Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 5

I have had the visor delux for some time now and have been happy. The reason I got the visor as opposed to the palm was the springboard. It seems like a great idea. Truth be told, however, I have yet to buy any springboards and for what the good ones cost, I will not likely get any in the future. The springboard idea is a flop. The biggest problem now is that the expansion size is standardized, and no matter how advanced Visors get, they can never be thinner than the expansion slot. There will never be a visor as thin as the Palm Vx. That bothers me. I like size. The other problem with the visor is the cover. It stinks. Yes, I am aware of the flip clip and the like, but it does not compare to the Palm Vx size and ease of use. Not to mention the screen crispness on the Palm Vx as well.

Nothing against Handspring, they make a great product. It is just that the springboard idea, although novel, has not caught on enough to justify the associated shortcommings.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Midwest
Posts: 232

It'll get better...

I think that once companies with the technology to make springboard modules realize how many visors have already been sold, there will be more variety and lower prices among springboard modules.

As for size, it is possible to get too small. I've got a credit card thin calculator. They were practically giving them away at Walmart. I loved the thought that I might be able to keep a calculator in my wallet, so I paid about $3 for it.

Then I learned why they were so cheap. They were too small. They were thin as a credit card, but couldn't be bent, even a little, without breaking. They had crammed so many little buttons on the surface, that it was hard to press just one. They had gone to a solar cell for power, since there was no room for a battery. OK, except when it's a little dark. I only get it out now to show my friends how something could be too small. I've been using a calculator that is about the size of my Visor. Now that I found the "good" calculator that came with the Visor, I may retire my dedicated calculator too.

I like the Visor's size. I think the Prism is pushing the thickness a bit, but I could live with it if someone gave me one. I'd love a slightly larger screen, and the only way to get that is to make the visor taller and wider. They reduced the screen size in the new cheap Palm, and I found it harder to read. We all get old, you know.

Give it some time. The Springboards will come. It just takes the rare combination of:

- Identifiable Problem. One that several thousand Visor owners would like to see solved.
- Someone with a creative idea for a solution.
- A company with the technology to build the thing.
- the marketing sense to get it to Visor owners.

Those four things don't often arrive at the same company at the same time. When they do, we'll see springboards. Handspring is hiring, by the way!

Dave

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