Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 43

> The jog-dial... a fad.

I must disagree here. I have found that having additional means with which I can interface with the device is very useful. With a jog dial, I can call up individual records from my Datebook, Address Book, or Memo Pad with only one hand, which can be *very* useful (especially if there's a cell phone in my other hand, and I need to find somebody's phone number!). These days, on my Handera 330 (I also have a Prism, which I love, but it doesn't cut it for my business use anymore), I use the jog wheel about as often as I use the regula scroll buttons. The "aux" button, which pulls you out of dialog boxes and doubles as the "app" button and the voice recorder toggle, is also very useful.



> 16 Mb of RAM... a fad

64MB DRAM in the standard DIMM packaging costs the end user a measley buck these days. Half a gigabyte costs the end user twenty bucks. I can accept the smaller packaging (actually, no packaging, just the chips) could cost more than a DIMM of the same capacity, but it cannot be too great a difference.

Right now, I have to use external Flash memory for most of my apps and databases. I have over 32MB of stuff, and I can only put 8MB of it on the PDA itself. This tremendously slows things down, since Flash has a high access time and a transfer rate often much slower than one megabit per second, whereas standard Synchronous DRAM can hit a peak that is over a thousand times that. Adding memory might not be incredibly innovative, but from a cost to innovation ratio perspective, it's almost a given.



> But a CLEAR screen that is crisp is just simply... the way it was SUPPOSED to be.

My boss has the Clie 710C. He was initially very happy with it, though he did notice that my Prism had a much crisper screen (yes, the resolution is lower on the Prism, but the particular high power lighting that the Prism uses makes it look clearer).

The Clie's real advantage isn't in the screen. I mean, it's nice and all, and I think that over the long term screens will have to increase their pixel densities, but the really beneficial aspects to the Clie were the following:
A) Those extra buttons that don't impress you
B) The ability to turn the Clie into a USB Flash reader (my Handera can only write from PC to Flash in the most primitive of manners)
C) ... okay, I'm working on the other reasons.

As an aside, my boss is now unhappy with the Clie, as it does not have real expansion options currently (the Visor has the Springboard, whereas the Handera support a slew of Palm III serial connector accessories and a bunch of CompactFlash modules). He can't connect to the internet wirelessly. He can't install Palm Desktop 4 or Palm OS 4.x.

The expandability is a very important aspect, and Sony has so far failed miserably in this regard. I do think that they're going in the right direction with the higher resolution screen, but I think that their implementation could use a little work, and I think that there are other things which are equally important in terms of improving the platform.

But yeah.... Handspring *has* been jerking us around for at least a year.

-JC
http://www.jc-news.com/

Registered: May 2000
Location: Cleveland, Ohio 44067
Posts: 242

The answer to the original question about whether it is time to switch : It's a 50-50 call. Maybe Handspring will release a new color unit, maybe they won't. Maybe it won't be any more impressive than what's already out there.

I decided it was time to leave and purchased a Clie this week (although I don't want to give up Visor Central!). I wanted a color model and did not want to carry around a brick (the Prism). I had two springboard modules, a SoundsGood and a backup module, both of which I can acheive with my new 760C and a memory stick.

My gut feeling tells me Handspring is moving in another direction now. I could be wrong and Handspring could release the next killer PDA next Monday. Then again you could wait six more months while Handspring sits on their hands not telling you anything...and you will still be in the same dilemma asking these same questions.

Do what is right for you, I did what I felt was right for me.

__________________
What does it look like I am doing...I am kickin' my @ss!!!

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 18

Re: 320 x 320. Not just a fad.

quote:

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Originally posted by Corky


I'd hardly say that 320 x 320 is just a techno freak's fad.

But a CLEAR screen that is crisp is just simply... the way it was SUPPOSED to be.

I'm serious, go pick up a Clie and look at it's crisp display and you'll wonder why the innovative Handspring group has been resting on their laurels so long coming out with the likes of cool tranlucent colors rather than actual innovation.

I feel like HS has been pulling the "look at this shiney object" trick on me over the last few months rather than releasing a real upgrade.

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That IS a Palm III form-factor in my pocket AND I'm happy to see you.

The Dearly Departed:
Slot_Machine - RIP@97
slotmachine - RIP@268

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 18

quote:

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"We're moving from the mobile professional to the mobile majority, a market where useful and relevant applications are king," said Ken Wirt, senior vice president of Solutions Group Marketing for Palm, Inc. "We have an outstanding applications story to tell, and we're telling it. Our expansion capabilities and SD card promotional offer make our story even more compelling. These little cards unleash a torrent of capability."

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__________________
That IS a Palm III form-factor in my pocket AND I'm happy to see you.

The Dearly Departed:
Slot_Machine - RIP@97
slotmachine - RIP@268