Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 15

5-18-2001 - the day I will never forget. Without going into gory details, my Graphite VDX bit the dust. Droppped in the bathroom to the tile floor, landed SCREEN DOWN. You know the rest...

So I'm now in the market for a replacement. Fiancee says "get a Platinum, you need to upgrade" Mom agrees. (So the women in my life all want me to spend money)

I'm not sure though, something tells me to wait, or that the Platinum is not the way to go. I do like the $250.00 price though, and if I'm gonna do this, it's now while the $50.00 rebate is on (don't really care if it becomes a "permanent rebate" i.e. price reduction.)

So, what would you do in my shoes? BTW - I've had my VDX for almost 2 years. It hasn't even been 6 hours and I'm already missing it.

Thanks!
Cymbrogi

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

Depends on lots of things. Do you use spring boards? If not get the Edge .If yes, Platinum (or Prism but look at it first) or you could get the screen replaced for $85

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My Treo has more memory than I do.

Registered: May 2001
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 101

Go bigger, that's for sure. Don't get the same one you just had. You need to move on to bigger and better things. I think the very least you should get is a Platinum, if not a Prism or Edge. You're probably and Edge kinda person. I can just tell. Those are real sweet. Go to your local Best Buy or something and actually pick one up, feel it, try not to drool all over it. You'll probably buy it right on the spot.

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P.S. I feel at home with geeks like you.

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

Plaitnum. No question. Unlesss you have the money for the edge, and don't use springboards

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-miradu

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Prison
Posts: 421

Wellllllll

It depends on how much $$$ you wanna spend vs. what features are important.

If you want the newer OS, and a faster processor, go to the Platinum.

However, if you'd rather save your $50.00 and save it / use it on a Springboard module purchase, you can simply buy another VDX, and download a free copy of Afterburner, and it will run FASTER than a Platinum w/out Afterburner. But it's only $50.00 , and depending on what you plan to be using it for, the OS Upgrade could prove cost effective.

(Just remember that while Beaming it needs to be off!)

If you wanna go outside of Handspring (that is if you don't have any Springboards / accessories that are Handspring only) , I liked the M500 when I saw it, and it's the same price as the Edge. If you're considering getting an Edge and don't have any modules (which I doubt) I would seriously consider the M500.

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<b><font size=1 color=teal>"Sorry about the whole thing about losing your life savings, but that Palmpilot is property of Enron, so please give it back"

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Re: Wellllllll

quote:

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Originally posted by bblue
...However, if you'd rather save your $50.00 and save it / use it on a Springboard module purchase, you can simply buy another VDX,...

---

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

I had to replace my VDX and bought a Platmun (just before the rebate started:mad I am glad I did. I did not realize how much faster it ran until I had to do some work on my wife's IIIx.

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Howard

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 15

Me again...

I appreciate the input. Am I missing something with the Edge or is it really worth the smaller form factor and the rechargable battery? Seems to me the Edge is the same as the Platinum in all respects except those two. Rechargeability isn't a big deal for me, and aside from the single drop that killed my VDX, I don't really need the metal case for protection (in fact, the drop wouldn't have mattered if I would have left the VDX in the leather case I have in the first place!)

I'm leaning pretty hard to the Platinum, and since the wife wants a Visor herself, I'm thinking it might be worth it to send in the VDX for replacement with Handspring.

Thanks gang!

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

quote:

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Originally posted by Cymbrogi
Me again...

I appreciate the input. Am I missing something with the Edge or is it really worth the smaller form factor and the rechargable battery?

---

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Prison
Posts: 421

Welpp....

I would have to disagree. with Dickety-doo here.

Being a person who only Hotsyncs their Visor to install files / back them up, I usually only Hotsync about once a week. In my opinion, batteries on the fly is the way to go if you use your PDA quite often, especially if you're away from your cradle most of when you're using it. That way, if your battery dies, you can usually keep some spare ones in your pocket, and pop em in!

Also, the EDGE isn't a metal framed-pda, it's a plastic case with a metal front and back. I highly doubt it would survive the drop any better.

Also, Handspring's EDGE quality seems to be iffy. Your best bet is with a Platinum.

----

Another question I have. People I guess are saying that to actually have Mp3 capabilites, the Visor needs to run at around 60 MHZ. Does anyone know the highest clocked MHZ rate of a Visor Platinum + Quickbits + Afterburner ?

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<b><font size=1 color=teal>"Sorry about the whole thing about losing your life savings, but that Palmpilot is property of Enron, so please give it back"

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Re: Welpp....

quote:

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Originally posted by bblue
I would have to disagree. with Dickety-doo here.

Being a person who only Hotsyncs their Visor to install files / back them up, I usually only Hotsync about once a week.

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I hotsync twice a day and sleep all night.

quote:

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In my opinion, batteries on the fly is the way to go if you use your PDA quite often, especially if you're away from your cradle most of when you're using it. That way, if your battery dies, you can usually keep some spare ones in your pocket, and pop em in!

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No question there. But I don't think there are that many people that are away from their cradle long enough to warrant the cost of replacing batteries as opposed to just leaving it in the cradle for 90 minutes out of the span of a week (for power users). Maybe rock stars and politicians.

quote:

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Also, the EDGE isn't a metal framed-pda, it's a plastic case with a metal front and back. I highly doubt it would survive the drop any better.

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You vastly underestimate the protection that metal shell provides. That drop wouldn't have been a problem had the metal flip cover been on. Granted I'm speaking from personal experience and I could just be getting real lucky, but I doubt it. My edge has survived getting thrown across the room by my son. And this guy is saying his deluxe died from a fall (as has mine).

quote:

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Also, Handspring's EDGE quality seems to be iffy. Your best bet is with a Platinum.

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Another person who passes their perceptions off as fact. Just because it seems cheap to you, doesn't mean it is. And if you're referring to the "reports" of poor quality: there has been 1. Everything else has been personal perception (saying it looked and/or felt cheap), and didn't deal with the actual construction quality and/or component quality of the device.

bkbk, is bblue a relative of yours?

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Prison
Posts: 421

Actually

Actually Dickety-Doo , I wasn't referring to the iffy quality by it "feels cheap."

I was referring to the "Problem Visor" post on VisorCentral, as well as many of the reviews from CNet. I guess the screen/menu bugaboo is quite common. I actually don't mind the construction of the Edge.

I still don't like the plastic body idea. It's more likely to crack / OR / flex than an aluminum one (which can cause screen damage) but it's only more likely to. The Edge is pretty tightly screwed together, so I doubt it.

Still, I'd go for a Platinum.

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<b><font size=1 color=teal>"Sorry about the whole thing about losing your life savings, but that Palmpilot is property of Enron, so please give it back"

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Atlantic Rim
Posts: 570

What? Me Rugged?

I know that the Edge has the metal casing, but does that really protect the fragile screen in a drop any better than than the plastic cases of the VDX, PLatimum and Prism? I suppose that one would be less likely to damage the case in the standard "five foot breast pocket to ceramic tile floor drop" with an Edge, but I see little reason to believe that the screen would fair any better than a standard issue plastic casing. My VDX survived three good belly flops before finally succumbing to the dreaded screen shattering on the fourth.

Yet I pass this rumination off as supposition, not fact. Heck, I could buy at least three screen replacements for my VDX vs. the cost of one Edge. I plan to keep the VDX in my pocket and continue to salivate over the prospect of an Edge somewhere further down the line....or the new Handera 330, which looks cool as hell. In fact, I may just go Handera because Handspring has become so....passe.

Last edited by Keefer Lucas on 05-20-2001 at 03:26 AM

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 15

Because of the way my VDX dropped (it landed screen down FLAT on the ceramic tile), I doubt the Edge would have survived unscathed either. Hence, my biggest issue with the decision of Edge v. Platinum is basically the price. As Keefer said, you can buy a lot of screen replacements for the cost of an Edge.

I'm off to the local shops tomorrow to scour for a Graphite Platinum, (since I love that black). I just can't justify the higher cost of the Edge, since I'm pretty sure by the time I break the Platinum, there will be a whole new slew of devies to choose from.

Later all...and thanks again for letting me bounce the idea around with everyone.

Cymbrogi

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Re: What? Me Rugged?

quote:

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Originally posted by Keefer Lucas
I know that the Edge has the metal casing, but does that really protect the fragile screen in a drop any better than than the plastic cases of the VDX, PLatimum and Prism?

---

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Prison
Posts: 421

Re: Re: What? Me Rugged?

quote:

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Originally posted by dickety doo

I think so. My edge has war wounds from the abuse recieved. The metal that is glued onto the back of the flip cover came off and had to be re-glued, and it got a fairly impressive dent that bent it a shade when my son threw it. I took a couple of pictures; I'll post them if they turn out.

---

That's not a good sign ..................................

But keep in mind the Edge is plastic, not metal . So I think it wouldn't withstand any better than a Platinum or Deluxe.

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<b><font size=1 color=teal>"Sorry about the whole thing about losing your life savings, but that Palmpilot is property of Enron, so please give it back"

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

Re: Re: Welpp....

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson
bkbk, is bblue a relative of yours?

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Hey, how did I get dragged into this?
Anyway, I guess anything I post now is moot, since it seems I'm a few days late and a few $ short...
But I notice that NEVER was a SB discussed.
DON'T FORGET RIGHT NOW OMNISKY IS GIVING AWAY MODEMS (BUT YOU NEED OS 3.5 -- so you may as well get a unit that is upgraded to at least 3.5, "just in case others start playing this game." Yeah, you could go Yada Yada [if you want wireless at all], but right now their modems cost.)
If you don't own any SBs, that frees you much more to look at the HandEra, IMO.
I think the Prism got the short shrift, but if you own an EM2, you really have to stop & think about it (color movies and color Palm-sized photos; not so w/any other Visor).
Lastly, I think the "kind" of plastic the Edge is made of is stronger / more resiliant / more "rubberized" (even if only .0001% or something), making it in fact sturdier in every respect, including falls -- though I have no real sci. fact to back this up. I even think it might protect the glass screen more, but ditto. (I'd bet someone $100, tho, that HS has done lab tests, and that those tests would bear this out. So my "opinions" aren't just "mere.")

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 248

"But keep in mind the Edge is plastic, not metal . So I think it wouldn't withstand any better than a Platinum or Deluxe."


The Edge is Plastic? Huh? Yeah sure the 'middle' has a plastic piece to it, but last time I checked, Anodized aluminum is a metal, which means umm...metal.

I am a former 'silver' Platinum owner, and that shell wore like crap. Ever the color kept wearing off in the corners, and I finally got tired of Handspring having to replace it b/c of excessive wear, and bought an Edge.

I have had Zero problems. And I've dropped it twice on from my shirt pocket...it has both survived and shown no signs of any impact. There is no way my old platinum's would have.

Would I choose an Edge over a Platinum, I HAVE, and have never regretted it, plus, I use the MiniJam daily...the Springboard is no biggie to me. I have the smaller form when I need it, and the bulkier one when I need it...the best of both worlds IMHO.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

How broken is your screen?

Check out this page for US or this pagefor non-US/canada.

I used them to replace my screen and it only cost me $50....

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Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Prison
Posts: 421

Well...

I personally think the Edge is a cool handheld. But it's overpriced. (It also seems to have been forgotten in the rest of the Palm world. It's skinny, but not as skinny or as svelte in my opinion as the M500.... or as affordable.)

But for the money, you're better off with the Platinum for the fact that all of your old goodies will run on it. (Keyboard, etc.) Lets be honest. The Edge isn't a $150.00 better than the Platinum. If you're going to go with an all-new connector type, you're better off with an M500, which is all-aluminum, much smaller, and they're running more discounts on it than your local GM dealer. (Best buy has it for $70.00 under MSRP!)

I've also heard Omnisky WILL run on a VDX, minus a few extra features. If you hate the Silver of the Plat, get an ICE Deluxe. My "secret recipe" which I have bragged endlessly about, has supposedly gotten my VDX up to 51mhz at no additional cost from my wallet. That little thing hauls!

This also goes to prove my point that Flash Memory IS a necessity on Visors.

And the Edge is... dissapointingly... a Plastic handheld, with two aluminum overlays. C'mon Handspring... why not all Titanium!?!??

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<b><font size=1 color=teal>"Sorry about the whole thing about losing your life savings, but that Palmpilot is property of Enron, so please give it back"