Registered: Feb 2000
Location: El Segundo,CA
Posts: 374

Thanks for the info on how to turn down the volume. BTW, anyone had problems receiving inside buildings?

__________________
My Treo has more memory than I do.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: at work...
Posts: 736

Re: Re: My impressions of the VisorPhone

quote:

---

Originally posted by Randy_Dugger
Hi Rob,
You can also re-dial the last number too, by holding down the phone button for 2 seconds.
Randy

---

Thanks, Randy. I had actually already discovered that, as well as the neat little trick of highlighting a phone number in ANY app then pressing the phone button to automatically paste the number in the dialing screen.

BTW, does your VisorPhone case have three little holes cut out in the top for the speaker as well as in the bottom for the microphone? I just noticed that I have three tiny indentations on the top and was wondering if the machine just didn't punch all the way through (just dimpled, no hanging chads or anything...)

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 20

How did you do this?

kmendez,

You talked about setting up a network when discussing web/email access with the Visor Phone. I belong to Voicestream also, what did you have to do to gain internet access?

Regards,

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

jimparson

nothing, just transfer the sim card in the visorphone, congigure the setting in preference/network, on service use your isp, (aol, att, etc,) mine is bellsouth, then fill in your user name, password, connection=visorphone or standard modem will work, then your access phone number for the isp., the rest is almost auto, but in details it is ppp connection type, power off, and check query DNS, Ip address is auto. and that is it.
go and have fun.
I am using my regular minutes, I have not get the data minutes plan yet, but I am looking into in.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

jimparson

I forgot, also, now you need a web browser, either blazer, or eudora, i prefer blazer, it is faster, all you have to do is click on it, open and tell him where to go, and voila.
for e mail, you also need a third party software, again either eudora mail, or multimail, and configure them accordingly. good luck
kevin

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 20

kmendez,

Thanks for all the info. I noticed on the handspring visor phone FAQ stated the following:

Q. When I try to connect to the Internet, I receive a "no carrier" error message.

A. To access the Internet with Visor Phone, you must subscribe to data services through your service provider. Please contact your service provider for more details.

You must not have to do this with Voice Stream. This still leaves a burning question in my mind. How do they differentiate between a data call being made by the phone or a voice call. They do offer something like 1500 minutes for $30 flat rate. Certainly better than 15 cents a min. Thank you again fro the response. What is your take on the Data Stream product?

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: El Segundo,CA
Posts: 374

A problem I have is when I have signed on AOL and try to use another browser it says modem is in use. Any fix?

__________________
My Treo has more memory than I do.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 13

The palm AOL software does not allow you to use other browsers, mail programs, etc. with the AOL connection.

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 7

Have been using VisorPhone for about a week now. It's interesting to discover how accustomed one becomes to certain features in a phone. Some things that are missing that would be nice:
1. Mute - sometimes I am in conference calls while on the road. The road noise can be annoying to others on the call.
2. Different ring tones for different people/groups - never thought this was that critical. But, I had really become accustomed to this on the Nokia. I miss it.
3. Option to automatically invoke "Extra Digits" instead of having to do it manually (extra digits button) once call is started.
4. When using PCS E-Mail, PacBell requires you to enter the E-mail address in the first part of the text - space - then your message. Haven't been able to figure out how to get the address book integration to work with this one.

On the whole, it is a very nice phone. I am becoming more adept at one-hand operation. The "buttons" on the dial pad or SpeedDial are big enough to use a thumb or fingers. I put a WriteRight on the screen which helps a lot. I did not particularly care for the earpiece that came with the phone. I went and bought a Jabra EarBoom (fits in the ear and has a small boom mike) and it works great. Assuming you don't need to have it on your belt, I found the OmniSky case to work the best with this, as you can get it out very quickly.

ISP access next. Will probably be slow, but will be interesting to see.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 7

Visor phone

Just read linuxopus' post. I too tried the Jabra earpiece w/boom mic. There was a constant buzz which I think is caused by the close proximity of the earpiece wire to the phone's antenna. The Handspring supplied earpeice has an inline mic in the cable and does not buzz, but the mic is so keyed up that it picks up all kinds of background noise which I'm told is distracting by the recipient. So far I am delighted with the phone with the exception of the earpiece/headset problems.I have yet to find a headset (tried 4) where there was not either a buzz problem or the recipent could hear me clearly. Any suggestions are welcome....

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 7

I'm not hearing a buzz. The volume seems quite loud... not only the person on the other end but what the mic picks up. My experience with VP's volume without a headset is that it is quite loud, as well. I haven't had any complaints about people not being able to hear well or too much noise... but, then again, I haven't been polling them about it.

Couple of other things I forgot in the previous post. VisorPhone works fine with the Stowaway keyboard. Also, there does not seems to be any interference between the VP module and the Minstrel S. My sequence for changing is to power off VP, unplug, plug in Minstrel S. To change back... explicitly (through Minstrel or Power Switch apps) turn off Minstrel S, unplug, plug in VP, turn on VP. So far no problems with crashes, etc..

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 1

Visorphone while in purse

does anyone have any experience with carrying their visorphone in their pocketbook? specifically inside of a Franklin Covey daytimer case?...!

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 7

I carry mine inside the leather visorphone case by Handspring and then inside a knapsack. I have had no problems with signal strength where signal strength has been good ( 2 or more bars). My confidence in the phone has increased with use over the last 2 weeks.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Mill Valley, CA
Posts: 3

Visorphone

My VisorPhone works OK, though its generally not quite as good as my Nokia phone.

Here are my pros and cons for VisorPhone (vs. Nokia cell phone):

Pros:
- only have to carry 1 device instead of 2 - super!
- can dial any of my contacts directly from address book (though I mostly stick to my speed-dials so far)
- larger display lets me see more speed-dial buttons
- SMS feature shows potential on this platform

Cons:
- form factor is clumsy (Visor is about 1" too wide for comfortable single-handed operation)
- I sometimes hit speed-dial buttons accidentally (need fast way to quickly lock/unlock dialing without password - simply done with *-select on Nokia)
- backlit screen is not as bright as on cell phones
- doesn't fit in my carphone cradle for handsfree calls
- there is no automatic indication that I have messages waiting in my voice-mail
- no mute button (as noted above)
- current SMS interface is quite weak (as noted above)

So I think the Visorphone is not yet a competitive product against Nokia, but I've got to hand it to Handspring for getting this first product to match basic functionality of low-end cell phones. I'm sure future versions will implement some of our obvious requests.

I have a few questions regarding wireless data services on the Visorphone (for web browsing, email). The person I spoke to at Pac Bell said they did not offer data services for the Visorphone in the Bay Area, and yet I definitely saw that feature listed on the online order form. Pac Bell sold me the PCS Mail (SMS) service, but they wouldn't offer me the the wireless data service. Any of you Pac Bell customers experience the same problem?

Also, how many of you use the PCS Mail (SMS) service? How do you like it? What are the pros and cons of using SMS, rather than Email? If Handspring could improve the user interface on SMS to make it easier to select from a buddy list or reply quickly to a message, do you think you'd use SMS more often?


[Edited by fabola on 01-13-2001 at 11:59 PM]

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: at work...
Posts: 736

Re: Visorphone

quote:

---

Originally posted by fabola

- there is no automatic indication that I have messages waiting in my voice-mail

---

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: San Jose, CA USA
Posts: 6

Bought my VisorPhone

Hi Fabola,
I'm using the VisorPhone with the PacBell service in the San Jose area.
I did activate the SMS feature and do use it. Last weekend, when I went to CES in Vegas, I gave out my phone's email address to a couple of important people, so they could get in touch with me via SMS.
I haven't tried activating the Data side of it yet. However, I'm finding that I can use SMS to have people send me messages, and I can send email to others via this too.
Like mentioned earlier, there is a voicemail icon that appears on the display when you have a message(s) waiting. What I do, is just periodically turn on the Visor display (with the phone applet screen being displayed) to see if I have missed any calls or messages.
As for the mute button missing, I use a Plantronics headset that has a mute button with it and a better volume adjustment.
A car mount for the Visor, that will work with the VisorPhone installed, will be coming in a couple of months from Arkon. I met with them last week at CES and we discussed ways of making it work with the Visor and VisorPhone.
I just wish it had louder and better ringing tones, or at least a way to add others to it.



Randy

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Mill Valley, CA
Posts: 3

Visorphone ctd.

Rob and Randy,

Thanks for all your useful pointers.

I definitely stand corrected on that voice-mail icon. It's easy to miss, though, and could be made a bit more prominent, blinking and so on .... Also, it disappears when the phone is off and no message comes up to alert you when you turn it on after getting voice-mail.

I am indeed using Pac Bell Wireless, and have started to include my SMS address in my email signatures, to encourage folks to contact me that way. Not a lot of traffic yet, because most of my friends and colleagues are not used to this yet. Does anyone know of a better SMS Message Editor? I tried FunSMS from a company in Germany, but it crashed my Visor (it's meant for controlling your other cell phone, not a VisorPhone).

Regarding wireless data access, has anyone had a good experience so far using VisorPhone as a wireless modem for email & web browsing? Handspring recommended sticking with Yada-Yada and MInstrel modem, because the connection speeds are faster. I saw in an earlier posting that you can switch Visorphone and Minstrel pretty quickly, but it's still one more thing to carry with you.

I carry my Visorphone in my shirtpocket or my jacket breast pocket, without any casing at all. What sold me on the Palm platform was that it fit in a shirtpocket, and I'm not ready to let go of that benefit. Plus, it works fine for me that way (except for the accidental auto-dials reported above).

Don't take me wrong, I'm very excited about this new development from Handspring, but am trying to paint an accurate picture of where that technology is at this point, so we can figure out ways to improve it over time.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Mill Valley, CA
Posts: 3

Visorphone ctd.

Rob and Randy,

Thanks for all your useful pointers.

I definitely stand corrected on that voice-mail icon. It's easy to miss, though, and could be made a bit more prominent, blinking and so on .... Also, it disappears when the phone is off and no message comes up to alert you when you turn it on after getting voice-mail.

I am indeed using Pac Bell Wireless, and have started to include my SMS address in my email signatures, to encourage folks to contact me that way. Not a lot of traffic yet, because most of my friends and colleagues are not used to this yet. Does anyone know of a better SMS Message Editor? I tried FunSMS from a company in Germany, but it crashed my Visor (it's meant for controlling your other cell phone, not a VisorPhone).

Regarding wireless data access, has anyone had a good experience so far using VisorPhone as a wireless modem for email & web browsing? Handspring recommended sticking with Yada-Yada and MInstrel modem, because the connection speeds are faster. I saw in an earlier posting that you can switch Visorphone and Minstrel pretty quickly, but it's still one more thing to carry with you.

I carry my Visorphone in my shirtpocket or my jacket breast pocket, without any casing at all. What sold me on the Palm platform was that it fit in a shirtpocket, and I'm not ready to let go of that benefit. Plus, it works fine for me that way (except for the accidental auto-dials reported above).

Don't take me wrong, I'm very excited about this new development from Handspring, but am trying to paint an accurate picture of where that technology is at this point, so we can figure out ways to improve it over time.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 9

Solving Worldnet Username/Password Puzzle

It took me a week to figure out that the password/username that my ISP required to allow my software (Multimail and Blazer) to access DataStream (Voice Streams 29.95/mo for 1500 mins) was NOT the e-mail username/password. I'll spare you the tortured trip I took to solve the puzzle. For Worldnet users, get to the web, go to Calling Customer Care and open "account information file" which is on your hard disk. Or just open it yourself if you know how. There it will list a bunch of stuff. "LoginName" is your username; "Password" is your password.Use THESE in PREFERENCES w/Network setting.
Major help was given to me by Handspring tecnical support in Toronto. A technician there figured out how to prove that the DataStream worked. He allowed me(for testing purposes) to get on to the ISP they had set up for this purpose. It worked! The rest is history.
By the way, one other thing. MultiMails "AT&T Worldnet Configuration is confusing, gives NO CLUE to the puzzle and the DNS numbers are different from the ones in my "Account information file". Whew! END OF DAY, I am a very, very happy camper. Phone, e-mail and the web. Cool! (A great flip/snap case or/and decent leather case would be nice.)
Hope this helps some other tech challenged person with VisorPhone, VoiceStream w/DataStream and AT&T Worldnet.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Here
Posts: 213

VoiceStream Datastream

How does the VoiceStream DataStream plan work? Does it mean that there is no ISP dialing required to hook to the net as opposed to a traditional dial up ISP?