Handspring Visor

...no longer in production, although Handspring does sell reconditioned Visors at about £50. My main purpose in writing this review is to show what PDAs were like 3 years ago, and how much PDAs have advanced technologically nowadays.

-PRODUCT INFO-
Processor : Motorola MC68EZ328 16 MHz
RAM: 2 MB
Display: 2 Bit (4 grey levels)
Input Device: Touch screen
Battery: 2 x AAA battery
Average run time: ...
...it a bit disappointing that Handspring didn't include a built in voice recorder with the Visor. I owned my Visor for 3 years and I have never operated the microphone.

-IR PORT-
The left side of the unit has an IR port. As with other Palm OS units, this port can be used to sync, and transfer data / files. The Visor can send and receive data from other IR enabled Palm OS devices.

-STYLUS-
The right side has ... more

I bought my first Personal Digital Assistant when I was 19, the year when I was drafted into the army, in 2000. It created a huge hype with its unique SpringBoard expansion slot. To me, it resembled a Nintendo Gameboy, except that it is much smaller, higher resolution, more functions, smarter, relatively larger memory… well, basically, a technologically advanced.adult’s ‘gameboy’.

I paid £120 for it at that time, but to tell you the truth, at this point in time, it is no longer in production, although Handspring does sell reconditioned Visors at about £50. My main purpose in writing this review is to show what PDAs were like 3 years ago, and how much PDAs have advanced technologically nowadays.

-PRODUCT INFO-
Processor : Motorola MC68EZ328 16 MHz
RAM: 2 MB
Display: 2 Bit (4 grey levels)
Input Device: Touch screen
Battery: 2 x AAA battery
Average run time: 2 weeks (this depends on how regular you use it. I use it for an average of 10mins a day. Even if you put it aside for a long time, the batteries drain out)
Operating System: Palm OS 3.1

*HIGHLIGHT*
The top of the Visor has the new Springboard module slot. This slot looks very similar in size and shape to a Gameboy slot. It has a 68 pin connector that will accept a variety of modules. These can be software or hardware. Some devices released are games, memory backup modules, pagers, modems, voice recorders, mp3 players, you name it. The last time I heard is that they are planning to create a module that enables the user to make calls using the Visor, but I think that will/was released in the USA. The Springboard slot is whats setting the Visor apart from the other Palm OS devices, and creating the huge hoo haa, which was very much called for. The first module that I tried was the Tiger Woods golf game. As with all the modules, they are Plug and Play. When you put the module into the slot, it automatically will power the Visor on, install the needed software and start device/program. When you remove the module from the slot, it will also automatically remove any special software that it installed. This is truly Plug and Play. There isn't any user intervention needed, you just pop in the module and voila it's ready. Playing the game was just like playing the game as if it would have been installed directly on the Visor. It was just as fast. If you get bored playing the game, you can still leave it plugged into the Visor, you just tap the application button and all your apps are there just as before. Any special program installed for the Springboard module appears as an icon with a small black square beside it. When you don't want a Springboard module plugged in, there is a plastic module slug that plugs into the slot to cover it up.

*HARDWARE*
-CASING-
Lets start off looking at the overall outlook of the Visor, I’m sure that’s what everybody looks at when they search for a PDA to purchase. The first thing I noticed about the Visor was the snap on hard plastic screen cover. My Visor had a lovely transparent blue casing, and the plastic screen cover was clear translucent. This cover is easy to snap on and off the front or back of the Visor. It only protects the screen and partially protects the hotsync port. This is a plus point for me, because the screen and the hotsync ports are the most important bits of the PDA. It also comes with a leather slip case. This case is similar to the stock Palm cases. It has elastic sides so that the case can expand. It is adequate for some protection (the top of the Visor does stick out a bit at the top) but I prefer a nice play through type case, similar to those that Palm gives to their customers.

Visor casing is made entirely of plastic. It feels very sturdy and solid. Squeezing the sides of the case produces no creaking or cracking noises. Shaking the case produces no rattles whatsoever. The Visor has slightly rounded edges, which gives it a nice look. The sides have ridges which makes the unit a bit easier to hold on to, and they won’t slip easily especially when you’re like me, somebody who has sweaty palms. The Visor feels like a solid well made compact unit.

-BUTTONS-
The front of the Visor has the power switch, four application buttons and the up/down scroll buttons. The power switch is on the bottom left, unlike the Sony Clie (please look at previous ops written by me) which has it on the top right. It also has a small indentation so that you can use the tip of the stylus to activate it. Holding the power button down while the unit is on, will turn on/off the backlight. The four application buttons are flat, round, silver plastic buttons. They also have dimples in the middle so that you can use the stylus to activate them. The buttons have great tactile feedback. You can really tell when you have activated them by the audible click they produce. The up/down scroll buttons are separate buttons. These buttons are half moon shaped and also have really good tactile feedback. All the buttons except the up/down scroll buttons are recessed so that they can't accidentally be activated, unlike the Sony Clie which is.

-MICROPHONE-
The front of the Visor also has a microphone on the bottom left. Right out of the box, this doesn't do you any good though. The microphone can only be used/activated by a separately purchased Springboard module. I find it a bit disappointing that Handspring didn't include a built in voice recorder with the Visor. I owned my Visor for 3 years and I have never operated the microphone.

-IR PORT-
The left side of the unit has an IR port. As with other Palm OS units, this port can be used to sync, and transfer data / files. The Visor can send and receive data from other IR enabled Palm OS devices.

-STYLUS-
The right side has the stylus silo. The stylus looks like an expensive toothpick. The stylus does not click in place but rather is held in with friction. I was amazed that Handspring included a stylus that would unscrew to reveal not only a reset pin but a mini screwdriver.

-BACKLIGHT-
Handspring had the foresight to put in a backlight because people like me will use it in the dark to input last minute data just before I sleep. Fortunately, the backlight does not take up too much battery power, but unfortunately, it is a reverse backlight so it can only be used properly in total darkness. Pros and cons.

-HOTSYNCING-
The bottom of the Visor has the hotsync port. The connector is different than that of the other Palm devices so you can not use your friend’s Palm with it unfortunately. The actual hotsync cradle is made of lightweight clear plastic. The Visor can be inserted and removed pretty easily from the cradle. However, there is a little 'hook' on the cradle that grabs onto the back of the Visor to hold it in place. I found that sometimes when I went to remove the Visor from the cradle that I would pick the cradle up with the PDA. This got to be a little annoying. You have to remember to pull the Visor towards you as you lift it out. I suggest they either remove that little hook or make the base of the cradle weighted. Another thing that I noticed was that I would often need to press the hotsync button on the cradle several times before it would actually initiate the sync. It seemed like the button wasn't making good contact. Sometimes a soft press would work while other times I had to give it a forceful press.

One great thing about the cradle is that it is a USB cradle. Much faster hotsyncs for one, and easier installation for another. No more fiddling with COM ports! You don't have to cry anymore when you don't have a free port or IRQ. USB makes it so easy. Just plug it into a free USB port and that's it. I didn't have any problems at all setting it up on my system. The cradle does not have to be connected to the USB port all the time. Connect whenever you need it.

*SOFTWARE*
Now let's talk about the software side of the Visor. You're already probably aware that the Visor runs Palm OS 3.1. This means that it can run any Palm OS software that you can find. It is the same operating system as the Palms, thus you can download programs off Palm website and use them. But there are a few little enhancements that Handspring added to spice things up a bit. An advanced date book, advanced calculator, a world clock, and built-in floating point math support were all added

(Advanced date book): It is basically the same program as the normal date book pre-installed in an ordinary Palm but with one of my favorite parts taken out: Icons. I was totally disappointed with this as I use the icons all the time. The main differences between the original datebook and this advanced one are that there are a few different calendar views, unscheduled events that can float day to day, a daily journal and snooze functions on alarms. One weird thing is that you have the option to use the original datebook or the new advanced datebook, so that takes up space on your Visor. By the way, you can’t delete the normal date book.

(Advanced calculator): The Advanced Calculator looks like the original calculator at first glance, but you have the ability to switch to an advanced mode. This mode includes a complete set of math functions such as exponents, roots, logarithms and trigonometry for more complex calculations. There are also financial functions which include loans and percentage rates. Simple statistical functions such as mean, sum and standard deviation are included as well as conversion modes for weight, length, area, volume and temperature. Very handy for students and scientists. I love this program. My Sony Clie does not have it and I am pretty disappointed with that.

(World Clock): The World Clock app will let you display the day and time in your home city and in four other cities around the globe. You can also view the day and time for any other city by simply tapping the city's location on the map display. There is also a feature to allow you to view sunrise and sunset information for your home city. This program is actually CityTime by Code City.

-MAJOR DOWNSIDE-
My Visor kept crashing and losing my data at an average of once a fortnight initially, but because I always kept backup data in my laptop, which is the whole purpose of hotsyncing, I didn’t see a problem with that. Only when it started to crash more regularly and often, especially after I installed new programs in it, I got more and more frustrated. I think its because I was one of the first few customers to buy it. No wonder soon after the Visor was released, the Visor Neo was released and it looked exactly the same, except that it had a bigger RAM and faster processor, and of course, it came with a larger price tag. Now whenever I buy a PDA, I have to be absolutely sure that is stable, rather than to put interesting functions on a higher priority.

-RECOMMENDATIONS-
Don’t buy this. Firstly, its out of stock, that shows how old this product is. Secondly, it is unstable, lots of crashing and frustrating and hair pulling. Thirdly, it has a black and white screen. Please do pamper yourself and get a colour screen. You’ll love it to bits and it does make A LOT of difference to your life. Lastly, buying lots of AAA batteries will make you broke faster than you can say ‘Handspring’.

Thanks for reading this ops. I have already bought a Sony Clie to replace the Visor, but the latter has served me well for a couple of year, despite all the annoyances it has causes, so I will give it a three star rating, for being such a unique product at its time, and it being the first PDA released by Handspring, which is currently famous for their Treo.
 

...less