Handspring Visor Deluxe (Orange)

Rating:
Summary: Great start in the PDA market
Review: Handspring's Visor Deluxe is a perfect product for those experienced with PDAs and anyone looking for a first product of this type. Its mix of features and functions can immediately replace any day planner you carry.

The Visor Deluxe is a solidly built product. Its 8MB of RAM will hold all your contacts, your calendar for at least months at a time, dozens of memos, and other programs and information, all with plenty of room to spare.

Initially released with a chintzy plastic stylus that easily scratched the Visor's screen, Handspring wisely switched to a heavier metal-body stylus with a plastic tip that's much easier on the screen, even under heavy use.

The Springboard slot means amazing expandability, including the ability to back up or restore all data in a single operation.

Simple to set up and use, with a good mix of applications included, the Visor Deluxe makes a great way to get your feet wet in the PDA market. If you already own another PDA and are thinking of trying something different, take a good look at the Visor.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic alternative to Palm!
Review: I was issued a Palm Pilot at work and made a lot of use of it. I was going to buy my own... one that had more memory than the 2MB version they gave me at work, but a co-worker showed me his Handspring and I was in awe. I then did a lot of research and read the specs on many hand-held devices... Handspring was the clear winner.

You still get the benefit of the very popular Palm OS which already has literally thousands of programs available... many at no or little cost... AND you have the ability to upgrade the pants off this thing.

The Springboard slot at the back means that you can pop in modules that contain memory, programs or devices such as cameras, phones, pagers, GPS devices... absolutely revolutionary.

I've had my Visor Deluxe for 2 years now and I would be lost without it.

My less than perfect rating comes stems from these issues:

1.) the screen scratches BADLY. It looks like the same material that's used for the Palm Pilot, so either it's the screen or the Handspring stylus... something about the plastic surface of either the screen or the stylus will grab any bit of microscopic debris and score a heavy scratch into the screen. I still use my Palm from time to time and I have no scratches other than normal use wear that looks like mild tiny scratches you can only see if you hold the Palm at an angle under a light.

2.) The Springboard slot should have been designed so that it inserted from the side OR should have been more narrow so that the infrared beam port would not have to be on the side. This makes beaming awkward when beaming info to and from other Palm users... either you or the Palm user has to turn the device 90 degrees in order to make a successful beam, which means you have to read side-ways.

3.) the decals or screen printed ink or whatever it is on the silver buttons rubs off. In only 2 months of ownership, the phone and checklist buttons were blank with no icons on them... very frustrating. Considering greasy fingers are going to be on the buttons all the time, perhaps they should have been embossed w/ the symbols instead if not just using more durable ink... my Palm does not have this problem after 2 years of use.

4.) Mac tech support from Handspring is ABYSMAL. I had some problems getting my Handspring to synch when I first got it. I struggled for several weeks. I e-mailed Handspring and I got a number of replies that showed that not only did they not read my e-mail, but that they had poor command of the English language. I finally was able to get my Handspring to synch w/ my Mac by messing with settings on my own... Handspring was totally unprepared to provide support to Macintosh users... this gave me a really bad impression of their consumer relations department and their company philosophy.

Despite these problems, this is a fine piece of equipment that I've really found indespensible now that I've been using it for so long. I also got a Targus Stow-away keyboard for it (also available here on Amazon) which was a fantastic investment in my continued enjoyment of this PDA. Compared to Palm Pilot, Handspring wins the contest hands down.

Rating:
Summary: Beware...
Review: I have this visor. I quit using it after a year. The problem is that it uses batteries... normal use you will get arround a week.
You have to check the batteries even if it has not been used since it consumes batteries. You need to have information stored and updated in your pc AT ALL TIMES, in this way if the information is lost from visor you will be able to recover it-hotsync. Information is usually lost when batteries are low/die.

I replaced it for the sony clie pega tj25 handheld.

For all of you who have or plan to buy this item... Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: Visor Deluxe: Highly Underrated
Review: Having seen several PDAs on the market, especially Palm OS ones, I don't think the Handspring Visor gets enough credit for being a great all-around handheld. I've owned my Visor Deluxe since December, 2000, and I find it completely indispensible -- every time I go somewhere without it, I find myself wishing I had brought it.

It is versatile, stingy with batteries, rugged (especially with the Targus belt-clip case!), and a good daily user. I also think it is more attractive than the average boring Palm OS clones, as it manages to turn heads whenever I take it out.

I'm also not sure why some say that its construction seems cheap -- on the contrary, I feel the Handspring has a stronger, heftier feel in my hand than many of the Palm, Inc. handhelds, and I've never once faced a problem with any part of the equipment.

Also, for Mac users (which I am), the fact that it comes with a USB cradle is a great deal, as it means not having to waste money buying an adapter and software extra to use your handheld with the computer.

I do concede, however, that the colorful Handspring Visors are for cooler people as opposed to corporate types, which would probably prefer the graphite version. But as a young person (23 years old), I appreciate the modern look of the Visor.

Rating:
Summary: Handspring Visor Deluxe Vs PamIIIxe
Review: I got my Visor Deluxe last month and I love it.
If you are considering buying a Visor Deluxe, I'm sure you are deciding between this Visor and PalmIIIxe, because they have similar feature, spec, and they both have the same price.

AT the same time I bought my Visor, my roommate bought a PalmIIIxe (and he also loves his Palm very much). So i'll give you the differences between these 2 PDAs, and let you decide which one you like better.

I'll start with How Visor is better.
-Visor has expansion module, which means alot, you can add many many feature afterward, you can make your Visor am MP3 player too! And you can also easily add more memory to your Visor, while for PalmIIIxe, you can only add 2MB flashcard.
-Visor is a bit lighter than PalmIIIxe (5.4oz Vs 6.0 Oz, not a lot of difference though)
-When you buy a leather case for your Visor, you dont have to stick a valcro to the back of your PDA like you have to for Palm. (Palm need a Valcro to hold it to the case, while for Visor, there's a plastic holder attach to the back of the leather case, so you can jsut put your Visor securely in there)
-Visor comes with a fast USB cradle while Palm comes with slow serial cradle, so if you buy palm and want a fast synconizing, you'll need to buy a USB cradle separatly for about thirty dollars.
-Visor comes with a good quiality stylus, it has solid feel of metal, and if you open it up, there's a little screw driver and a reset pin inside. Palm comes with a piece of plactic stylus, my roomate had to buy a new stylus for about fifteen dollars.
-And another important nice thing about Visor is, you have 4 cool colors to choose from (5 colors if you include boring graphite color) If you are getting Visor as a gift to a college students or someone young, they'll love the colors.

Ok, now to what's better about PalmIIIxe
-PalmOS on Palm is upgradable, while Visor user will stuck with PalmOS version 3.1 for the rest of the VIsor's life. However, this is not a problem as it may sounds. most version of PalmOS's are essentially the same thing.
-PalmIIIxe has better display than Visor. Palm has 4bits display, while Visor deluxe has only 2bits. This means that, for Palm, u'll be able to display 16 level of grey-scale, while for Visor, you can only display 4 levels of grey-scale.

So, that's about it for the little comparison chart I made. Other tings about these 2 PDAs are the same, they use same processor, and dimension is the same. (Visor is slightly thicker, and Palm is slightly wider)

As a recommendation if you r going to buy Visor Deluxe, get one of the cool color, don't get the graphite one, unless you are a businessman, and want a more sophiticate looking device. Otherwise, other 4 colors are way cooler, (mine's orange)

If you have more cash to burn, then I recommend you getting either PalmVx or Visor Platinum, they are a little bit more expensive. However, I've never used them so I will not write any comments about them.

P.S. DO NOT get a PDA with less then 8MB memory, must have AT LEAST 8MB

Rating:
Summary: This will change the way you do everything!
Review: I have had my Handspring Visor Deluxe for well over a year now, and it has become a tremendous help to me in many ways. First and foremost is the calendar. No more bulky day planner! Instead, I can pull it out of my front pocket any time I want. I also like the fact that all of the information is on my computer at home and online (using Yahoo! TrueSync software). I also use the to-do list all the time, as well as using my Visor to take notes in class, write emails, play games, and read the news, weather, and even check out local movie listings using AvantGo software. There are thousands of free software applications out there for almost anything you could imagine. The Graffiti text input system is easy to use - I now write just as fast into my Visor as on paper with a pen.

I have excellent backup software (BackUpBuddy) and inexpensive insurance from PDAs Lost Or Stolen so I don't worry about what will happen if my Visor gets stolen, is lost, or broken.

If you can't tell already, I LOVE my Visor Deluxe. It helps me to stay organized and on top of things (no small feat). While the design is a bit bulkier than a Visor Edge or a Palm Vx, it is very sturdy, and for the price, I don't think it can be beat. I haven't purchased any accessories for my visor, but I know people who have purchased keyboards and springboard expansion modules, including modems and memory expansions, and they love them.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Toy - Best gift idea
Review: I have been long using my traditional At-A-Glance MONTHLY calendar. I never really enjoyed watching those people with small Palm, compact PCs taking notes, etc... But using Palm device have made me much more productive and made my life much more fun. I still use my At-A-Glance MONTHLY calendar and put most of my important meeting notes there but I also do it on my Visor. I enter most of my information using my PC, not my Visor and synch it using cradle. The installation is really easy and everything works perfectly. Once, I had a problem and called HandSpring and the tech support person was really nice and helped me to fix the problem. There are many many reasons for me choosing Visor rather than Palm or WinCE products but the most important reasons were price and expandability. WinCE was too expansive and not that many software available compare to Palm/Visor products. Palm did not have expandability. I also knew that these devices will be constantly improved and they will come out with better products.

Here are a few things I love about this product - 1. I can synch all my address/calendar/contact info (over 500) on my MS Outlook, Yahoo! and my PalmDesktop software with a single touch. This is the most amazing feature. I have my information at all times. If I'm not carring my Visor, but if I have access to the Internet, I have all the information via Yahoo. Now, I can keep track of just about everything. 2. I download latest financial, world news from CNN, RagingBull, etc. to my Visor at 5:00pm at work and read them in train. 3. I play chess using my Visor while on train. The computer beats me most of the time but I'm getting better :) 4. Dictionary software - free from the Internet. I have a portable, electronic dictionary that I've always wanted - for free! I have to go to sleep now. Too much computer is not good. -Bill K.

Rating:
Summary: Decent for being so cheap
Review: PROS:
- Extremely inexpensive
- Not as large as the Prism model
- Simple buttons
- EXCELENTLY designed stylus (reset pin, stylus, and screwdriver combination!)

The Palm OS on the Visor Deluxe is slightly outdated (3.1 instead of 4+) which can cause headaches if you are trying to install newer software. Also, the casing is a little too large to be a pocket item and the unattaching cover can be annoying at times. Those are some general negatives. Besides that I personally had other problems. I was very careful with my Visor and kept the plastic cover on it unless it was in use. Still, under regular, every-day abuse, the screen cracked while it was in my pocket. Replacement was a simple process and Handspring gets 5 stars on service (though it would have been nice if it wouldn't have had to be replaced in the first place). After receiving my replacement, however, I noted that the stylus was not held in place as it should have been while in the visor, which caused the loss of many styli. Sadly, again after much care, the screen of my Visor mysteriously cracked again. Thus, I am now looking into buying a new PDA and probably won't choose a Visor Deluxe this time, being that they don't withstand my handling well. If you choose to purchase a Visor Deluxe, be careful with it and I would recommend investing in a new protective cover other than the standard one provided.

Rating:
Summary: I own 1
Review: I am 13 years old and I own one! They are fantastic for all ages! It keeps me organized along with all my school assignments, activities, and contacts. It keeps me entertained anywhere I go and I can always play games or enter more information! I would highly recommend this product!

Rating:
Summary: Excelent PDA well worth the price, although...
Review: I've had my visor for over 2 years, and I've loved it ever since I got it to replace my suicidal Palm IIIx (the screen cracked, twice!). It is a sturdy, solid device that is still going fine (none the worse for wear) after 2 years of heavy duty usage.

I love the stylus, and would like to see many others like it, it's heavy (metal body) and it includes a reset pin (on the pointy side) and a wonderful screwdriver (on the top side) that exactly fits the screws in the case, temptation to mess with the warranty if there ever was one.

The only down side to it is that since Handspring has decided to exit the PDA market and concentrate on the Communicator market, so we wont see any more excelent products like this one. The Ingenious (sp?) springboard modules are also dead and there won't likely be any more innovatin on that side.

The current price is very nice, so if you want a ... rugged pda, buy it. If you want something more state-of-the-art and with more future, go for the Zire 71 or an entry level Sony.