Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 88

Please tell me I have not read that Handspring is charging for its web browser - Blazer. If that's true, those of us who have a modem and want access to the Internet will turn to Eudora Web, AvantGo and others for a web browser. What's the story?.

The marketplace will show this is a mistake. Look at the Pocket PC to see what's there as a web browser.

There is no way that students on college campuses, for example, are going to use Blazer. Other vendors will show the way to access information on the web.

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D. Watkins
Please rescue a Greyhound

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

As one who owns 2 HS units and a HS modem, chaging for this is a slap in the face. They have the right to charge for the product they developed, but I would think that they would supply this for those of us who bought their other products.

$20.00 is steep for a Palm OS product, especially since there are other simular products on the market for free.

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Howard

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

I think it would have been better to offer two versions: a free one that had basic browsing and no SSL, and an advanced version with some whiz-bang features.

I hope to do a review of the product that will list the new features in 1.1 over 1.0.

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James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 604

I'm not buying it. I've been using Blazer for a while, and I got so made that I deleted the Beta I had on my Prism.

HS decision finally prompted me to upgrade my YadaYada/Minstrel S software to their new color browser. I'd been reluctant to do so because the thing worked (finally), and I didn't want to take the chance that upgrading would degrade the performance. But I took the plunge, and their color browser (I think it's a rebranded Browse-it) works just fine. Plus, it was free - if you disregard the $40 a month I pay for the privilege of wireless.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 79

Wake up people

When are people going to wake up....

Do you realize that the software / hardware makers are going down the tubes left and right these days? Everyday thousands of people are getting laid off.

The days of giving free software are over. Who in their right mind would pay a team of developers 60 to 80 grand a year and then give away the software. How are they going to make money?

Think about it...

heyday

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

Well, just got the official e-mail from Handspring to registered Blazer 1.0 users. As of May 22nd, it will no longer work. Have to upgrade and pay the $19.95 for 1.1. Some nonsense about the cost for each user going through their proxy server, blah, blah, blah

I guess now that market share is steadily growing, it's okay to start being like other companies and piss off your customers.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Rushville, Indiana, USA
Posts: 24

Everyone want something for nothing!

<p>I like Blazer, I am sure I'll purchase it.

I don't see what the gripe is about. If Handspring charges for the browser they can afford to keep developing it.

The day of everything being free on the net is about over. IPOs are going down the tubes because they didn't make any money. I agree with one of the above writers. What kind of business model do you use to justify free programs that cost $$$ to develop?

I bought a Handspring modem myself. In no way was the cost of a browser included in my original agreement to purchase so, I don't expect to get one for free.

As to the cost around $20 doesn't sound that expensive to me.

tbonney

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Edgewater, MD
Posts: 41

The reasons given by HS for the pricing don't make sense. They state that the $20 one-time fee is to cover ongoing costs such as infrastructure and server resources. That would indicate they either expect A) to sign up enough new users each quarter to cover the next quarter's cost, or B) to blow smoke up our butts.

It would make more sense to make the browser a subscription service at something like $1.50 a month. That would be a good deal less painful to swallow, at least for me, and in the long run would make them more money off each user, if they could process such small payments cost-effectively.

However -- between the cost of the modem and the $40/month fee, I'm spending enough on wireless capability, which, let's face it, isn't very good. My Prism usually shuts itself off before a single page has downloaded, and I get errors as often as I get signal. It doesn't work well enough to rely on for business purposes, and for a toy it's pricey.

I'll use a free browser as long as one's still around. At least till I get so sick of 'System Busy' that I sell my modem on eBay.

Jay

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Jay
Building a Boat & a Dream
http://www.adventuregrrl.com

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 175

There is one big difference between palm OS software and general software companies, that justifies some different type of sales & business model. The Palm OS, and the various different variations based on the machines, is still unstable. Nearly ever software program that comes out for it is buggy in some way. If companies want to charge premium prices for software than they should thoroughly test it out before releasing it. On the other hand, if they want the endusers to deal with the hassles, there should be some quid pro quo - e.g., a beta version that continues to work.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: at work...
Posts: 736

quote:

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Originally posted by Anomaly
There is one big difference between palm OS software and general software companies, that justifies some different type of sales & business model. The Palm OS, and the various different variations based on the machines, is still unstable. Nearly ever software program that comes out for it is buggy in some way.

---

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Missouri
Posts: 7

C'mon guys...

Did yall really think "free" would last forever? Handspring is on top of this stuff, and is doing a great job(in my opinion) of staying RIGHT UP there at the top of the market. Blazer is the best browser I've tried - it renders things nicely on the page, it's full color, if you choose, and it's QUICK. Avantgo? eh, it's ok.. Palmscape? monthly fee, right? Browse-it? Monthly fee, too, right? Blazer? one time fee, 20 bucks - bam, you have a nice, small, quick, browser - what's the fuss? Suck it up, pay the 20 bucks, and move along.... How do you think these companies stay in business???
~Bek

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Here
Posts: 213

Handspring bought Blazer for "n" amount of Handspring Shares. They didn't do that for the purpose of giving us free software. I think they see Blazer as a key development organization to leverage wireless services and hardware for the future. I see no problem with charging for the product developed.

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

Handspring's explanation is valid to me. As the company states in its press release, real costs are incurred for the load on the proxy servers. That plus the fact that Handspring paid over $16M in stock to acquire Bluelark Systems pretty much made it a matter of when, not if, Handspring would charge for Blazer. Anyone should've seen the writing on the wall when ProxyWeb shut down its servers. The worst part of Handspring's new policy is not offering a demo. Many new Visor owners will never know if Blazer is a better browser than the competition, and won't spent $20 blindly, nor should they.

This isn't analogous to Sun buying StarOffice or AOL buying Netscape, both of which are loss leaders that gain value as portals to the companies' other products and service. Handspring is a hardware company, and keeps its stake in software development to a minimum.

The days of free software aren't necessarily over. Cheaper and free alternatives of competitive grade will always exert downward pressure against price gouging. But it's hard to make a competitive browser at any price that will run as fast as a proxy-filtered one, so Handspring has some leverage here, at least until CDMA networks (I use Sprint PCS for wireless net access) are upgraded to 2.5/3G -- then the difference will be negligible.

But as a consumer, I'm always looking for what's in my best interest, not Handspring's, so right now BrowseIt's the better deal: free, and no MSN default!

Last edited by Gameboy70 on 05-17-2001 at 08:49 PM

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

"There is one big difference between Windows software and general software companies, that justifies some different type of sales & business model. The Windows OS, and the various different variations based on the machines, is still unstable. Nearly ever software program that comes out for it is buggy in some way. If companies want to charge premium prices for software than they should thoroughly test it out before releasing it. On the other hand, if they want the end users to deal with the hassles, there should be some quid pro quo - e.g., a beta version that continues to work."

That statement applies to any OS, be it Palm, Windows, Mac, *nix, etc. There should have been an upgrade path for prior users, but Blazer 1.0 was worth charging for, so I'm sure 1.1 will be too.

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James Hromadka
Old Friend