has a label on the right side that lists the serial number and what looks like a date code.

02-0057-00

I assume that means February, 2000, but not sure what the 57 is.

I looked to see if there might be a straight forward corellation with the serial number, but I could not make one out with this single data point.

- Chip

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

Hi,

Not too sure about making any assumptions from that �date code.� I�ve just got a Visor Pro, made for the English market, and my code is:

02-0472-00

I looked through all my packaging � but nothing else looks like a manufacturing date. Sorry

Good luck with your quest

Brad

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Chicago
Posts: 67

Use a 'dot dot' shortcut

. 6 will get you the visors b-day.

Hitman

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Washburn University in Topeka, KS
Posts: 450

Wow - my Clie T615c gets a date of 6/12/01 at 1:41 pm: that means it was sitting on the shelf at best buy for a year before i bought it! because it was around that date in 2002 i bought it!

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 44

explain how to do the dot-dot shortcut. I'm missing something.

Thanks

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Dan

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

Go to any writable text area (e.g. the Address application will do) and using Graffiti write:

the "shortcut character"
write a "period" (e.g. dot dot)
write a 6 in the graffiti number area.

It worked on my Visor Pro - it sat unsold for 11 months!

More info about the "shortcut character" at:

http://support.handspring.com/esupp...esType=RESEARCH

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 44

After soming very coincidental testing, I don't think this is the build date.

Both my Dad and I have Neos, purchased at different stores with different serial numbers (off by quite a few numbers) in two different states. Both of us came up with dates of 7/12/01, 5:27pm. Probably, these were not built in Malaysia at the same time.

Also, I looked at my original Deluxe, which I bought in early/mid 2000. It had a date of 8/31/99. This is prior to the original release date of the first Handspring and they couldn't keep it in stock for several months, so it would not have been left over.

I'm guessing this is some sort of software release date.

If I were to look at the serial number, I would see the letters as a model code, the first digit as year, the second two as week and the fourth digit as day of week. The final 4 digits would be a sequential count.

For Example a Serial of AJBEB14030565 would mean Neo, 2001, 40th week, 3rd day or Oct 3rd, 2001. This is just a guess, but it is based on other products I've been involved with at well known brand name electronics companies.

If you analyzed your serial number with this method, does this seem reasonable to you based on when you bought your Visor?

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Dan

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

Tried the dot dot thingy

I got 11/8/00 10:37 am when I did the dot dot 6 thing. I just bought my new prism a month or two ago, like two weeks before they were discontinued. I can't imagine it sat around for a year and a half. Here is another data point, my serial # would indicate 2002, 10th week, 2nd day. That makes a whole lot more sense.

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

I�ll go along with that.

My serial number is AKBMB14322****

AKBMB = Visor Pro (also possibly identifying it as a British unit)

1 = 2001

43 = 43RD WEEK (Oct 21-27 2001)

22 = 22nd of October

So the unit was assembled 22nd October 2001 � that seems likely. My Visor Pro only sat unsold for 8 months.

This was fun, BUT just wondering � why should anyone care when their Visor was made?

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 44

We care because I need to verify that Handspring actually placed the newest accessory catalog (vol 6) in with the production runs of new Neo & Pro Visors, starting in April and May.

We have a new ad in the latest issue and I'm trying to figure out when that inventory with catalog will actually make it to a user. Handspring hasn't provided any solid confirmation dates other than "they have or will use all the catalogs".

It should start hitting the market by now, but perhaps only through new web sales. My Dad actually just purchased a Neo and didn't see the catalog... so I wanted to be sure his was built before that time... and I think it was. He purchased his at Best Buy and they were likely trying to get out of older inventory.

Thanks.

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Dan

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

Ah ha. All is revealed.

Good luck with the ad.

I�ve found that the Active Armor protective case is an essential accessory for my Visor Pro. Great for real users and �fashion posers.� Highly recommended gear.

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

Pine pine pine.

I understand the reasons for not making an active armor case for the Prism, but I would love to have one anyways. Oh well. Good luck with your ad!

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

from the dot-6 shortcut, I get 1/25/00 1:35pm, which is about a year before I got my VDx.

If two or more users with the same type of device and same software version get the same number, that would corroborate the software build date theory.

Update: after checking with SoftTrack! (v.1.2, from Palm Gear HQ), I find that the majority of the ROM apps on my Visor have this date (time is not shown). The rest say 12/3/98.


Originally posted by Active Armor
If I were to look at the serial number, I would see the letters as a model code, the first digit as year, the second two as week and the fourth digit as day of week. The final 4 digits would be a sequential count.
Using this, my serial (ABEED41001###) would be built in 2004, 10th week, first day. Or it could be 41st week of 2000, day 1; or the "day" could be part of the sequential number (I'd expect 4 digits for the sequence anyway). The latter is most likely because I ordered my visor in Dec 2000 and received it in January 2001.
Difficult to be sure without someone from Handspring wandering by and saying "yes, that's right" ... right before we destroy their self-esteem by asking a lot of dumb questions about the company.

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Last edited by Yorick on 08-01-2002 at 10:32 PM

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Houston
Posts: 7

your knowledge

quote:

---

Originally posted by misterpunch
Go to any writable text area (e.g. the Address application will do) and using Graffiti write:

the "shortcut character"
write a "period" (e.g. dot dot)
write a 6 in the graffiti number area.

It worked on my Visor Pro - it sat unsold for 11 months!

More info about the "shortcut character" at:

http://support.handspring.com/esupp...esType=RESEARCH

---

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

Just got off the phone with Handspring Technical Support in the UK

They claim that there is no way to determine when your Visor was built by using any shortcut feature.

To quote them...

"The manufacturing/build date information is held in the serial number. I am not allowed to disclose how to determine this from the serial number."

The upshot is: those in favor of serial number = build date win and those looking for wisdom in shortcut features (like me) lose this time.

(dot dot 6 is a Palm OS shortcut and not a Handspring shortcut. It displays the ROM build date and build time)


FINDING MORE ON SHORTCUTS...

A useful link:

Palm OS Developer Knowledge Base - What "hidden" shortcuts are available for developers?

http://oasis.palm.com/dev/kb/faq/1428.cfm

and also Palm Desktop >> Help >> Online Support

I hope this helps.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 6

another age related question...

I have recently had 2 Neos - the first came directly from the Handspring web site, and did not work well from the start and was sent back to them. The 2nd came from my local Staples, and seems to be fine (so far). I noticed that the first one came with a stylus in "ice", the clear/white tips. The 2nd has black tips. BTW, the shortcut date on the 2nd is 7/12/01 5:27, and the date code (or whatever) below the serial number on the box says 02-0374-01. Did Neos come with different styli?

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: ILLINOIS
Posts: 227

Casing cast date--

Reference to a build date-- all plastic cased visors have the casting date either on the battery door under the serial number or on the back of the unit--visible mostly from inside--

It is a circle with an arrow pointing at a month--like a clock and the year via the last two digits in the center of what would be the clock face--

On non Graphite colored units you can see this through the casing--though generally you cannot read it without taking the serial # off or opening the unit to see the inside of the back--

This should be real close to the unit's "birthday"

FWIW

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 48

quote:

---

Originally posted by Active Armor
After soming very coincidental testing, I don't think this is the build date.

If I were to look at the serial number, I would see the letters as a model code, the first digit as year, the second two as week and the fourth digit as day of week. The final 4 digits would be a sequential count.

For Example a Serial of AJBEB14030565 would mean Neo, 2001, 40th week, 3rd day or Oct 3rd, 2001. This is just a guess, but it is based on other products I've been involved with at well known brand name electronics companies.

If you analyzed your serial number with this method, does this seem reasonable to you based on when you bought your Visor?

---

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

quote:

---

Originally posted by kruiser


I don't think this is the right way either. My Prism box (purchased yesterday) has a promotional sticker that says "get a VisorPhone free with service activation", yet my serial number AEBEB1024**** would suggest the Prism was built in 2001, the 2nd week. Problem is back in Januaray 2001 Visorphones were not free yet (they became free some time after September 2001). So unless the sticker was slapped on in the warehouse after the Prism came off of the asmbly line, that serial number method suggested by Active Armor cannot be right. Any thoughts?

---

Yes, more than likely it "was slapped on in the warehouse after the Prism came off of the asmbly line". This is not an uncommon marketing scheme, to use the products packaging for add-on advertising for accessory or complementary products.

Having worked for various manufacturers as an engineer, I know that quite often the date is incorporated into the serial number, sometimes in "code", using letters, and sometimes with the plain old "Julian" date. For those who do not know what a "Julian" date is, this is the number of the day of the year and the year itself. So, "1024***" might just mean 2001(1), 24th day (024) of the year, or January 24. My Prism sticker has the same letters, so they probably do indicate the model code, followed by "2054****". I presume the * indicates the rest of the numbers, which would identify a specific unit. The first digit might indicate which shift it was manufactured on 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. The remaining digits would just be assigned serially (hence "serial" number) as the units came off the line on that shift, starting with "001". Presumably, the units were not manufactured faster than 999 per 8 hours. Otherwise, all four digits may just be the serial number for that day's production, regardless of shift, so no more than 9999 per day would be expected.

This would make sense if the number below the serial number on the box indicated the shipping date code, in my case "02-054-00", being three days after assembly, the "00" possibly indicating some other code, like say, destination country or even shipping status, like "ship to retailer", "ship to Handspring", etc.

Just a few more thoughts for anyone trying to "crack the code"!

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