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

Like the sound of the proverbial tree in the woods, an unshipped product has zero functionality.

The VCA article states that "VisorCentral will select the most useful [emphasis mine] and innovative products released." The backup module isn't innovative, but oh, so useful.

Sure, the backup module functionality can be "duplicated" by HotSynching with BackupBuddy, but the primary value of the module is eliminating the need to do this. For people who use AvantGo daily and need to HotSynch, there's not much of an advantage, but for those of us trying to reduce HotSynching to a minimum, it's a godsend. More importantly, I've had to hard reset incidents where I needed my Visor's data immediately, not when I got home to my PC. BackupBuddy doesn't solve this problem.

The MiniJam is probably a great product, but innovative? What's innovative about an MP3 player (with the exception of the Diamond Rio in 1997)? The one innovative feature, multiple-format file storage via MMC, isn't implemented to date.

Of course, with any award, there will always be a margin for dissatisfaction. Maybe VCA should amend its categories to include both "Best" and "Most Innovative." Better still, democratize the awards, like this year's Emmys, by using reader polls. At any rate, I value usefulness over novelty, and available products over de facto vaporware.

[Edited by Gameboy70 on 09-13-2000 at 06:50 PM]

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 89

Relax James, no one is accusing you of foul play(Violence esp. Murder: Merriam Webster), maybe just a little bit of favoritism.

I look to VisorCentral as an unbiased source for product info and reviews before I purchase. When a vendor constantly misses ship dates and doesn't include product features as announced I raise an eyebrow. When the people I look to for opinions start defending that vendor the other eyebrow goes up. When they win an award on a product that for the most part isn't available it looks awfully strange.

I'm sorry if I offended you with my comments, but I was very surprised about the winning module.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

And we continue to be unbiased. I waited just like the rest of you for the MiniJam to come out, and clearly state in the review of the MiniJam what was missing. I never trust release dates to be set in stone (being a Nintendo fan has made me thick-skinned), and in my article on delays I talk about other companies too, not just InnoGear.

Should InnoGear have come clean about some of its features missing? Absolutely. Others have posted that they're updating the IG website this weekend, and I hope they have the feature lists better organized (or link to our review so people can read it from there).

I hope our choice for Product of the Year (no it's not the MJ) can reaffirm your trust in us. It really does bother me that you thought we were showing favortism.

On a side note, I was really hoping that we'd get some wireless modules like the @ctiveLink and InfoMitt in time for the awards. I got a call today, and the InfoMitt should be on its way now.

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: dynamic!
Posts: 189

i think the product of the year.. (besides my posts) hee hee

.. hands down the winner..should be the Visor. The non-existant purple one that we covet.

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"The Greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge." -- Daniel Borstin

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 195

Re: The GBA.00 Springboard of the Year

quote:

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Originally posted by Gameboy70
My Springboard of the Year "award" goes to the backup module, because:

• It shipped on time
  
• It's one of the most affordable modules available, while being the most practical
  
• It's reduced my need to HotSynch about 90%
  
• It does exactly what it was intended to do, with no features dropped or delayed
  
• The public, not just selected reviewers, got a chance to evaluate it
  

But maybe I'll feel differently when I win the MiniJam.

---

I've got to echo these sentiments and the others touting the Backup Module. I was shocked when I saw the Springboard award because I couldn't imagine how something as deriviative and expensive as that could possibly be considered the top Springboard. Is it "cool?" Well, I guess so, but the Backup Module is a perfect example of how the Springboard technology can make a substantive difference in a Palm OS device. After all, if playing MP3s is a major deal for someone, why wouldn't they seriously consider a Pocket PC? I suspect that Springboards like the MiniJam will come and go while the Backup Module is still a functional mainstay of the Visor world! What I mostly heard in the rundown on the MiniJam was that it had a great "wow" factor. I just don't think that's enough for it to earn top honors. (I have no sense of VisorCentral showing favoritism, so please don't see me as making that accusation!)

Perhaps next you can have your loyal users vote for their "user's choice" awards in each category!

BTW - since I'm going to win the MiniJam, and I see so many others who are going to win one too, I assume you have several to give away?!

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

Actually, after the awards were over, we were planning on having a "Reader's Choice" module award. I'm a little worried about ballot-stuffing though.

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Inglewood, CA, USA
Posts: 390

quote:

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Originally posted by JHromadka
Actually, after the awards were over, we were planning on having a "Reader's Choice" module award. I'm a little worried about ballot-stuffing though.

---

Can you link it someway, where we would have to use our UserName/Password? This way, each person could only vote "X" number of times for our favorites? Or is that too much "Big Brother"?

BTW - my vote for best is the Backup Module. As much as I want the other modules, this is the only one I need, if I'm going to carry a PDA.

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"Attitudes are contagious... Is YOURS worth catching?"

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 638

Maybe it's just me, but I think that we should stop beatingup on James. He is the only person who has had a chance to evaluate all the modules (maybe there are a few more people who have had them all, but I highly doubt it). avaible to date, and I think that he was probably justified in some way with his decision. We trust him on all of his other oppinions.
BEN

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
Posts: 181

quote:

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Originally posted by JHromadka
I'm a little worried about ballot-stuffing though.

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There is software that will allow only one vote per computer. A lot of sights that conduct polls use it. I guess it's controlled by a cookie and with this group could be circumvented easy enough.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

Other than one or two posts that implied bias, I don't think anyone is bashing James. Many us were taken aback with a seemingly anomalous result in the Springboard module award category. Even with James' responses, I am still confused. At least James admitted that they pretty much left cost out of the equation, and that clears some things up. I completely disagree, and think it is silly to disregard a products price; but that goes a way toward explaining their selections in this category. I do think that Gameboy70 raised an excellent point that I wish James would respond to. What about that bit about the module being useful? In their current incarnations, the winners are only MP3 players. There is nothing useful at all about that. Communication and data integrity are useful capabilities; entertainment capabilities, in contrast, are an amenity.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

quote:

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Originally posted by yucca
... I do think that Gameboy70 raised an excellent point that I wish James would respond to. What about that bit about the module being useful? In their current incarnations, the winners are only MP3 players. There is nothing useful at all about that. Communication and data integrity are useful capabilities; entertainment capabilities, in contrast, are an amenity.

---

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

quote:

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I looked in the article but didn't see that part anywhere. Which page was it on? I do think that those MP3 players are useful. There are a lot of enterprise applications being developed for MP3 players, and I think you will see their use more and more in the corporate world.

---

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

See this news item for one.

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

Ahhh. "Audio Intelligence is the industry leader in Internet-to-handheld corporate audio training services." It appears that in addition to training material, they will be offering some journals in audio format. It is also worth mentioning that the only handheld that they support is the Visor + MiniJam. They plan on supporting others, but they are not there yet. Their focus is on sales force training. So. You are right; there is at least one practical application for Visor based MP3 players.

However, I'll be really surprised if they actually sell to the enterprise. The big problem here is that the Visor, in its current incarnation, is not suitable for use in the enterprise. It does not support sync servers; and, even if it did, it does not support Visor IR Port->IR network access device->network sync server. This is the only low maintenance approach to supporting a fleet of handhelds that is currently viable. Sadly, Handspring is not showing much interest in supporting the needs of corporate customers. So I don't expect things to improve anytime soon.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

Agree with Choice

I agree 100% with VCs choice of awards...even the Module of the year award. I would have been really surprised if the Mp3 module did not win the module of the year award. In fact, I was a bit surprise that the backup module made the honorable mention. The backup module is very useful...but I don't see anything innovative about it. The MP# module and the other IS innovative and is useful to some. There is a lot more engineering and ingenuity involve with the mp3 module than the backup module.

The modems are nothing special since Palm and other handhelds have modems.... The eyemodule..now that is something special and is worthy of the honorable mention. Again there is alot more ingenuity involve here....and again it is a useful module to some (it is the most popular third party module according to Dubinsky).

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Posts: 22

I fail to see the value in naming a "module of the year" award, let alone naming a product that is only in the hands of so very few people. Unless you have a stake in selling that product.

I find it very disappointing, looking at the Innogear web site, to see all the references to this "Award", and then uses the primary person associated with "awarding" the prize for their marketing material.

(see http://www.innogear.com/minijam_accessories.html)




[Edited by adenoid on 09-19-2000 at 06:25 PM]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Redwood City CA
Posts: 472

quote:

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Originally posted by adenoid
Unless you have a stake in selling that product.

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

Vote for James, against MiniJam

quote:

---

Although I agree that the MiniJam should not have received the award, it's much more likely that James is just very much an MP3 fan rather than showing favoritism.

---

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

VC should talk to Innogear about that page. It appears to be a "reprint" of James' blurb here on VC, but it fails to attribute the story to VC. It certainly does give the appearance that James is working for Innogear, and I doubt that is the case. James? Marcus?