Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore MD, USA
Posts: 717

Davydd said:

quote:

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When I bought my Handspring VD the majority of the Palm Pilot users in my office said, "Just wait, you'll be using it for appointments only." Un uh. The secret is the memory. They all had 2mb or less. I loaded more than 4mb in the first week before hitting stride with doing things and it isn't just keeping appointments.

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Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Greenwood, IN
Posts: 125

I am about to actually order my very first PDA, and I have never done so much research for a single purchase in my life, including the car I just bought. I have decided to go with the Palm IIIx over the Visor Deluxe, for the following reasons.

* The main reason is that my PDA is going to replace my Franklin planner, and Franklin-Covey is selling the Palm IIIx *with* the Franklin Planner software for just $299. The FP software alone is worth $100, and since I was going to get it anyway no matter what hardware I got, I'd basically be getting the Palm IIIx for $200. Since I can't "write off" the cost of the PDA, this value is too good to pass up. (Plus you get free shipping now through 12/31 on purchases over $100, which saves another $20.) Go to www.franklincovey.com for details and a free demo of the FP software.

* Speaking of value, although the logic behind springboards is highly appealing, you can't argue with the fact that all that extra functionality is going to cost money. I probably couldn't afford all those add-ons anyway, and when in the heck are they coming out anyway? Even the serial cradles are backordered at this point, and neither my PC at work nor the one at home have USB.

* It's hard to tell whether Handspring's shipping/ordering/customer service situation is improving or not, but clearly they have not gotten their act together. Palm seems to have worked out their bugs and established themselves rather a lot more than Handspring. (I have no idea about their CS.) If I am truly going to upgrade this thing within 2 years, then maybe by then we'll have a Handspring that fulfills its potential. Right now, though, it's disturbing to see such an ambitious company making so many rookie mistakes.

* Speaking of waiting 2 years, the Visor seems pretty much like any new technology in that within 2 years, not only will the technology be much better than it is at its inception but also a lot cheaper (c.f. DVD playes). All this talk on visorcentral.com about scratchy styli, off-centered screens, hot-synching problems, etc. make me think that when it's time to upgrade in 2001 or so, if the Visor is around at all, then it'll clearly be the better product.

So, if anyone from Handspring is reading this -- thanks for a good idea in the Visor, but if you want to secure the patronage of people like me who are riding the fence between Palm products and the Visor, there's going to have to be more stability in your corporation and more reliability in your products. Posting some semi-official stuff to user web sites like this one wouldn't hurt either, just to let potential customers know that you are aware of the problems and are working on them. I'll be looking again in a couple of years.



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Robert Talbert
Division of Mathematics and Computer Science
Bethel College
Mishawaka, IN 46545

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: College Station, TX
Posts: 143

PalmMan,

I did read your earlier threads (at least up to last Friday...been too swamped to log in since then) Sorry if I misconstrued this:

quote:

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I love this site because as an extremely satisfied Palm III owner, I can sit back and
admire my decision to upgrade to a IIIx rather than deal with getting a visor.

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 117

I am buying the Visor for essentialy three reasons:
1)USB conection, I have it at both the office and at home and it is more convienient than serial connections. I already have severl devices hooked up to the serial ports thru an extra port added to the computer and a USB to serial adaptor (entega hub2U4S) and the thought of connecting yet another device by serial port was more than I could bare.

2) I like the extra memory in the visor and the potential of the springboard.

3) I like the colors.

The stylus is lousy? So what, I will buy a better one. Never lost a stylus but I think I can convince myself to lose this one if it is really awful.

Waiting for the unit is a bother but I have lived all these years with out one so I guess 4 to 6 weeks won't be so bad.

I was ready to buy the palm IIIx when a friend told me about the visor. After reading many posts here and on cNet, I still decided to go with the Visor.
What the heck, I figure Palm needs the competition to keep them honest.


Now if I can just stop calling it the VISION.


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Life is to short for boring food



[This message has been edited by SpiceUmUp (edited 12-15-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 82

After 2 months with the Visor and Palm V....I have to say emphatically that the anyone who thinks that the V (or 3x) is a better product is simply uninformed. The Visor is sooo much better than the Palms... faster, much better buttons, springboard is fantastic...(I couldn't do without the backup module now)Etc....

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 35

Not to get off the subject, but PalmMan how did you get a RIO from beyond.com for $49. If you could email me at [email protected] that would be great.

In addition, I bought a Palm IIIx from valueAmerica.com for $149 and I think it is great. I was surprised at the things that can be done with a PalmOS device.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 35

Not to get off the subject, but PalmMan how did you get a RIO from beyond.com for $49. If you could email me at [email protected] that would be great.

In addition, I bought a Palm IIIx from valueAmerica.com for $149 and I think it is great. I was surprised at the things that can be done with a PalmOS device.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 15

TOYboy-

Beyond.com had a deal 2 months ago that you buy the Rio for $149 and you got $50 back from Beyond and $50 back from Diamond (maker of the Rio) The Beyond offer expired, but you can still get the $50 from Diamond.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Columbus In USA
Posts: 18

My turn...

I have one of the US Robotics-Palm Pilot Pro machines. It was one of the first types to come out. Since I bought it, there have been a bunch of newer models offered from 3Com. (Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm V, Palm Vx, Palm VII.)

I now have 2 Visors, (Graphite DX and Green DX). The Visor is my main PDA. I went with the Visor because except for the extra memory, and the IR port, the newer Palms are exactly the same as the Palm Pilot I currently have. What would be the point of upgrading to a newer Palm PDA?

Yes they all have IR now, and yes the Palm V is great looking, but I love the look of my Green Visor DX and it has the IR, plus 8 MB of memory. In addition, it syncs in 8 seconds even though I'm using the serial cradle. (Also, I bought the Backup module and it is cool to back up without syncing, and it only takes around 90 seconds).

And the final reason that I bought the Visor is the springboard functionality. I looked at it this way, there may or may not be any other "gotta have" modules in the future for me. But with the Palm machines, they will NEVER be any different than they are today.

I can say this from experience because I have one of the first Palm machines they made and after a couple years they are still the same. 3Com may come out with something different, but it will be a different product that you will have to buy. At least with the Visor, I can probably assume that I can use it for the next couple of years, and during that time the springboard possibilities are limitless. I'll have to buy them too, but I bet they will cost less than a new 3Com machine.

Don

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 2

I too am trying to decide between the Palm IIIx and the Visor Deluxe. My main concern with the Visor is the inability to upgrade to a newer version of the OS. How big a deal is that really?

Otherwise, I'm leaning toward the Visor because of the price, memory, the Springboard and the colors.

Jon

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 52

I just recieved my VDX a week ago after waiting 4 weeks. I had a Win CE device previously.

I am totally pleased with the VDX! Not a single glitch, crack, it's as solid as any other PDA I've seen, no scratches either. I did some research and decided that I get the same functionality and features as a V for less money with a VDX (plus the possabilies of expansions with springboard). The IIIx comes with half the memory and not much cheaper. Not much to choose from for Springboards yet? Maybe not much ever? So what! When it comes down to it, the device I recieved last week, with no additional springboards still has more memory installed, USB, and is a faster device than the IIIx. So if I only ever get a backup springboard device, I still have everything a IIIx has, and more. So I had to wait 4 weeks...big deal!

Harry

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 6

i also had the same problem....deciding between a IIIx or a Visor...i have beenn diligently reading all the posting here at visorcentral regarding the visor and made up my mind that visor is the way to go.... i was about to order my deluxe when the news came out that Palm might be coming out (in FEB ?) withe the IIIxe (8 meg. memory).....this negates the memory advantage of the visor....
no pricing yet on the IIIxe.... do you think
it will be woth considering....

thanks for your comments....

arnold r.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Paterson,NJ
Posts: 10

Hey!, just to add a little fire in here, how about the PalmIIIxe due out. This model will have 8mb.

[This message has been edited by jquil (edited 12-23-1999).]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Gainesville, FL USA
Posts: 112

And still no Springboard slot....

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 52

that's right...even if the IIIxe has 8mb of memory, the visor still has the exact same features + the springboard. We'll see how much Palm soaks you for that...

For those wondering how much those springboards that are in development will cost, check out the modules section on visorcentral.com.

Harry

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 434

Well, a IIIxe will be a true Palm and probably slightly more stable than the Visor. We must stop fooling ourselves. It's a clone, but obviously not an exact clone. I purchased (still waiting) my Visor knowing that probably it will have some compatibility issues, and its problems have been amply demonstrated by posts on this site. However, both expandability and cost were issues to be considered for me as well, so I chose the Visor.

It's up to Palm to properly set the prices though. If it is competitive with the Visor, then we may see it taking off, at the expense of the Visor market. We'll see.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

What are these "cracks" that are made mention of and how prevalent is this problem?

It would seem to me that if it is a major issue on a majority of Visors, Handspring would (should?) have corrected it in the manufacturing process by now.

Also, is there a concise list somewhere of all the so-called "flaws" in the Visor. I'd like to see them for myself to use in my purchasing decision.

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MarkEagle

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Midland, Texas
Posts: 231

In regard to the compatibility issues, being a "clone" really doesn't have much to do with it. The issue is the OS. Handspring modified the Palm 3.1 OS to add features, and these modifications result in the compatibility issues. 3Com has the same problem every time they tweak the OS. There are several incompatibility lists I've seen for the latest OS 3.3 update.

Another interesting note is that this "clone" was designed and is sold by the original inventor/designer of the Palm products.

To address the issue of the cracks, they have to do with the upper retaining slot for the hard case. I have the cracks in my Visor, and while it is obviously an issue Handspring will want to correct, I would still HIGHLY recommend getting the Visor. It is my opinion that it is a much better product than the IIIx I upgraded from.

tyler