Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Woodbine,GA, USA
Posts: 1

I ordered the Deluxe graphite on Mon. This is my first PDA. Which cover is included? Is it on their Web page? What is a good cover that offers protection but doesn't impact the ability to carry it in your pocket. What else as far as stylus, software, screen protectors, etc will I "have" to have? I've read almost every post. There's a lot of info. I certainly hope HS is just going through growing pains and I didn't buy something thats not going to be supported in 6 mos. TIA for all your replies.

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Dave Sohmer

[This message has been edited by dgsohmer (edited 11-23-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 86

Well, if Handspring is still around in 6 months (I think it will) then you've made a good decision. However, I would council you not to expect it before christmas. I really like mine. In fact, I'm surprised at how much I use it considering I've never had a PDA before this one.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: West Hollywood, CA 90069, USA
Posts: 126

No mistake, You made an excellent decision.

Handspring has had a rough start to be sure, but there is no way in hell that they aren't in it for the long haul.

Handspring has posted some very good pictures on their site here: http://216.35.16.11/products/vgallery.asp
The "cover" is just a hard plastic snap-on face that provides excellent protection for the screen. It adds virtually no thickness to the unit, so carrying it in your pocket is possible (depending on your pocket )

The deluxe comes with a leather "slipcase" that you can see here: http://mayhem.res.cmu.edu/~cheese/visor.html
The slipcase is reasonably padded and provides decent protection for the Visor.

The included stylus does seem to have the ability to scratch the screen, so you may want to consider some screen protectors. The best source that I know of is : http://www.outpost.com

Search for "pda survival kit".

Enjoy.

Dave

[This message has been edited by sdavida (edited 11-24-1999).]

[This message has been edited by sdavida (edited 11-24-1999).]

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

I got my Deluxe this past Monday. It's my second PDA; the first was a Palm Pro upgraded to III capabilities. So far I'm very happy with the Visor...the only problem I've had so far is with one incompatible shareware multi-language Dictionary.

Although I have a fair amount of extra stuff on my Visor, 99% of the time I use it for the built-in software: and most of that is for the calendar. I haven't needed screen protectors or a different stylus, but maybe I have a lighter touch than others. So... my suggestion would be to not get anything right away except perhaps some screen protectors (couldn't hurt, right?) and see how you use your Visor. Meanwhile, lurk around here and surf Palmgear to see what's available.

Until the springboards arrive, what makes the Visor really cool IMHO is the extra RAM. I have a doc reader (Aportis; I don't know if it's the best, but I had it on my Palm before the others came out) with the full text of the Iliad, Darwin's Origin of Species, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, and the US Constitution...and I still have about 5 M left! On my Palm, I had to put ebooks on in segments and guess how far I would get...I find that having books on the PDA is a more useful way to pass the time in waiting rooms/airports than games...but I do have games too!

As for whether HS will survive...I'm guessing that they are turning it around and that despite the tone of the Forbes article, hitting it big for Xmas 1999 was not an essential part of their long-term plans. However, I feel like I could handle the worst case scenario...they die, my Visor dies, I'm out the $ I spent and buy a Palm...The not quite worst case is also not so terrible...they die, my Visor still works and I use it happily until it dies or something cooler tempts me...I never contacted Palm tech support until my Palm died, and at that point their answer was "buy a new one"...which led me to buy the Visor...I mean, it's great and all, but it's just a PDA. It's not like you're buying a car or a house that you really expect to be using >5 years from now. Even if it still functions then, the tecbnology will have moved so far that you would probably have a new one anyway.