Ok, so the world of handhelds is taking off and we all need one in the modern business world to jot down ideas, but were you aware that there are alternatives out there to the world famous Palm series?
Palm Series, made by Palm (visit www.palm.com), are market leaders. With that comes a high price.
As with an product, the guys at the top can charge you a little bit more as their product is proven.
Well hang on guys, before parting with your cash, check out the Handspring range. It does all the Palm can and at almost £100 cheap. Thats a saving of 33%.
Let me describe it to you.
Looks.
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Very similar to the Palm. Similar layout of buttons and overall size.
If anything, it appears to be more flat and square than the Palm.
My one here is Silver and looks very modernistic. They do come in a range of colours that include, Orange, Blue, Green, Gold and even Platinum!
Features.
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Yes it has plenty of them. It runs on a basic Palm O/S that means it is compatible with your desktop and other computer to syncronise your documents that you may have been working on.
With its 8Mb of memory, it can handle complex additional programs.
Those it can`t Handspring have an answer for.
At the top is the Springboard Expansion slot. Simply boost your memory with an additonal 16 Mb card to give you 24Mb. Thats 8 more than Palm can offer.
Rather than a push on its a slip on!
You slide the expansion slot into place.
This allows you to put your various peripherals onto the Visor without any worries.
So you can install your Scanner, Camera or Audio device with no problems at all.
Connection to other USB devices is perfected with a Single Serial USB port as well as 4 mini ones.
Audio functionality.
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yes thats right. The Visor can record sounds and play them back. Something that the Palm cannot cope with. This obviously requires more memory so its best to use it in conjunction with the extra memory.
It relies on the built in microphone to record sound which is suprisingly clear.
Stylus.
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To operate the screen you use a Stylus. Revlieves you of too much button pushing which is a benefit with something so small.
The stylus is small but easily manageable for people with average size hands. Big fingers may prove a hazzard.
Protection.
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No one wants a scratched screen so the Handspring has a flip top cover. The Palm has no protection so your Handspring will stay in better condition. If you consider that the LCD TFT screen is touch sensitive and the only way to communicate with a handheld, a scratch to the screen could prove costly.
Peripherals.
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Suprisingly there are many.
You can buy yourself a Syncing cradle for as little as £25. This is excellent and required if you plan on hooking it up to your PC. Straight through to the USB port on your machine.
The Springboard module that you use to expand your handheld is unfortunately an additonal cost but a snip at £30.
Even with these two add ons you have beaten the Palm by £50 and you still need to buy a cradle to sync a Palm.
Lifespan.
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Its a rechargeable device with built in Battery and this can last for up to a month. It has about 50% better lifespan than the charge of the Palm.
Weight and dimensions.
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Being this small, its not going to weigh that much, even with a more powerful battery. It actually is lighter than the Palm
but you cant tell by holding them.
Size wise, they are very similar so you can tell the differnece.
Overall.
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It appears the Handspring is better than the palm in performance and price. there are not as many peripherals on the market for it and it is not as commonly availalbe in the shops.
But at this price, it seems an attractive alternative to the Palm.
by (4%):
23.08.2002 05:14
Edge is now discontinued by Handspring, but you can still buy it from many retailers, for a very attractive price. It is well designed, built from real metal (not el cheapo plastic), expandable and the fastest of Palm/Motorola Dragonball VZ33MHZ machines (244% in benchmarks). So catch the bargain, while it lasts!
02.12.2001 19:04
I see you have changed those errors - so have upgraded my rating. Mike
01.12.2001 20:26
Another super op, you dure do like your computer gadgets :) james