Platinum or Deluxe? Simple decision!!!
Written: Oct 20 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: infinitely expandable, fastest Palm OS PDA on market
Cons: modest upgrade from Prism Deluxe
|
|
|
| biogeek's Full Review: Handspring Visor Platinum Handheld |
VISOR PLATINUM vs DELUXE
Handspring, maker of the popular and critically acclaimed Visor and Visor Deluxe, has recently released two new products - the Visor Platinum and Visor Prism. The new top-of-the-line Prism is the first Handspring PDA with a color screen, sporting a 16-bit screen displaying over 64,000 colors and a price tag of $450. This epinion, however, will focus on the second new Handspring PDA, the Visor Platinum. The Platinum is a modest upgrade to the Visor Deluxe, and is accordingly priced at $300 (Deluxe is $250).
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE VISOR DELUXE AND PLATINUM
There's an old phrase stating "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It is quite apparent that the engineers at Handspring had this in mind in creating the two new products. The Handspring company and Visor line of PDAs have become serious threats to the Palm giant for good reason.
Handspring's initial line of PDAs included several features that set them apart from the rest. First and foremost, Visor PDAs are almost infinitely expandable. This is done through the standard SpringBoard expansion slot on the back of the Visor. Using this slot (and your credit card), it is possible to morph your Visor into an MP3 player, digital camera, cellular phone, pager, global positioning system (GPS), golf scorecard, portable physicians desk reference, and video game player, all by simply plugging-in the appropriate SpringBoard expansion module into the SpringBoard slot. Likewise, the SpringBoard slot can also be used to upgrade the memory or backup your files. If for no other reason, the expandability of the Visor line makes it the PDA of choice for many and sets it apart from the competition.
Other features of the Visor Deluxe and Platinum include 8 MB of RAM, USB connectivity (for Mac and PC), and a modified (from the standard Palm OS) date book, calculator, and world clock. Since they use the Palm OS, you can beam information with other Palm users or download thousands of existing Palm-compatible applications.
NEW PLATINUM FEATURES
The two most notable features of the Platinum are upgrades to the operating system and processor. The Platinum runs Palm OS 3.52 for the Handspring on a Motorola 33 MHz Dragonball VZ processor, making it the fastest Palm OS PDA on the market with benchmark tests showing it to be more than 50% faster than the Visor Deluxe (which is, by no means, slow). This enhanced power, speed, and performance is worth factoring into your purchasing decision whether you are a power user or novice. Among the Palm OS 3.52 enhancements are wireless synchronization via IR and enhanced security and ease of navigation.
Another readily apparent improvement from the Deluxe to the Platinum is the screen. While both screens are monotone (as opposed to the color Prism screen) and 160x160 pixels resolution, the Platinum has 4-bit grayscale (16 shades of gray) comparted to the black and white Deluxe. This feature is quite obvious when compared to standard B & W screens and gives the illusion 3-D depth and improved clarity.
The Platinum also sports a superficial, but nonetheless noteworthy, alteration from the Deluxe. The Platinum is, as you might surmise, platinum in color (silver). This is a welcome change from the rainbow colors of the Deluxe, and is reminiscent of the popular and stylish Palm V line.
ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
Perhaps the most surprising attributes of the new Platinum are the ones that were left unchanged. To the color-blind person, the Platinum appears indistinguishable from the Deluxe. This is a bit of a surprise, as many (myself included) expected the new Visors to be redesigned in form, and perhaps be more sleek and slim. After getting over my initial disappointment, however, I realized that keeping with the theme of delivering a highly functional and affordable PDA to the people, this lack of change is not so surprising. It allows Visor users to upgrade to the Platinum without changing their current cradles/styli/carrying cases, and Handspring to produce the Visor shell without completely re-tooling the production lines.
Despite the unanimous dislike (or downright loathe) of the flimsy snap-on Visor cover, it has survived in this iteration intact. Again, I was surprised and disturbed by this oversight. However, while this is an annoyance, it is not an issue to me as I have (and recommend) the single-fold leather Handspring carrying case (~$25) which obviates the need for the snap-on lid.
Another critique of the new Platinum is that it (like the Deluxe) uses static ROM (which cannot be rewritten) rather than Flash ROM (used in the Palm devices). True, it would be nice to have flashable ROM. However, Handspring's position (and I reluctantly agree) is that static ROM is much cheaper and more readily available than Flash ROM (shortages of which are plaguing the PDA and cell phone industries), and besides, OS patches can be loaded into RAM.
Finally, while it is no surprise, the Visor Platinum (again like the Deluxe) runs on 2 disposable AAA batteries. This is both good and bad. For obvious reasons, it would be nice to use rechargeable batteries - cost, convenience, etc. However, standard batteries are available everywhere. You will never be caught traveling (away from your cradle/recharger) without easy access to disposable batteries, and it is a reasonable and prudent practice to carry an extra set of batteries with you when traveling.
WHICH VISOR IS RIGHT FOR ME?
While I cannot simply state which PDA is right for you, I can unequivocally state that Handspring makes a fantastic product for a reasonable price. Having owned a Palm III, a Visor Deluxe, and now a Visor Platinum, I am quite enamored with both the Deluxe and Platinum. The choice between the Deluxe and Platinum is actually a simple one. Is it worth an extra 50 bucks to have a PDA that is 50% faster and comes with the latest Palm OS and 4-bit grayscale? For my money, yes! Is it worth upgrading from the Deluxe to the Platinum? Only if you have the need for speed and $300 burning a hole in your pocket. Vintage Visor Deluxe or modestly upgraded Visor Platinum - either way, you can't go wrong.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
biogeek
|
|
Location: Durham, NC
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 4 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.