Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Greenville, SC
Posts: 172

VisorPhone - $49 for everyone!

Beginning Monday, the VisorPhone is now only $49 to anyone; no new Visor purchase neccessary! Great timing, as I was in the market for a cell phone, Since I don't plan on getting a regular phone installed at my new place.

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"Life is what you experience between racing games"
Galley

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Not for everyone. Once again, Handspring ignores its customers outside of the USA.

mc

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

yeah, but service fees are $40 a month. I can now afford the phone, just I can never afford the service agreement......

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-miradu

Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 19

I wonder what the price will be w/ out a service plan. Probably $249?

Hmm..

This price cut is great. Its too bad I already have a service plan. Maybe if I upgraded to the "two people share" plan, they would let me put the money towards the visor phone.

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The skyline is two gazes long... - Rainer Maria

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 153

$449 w/o service

HAHAHAHAHAHA - Let's see what is a good price for the visor phone for those of use with service plans? $449, no. $350, no again. $250, that didn't work either. $100-150, and we sort out our own deal with a provider rather than getting ripped. Maybe. $99 and I own it tomorrow.

Registered: Jun 2001
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 12

It really burns me that 2 weeks after paying $249 for my VisorPhone they'd drop the price 80%. If they do, since I'm still within my 30-day refund period, I'm sending my VisorPhone back for a refund. I can get a new phone through my service provider for MUCH MUCH cheaper than the $249 I paid for VisorPhone, and as long as I keep my cell service, I won't owe any cancellation fees.

I like the idea of having an integrated phone/PDA device. But I'll be damned if I'll let Handspring rob me.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: El Segundo,CA
Posts: 374

I am sure that more people got the phone for $300 and I don't hear them whining about the change in price. That's (business) life. By all means try to get it for less though.

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My Treo has more memory than I do.

Registered: Jun 2001
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 12

Don't hear them complaining? Please, it's been about 24 hours since word came out. You will. I'm sure alot of people will feel the same way I do. A markdown is one thing, but this shows how much I subsidized Handspring in the price I paid. Business isn't an excuse to charge inflated prices in the first place. These are the same stunts Apple pulls and if you think my opinion is solitary, you should visit an Apple board and see how many annoyed customers they have for reasons of capricious pricing changes.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Maryland
Posts: 29

Handspring isn't doing anything malicious IMO. It's likely that they are marking down their Visorphone module to clear out the inventory. If you paid more before than they are asking now, consider that the cost of having adopted the technology earlier than others. There's nothing new about that practice! Look what happened to Palm when they didn't do that with the M505.

I'm sure within two months, a new Visor line is going to come out with wireless capability built right in, and I'm also guessing it'll come with more than 8 Mbytes. Either that, or a fancy new wireless Springboard module is coming out, but I think that's a lot less likely. For now, I'm content to use my Verizon cellphone and a cable to hook my Prism to the net wirelessly.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 16

Ouch, i paid too much for my visorphone. I wish they'd lower the price a little slower so it wouldn't hurt us (who paid $250 or more) so much. $99 with activation and no requirement to purchase with edge/prism, i thought would be the next logical step for Handspring. That wouldn't have been too hard to take.

Excellent deal for those who haven't gotten a visorphone yet. I highly recommend it especially with the new price.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 37

That's the only problem I'm having with this deal. It's too good. Either Handspring has something very big up their sleeve (a new VisorPhone that plugs directly into the Edge without a sled, maybe, to go along with the much rumored color Edge?) or they are really having problems selling VisorPhones.

I passed up the temporary Edge price drop because I'm dead set on color for my next PDA. I've really been looking into a VisorPhone, since my current Cell phone is getting long in the tooth, Verizon has been charging me too much for so long, and I don't feel like renegotiating to the tune of another one-year commitment (to Verizon).

The $49 is very tempting, but it also smells fishy. If the new Color PDA Handspring releases (and they have to release one soon) has an Edge form factor, using a VisorPhone with it would work, but be kinda clumsy. So maybe a new VisorPhone that slides directly into the Edge (and the new color Edge) will be the first of the much-promised-but-not-yet -realized Edge-specific modules. That would be cool.

Man, marketing is not an easy profession. Handspring sure is having a rough time getting my money.

At least I haven't been tempted by one of the other PDA companies yet.

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mrjoec
www.mrjoec.com

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Ft Walton Bch, Fl
Posts: 24

I think Handspring is just trying to move inventory before the CDMA version of the Visorphone hits the street this fall.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 137

I'm sure this is a clearance of inventory pricing strategy. It just makes me wonder if I'll regret buying this older technology when the new stuff comes out in a few months.

Any word on the advantages of the "new" Visor phone?

Also, a new Visor phone that fits directly into the Edge would be nice....for Edge users only! Don't forget about all the non-Edge users. There would have to be an adapter that would fit into the springboard slot.

Michael

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Million Dollar Bills, anyone?

<a href="http://www.millionbill.com">www.MillionBill.com</a>

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: New York City
Posts: 14

VisorPhone - $49 for everyone!

Greetings all,

As an early adopter and loyal Handspring customer, I have just one thing to say.

I want my rebate! Now!

When will we early adopters be rewarded for willing to take the risk and support Handspring from the beginning? We should all receive a rebate on what we paid for our Visor Phones and handhelds if they want to keep a loyal customer base. Otherwise, next time, I may decide to wait a year or more before buying anything from Handspring, just when they'll need us most to support their new products.

Do you hear me, Handspring? Send me my check!

-- Mike

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-- Mike

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Pembroke,MA
Posts: 307

$49 bucks.. Crud, and I swore off any more modules this year. Looks like I'm trickling down my fairly new Timeport to my wife. I hope this news story is true.

I feel for the $249 payers, but you can say that about the deluxe that you can get for $149 with on-line coupons. I suppose that's the price you pay for being first on the block. Happens with everything. We are thinking about getting the new Jeep Liberty Limited. OK, it's new but they don't talk on the price except for a few hundred less than sticker. We're still thinking about it. That's just the first on the block price.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 25

quote:

---

Originally posted by brooklynguide
Don't hear them complaining? Please, it's been about 24 hours since word came out. You will. I'm sure alot of people will feel the same way I do. A markdown is one thing, but this shows how much I subsidized Handspring in the price I paid. Business isn't an excuse to charge inflated prices in the first place. These are the same stunts Apple pulls and if you think my opinion is solitary, you should visit an Apple board and see how many annoyed customers they have for reasons of capricious pricing changes.

---

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 106

Re: VisorPhone - $49 for everyone!

quote:

---

Originally posted by mbzvi
When will we early adopters be rewarded for willing to take the risk and support Handspring from the beginning?

---

You are rewarded - you get to use your early purchase before anyone else and for longer. I guess you're familiar with the term "bleeding-edge technology" aren't you? It costs more. It always has. It always will. No money back guarantees.

Kupe

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Pembroke,MA
Posts: 307

OK, Monday and still no price change.

Am I remembering correctly in that Handspring doesn't update the site until about noon EST? I vaguely remember this with the Prism introduction.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

I suppose the people complaining here don't pay any attention to the cellphone industry? Handspring has treated the pricing of the VisorPhone exactly like cellphone manufacturers treat the pricing of their high-feature phones (Nokia 82xx series, etc.). The price is initially really high and then drops to <=$50 within a year or so. E.g. the Nokia 8260s were $299 when initially released. Now, you can get them for $49 or less depending on the provider/contract. The VisorPhone is just following that same market. Yeah, it sucks a little if you got caught on the wrong side of the price curve, but that's how things work.

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Nashville, TN USA
Posts: 125

I'm tempted, but the cheapest service plan they offer for my area is $60 per month with only 600 minutes. It's thru Powertel. My wife has Powertel on her phone and gets 3600 minutes for $40.

Does anybody know if you can just swap chips the way you can in a cell phone? Meaning can I take the chip from my wifes cell phone and put it into the visor phone to make it work. If that worked I'd buy a visor phone without service (depending on price) and get my own service plan.

Just pondering.

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