Handspring Visor Deluxe
Written: Oct 07 '00 (Updated Oct 16 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Size,Quality Build, Easy To Use, Compatibility,Uses,SpringBoard Modules
Cons: None!
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| DYQ685's Full Review: Handspring Visor Deluxe Handheld |
* Reason For Purchase
* Features
* Uses
* Ease Of Use
* Compatibility
* Who Should Buy
* Reason For Purchase
Well, first of all I will be honest I love electronic gadgets ive always got to buy a new one atleast once a month or IM not happy! Secondly I have been wanting something smaller than a laptop to carry with me because laptops can get heavy or cumbersome and I was getting tired of it. And last but not least I wanted to write an Epinion on one to I could help all of my fellow Epinions users.
* Features
Well, to start the Handspring Visor has the official Palm OS! This is a very good idea because that way you can do anything with this that you could do with a palm for example there are literally thousands of Palm games out there and on this PDA you can download and run ANY of them on your Visor just like you would on a Palm Pilot also since it has the same OS you can share files and communicate with other Palm Pilot users despite the fact you have a Visor and not a Palm Pilot.. I have found this to be very helpful because I have friends that all have palms (they envy my visor) and they have phone numbers or games or other things that I want or vice versa and we can trade flies right on the spot or even by IR! Another good feature is the amount of useful software that comes preinstalled on it. It has programs such as an address book, date book, to do list, memo pad, calculator, e-mail, expense and even a WORLD CLOCK! I have found all of these to be very useful tools among my travels.. Of course you can download new programs that range from Business Card Generators so that you can beam your business card to your clients PDA to games that let you be a Space Trader and run around trading commodities and building a better ship! Also unlike some PDA's this ones cradle is USB NOT SERIAL i find this great because it is much faster than serial and also more stable this also works well for those of you who have PC's that don't have any serial ports! Now to my favorite feature the Springboard Expansion Slot..I Know I. Know a lot of you are saying "Why would you need to expand a PDA?" Well, once you hear the possibilities you will be astounded. First of all the amount of Modules available now and those in development is incredible! I will provide a list of them and a description of the ones I know anything about! First up is the 8MB Flash Module. This is designed to allow you to back up everything on your Visor such as personal data,applications,adress books and other files you may have added in the event of power loss for a long time. It comes with a File Mover for easily moving, adding or deleting files on both the module and the handheld. It has the ability due to its large size to hold over 200 Palm OS applications.. On to the next module which is ::drum roll:: The SoundsGood Mp3 Player.This is truly a wonderful idea for those of us who don't want to carry a million little gizmos around. Just clip this into your Visor, Upload your mp3s and PRESTO MUSIC! It has 64 MB of memory which supplies you with over an hour of music and can transfer all 64 MB from your PC Hard Drive to the Visor in under 4 1/2 Minutes which is 7 times faster than any other MP3 module on the market! It also comes with headphones, carry case, Good Desktop™ software, QuickStart guide book, and MusicMatch™ Jukebox software. Overall I love this Mp3 player and I definitely am glad someone realizes the need to make products do more than one thing. Now for the next module! The EYEModule. A truly wonderful idea! This is the only digital camera designed specifically for the Visor's innovative Springboard expansion slot! The eyemodule digital camera takes pictures in color or black & white using a low-power CMOS imaging array! Also all of your images are viewed in real time on the Visor's screen, and can be captured using a single- or multiple-image timer. All of the images you take on your Visor with the eyemodule can be Annotated and categorized,beamed to other PalmOS devices,Renamed,organized and have attached notes, Emailed and printed from your Windows PC and last but not least converted into JPEG format and emailed or printed from a Windows PC OR EVEN A MAC! A Visor Deluxe with 5MB free memory could hold more than 500 black & white pictures at 160x120 pixels,over 125 B&W at 320x240 or 25 color images at 320x240 now all of the images when viewed on the visor are in grayscale but once put on a PC they are in color if they were taken in color this is only because of course the visor has a monochrome display. Last but not least in any way is the Handspring Modem! This is a great idea for anyone wanting to get email or update while on the road! OK about the modem the Handspring Modem lets you connect to your desktop via a standard phone line and HotSync your data from a remote location. And also with 3rd party software you can check POP3 email, Surf the web and send and receive faxes. Also this is a great way of backing up your Visor while on the road. Just have it call your PC and send all of its info to your hard drive! And it is extremely small and capable of 33.6kbps data transfer! Now I do not own one but I have heard things about something called
@ctivelink / Visor™ Deluxe Bundle. This is supposed to be a Visor bundled with a wireless modem that is served by SkyTel Cellular! It allows you to do anything you could do with the Handspring Modem BUT it does it ANYWHERE IN THE US not just when you can find a phone line! Just turn on your Visor and log on! A truly great idea. I Have also found a list of modules to come and to keep from boring you with the long list in the Epinions which I hope is being helpful here is the address so you can go look if you are interested http://www.handspring.com/products/springboard_news.jhtml#GRID! Overall I think for your money this is the most feature packed PDA you can get ANYWHERE AT ANY PRICE.
* Uses
I have found multiple uses for this such as gaming! I am a game freak I have to have something to keep me occupied all the time I have found thousands of games out there that are incredibly entertaining to give you an example I downloaded a game called Space Trader from hotfliles.com and I played it for almost 6 hours straight. Also I love this thing when IM traveling I think that is when I enjoy it true possibilities. I like to use it while IM traveling by downloading from hotfiles a map of the city I am going to so that I can find streets,restaraunts,hotels basically anything you need to find your way around a new city. Also if you can get to a phone line you can still surf the web! Also this is great for people who forget phone numbers and addresses just store them in your Visor.
* Ease Of Use
This is the most easy to use PDA that I have used now I know most of you out there are thinking "how hard could a PDA be to use". Some can be hard I have a friend who has a Palm M100 which I have used and I noticed the screen has to be pushed harder than on a Visor and also the menus to get around it are more complex and not quite as easy to navigate as the Visor. Another thing I didn't like about the M100 was the software that came with it. IM not sure why but it crashed my PC everytime I launched it so I gave up and gave it back to my friend.
* Compatibility
Given the fact that it has Palm OS and not some NEW OS it is compatible with anything a Palm Pilot could use such as games, applications and even other Palm Products and as for PC it is very easy to use because of the USB cradle because almost any computer has a USB just plug it in and install the software and presto you have a functional PDA. No major configuring!
* Who Should Buy
I think the people that would benefit most from this product would be busy executives who need to have day planners and appointment lists, mothers who need to get groceries and have a list and other things to remember and people that frequently travel and need to remember flight times, gate numbers, seat numbers or reservation numbers! Well, thank you for reading my opinion and any input is welcome! DYQ685
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 249
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Epinions.com ID:
DYQ685
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Member: Dion Whitaker
Location: Somewhere, NC
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 22 members
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