Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 9

(cross-posted from Prism discussion forum)

I just bought a Prism, it's great! Next stop, VisorPhone.
Only one problem: I'm going to be overseas for a while in a few months, and I'd like to be able to use it while I'm there. Can I?

In case others are interested, I've been all over handspring's web site and the boards here, and I've got three different answers. One says that the VisorPhone for the Platinum and Deluxe is North America only, doesn't say anything about the Prism. Another says that the VisorPhone will only work in the US, but that a Europe-only version is in the works (which doesn't help me, I want one phone for US and Europe). Email to handspring was left unanswered after a week. I called Htech support, and they said that it would actually work overseas, but the sound quality might not be as good and they don't support it technically. This didn't make any sense to me, aren't the frequency bands different and if so why would it work at all?

So I finally bit the bullet, registered on this site, and nowappeal to the GSM/Visor gurus here: based on what you know of GSM, VisorPhone, and the Prism, will a Prism+VisorPhone combination work in Europe (specifically, St. Petersburg) or not? If not, do I have hope for anything to be released before summer? (I'm familiar with http://www.blue-impact.com, any others?)

Perplexedly,

--BF

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Barry Fagin
Professor of Computer Science
US Air Force Academy
(any opinions expressed above are mine alone)

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Plant City, FL
Posts: 385

The VisorPhone is a single band GSM phone operating on the 1900MHz North American frequency. I don't know about St. Petersburg in particular, but in general the GSM networks in Europe and Asia function on the 800MHz and 1800MHz frequencies. The VisorPhone will not work on those networks.

Likewise, when Handspring does release a version of the VisorPhone that works in Europe, it will probably not work in the US. You might be better off to get something like an Ericsson T28 World phone with the IR modem accessory. That combo will let you go wireless with your Visor in Europe, Asia, and most metropolitan areas in the US.

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<ul><li>Dave Kessler<br>President - Kopsis, Inc.</li></ul>

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

I tried using mine in Luxembourg. It got a signal but I could not connect when I dialed.

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My Treo has more memory than I do.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

The front page blurb of Visor Central implies that compatibility is not now (nothing new with cell phone differences) but is likely in the future.

To quote:
"Omnisky coming to Europe
Tuesday February 20, 2001 - 8:46 AM EST - By James Hromadka

OmniSky has announced that it will be introducing its wireless service in Europe this year, beginning with a three-month beta program in the United Kingdom. The service "will be offered with a Handspring Visor Platinum or Visor Prism, a data-enabled Handspring VisorPhone and airtime from BT Cellnet." Perhaps OmniSky is forgoing the Minstrel S in its beta testing?

The full European rollout plan will be announced in the coming months. Wireless is supposed to really take off over the next few years in Europe. Gartner Dataquest is forecasting that PDAs in Western Europe will increase from over 2.5 million units in 2001 to over 6.5 million units in 2004 -- a 47 percent annual growth rate.

Click here for the full press release. It's good to see some of the wireless carriers going outside North America. I look forward to the day when I can go anywhere in the world and be connected with my Visor. It's already happening with global GSM, and hopefully it will happen with CDPD as well. "

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