Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Somerset, MA USA
Posts: 23

I had a question about this thing. Ok, the regular visor is like $180, right? And the deluxe is $250. Now I don't want to pay the 250 since i don't need all that space right now. But later I might. If I got the flash memory springboard wouldn't it be like a had a deluxe? What I would need it for is apps and e-texts and things like that. Is it a practical solution for these needs?
thanks,Jeff

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: New Mexico, USA
Posts: 112

So, you get the 2meg unit and fill it up. Then you get the memory expansion and slap it in your Springboard slot. You are happy... until somebody releases that Springboard add-in that you *MUST* have. So then you have to lobotomize your Visor to use the new Springboard. Or dump your old Visor and get a new 8meg one.

Seems to me like the case, ram, and available Springboard slot are worth the additional cost.

john

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Somerset, MA USA
Posts: 23

jeez. seems like this springboard is a blessing and a curse. I'd like to see what happens when people really get into these things. Ya think that this springboard problem will get everyone upset?

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Valparaiso, IN
Posts: 146

Yeah, I can see that springboard thing ending up being a pain in the butt. It will cut down on multi-tasking. But it does have some really cool advantages, too!

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Colorado Springs, Co
Posts: 23

This is the first generation Visor. I'm sure that soon there will be either a new model Visor with multiple Sringboard slot capabilities, or some smart (frusrated) person will come up with a multi-port Springboard. We are getting in on the ground floor of a powerful handheld device. It's a comfort to know that this ground floor seems to be solidly designed.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: VA, USA
Posts: 27

It'll be hard to have a palm sized device that can take more then one springboard at once. A springboard is allowed to be something that slides into the springboard "slot", or that sticks partly out of the slot, or that intrudes on the back of the device. So they have no fixed length, or depth. You could get two if one faced "down" and the other "up" -- if the slot is less then half the length of the device, and springboards can't go below the slot, and you are willing to lose the hotsync pins.

The real question is what springboards would you need to use at the same time? So far I can only think of extra memory (which you could want any time).

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Seattle
Posts: 5

I for one would want to use a pager springboard while using an MP3 springboard, so i could listen to music, but still be able to recieve pages.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: VA, USA
Posts: 27

Everything I have read about the page springboard says it beeps/buzzes even when out of the visor. I don't know if you can read/reply to pages without plugging it in, but you can at least know you have them.

The MP3 module may also work without being in the visor. I would expect the Rio springboard that costs every bit as much as a regular Rio to be able to do that. The MiniJam doesn't have it's own power, so I don't see how it would work without being slotted. Pity.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

You haven't thought very long if you can't think of uses for multiple modules. In addition to the one mentioned above, I can easily see wireless LAN modules taking off in the near future. Being constantly connected to the office LAN at work has lots of advantages: send/receive email instantly, look up intranet web pages, even take ICQ anywhere. I often spend more time away from the desk than at the desk, in meetings and such, and miss a fair few emails.

Once you establish a permanent need for wireless--like I would--you're minus any slots. So you're back to square one.

There could be a solution along the lines of the PCMCIA Type 2 and Type 3 slots, where the two Springboard slots are stacked. The inside slot then could only take modules of the thinnest form factor, while the outside slot would be the same as currently.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 22

As I mentioned in another topic: rather than using multiple springboard modules with a single Visor, it's perhaps better to get multiple Visors, each dedicated to a specific task/Springboard module.