Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 18

Franklin Covey has reduced the price of their leather pocket binder for the Palm III from $99.00 to $69.99. I went to the store and after a suitable period of agonizing, I bought a black one. It's really nice and it holds the Visor perfectly. What's great is that is doesn't use any velcro. Instead, it has a neat leather holster sewn into the left-hand side. What's cool is that my PDA Panache stylus sticks out just enough that I can use my Visor without removing it from the holster - plus, I don't have to remove my springboard if I don't want to. It has room for a few credit & business cards, too. Additionally, since it's all leather, it comes with a lifetime warranty.

It also comes with a lot of crap - like address book pages, goal sheets/dividers, etc. I've decided to only keep the blank notbook pages in case I need to write some quick notes. I tossed all the other stuff. Instead, I purchased some zippered inserts that hold my Tiger Woods and Backup springboards perfectly!

This product also comes with a CD that has three of Franklin Covey's best-selling books: "7 Habits of Highly Effective People," First Things First," and "Principle-Centered Leadership." They're in .pdb format so you can download them to your Visor! That's a nice bonus.

One major point - despite its name, this is NOT a pocket-size binder! (Unless you wear bib overalls.) It is pretty compact though, so it's not bulky to carry with you. I figure that I can easily remove my Visor, put it in its original leather case and slip it into my pocket if I don't want to take the entire binder with me.

Franklin makes a "Sport" Pocket Binder as well that's decent and runs about $49.00. The inside is identical to the all-leather version - including the leather holster.

Also, if you bring in an old leather binder - in any condition - you get an additional 20% off!

This binder won't work for everyone, but some may want to give it some consideration. Geesh, I sound like I work there - but I don't . . . I just like it!

Special thanks to Hobart for recommending it!


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Joe Visor
"You were born an original; don't die a copy."

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 195

I got the smaller version of the FC pocket binder just before they went on sale.

I agree that it's great protection and is virtually identical to the DayTimer binder that I used to carry before. One thing to note, though...since the Visor screen isn't "centered" in the unit and the Palm is, there is a slight (about 1/16th of an inch) displacement in the leather pocket. That means that the right side of the screen is just on the edge of the pocket "window." It's not really. It's not really annoying in any manner unless someone is easily annoyed. (I offer this proviso after reading some of the posts in this board!)

One word of caution, however. FC DOUBLE-CHARGED me for my binder and when I called, said that they knew this was a possibility because of a "software glitch." The only problem is that they're acting like it's MY PROBLEM that they've attached an extra $100 on my card!!! They're obtuse when I talk to them on the phone and don't make any effort to contact me if I haven't contacted them.

In short, I LOVE the binder, but will not do any more business with them. My experience is the worst of what some people have described with HandSpring!

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 18

Sorry to hear that, dude. My experience was directly with the Franklin store at the mall. I didn't order mine; just went in a picked it up. Talk about good customer service - I don't know what kind of training they go through, but they were very patient and informative. No pressure to buy anything. See there? Franklin Covey is no different from Handspring - bad experiences can happen with any vendor.

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Joe Visor
"You were born an original; don't die a copy."

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Aurora, CO, USA
Posts: 23

Having owned (and returned) the Franklin Pocket binder, I can say that the HandSpring Bi-fold case is a better (and cheaper) alternative for Visor owners. Like the Franklin binder, the HS bi-fold case has a pad of paper, room for credit cards and money, slots for an extra stylus *and* a full size pen, it's all leather and it hold the Visor by HandSpring's trademark sewn-in hardcover. It's also much easier to hold, and it does fit into the front pocket of my dress slacks.

Jeff Kirvin
Writing On Your Palm http://www.jeffkirvin.com/writingonyourpalm

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Cadillac, MI
Posts: 14

Joe,
Glad you like the case. I still like mine just fine. I am impressed with the quality as well as the function. I carry the golf and backup modules under the flap for business cards. I also moved the black plastic card to the front of the paper for a little extra screen protection. All in all it seems to be working out quite well. Glad that you like yours.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Cadillac, MI
Posts: 14

Joe,
Glad you like the case. I still like mine just fine. I am impressed with the quality as well as the function. I carry the golf and backup modules under the flap for business cards. I also moved the black plastic card to the front of the paper for a little extra screen protection. All in all it seems to be working out quite well. Glad that you like yours.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 195

One of the features I needed was a zipper case. I've come to depend on my DayTimer zippered binder and didn't want to trust my Visor to something that simply snapped shut, which what I believe all the HandSpring binders do, right? I've seen damned few zipper-binders out there, so there weren't many from which to choose.

I also have gotten used to carrying my binder around as a constant companion, with pictures, my checkbook, etc. inside. The FC binder I got is about the size of a regular paperback book and so is conspicuous enough that I'm always aware of where it is.

I'm still looking, though, for a good "on the go" sleeve for when I just need/want to carry the Visor without everything else along. The little leather slipcase that comes with it is serviceable, but not sufficient for the long-haul.

quote:

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Originally posted by jkirvin:
Having owned (and returned) the Franklin Pocket binder, I can say that the HandSpring Bi-fold case is a better (and cheaper) alternative for Visor owners. Like the Franklin binder, the HS bi-fold case has a pad of paper, room for credit cards and money, slots for an extra stylus *and* a full size pen, it's all leather and it hold the Visor by HandSpring's trademark sewn-in hardcover. It's also much easier to hold, and it does fit into the front pocket of my dress slacks.

Jeff Kirvin

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