Registered: Oct 2001
Location:
Posts: 203

Live Long, Visor Prism

As expected, Visor Prism is no longer available from Handspring.

http://www.visorcentral.com/content/Stories/1467-1.htm

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

Sad, very very sad.

Ok, so things change and maybe it was to be expected. But it is still sad. As other threads have gone on and on to explain, many of us do not see the Teo90 as a valid Prism replacement. I now consider myself very lucky to have gotten my new Prism just a few weeks ago. After today's news I ordered some screen protectors.

So what's next? I don't know. HS has given me no path forward that I find acceptable. I suppose I will enjoy my Prism as long as it lives or has enough memory for ever-growing software sizes. Then I will look for a PDA that has accessories that replace the functinality of my springboard modules (camera, presenter-to-go, GPS, modem). Right now, Treo does not offer that functionality. Neither does Sony. Their PDA of the month approach has not lent itself to standard interfaces for accessories (that I can determine). From what I see, only Palm would be able to replace my Prism and its accoutrements.

To answer another thread's question, you can still order reconditioned Prisms from HS.

Registered: Apr 2002
Location: New York City
Posts: 234

Extended Warranty?

What about that? Are they still letting you purchase an extended warranty on the prism? That is one thing that I will be sad about cause I got my prism in March.

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Cheers

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 3

Treo 90?

If the treo 90 was a suitable replacement, is there one with the graffiti option?, I don't want a keyboard pad. Looks like I'll get a palm next.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Cypress, TX, USA
Posts: 27

Bye bye Prism

I too am saddened to see the Prism go to the wayside. I ordered the Visor Deluxe almost the day it became available. Shortly after Prism hit, I replaced my Deluxe with it and never looked back. I'm very sorry to see that its replacement, the Treo 90, offers nothing in the way of enhancements. It is like taking a giant step sideways or backwards, depending on your perspective. Yes, 16megs is nice, but the plasticy feel, smaller screen, and lack of grafitti and sprinboard capability is a major disappointment, to put it mildly. While Sony may not have a device interface nearly as innovative as the Springboard, they at least have continued to evolve and add more value to their upgrades. In contrast, for whatever bizarre reason, Handspring decided to stay with the Dragonball 33 AND 160x160 res AND retreat to 12 bit color. Geez, is there any progressive thinking at all in this package as it applies to pure PDA functionality? I think not...

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 231

Got My Prism!

I've always wanted a Prism and I finally got one 2 weeks ago when CompUSA was practically giving them away for $149 (refurb) and an optional 1 or 2 year service plan. Like many other users I find the Springboard a unique and hard to beat expansion platform. What other handheld can boast over 50 expansion modules? How about 20? Springboard beat them all!

Also like many others, HS has offered me nothing in terms of a replacement: combo PDA phone? no thanks. Treo 90? Can't beat the Prism. And I'm really not into keyboards.

Here's to the Prism!

PS-May it last me a good long while.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Rushville, Indiana, USA
Posts: 24

Hanging on as long as I can

I have the Prism with memplug and a 128 meg CF card. My biggest complaint is that the Treo 90 doesn't have anything I don't already have. I have a thumb keyboard (for when I can't use my Stowaway). The Prism screen is actually better than the treo 90.

As someone else has said, its a big move sideways.

My biggest concern is what I will do when the battery finally does in my Prism. Any ideas as to what the usual battery life is for what is in the Prism? I've had mine since Jan 2001.

My next choice will be either a Sony NR70V or the new Kyceros phone/PDA combo coming out at the end of the year.

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 48

Re: Hanging on as long as I can

quote:

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Originally posted by tbonney
The Prism screen is actually better than the treo 90.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 832

Re: Re: Hanging on as long as I can

quote:

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Originally posted by javabird



In what way is the Prism screen better?

I like to read ebooks, and I'm trying to decide between the Prism (I have SB modules), Treo 90 or Clie T615. I looked at a Prism in the store, but the letters on the screen seemed pixellated. I haven' t been able to find a Treo to look at yet, but I'm concerned it might be too small. (The Clie looks beautiful, but the lack of Mac support has me concerned.)

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 118

Prism Battery question

One of the earlier posters asked what to do when the prism battery eventually fails?

Having also just gotten one of the CompUsa 30 day specials, I started thinking about the future with this unit. Since my original one had a bad springboard port, I got Handspring to replace it.

This said, the speaker on my prism is much lower volume than my ice deluxe. (Yes, this getting somewhere). I noticed that someone had posted that the speakers occasionally fall of the back plastic, so I went ahead and opened the unit to check to see if this had happened. It had not, but it was quite interesting in what I *did* see.

A removable Li-ion battery pack about the size of a portable phone battery pack. While I wasn't thinking about replacing it when it died, my first thought was wondering if the "Battery Factory" place would be able to manufacture a replacement of the same size with higher capacity. They say they can order or build anything you need, I would personally like to have a battery capacity of at least 2x what the Prism came with, if at all possible.

If this ever becomes an issue, this is what I will probably do. Its a refurb unit, but in great shape. I'm also going to screen protect this one (I suspect that eventually there will be replacement screens and digitizers on the 2nd hand market) and hope for the best. I'm quite happy, and my wife is enjoying the deluxe.

All I want to find out *now* is where all the D-I-Y mod pages for Prism got to! All of the pages that the Japanese site palmdecool are not working any more. Looking for the jog-dial mod, the speaker mod (want/need a louder speaker - and I noticed that the speaker is a flat speaker with quick disconnects....hmmm), and the headphone jack mod. Also thinking about the 16 MB memory mod, and just found a page in TW that claims to be able to replace the 2M rom with a 4m *flashable* rom.

If there are any other mod freaks out there with page links, please post em! We lucky few who own Prisms are going to need those resources to take care of our orphan children....

Cheers!

Tucson Sailors

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 383

Very disturbing this is, Handspring just put another nail in its own coffin...

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 14

I like my Prism, but honestly I'm ready to move on. Sure, it's brighter than a Treo 90, but I'd rather have something viewable outdoors. Plus, the Prism is starting to feel like a brick. I know, it's nowhere near as large as some other handhelds... but still, I'm ready for something smaller, with integrated SD expansion instead of the Springboard.

For the record, the only Springboard I've ever owned is a MemPlug SD/MMC.

A thumbboard would actually be welcome to me, since I find Graffiti cumbersome and innacurate (I have sloppy handwriting ). So, I'm seriously considering a Treo 90 as a viable upgrade.

But, I'll probably wait until the OS 5 devices come out. I've been drooling over Toshiba's new e740 PocketPC device, because it has built-in 802.11b wireless... hopefully we'll see a PalmOS device with similar features this fall.

The Visor Prism had a good, long life. Admittedly, the Treo 90 isn't a strong replacement, but it does seem to cover the bases pretty well. And I wouldn't be surprised if Handspring came out with an OS 5 device this fall that really did replace the Prism...

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Pasig, Philippines
Posts: 12

My own wish list, FWIW:

• Treo form factor
  
• Graffiti (I hate thumboards)
  
• 16-bit color -- whether it's viewable outdoors isn't a major issue, I'm sure I can adjust if really needed. Still, I might be able to live with 4000 colors
  
• built-in Bluetooth -- might obviate Springboard slot
  
• 16MB of RAM, although I can live with 8
  

Last edited by Silverlokk on 07-01-2002 at 03:29 PM

Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Pasig, Philippines
Posts: 12

Graffiti vs. thumbboard

BTW, I believe Handspring employed the thumbboard on the 180 because the market was different: it wasn't a PDA market, it was a cell phone market. I just wish someone would do definitive research on the preferences of the PDA market, because I think the ratio might be closer to 1:1 (graffiti might even have a slight edge). The 180 did outsell the 180g by a ratio of 10:1 if I recall rightly, but then, as I mentioned earlier, that's a handset, not a PDA, market.

Regards.

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

quote:

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Originally posted by Kesh
And I wouldn't be surprised if Handspring came out with an OS 5 device this fall that really did replace the Prism...

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Registered: Feb 2000
Location: SW Virginia
Posts: 290

quote:

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News posted by Marcus Adolfsson
In our review of the Prism back in late 2000, James Hromadka pointed out that "the Prism is the most advanced Palm-compatible to date, featuring a 33 MHz Dragonball V2 processor, a beautiful 16-bit Epson LCD screen, and Palm OS 3.5.2H."

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So after almost 2 years that typo still has not been fixed. It is a Dragonball VZ.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: I'm not sure, but I see lots of lights everywhere.
Posts: 1287

Not quite...

quote:

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quote from article:The Visor Prism was revolutionary when it came out.

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My blog: Pocketfactory

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Re: Not quite...

quote:

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Originally posted by foo fighter
I would disagree with that. It was competitive with Palm's IIIc model, but the Prism was hardly revolutionary. It didn't really break new ground in handheld design or functionality, other than introduce 65k color to the platform.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: I'm not sure, but I see lots of lights everywhere.
Posts: 1287

Re: Re: Not quite...

quote:

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Originally posted by Toby
How was either of those more revolutionary (or even really revolutionary)?

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My blog: Pocketfactory

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 70

Vibrant color (expect out doors), better then average battrey life. My Prisim has held up pretty well against the "newer" models that have come out. High Res is a subjective thing because I neither play that many games and video/pictures are not thaat big of a deal. OS 5 may change my thinking but, untill my battrey can't recharge any more, I see no reason to change.