Handspring Visor

I bought the Visor Deluxe as replacement for a Palmpilot Professional upgraded to Palm III.

Compared to the old Palm the the display is very clear, and the case doesn't creak! USB cradle as standard was nice also. Membrane screen doesn't scratch, unlike old Palms.

Display easily damaged, just dropping from desk height onto a carpeted floor cracked it right across, cost for a replacement unit was $100 which I thought was poor (surely it's expected that a PDA will get dropped from time to time).

After two and a half years it's getting a little temperamental. The stylus digitiser needs recalibrating quite frequently and soft reset (occasionally hard reset) needed to get hotsync working properly.

I haven't found the expansion slot useful, so that's a bit of a waste of space

This Handspring Visor PDA is an excellent product. The core functions work very well. The machine never crashes and is always on in an instant - compare that to a PC! Additonal software is easy to find and has all worked reliably. Handwriting recognition takes some time to get used to. An application called Textplus really helps speed up data entry.

Machine is 2 years old and it looks like it will last another 3 or 4. If I were buying again I would go for palm OS machine - choosing the thinnest and lightest available.

When I wanted to upgrade my Palm Pilot Professional, I at first bought a Pocket PC device (A HP Jornada 545). Although I loved the colour screen I found the 545 too heavy and I didn't like the built in batteries or the battery life. I chose a HandSpring Visor in it's place (and spent the credit note on a nice home cinema amplifier!!). Overall I'm very happy with it and it is certainly good value for money. However, there are some things I don't like: One is the design of the hard cover that completely detaches rather than swinging up on a hinge; second are the buttons that depress very easily meaning you can't use the leather slip case supplied as standard without the hard cover in place (a very inconvenient combination that means I just ignore the slip cover); and thirdly, and most importantly, I'm not impressed with he build quality. The battery compartment cover is now a bit loose and the printing on the buttons is wearing off after less than a year. My Palm Pilot Professional looked better after two years of hard use.

If I were to buy a new PDA I would go for a Palm Pilot.

I do not need the extra slot that gives an edge to

the Handspring.

I bought the visor overa palm because of the better

bang-for-buck ratio. The thing looks good, works fine.

I have had no porblems to date apart from IR sync not

being quite right. I have a unit with a supposed memory

problem and have installed the patch, Im waiting to see

if any disadvantages appear (battery life etc)

All in all this is my first PDA and Im very pleased -

Having discovered Avantgo I am sooo glad I have a unit

with 8MB. Im waiting for the MP3-palyer springboard to

be ready, that will be a must.

The company needs to work on putting a better quality screen on their product. One that will last!

I made the move to a Visor deluxe from a 2Mb Sharp organizer and haven't looked back. I have a hectic work schedule and use Date Book Plus (which is extra on a Palm) quite extensively. I download books and magazines and find reading them easy on the eyes and convenient, not having to lug 3 or more books around. I'm a Pharmacist and have a Springboard module for the Physician's Desk Reference and have downloaded other medical texts into memory and I still have half my 8Mb free for other apps. As other Springboards become available, the Visor will prove to be even more versatile.

This is my every PDA and I'm delighted with it. It syncs everything I need from my work machine and I can access it all when out of the office. For the first time since I begun work, I've ditched my Collins Diary.

The upgrade feature were not my main reason for buying a Visor, more the price difference - but I couldn't help plumping for the 8MB version. Now I'm well loaded-up with some wonderful applications and games.

Buy one today, you won't regret it.

The Handspring Visor is another PalmOS (version 3.1h) PDA device that has it own growing dedicated user base. This handheld device is quite unique under the hood. One of yet the fastest processor offer on a Palm unit of this class.

The Visor (Deluxe) comes in different colors for your choosing. It has great screen resolution for viewing the different applications, games, eBooks that run on it.

I would recommend anybody who have a use for these devices to give the Handspring Visor serious consideration.