Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Alabama, USA
Posts: 92

Something is about to happen

Ok, first of all this is not Spam. I don't work for HS, nor do I care to at the present time.

I recently read on this thread ...

http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...;threadid=21293

that we can expect a new non-wireless model to be released. This leads me to "assume" that it will be a new Color Visor with 16MB of RAM (32MB if we are lucky, this is possible according to http://www.palmpilotupgrade.com), a better display (viewable outdoors would be good), faster CPU (Motorola introduced a 66Mhz Dragonball-at least I think I recall reading that) and who knows what else. Aside from the above thread, another reason is...

A sure sign that a new Color model is about to be released is when signfigant price drops on similar products are reduced. I was just checking e-bay and noticed that Handspring is now selling (shall I say, Liquidating) VisorPrisms (Qty: 100 - Auction ends in less than 2 days) for $199 on Ebay.

The link is here http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...item=1330859121

Just thought at least one VC Reader may appreciate the $100 savings

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My little girl is 3. She can already navigate my VisorPrism and knows where to tap! She has mastered TealPaint (including changing colors, tools, etc.), not to mention several games. In the Avatar, she is playing some tunes on the SoundsGood MP3 player. It's amazing how fast kids can learn if you give them a chance. Now if I could just keep her from making those long distance calls on my VisorPhone...

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Alabama, USA
Posts: 92

Didn't notice, Reconditioned Units!

I didn't realize in my original post that these are reconditioned units.

Still- A very good price for a Color PDA! It's less than what I paid for any other handheld I've ever owned that was B&W.

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My little girl is 3. She can already navigate my VisorPrism and knows where to tap! She has mastered TealPaint (including changing colors, tools, etc.), not to mention several games. In the Avatar, she is playing some tunes on the SoundsGood MP3 player. It's amazing how fast kids can learn if you give them a chance. Now if I could just keep her from making those long distance calls on my VisorPhone...

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 107

That's still a price drop. Last I checked (just a coupla weeks ago) the refurbed Prisms direct from HS were still at $250 with new ones at $299. Third party retailers were doing the $199 thing, but HS stayed at $50 more.

Yeah, I know they'll release a new, cool, color PDA. How do I know? Because I just ordered a CLIE T615 (after much long internal debate about whether to maintain faith and wait on HS, or to give up and go Sony). It figures. *sigh*

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-Richard Powell

"Nice guys may finish last, but you know, the company's much better back here."

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

I heard rumours about HS developing a new color screen for the treo...
It would make sense they'd use that for a PrismII....

Let's keep our fingers crossed..

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<IMG WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="50" SRC=http://www.visorcentral.com/images/visorcentral.gif> VisorCentral Discussion Moderator
Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

It would give a much needed boost to their stock prices as investors would be assured of HS's commitment to the visor line. However, I remain skeptical.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

Fry's here in So Cal (Burbank) has been selling refurbed Prisms for some time now at $199. I think it's the best value out there now for someone still interested in Visors.

I don't think that Handspring's going to release an updated Prism. First, the company has already announced its consolidation of the Visor line to the Edge, Neo and Pro. Second, I doubt that Handspring's profit margin on Prisms is comparable to the other Visors. If anything, Handspring will take the R&D from the color Treo and port it to the Edge, releasing both products more or less simultaneously in the late summer.

But even that I doubt. I really believe, in hindsight, that Handspring never really developed the Springboard slot with expansion as the primary goal; that was just a bonus. In interviews, Jeff and Donna have been dropping references to the cell phone industry since their latter days at Palm. I think that they've wanted to leverage cell phone technology since day one, especially after the failure of the Palm VII (based on a proprietary network).

Hawkins needed a direct interface to the CPU to integrate telephony; otherwise he could have just used an off-the-rack expansion solution like SD or CF.

If all of this is correct, the Handspring's interest in "tradition organizers" is virtually nil. And even if they wanted to develop new non-wireless products, the company is too limited financially to spread itself thin. I think the only new non-wireless handheld in the rumored pipeline will be an Edge with a memory upgrade (yawn).

But as for me, I'm over Handspring -- at least until I can get a color CDMA Treo. In the meantime, I've switched to a QCP-6035 smartphone. I've lost the wonderful color of my Prism, but I've also lost the exasperating burden of carrying a second device whose future is uncertain.

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Eye of Gameboy

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

quote:

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Originally posted by Gameboy70
...but I've also lost the exasperating burden of carrying a second device whose future is uncertain.

---

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 206

Here's my theory on what Jeff and Donna said about consolidating to the Edge, Pro and Neo. They didn't mention the Prism yet they haven't anounced that they will discontinue it. What that tells me is they have a new color unit coming out and they're staying tight-lipped about it. I really believe they will come out with another color Visor unit, probably about the same time as the color Treo.

- Burns

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Check out my page on Visors:
Burn's Visor page

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Jackson, Mississippi
Posts: 51

tight-lipped a good strategy?

I don't know anything about marketing, but it seems like incredibly bad strategy to (a) imply in public statements that you're dropping the Prism and then (b) stay tight-lipped about a new product while many of the powerusers jump to Sony or at least stop buying springboards. The people that are jumping ship now are the ones that be the most likely to buy the new product.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: SW Virginia
Posts: 290

quote:

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Originally posted by Burns
Here's my theory on what Jeff and Donna said about consolidating to the Edge, Pro and Neo. They didn't mention the Prism yet they haven't anounced that they will discontinue it.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 501

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson
However, I remain skeptical.

---

I remain very skeptical. Most of the comments on this thread sounds like wishful thinking.

quote:

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If the device is good enough, the future doesn't matter.

Ask Apple.

---

To the users who likes the instrument, yes -- no reason to toss something that's doing just what you want.

However, to the manufacturer who isn't selling any new devices (or find themselves in a niche market)... well, they have a slightly different perspective.

Ask Apple.

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Jeff Meyer

"And he died like he lived: with his mouth wide open."

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 206

Re: tight-lipped a good strategy?

quote:

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Originally posted by BillC
I don't know anything about marketing, but it seems like incredibly bad strategy to (a) imply in public statements that you're dropping the Prism and then (b) stay tight-lipped about a new product while many of the powerusers jump to Sony or at least stop buying springboards.

---

__________________
Check out my page on Visors:
Burn's Visor page

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Alabama, USA
Posts: 92

It makes sense

I think it makes sense for Handspring to release a new Color Visor. Obviously, Handspring is gearing their business strategy for the wireless world/mobile phones. Not sure how this is going to do for them, but one thing is for certain they will be pioneers in shaping this new territory. As with any new technology, mistakes will be made.

The lack of expansion, in the eyes of many (including myself), is going to be the highlight of mistakes for the TREO. Handspring will eventually get it right, I think they will soon (if they don't already) understand that expandability in a PDA is not a luxury users enjoy anymore. It's an expectation, especially coming from the first company that successfully (debatable) implemented an expandable handheld.

I recall mention that Handspring would not release another Color handheld until they could get it right (paraphrased). Obviously, they believe they were able to "get it right" since we know for a fact that a color TREO 270 will be released at some point in the future.

This means the R&D $$$ have already been applied to the development and integration of some new color screen technology. Previous funds have already brought to market a VisorPro with 16MB. To merge the two technologies together to create a new color Visor unit would allow Handspring to continue to receive support for the Visor line while they attempt to break into the wireless communications arena simultaenously.

Since Handspring doesn't manufacture the devices, the cost is signifigantly lower than having to retool their production lines themselves. This is what Contract Manufacturers(CM's) do well. Of course, there is additional packaging, documentation, etc. considerations but Handspring needs a successful Color High-End unit to bring in additional revenue until their TREO line is accepted.

I'm sure Handspring must realize it will be a bumpy road to TREO acceptance? A New Color Visor "Now" makes sense as they prepare for that transition.

Just my own opinions...

__________________
My little girl is 3. She can already navigate my VisorPrism and knows where to tap! She has mastered TealPaint (including changing colors, tools, etc.), not to mention several games. In the Avatar, she is playing some tunes on the SoundsGood MP3 player. It's amazing how fast kids can learn if you give them a chance. Now if I could just keep her from making those long distance calls on my VisorPhone...

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

dick-richardson wrote:
If the device is good enough, the future doesn't matter.

Ask Apple.

I got my answer from Apple in 1998: my first PDA was a Newton 110, which I luckily offloaded only months before Apple buried the platform. And I consider myself lucky not to have sunk money into a Mac clone before Apple rescinded the MacOS licensing program.

Devices don't exist in a vacuum. Companies like Apple or Handspring that exhibit such tenuous support for their products only discourage me from buying their wares in the future. Just once, I would like to buy a product because of the company behind it, rather than in spite of it.

The future aside, the Prism isn't good enough for my current needs. I stopped carrying it around about six months ago because I finally had to admit to myself that I was sick of carrying a second device around. I do think it's good enough for anyone looking for a standalone color Palm OS PDA that's economical and expandible. As for myself, I'd rather have the Palm OS integrated into my CDMA phone. Device considation is at least as important to me as wireless internet access.

Communicators like the Kyocera QCP-6035, the Samsung i300, the Nokia 9210 and the Treo 180 all suggest that we're reaching a point in the hybrid design cycle where the Pilot 1000 was in the PDA design cycle six years ago. With devices like these available right now, I see no reason to keep the Prism, and I certainly see no reason to buy another module.

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Eye of Gameboy

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: The Matrix
Posts: 718

I'll make it simple for HS on this Prism2 issue.

It should have:

Hi-res reflective display (320x320 or 320x240)
16 MB of internal Ram
A slimmer form factor than a Prism1
Improved audio.
a way to drag and drop files memory expansion be it a sprinboard or MMC/SD or MemoryStick or Compactflash . . . hmmm, y'know what HS? Just go to Best Buy and Buy a Clie T-615 or a 760, then study it Its pretty much what I had expected from you. Well except that it would work with Springboards.

This Prism2 better have features within it to compete with the Clie line or be really cheap. If not Prism2 will fail to caputure new user as well as keep Visor owners on the HS platform.

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-Mikedemo
It's all about how you spend the money.

Registered: Jul 2001
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 366

I would like to see Handpring create at least one last color device that it can go out with a bang when it comes to traditional PDAs. Does it need to be thin, no, but if it does it should include a SD or CF slot so that I can have memory expansion without a full module and the sled. I really would not mind using the sled with things like a camera or MP3 player. It would not be that bad. but with memory expansion, which is what most people have in their Visors by default, it should have a second expansion slot so I don't have to use the sled all the time. I would prefer CF because of price.

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Did you just go near a burning hot river of lava or are you just happy to see me?

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Singapore
Posts: 174

quote:

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Originally posted by volcanopele
I would like to see Handpring create at least one last color device that it can go out with a bang when it comes to traditional PDAs. Does it need to be thin, no, but if it does it should include a SD or CF slot so that I can have memory expansion without a full module and the sled. I really would not mind using the sled with things like a camera or MP3 player. It would not be that bad. but with memory expansion, which is what most people have in their Visors by default, it should have a second expansion slot so I don't have to use the sled all the time. I would prefer CF because of price.

---

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my little webby
I still love my Visor Prism

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Atlantic Rim
Posts: 570

Re: Didn't notice, Reconditioned Units!

quote:

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Originally posted by jonecool
I didn't realize in my original post that these are reconditioned units.

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Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 7

I am curious whe everybody thinks about the slow demise of the springboard port and modules? I have more than one of these for my Prism and I always liked them.

The strange thing about all this churn for me is that I still like my Prism and module. But I fear I will have to switch to something new before I need the function because of breakage (new batteries for example), and it won't be economical to have the Prism repaired.

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DB L

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Atlantic Rim
Posts: 570

Module Love

Frankly, the only reason I don't jump on the Edge for $199 is that I have an OmniRemote module that I can't imagine parting with. Its not like I would carry the "Sled" around all the time just so I could use the module. I'll keep the OmniRemote and eventually upgrade to a Pro rather than sacrifice the module.

A programmable remote control for your Ir devices is way cooler, as far as I am concerned, than an integrated MP3 player. I am really suprised that manufacturers haven't upped the power of their internal Ir and integrated this feature with the OS.