Registered: May 2000
Location: Highland Mills, NY
Posts: 65

I love my visor deluxe and I know that color is not a necessity, but will there be a color visor?? I like the color of the PPC's (thats about it) I know that sony will have one in a year, but I want to stick with Handspring. Any other info on what new products to expect.
thanks
Marc

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

I'm sure we will see a color Visor at some point, just not sure when. I figured if they were going to release one for the holiday season, it would have been announced by now. If one isn't announced in the next week or two I don't think it will come out until after the first of the year.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Mississauga (Toronto), Ontario Canada
Posts: 10

I belive that Handspring will wait until more Springboards are available.
After the problem plagued launch of last year Handspring is also going to ensure enough that there will be enough Colour Visors to go around.
As the owner of a Palm IIIe eager to upgrade, I'm waiting for a Colour visor.

Kenny

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 638

Realstically, I think that Mark is right. Around febuary or March we should see a new visor from Handspring which will be Color. However, I can't imagine that Handspring would wait until after christmas to release anything. Optimistically, I think that Handspring has another product that will be released before Christmas, but their not saying anything because they don't want to continue their habit of missing shipping dates. With all of these shortages in components, I think that Handspring will wait until the last minute to announce.
BEN

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

Not yet!

At this point, color really isn't possible or practical on a PalmOS based handheld. Mainly as a result of the low resolution of the Palm OS which runs at a pixel depth of 160x160. This is far too low. In fact it's like sticking your face right up to your monitor and staring at each individual pixel on the screen. The effect is excruciatingly painful on the eyes. Palm released their color handheld, the Palm IIIc, back in February, and that product is all but dead. No one wants this thing, and it isn't hard to "see" why. I believe every Optometrist should hand out Palm IIIc devices to all of their patients, then sit back and wait for the eye care money to start rolling in! It's awful. Personally, I was shocked when Palm rolled this piece of crap out the door, especially when promoting the fact that they wouldn't do color until it could be done right! Well, from what I've seen, I think they should go back to the drawing board. The IIIc is by far the worst color handheld ever produced by any manufacturer.

No doubt this is the primary reason for Handspring waiting to release a color handheld, and I agree with their strategy. I'm not sure for a fact whether or not the upcoming Palm OS 4 will support higher resolutions, I don't think Palm knows either! Most likely it will, in which case they are building up to something...I'm just not sure what! Regardless, it will mean a huge jump for the Palm platform in general, and that will be a tremendous benefit to all of us. But if I have to listen to another redundant Palm Source keynote address from a Palm executive with a KEEP IT SIMPLE theme, I'm going to stab Carl Yankowski through the heart with his own stylus! I'm sick of it!

Some time early next year, probably February or March, Palm will make the big rollout of OS 4, and hopefully integrate beefier hardware components such as the much touted ARM processor, and more memory (16MB+). Just don't expect any multimedia functionality or features. This will represent the big jump for this platform, and Handspring Won't be long to follow. But for those waiting for new toys under the tree this year...forget it. The industry wide parts shortage should pretty much kill any chance of that happening any time soon, although I doubt any Palm licensee had any plans to unveil new devices yet this year any way. They're going to have a fun time finding enough resources to build the current line up of products.

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Registered: May 2000
Location: Highland Mills, NY
Posts: 65

Thanks for your candidness, I do agree with what you said. However, all the "interviews" state there is a whole line of products to be released?? What would you expect to be released first? besides a color based unit??

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

A color device will definitely be at the top of Handspring's list for new products. But not until next spring, that's my guess. Most likely, Handspring will wait for Palm to increase the pixel resolution to something higher than 160x160. That won't happen until Palm releases OS 4 next spring.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Handspring releases some rather interesting wireless products similar to RIM Blackberry devices as well. Hawkins really likes these things, and he did mention that not all Handspring products would run on the Palm OS, nor would they all have Springboard slots. In fact, I'm wondering if Jeff is secretly developing a hybrid PDA/Mobile phone combination. If Handspring can deliver the first successful hybrid handset, they could become a dominant force in the mobile phone industry as well. Look out Nokia!

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Germany
Posts: 116

Give it another vote for the mobile phone module. I too think that Handspring is really working hard on such a module and I also think that Nokia or Motorola will have to look out.
Color is not a necessarity and all the shortage problems we are facing right now will do their own on this.

I really hope the phone module will be out soon (also in the european version). ;-))

Chris

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

Don't think so

I for one do not expect a color Visor anytime within the next year. I've read a bunch of interviews with Jeff Hawkins, and he's continually equivocal about the imminent release of a color unit. I even caught him wincing a little when someone brought up the question of the PC Expo keynote. And I seem to remember him saying something about "a year or two" in the Red Herring chat.

I suspect that Hawkins doesn't feel as though StrongARM processors are adequate for battery-powered devices (they were originally designed for AC-powered network computers, I think). As much as I like the iPaq, I thought it was interesting that out of all the PDAs on display at Staples, the iPaq was the only one connected to a power cord. But with the Palm, it's very hard to support even 8-bit color on the Dragonball without diverting half the device's resources to that feature alone. It's not just the amount of processing overhead; the screen itself consumes more power.

Most of the decisions that Palm is currently making would probably not have been made with Hawkins at the helm. Notice that the company didn't produce the IIIc until a year after Hawkins left. The fact that the IIIc is Palm's poorest selling product seems to reaffirm his reservations about prematurely producing a color unit just for the sake of silencing critics.

The biggest problems with the IIIc are the large form factor and the price (relative to PocketPCs with much better color/multimedia features). I wouldn't want a color Visor that's any bigger than the current Visor, and Hawkins has said that no new Handspring product will be bigger than the current Visor.

Also keep in mind that Sony had to back off of releasing the color CLIE in the US due to those ubiquitous part shortages we've become tired of hearing about.

Handspring will make a color Visor, but I don't think it's as much of a priority for the company as many of us would like to believe.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 121

I agree, I'd rather they wait and get it right (and have enough of them) than just put one out like the IIIc just because it's the holidays or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I sure would like color, but I want PPC-like color. Just my .02.

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Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 638

And when their getting the color right hopefully they can make a battery that will last with color. Some color unit of WinCE have horrible batteries. I hope Handspring doesn't put out a product that only has 8 hours of battery life.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: nowheresburg, PH
Posts: 98

Do any of you guys think that the next generation visor might be linux based? How's that for a color O/S? Now, all they need is a built in palm emulator, then they'll be good to go! (that was easy to say)

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

quote:

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Originally posted by perze_a Do any of you guys think that the next generation visor might be linux based? How's that for a color O/S? Now, all they need is a built in palm emulator, then they'll be good to go! (that was easy to say)

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Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 638

quote:

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Originally posted by Gameboy70
Handspring or Palm could switch to a meatier processor, like StrongARM, but then the battery life would suffer severely

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Registered: May 2000
Location: Highland Mills, NY
Posts: 65

any chance of a visor the size of a Palm V??

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 36

no chance. it wouldnt be able to have a springboard slot, and handspring isnt going to make a model anytime soon without one, i think. there was a post about this a little while ago, do a search

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

Handspring will be releasing a high-end device to compete with the Palm V series, and now the Sony Clie. Probably next year. But I agree that a Palm V clone with a SB slot is pretty much out of the question. In fact it's a physical impossibility. Sony was able to integrate a Memory stick slot on its handheld, but they have the advantage of a memory technology with a slim form factor. Springboard is comparatively bulky, but offers more potential.

Never the less, I think Sony is going to be a MAJOR player in the Palm market within the next year. But their coolest product is yet to come! Palm should be VERY worried.

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Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 638

Hawkins did say that he might design a product that did not include the SB slot.
BEN

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

Ben:

Yes. In the Red Herring chat, he did say that although future Handspring products would be compatible with current modules, that wasn't a guarantee that every new Handspring PDA would include a Springboard slot. He probably said that reserve the right to design new products however he sees fit. Also, a lot of customers don't have a single module, and got the Visor because it was essentially an inexpensive Palm. Besides, it might even be possible to design an attachable Springboard slot for a Palm V-style Handspring unit.

Regarding your earlier statement about Palm announcing its plans to go with StrongARM, I don't read so much into that. Remember, just a few months ago Sony announced that it would release a color Palm OS PDA with wireless access to the net, all for under $200 -- this year. That doesn't exactly fit the product description of the Sony CLIE. It's easy for executives to announce anything. It's the engineers who have to do the dirty work and report back as to what's really feasable and what's not. Hawkins is unique in that he happens to be both and executive and an engineer.

So even if Palm does re-architect Palm OS for ARM, it's unlikely that Hawkins will jump on board anytime soon. Besides, he already scoffed at the idea of faster processors during his keynote at PC Expo. Historically, he's let competitors build their much more ambitious products (PPCs, IIIcs) and watched them fail in the marketplace.

Registered: May 2000
Location:
Posts: 321

Re: Not yet!

quote:

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Originally posted by foo fighter
At this point, color really isn't possible or practical on a PalmOS based handheld

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