Pros: color, some interesting Springboard modules finally available
Cons: very pixelated screen, bulky and heavy, limited accessories, memory expansion expensive
The Bottom Line: Heavy and bulky with a very pixelated screen, the Prism is only for people unaffected by the pixelation who must have a color Palm. Compare the screens then choose.
quasar's Full Review: Handspring Visor Prism Handheld
I have made no secret of the fact I have yet to find a color Palm I like. Although I have other issues with each of the available color Palms (Palm IIIc, Palm m505, Visor Prism, and Sony CLIE), one problem is constant among all of the color devices: pixelation effects. On all of these devices, the screen is covered with a black grid at the pixel borders. Many people don't even notice this effect, and others notice but are not bothered by it. I am extremely bothered by the pixelation. The pixelation is much worse on the Visor Prism than on the Palm IIIc or the Palm m505. In fact, I find the grid so bothersome on the Prism that I have trouble even looking at the screen. My eyes automatically look away when I try to view the screen. My eyes physically hurt after only a few seconds when I force myself not to look away.
Causing physical pain is not the way to make a good impression. Obviously if you are one of the unlucky minority who do have problems with the pixelation you most likely will not want to buy the Visor Prism. Read on and see if the Prism interests you. If it does, make sure you go to a physical store and look at the screen before you purchase.
Basic Specs
The Visor Prism runs a modified version of OS 3.5.2 on a 33 MHz Dragonball VZ processor with a Lithium Ion battery. It has 8MB of RAM but no Flash ROM (the OS is stored on masked ROM). That means that the OS cannot be upgraded and no applications can be stored in onboard non-volatile memory. It has a 160x160 pixel 16bit color screen (65,536 colors). The Prism measures 4.8 inches x 3.0 inches x 0.8 inches (12 cm x 7.5 cm x 2.1 cm) and weighs 6.9 ounces (194 grams).
Look and Feel
To put it bluntly, the Prism is a brick. It's large. It's heavy. I wouldn't want to carry it all the time.
It's a very boxy Palm, angular with no curves. Made from dark blue plastic with horizontal ridges on the side, I don't think the Prism will be winning any beauty contests in the near future.
The buttons on the Prism are recessed in pairs - there is an ovular indentation on each side each with two recessed buttons. The up and down buttons are separate. I find the up and down buttons fairly easy to use, but the other four buttons a bit hard to push with my fingers.
Like all Visors, the Prism has the IR port on the left side. This definitely takes getting used to, especially if you normally hold the device in your left hand. It is definitely possible to inadvertently cover the IR port (although it is in a better position than the IR port on the Edge).
The Screen
The Prism uses the same 160x160 active matrix color screen. Unlike the IIIc, the Prism displays 16-bit color (65,536 colors). How can they have different color depths if they use the same screen? They use different graphic controllers.
The Prism has an adjustable backlight. At its highest setting it is quite bright. I have no complaints with brightness.
As I mention at the top of the review, the main problem with the Prism screen is the black grid between the pixels. I strongly recommend looking at the screen of a Prism before buying one to see if you are among the people affected by the pixelation.
HotSync Port
The Visor Prism technically uses the same hotsync port as the Visor Platinum. However, the Prism is considerably thicker and the placement of the port relative to the back of the unit is different. Consequently, the Visor Prism will not work with standard Visor cradles or all accessories that use the hotsync port.
Expansion
The Prism comes with a standard Handspring Springboard slot. Two years after the release of the original Visors we are finally seeing a critical mass of Springboard modules, everything from modems, LEDs, vibration modules, cameras, MP3 players, barcode scanners, and software modules.
Memory and backup modules have been available from the start, but additional options in these areas have recently come to market. You can now purchase a 16MB Flash module in addition to the 8MB initially released. You can also buy Compact Flash or MMC or Smart Media converter modules. A CF reader module plus one or more CF cards is the cheapest way to add additional memory to the Prism.
Accessories
The Prism isn't compatible with most non-Springboard Visor accessories because of its size. Thus, there are many fewer accessories available for the Prism than for the original Visors.
The good news is that there are some Prism-specific accessories including the GameFace, a shell that sits on top of the Prism providing joystick access to the hardware buttons underneath.
Handspring-Specific Software
All Visors ship with Datebk+. Datebk+ is a slimmed-down version of Datebk3, the predecessor to Datebk4. It offers some enhancements over the standard Palm Datebook (also provided) including additional calendar views.
They also ship with a limited version of CityTime, a world clock application that displays the time in up to four locations worldwide. The Prism version is colorized, but it seems dimmer than the full version of CityTime I've seen on the Palm IIIc.
The third extra application is colorized scientific calculator. This calculator is certainly better than the generic Palm calculator but far from the most feature-rich scientific calculator available for the Palm. I'd rather use Unc or RPN than this calculator.
Final Thoughts
The Visor Prism was the first 16-bit color Palm OS device. It definitely was innovative, but unfortunately it also comes in a large heavy package and with a pixelated screen. If you must have a color device, go to a store and look at the Prism, Palm IIIc, Palm m505, and Sony Clie side-by-side. Chose the screen you like the best. If you can live without color, you are much better off buying a HandEra 330 (a new high resolution monochrome device with both Compact Flash and Secure Digital slots; see my review at http://quasar.epinions.com/content_33706249860) or a TRGPro (a Palm OS device with a Compact Flash slot; see my review at http://quasar.epinions.com/cmd-review-701-391D6862-3A4F9BB1-prod5).
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.