Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posts: 25

Well, I called up Handspring to ask about the compatibility of the Prism with the Stowaway, but the woman I talked to unfortunately didn't know either way. I also asked about when they were expecting to ship, but again she didn't know.

Something of note to point out - the Prism also requires a special cradle because it has an internal, rechargeable battery, which would be one reason why the old cradle wouldn't really work. Also, here's a snippet from the Prism FAQ:

quote:

---

Q. Can I use the same cradle from my current Palm device?
A. No. Visor has a different connector, which enables faster synchronization with USB. As a result, you'll need to use a Handspring cradle.

---

__________________
Leshrac
[email protected]
http://www.MagicTraders.com

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 103

Come on... metalic color ? weak

That is seriously weak.... if I wanted metalic color I would have got handy with a can of spray paint.... handspring what is so dificult about accuall metal ..... Ive got plastic already if I was stressing metalic color seriously I would have used spraypaint... its alot cheaper.... hopefully its simply some pinhead miss-typed and accually meant to type metal instead of metalic colored . Well lets hope. Maybe we can find out in a review. Seriously if the palmVx had a springboard slot I would buy it. but since the slot is more usefull I go with the slot instead of the metal. But if I had a choice; I want both.

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
Posts: 181

Re: Come on... metalic color ? weak

quote:

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Originally posted by Bane
Seriously if the palmVx had a springboard slot I would buy it. but since the slot is more usefull I go with the slot instead of the metal. But if I had a choice; I want both.

---

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

To Cool! The resoloution on that thing looks GREAT!!!
I can't wait. (I'l never be able to afford it but oh well ) I think that hand did a crappy job on the plat. It has nothing extra, and the prism needs 16 mb memory.. I love it
AND DO PEOPLE SEE THE GAMEFACE JOYSTICK???!
It's in the press release

gotta go to school

-miradu2000

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 31

Guys, be careful here. You may be slightly misled by the 'photos' of the Visor.

The Prism photos look awesome in the photos, but remember that the resolution is ONLY 160x160 -- the same as the Palm IIIc. For those that have seen the IIIc, you will remember that it had a very grainy resolution.

Although the Prism does have a higher color depth, and uses TFT color, unless the screen has a tighter dpi, you will probably find that it is only marginally better than the IIIc. Also, remember that it is thicker and heavier than a regular Visor.

Be careful buying this blind -- I'm very interested in seeing a real one up close, in both indoor light AND outdoor light. As far as color goes outside, I have only seen 2 color LCDs that really work outside -- the Sony hybrid LCD from their digicam, and the Compaq IPAQ. The rest wash out completely.

-Al

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

quote:

---

I got a chance to use the Prism recently. The old cradle will not work, because the Prism is somewhat curved in the back.

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__________________
Rev. Peter da Silva, ULC<br>
<a href=http://www.taronga.com/~peter/>Ar rug t� barr�g ar do mhact�re inniu?</a>

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 219

Actual Prism screen shots

This article is in Japanese but they have pictures of Prism screen showing both 8-bit & 16-bit images(click photos to enlarge). You can see a big difference. I can't wait to get my Prism!

http://www.zdnet.co.jp/macwire/0010/16/r_viprfi.html

This reviewer says it does feel heavy. Also it is 2mm thicker. But she says screen is really nice & much better than Sony Clie Color(sounds like she liked Prism better than Clie). It may be difficult to see outside, but I rarely use my Visor outdoors....

Also if you go to the second page of this article, there's a picture of SoundGood interface in color. Hope Innogear comes up with cool color skin for MiniJukebox!

http://www.zdnet.co.jp/macwire/0010/16/r_viprfi2.html

There's a screenshot of benchmark test, too. Prism is 223%!

[Edited by Taki on 10-16-2000 at 10:00 AM]

__________________
Taki
<!-- Begin UMSB Link --><A HREF="http://www.ad-visor.net/UMSB/"><IMG SRC="http://www.ad-visor.net/image/UMSB.gif"ALT="UMSB"BORDER=0></a><!-- End UMSB Link -->

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 179

BORING!

Color is neat but its already been done and the prices are to still to high. The Platinum was cool until I saw the cradle and snap cover. They made a matching set for the Prism but not the Platinum. Plus its just the same old case in a different color. Did it take them a whole year to add color and some new guts? I was hoping for a new sleeker look or how about some voice recognition capability. Something...anything...just new and different. What will we have to wait a whole year for next...a Flash OS? I can change the OS on my computer, why not my PDA (and no, not with a little patch or a Springboard).

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 22

Not impressed, sorry...

I don't know, I guess after the initial Visors came out, I saw Handspring as a maverick in the PDA arena. The colored cases, USB out the box, and the Palm OS, made them truly stand out as a "The Mac's Best Friend". The new ones show us a Handspring that has stepped back in line with the rest of the industry. No colored case options (Strike one), no higher resolutions (Strike two), and the same basic design as the first Visors (Strike three) actually put them a step behind the leaders. This really left me limp, I prayed the Yahoo photo was fake.

I guess I expected more -- but hey, I'm a Mac user, my standards are probably too high anyway.

I'm still waiting for my new PDA. In the meantime, my PalmPilot Professional will have to do.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

quote:

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Originally posted by Charo

quote:

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Originally posted by kalahari
Thanks for posting the info on Handspring's site so quickly James.

---

Actually looks James is still a little bit slow posting the big news. Albert posted the news at 9:37 and James put it on the VC home page at 10:18. Members doing all the work again.

---

Hah! Sorry I was late posting a news item that came in on Sunday night.

Now go click on our links and buy a Prism

__________________
James Hromadka
Old Friend

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Greenwood, IN
Posts: 125

I am pretty pleased with the Platinum and Prism in the sense that although I am glad to see Handspring expand its product line and improve its technology, I don't feel the burning need to ditch my trusty 3-month-old Blue VDx for either one of them. The Prism looks nifty but (1) it's too expensive (at least for a lowly assistant professor's salary ), and (2) I don't need color. The upgrade in the OS is good for the Platinum -- if I were buying now rather than 3 months ago, I'd spend the extra money and get the Platinum -- but again, I don't feel like for my uses, I need the extra speed and new OS. Maybe soon I will get some software that really pushes the envelope and think again about that, but maybe by then there will be yet *another* new product in the line. (Digression: I wonder what the next product from Handspring will be like?)

I think that all of Handspring's products so far are excellent, and you don't go wrong with any choice you make as long as you do the old-fashioned thing and keep your actual needs in mind when you buy and don't stray too far away from them. (Geez, I sound like my parents.)

__________________
BertBert
Mark 12:28-31

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 40

Re: Not impressed, sorry...

quote:

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Originally posted by GORDYmac
I guess I expected more -- but hey, I'm a Mac user, my standards are probably too high anyway.

---

Hahaha. Let's not go there...

__________________
Belzebutt

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 241

Here's some more pictures! Amazon now has the visor and platinum in their inventory! Yaaay! Now as soon as my $108 in gift certificates comes in, I'll get my Platinum for the price of a Visor...

Platinum
Prism

__________________
-Petro
<a href="http://www.thehungersite.com"><img src="http://www.greatergood.com/images/p/ths/THS_logo.gif"></a><br>
Go to The Hunger Site and help eliminate hunger!
All you have to do is click one button! No catch, no personal information requested!!
Go To The Rain Forest Site!
Please go to each once a day! Every day!
Also, visit The Kids AIDS site! Help the fight against AIDS!
Also, visit The Child Survival Site! Donate free vitamin A to help prevent disease in children!
Also, visit The Breast Cancer Site! Help donate free mamograms to help prevent breast cancer!
Also, visit The Landmine Site! Help victims of landmines!

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

Which screen does the Platinum have?

Amazon's showing a pale green screen with silvery buttons. Handspring's showing the same dark green screen as the VDx. Which one does it really have?

__________________
Rev. Peter da Silva, ULC<br>
<a href=http://www.taronga.com/~peter/>Ar rug t� barr�g ar do mhact�re inniu?</a>

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 241

Correct me if I'm worng, but isn't this "50% faster" thing a HUGE math error? Here's my reasoning:

Platinum's Processor speed = 33 MHz = 2 * speed of Visor

2/1 = 200%
subtract the original 100% speed of the Visor, and you have a 100% increase! Yes, the Visor is 50% the speed of the Platinum, but that doesn't mean a 50% increase!

I wonder who the math major was who made that error! They didn't happen to work for NASA by any chance, did they?
(I can joke, because I know the head of the Pathfinder/Polar Lander Missions great guy too! (If you're reading this, hi Dave!))


And now for something completely different:

Many people are saying how Handspring should have made a smaller unit to compete with the Palm V before going after the less popular Palm IIIc. Here's why I think they made the decision they did:

When they designed the Prism, they obviously used it's architecture to create the Platinum, thus getting a color and B&W product for practially the same development cost.

Now that they've developed a color unit, they can transport that technology on to a Palm V sized unit. Since they can use much of the same design work for a B&W unit, they once again, get twice the units for approximately the same cost of development. Now though this may make a smaller profit in the short run, I think in the long run, this was a briliant decision!

Now if I only knew how much the Palm V sized visor was going to cost and when it'd be out...

__________________
-Petro
<a href="http://www.thehungersite.com"><img src="http://www.greatergood.com/images/p/ths/THS_logo.gif"></a><br>
Go to The Hunger Site and help eliminate hunger!
All you have to do is click one button! No catch, no personal information requested!!
Go To The Rain Forest Site!
Please go to each once a day! Every day!
Also, visit The Kids AIDS site! Help the fight against AIDS!
Also, visit The Child Survival Site! Donate free vitamin A to help prevent disease in children!
Also, visit The Breast Cancer Site! Help donate free mamograms to help prevent breast cancer!
Also, visit The Landmine Site! Help victims of landmines!

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Plainview, NY
Posts: 116

I would like to purchase a Prism and still keep my blue DLX, But what do I do with my extra cradles (home & office), Stowaway and Go type (H & O)? I will probably keep them Do I have to spend the extra money for a Prism! At least Palm has the Bridge adapters for different Palms. Any chance of Handsprings having the same capabilites ?
Tired of shelling out all the extra bucks. I went from Newton 2100 to Palm to HS. Maybe some day there will be universal compatability. Any thoughts ?
Grandpa Geek

__________________
Dave B (Grandpa Geek)"If it ain't broke, don't fix it yet!
BUT IF IT IS PLEEZ FIX"

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: SW Virginia
Posts: 290

A Consern

A couple of years ago we saw the introduction of the Palm IIIx and V, these where the first Palm OS devices which made use of the Dragon Ball EZ processor. All Palm OS devices prior to that used the regular Dragon Ball processor. With their introduction several programs became incompatible. Agreed, these where program that were not written to the API, but instead where directly addressing processor control registers. Purchasers of these new devices had to wait for these applications to be updated to use them. Now with the introduction of the Handspring Visor Prism and Platinum, we have the first Palm OS devices that make use of the Dragon Ball VZ processor. Are we going to see similar compatibility problems? We will have to wait and see.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Savage, MN, USA
Posts: 8

Re: A Consern

quote:

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Originally posted by potter
... Palm OS devices which made use of the Dragon Ball EZ processor. All Palm OS devices prior to that used the regular Dragon Ball processor. With their introduction several programs became incompatible.

---

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Nazareth, PA
Posts: 99

The driver for the stowaway determines how it talks to the keyboard right? So they should be able to just right a new driver to deal with a different pin-out. Does that make sense?

__________________
http://signature.coola.com/[email protected]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 48

[/B][/QUOTE]

I got a chance to use the Prism recently. The old cradle will not work, because the Prism is somewhat curved in the back.

The version of eyemodule I used showed pictures in BW modeduting the "capturing process" - however we then launched a 3rd party app and viewed the photos in 16 bit. [/B][/QUOTE]


Marcus, since you've actually used the Prism, please don't make us wait for the "official" VisorCentral review . . . . What did you think of the Prism and, in particular, how was the color screen?

Thanks for sharing anything you can!