Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Midlands, England
Posts: 9

I am condiering buying a Visor Deluxe (probably the blue model) and i have a few question i would like some help with please...

1/ How easy is it to read a book on the visor? i am thinking about buying the star trek 6 pack. Do you get any sort of headache or eye strain after an hour or so solid reading from the LCD screen?

2/ Cracking... Has the cracking problem with the plastic casing been fixed? i heard someone say the plastic 'looks' thicker but has it been imporoved?

3/ Scratching/Screen proection... How easy is it to scratch the display and what sort of impact do clear plastic 'stick on' sheets have on the quality of display?

4/ Does Omniremote actually work on the visor or not? what range do you get with the built in IR port and software remote controls?

5/ As i am a student i have to budget... are there any spreadsheet apps available for the visor (i.e Palm OS) that work well?

6/ How long does it take to learn to write properly with graffiti? is it like learning to type all over again?

7/ Does the visor still creak a bit?
8/ Does the visor have a headphone socket? (i doubt it does, but just to check)
9/ How does avantGo work, what does it do, and how good is it?
10/ I only have a serial mac, so i intend to back up on a friends USB PC... will my files be secure - i.e will he be able to read them/can i lock them?

I think that's it, if anyone in England has anything they think i should know about buying a visor in say Dixons, or another electrical retailer please can you advise.

Any other info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Eddie.

- sorry about the length of this message! )

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 144

Eddie:

1. I often read e-texts/e-books on my Visor, sometimes for several hours. I do not think that my eyes are strained very much, but still, reading a normal book is more relaxing for the eyes. But reading an e-text from time to time should not be a problem.

2. I personally do not have the cracking problem (at least I did not notice any). It seems that some color Visors are more prone to cracking than the Graphite one - though I might be wrong. You can always avoid the cracking by buying a case for the Visor that does not use the tab at the top of the Visor (as the Handspring cases do).

3. My Visor came with the stock stylus (not the deluxe one) and it scratched very easily. However, I would recommend you to use screen protectors of some sort anyway. The topic has been discussed and still is extensively on VC.

4. From what I have heard, it does work, although the experiences of the people have been mixed. You might try to search the archives for older threads on this topic.

5. I never used any spreadsheet apps but there should be some out there, I guess...

6. No. Actually, after a few hours, it works pretty well. Only the fewer-used characters take a little time at first. But after a couple of days, you should be fine. But if you want to take notes in class and such, you should consider buying a keyboard, as typing will probably much faster than graffiti.

7. Some units do creak more, some don't creak at all.

8. The Visor has no headphone socket, although some future Springboards will have one (like the mp3 player Springboard - can't remember the name right now).

9. Once you have set up AvantGO on their website and selected the channels (the whole process is pretty self-explanatory), the channels are updated everytime you hotsynch and an Internet connection is present. I personally like AvantGO, I think it is one of the best apps for my Visor.

10. I have no idea whether this is possible and how you have to set it up.

Hope this helps,

mc9

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Midlands, England
Posts: 9

thanks for the answers... I checked out avantgo and it looks like it will be something i use alot.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Salt Lake, UT, USA
Posts: 43

Since money is a problem you may considering buying a regular visor. All that's different is the memory and the choice of colors. I don't know whether it's worth the extra $80.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 41

To add to the answers:

3. I do recommend some sort of protector for the screen. WriteRights work well, but blur the screen. I'm using something else that is clear to protect it now.

4. OmniRemote does work. I've had range of about 10-15 feet with my Sony, and down to 5 feet in some hotel rooms. Your results might vary.

5. Quicksheet works well and is $39.95. TinySheet is available and $19.95. I have not used it so I could not comment on it.

6. It takes about 2 hours to be comfortable with Grafiti. A quick way to learn is to play the Giraffe game (letters come falling down - you write it, it disapears.) Keyboard for serious note taking.

10. Short answer - NO your files won't be secure. Long answer - depends on friends OS. Assuming he's using Win98, the entire system is open, all users can open/read your files. Backed up files will be palm databases, but there are programs available that will open those files up. If he's using Win2K, you have a little more safety and security to lock your folders/files - but, your friend as system administrator could still take control of those files and read them. Win95/WinNT4 - USB is not an option, so you'd have to use serial.

Carl

------------------
Carl Lee
Hi! My name is Carl and I'm a Visorholic.

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Midlands, England
Posts: 9

My friend is using windows 98, but i dont think he would know where to get access to programs that could access the visor backups (no offense to him but he is not very resourceful with the net) Is there a program i could install for windows 98 that could lock him out? e.g like 'Bigsecret' on the mac?

you mentioned you are using screen protectors that are clear... what do you use? do you have an URL for them?

Billy...
"Since money is a problem you may considering buying a regular visor. All that's different is the memory and the choice of colors. I don't know whether it's worth the extra $80."

I thought about getting a regular visor but i considered the extra money...

Normal Graphite Visor : �140 with cradle.
Visor Deluxe : �200 with 8mb, USB cradle, and in nice colour...

I plan on using avantgo alot and also i want to experiment with games and alsorts of other programs so i am predicting i will need the extra space. plus an extra �70 aint really very much.

Thanks again for helping me..

Eddie.

Registered: May 2000
Location:
Posts: 7

I don't quite understand this part of your question.

quote:

---

10/ I only have a serial mac, so i intend to back up on a friends USB PC... will my files be secure - i.e will he be able to read them/can i lock them?

---

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Midlands, England
Posts: 9

Escargonaut,

I own a Powermac 6320, with OS 8.5, but as the Visor Deluxe comes with a free USB cradle, i want to save costs by using this instead of buying a serial cradle. I will probably get a serial cradle as soon as i get the extra money.

Eddie <>

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Midlands, England
Posts: 9

I don't think my last post worked... here it is again... forgive me if this comes up twice

Escargonaut,

As the Deluxe Visor comes with a Free USB cradle, i want to use this until i can save more money to get a serial cradle.

My mac is a Powermac 6320, with OS 8.5 so i am pretty sure the serial cradle will work.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Redwood City, CA
Posts: 55

As for your cracking problem, Handspring has taken care of it. I ordered one of the first (Sept 15) and mine started cracking a couple of months later. Since then I called Customer Service, and received a replacement, free of charge. My new Visor has not shown any signs of cracking.

Good Luck.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Richmond, VA, USA
Posts: 64

1/ How easy is it to read a book on the visor? i am thinking about buying the star trek 6 pack. Do you get any sort of headache or eye strain after an hour or so solid reading from the LCD screen?

I was a bit skeptical of reading full length texts on the Visor's (or any Palm, for that matter) screen. However, I recently got into it and downloaded a few novels to the Visor (they were just coming out when I had a PPPro).

I'm about 1/4 of the way through Moby Dick right now, and reading it is excellent! Not only is the screen crisp and clear, but it is also easy to read outside on a windy day without the pages fluttering over with every wind (also good to read from while on a powerboat going about 40 mph),...

2/ Cracking... Has the cracking problem with the plastic casing been fixed? i heard
someone say the plastic 'looks' thicker but has it been imporoved?

Haven't had that problem.

3/ Scratching/Screen proection... How easy is it to scratch the display and what sort of
impact do clear plastic 'stick on' sheets have on the quality of display?

As with ANY palm screen, you should be careful not to scratch the surface. One should only use a stylus designed for use with handheld computers, NOTHING ELSE. I occasionally use my finger on the calculator in a crunch, but don't use your fingernail.

I do not use any screen protectors.

4/ Does Omniremote actually work on the visor or not? what range do you get with the
built in IR port and software remote controls?

Tried it briefly at first (this was back in November of last year when I first got the Visor and OmniRemote for it was still a beta). It didn't work. I really didn't care. The remote control capability is really kind of a "bell and whistle" that I really do not need (IMHO).

5/ As i am a student i have to budget... are there any spreadsheet apps available for the
visor (i.e Palm OS) that work well?

Don't use any spreadsheet apps, but as stated before, I have seen them available.

6/ How long does it take to learn to write properly with graffiti? is it like learning to type all over again?

Not long at all. Should have it mastered in less than a day or two (unless, of course, you have little dexterity, but it's still not impossible). If you want to take extended notes, you might want to purchase one of the keyboards that plug in.

7/ Does the visor still creak a bit?

Not mine.

8/ Does the visor have a headphone socket? (i doubt it does, but just to check)

No, but there is a microphone, which is wired directly to the Springboard socket. One would guess that they are planning a springboard with sound capability (an MP3 player or a cellular telephone).

9/ How does avantGo work, what does it do, and how good is it?

AvantGo not only works, it works well, and kicks major ass! Several major websites offering a variety of information offer "channels" that are specially prepared versions of their websites for PalmOS or WinCE(gag) users. You go to their website on your desktop computer, subscribe to these channels, and when you sync, the websites are loaded to your palm unit. At first, the websites were a little scarce, but now they even have Richmond.Com on there (and of course, Richmond, VA, is not one of the larger cities in the US ;-)...

10/ I only have a serial mac, so i intend to back up on a friends USB PC... will my files be secure - i.e will he be able to read them/can i lock them?

Not sure. You might consider getting the serial cradle ($30) as soon as your budget can afford it (or a new mac :-). I believe though, that there is separate Mac software that might be able to secure a directory or program with a password. Try looking on:
http://HyperArchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive.html

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 231

The Visor's range while using OmniRemote depends on the device being controlled. I used it on a Sony TV and could change the stations from about 20 feet away. (I ran out of room.) But then when I tried it on my VCR I could only get a response from about 4 feet. It seems that some devices are more sensitive than others.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Provo, UT
Posts: 64

I'll second swendor's findings. Three of my entertainment center components worked fine from 8-10 feet away, but my TV would only work from about 2 feet.