Handspring Visor Prism

While the Prism costs more than the Palm IIIc, its increased color depth and brightness (it delivers 16-bit color compared to the 8-bit color of the IIIc) really shines in gaming and graphical applications. Even the default world map that's used to set geographic location and time appeared more distinct and offered the illusion of 3-D.

Like other Visors, the Prism contains a Springboard module slot, letting users upgrade its capabilities--such as adding an MP3 player, expanding memory, and eventually adding a cell phone (among many options). With the color screen of the Prism, modules such as the eyemodule digital camera really take on new life. With the Prism, the eyemodule takes color pictures, while previous versions of the Visor only allowed users to view them in grayscale.

Further, unlike other Visors, the Visor Prism uses an internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery--a nice touch as the color display would have drained the standard two AAAs quickly. Handspring claims that a fully charged battery should last a week or two with normal use, but we found continuous use of the display, such as with game playing or extended note taking, wore the battery down much faster. However, every time the Prism syncs in the fast-transferring USB cradle, the battery gets charged--and it only takes a few minutes to top off the current level of juice.

Although the color screen only extends the thickness of the Prism by a tenth of an inch compared to previous Visors, it's still twice as thick as the sleek Palm V line of devices. But it is smaller than CE devices such as Casio's EM-500 and the Compaq iPaq, and for its size category of palmtops, it delivers the best colors around. --J. Curtis

Pros:

• 16-bit color (compared to the Palm IIIc's 8-bit color)
• 8 MB memory
• Expandable using Springboard modules

Cons:

• Color display not as bright or crisp as Pocket PCs

In addition to an address book, to-do list, and memo pad, the Prism Color Visor features an enhanced date book, advanced calculator, and world clock. The 8 MB memory stores approximately 12,000 addresses, 10 years of appointments, 6,000 to do items, 6,000 memos, and 400 e-mails. Since it uses Palm OS, you can beam information with other Palm users or download thousands of existing Palm- compatible applications, including those with color.

The Prism's USB connection makes synchronizing with your desktop computer fast and easy. You can quickly back up, update, or exchange information between the Prism and your computer with the USB charging cradle and HotSync technology.

The Prism comes with a protective leather case, an AC adapter for use with the charging cradle, Palm Desktop software for Windows and Mac. It is backed by one-year limited warranty.

Important note to customers: USB connectivity is compatible with Windows 98/2000/Me and USB-enabled Macintoshes running OS 8.1 and later. If you use Windows 95, Windows NT, Mac OS 8.0 or lower, or your computer does not have a USB port, you will need to buy a separate serial cradle.

What's in the box

• Visor Prism
• Cobalt Blue HotSync cradle
• 8 MB RAM
• Internal rechargeable lithium ion battery
• USB HotSync charging cradle
• Leather slipcase

1. The cover is "maddening." Of course, there are bigger problems in the world. But I'm used to a Palm III series PDA where I use it constantly, flip up the cover, flip it back down, and put it in my pocket. With this Prism, you take off the cover, figure out a place to put the cover so you don't forget to put it back on, use the PDA, then snap the cover back on, except you always put it on upside down at least for the first month until you figure out a system for remembering which end is up.

2. The Prism is thicker and heavier than one from the Palm III series, which was no Weight-Watchers' graduate itself.

3. Color is great, for me, for its better visibility (I read text). If you need to carry and show off photos on it, that's fine, but is that why you need a $450 PDA? Few applications exist that really take advantage of the color.

4. The Prism comes with 8 mb of memory and the Springboard is only 8 mb of memory. Why no upgrade of either to 16? I could guess, memory is expensive and in short supply these days.

5. The battery life made me nervous. It didn't get through two days without a recharge, with moderate use that included two backups to the Springboard backup module.

If you want cutting-edge, the Prism is still the best out there, however.


A great alternative to Palm... in color!   November 1, 2000
Michael A. Brown (Salt Lake City, UT USA)
66 out of 87 found this review helpful

Utilizing the same software as a Palm PDA, the Handspring provides everything you need and costs less. It has the same user interface. It looks the same. The main difference is that the Handspring costs about half what a comparable Palm Organizer would run. With this new unit, the Handspring finally has a rechargable battery. And, the handset comes with a USB compatible cradle which will dock to any Macintosh (G3/Blue and newer) and many PCs. This is a great alternative to overpaying for a Palm. Plus, Handspring has several plug-ins that help to expand the power even more.

All in all, now that they've matched Palm on the color unit as well... I'm not sure why you'd spend the extra money on a Palm.


Bulky and Heavy but Nice Colors   November 19, 2000
66 out of 70 found this review helpful

The new Handspring Visor Prism is a cool product for the right user. That user needs to care very little about size, bulkiness and probably should be an avid game player.

Some major problems I have with it are:

1) It is thicker, bulkier and heavier than the regular Handsprings, and not even close to the sleekness of the Palm V Series. It won't really fit in your pocket and will weigh you down. So, if you care about size and portability don't buy this product. The product looks terrible in a case as well. It is just too thick.

On the plus side:

2) The colors and the screen are very nice. However, I would say that unless you are an avid game player or plan on loading up your Visor with a lot of pictures then you really won't be able to show off the potential of the display. I have also found that the screen looks great in dim/dark conditions. It could be used as a flashlight in the dark, it is so bright. However, in normal bright conditions such as your office, outdoors, or in airports, I prefer the Palm B&W displays. The colors screen just doesn't show that well under normal conditions. It is kind of like when color screens for PCs first came out - Passive Matrix.

3) The rechargeable batteries are definitely a plus.

Oh, and one more thing: you will need to find color applications that support the Prism. There are some good ones such as ZAP2000, Todo plus, and flipchart.

Overall, I would rate the product a 3.5 stars.


Heading in the right direction.   December 20, 2000
S. O SPEARS (Tokyo, Japan)
58 out of 59 found this review helpful

The Prism is what many have been waiting for in a Palm-based machine: brilliant color, expandibility, rechargable batteries, and mind-boggling speed.

What are the drawbacks? Well, certainly if you are looking to purchace your first PDA this will definately be one to look in to, but more experienced users will quickly be able to identify two chief problems: battery life and tight memory constrictions when using full-color images.

The battery is meant to last 15 days under normal use. If you have been using replacable batteries or a monocrome rechargable unit, this may feel a bit restricting. Plug in a springboard module and you may watch your battery's charge plumet even faster. Under normal conditions, where a person would be plugging their device into a cradle every night, this won't be a problem, but don't forget your charger if you're planning to stay away from home too long.

What will attract many away from the Palm IIIc will likely be the flashy new high-color display. Unfortunately, it should be kept in mind that more colors per pixel means larger files. 8 megabytes will seem awfuly cramped with only one or two photos loaded in. One solution will be the memory expansion unit, but the base problem still remains: the files will be huge. Effective memory management will be a must for any planning on trying to take advantage of the capabilities of the new display.

One further problem, which should not be of too much concern for the time being, is the fact that the ROM in the Prism is mask Rom, not flash. In other words, when system updates come out you won't be able to rewrite the device's ROM. Palm does not at this point seem to be working towards any massive overhauls to their system, so this should not be a worry for a while, but for those looking to use the Prism for years ahead this may be a point to consider.

All in all, the Prism is the first color Palm unit to deliver so much at a cost that puts in within reach of most of the other high-performance models. Still, the drawbacks to the Prism should keep a person from hastily rushing to sell off their IIIc, Vx, or Sony units. This will be a good first-time or replacement device, however, and will be sure to make you the envy of your friends and enemies.


Very nice PDA, but . . .   September 30, 2001
R. Barnett (MA., United States)
56 out of 56 found this review helpful

Since this is my 1st PalmOS PDA I don't have as much experience as some other reviewers. However I do know what I do & do Not like. My list of Pros & Cons for this fine PDA:

Pros specific to this device:
1. Ability to display 65,000 different colors.
2. You can create notes/ business cards w/ color.
3. You can read and work faster. One thing I've found that's quicker than reading, to ID something, is color. If I label an item in a To-Do list in red for instance, I know w/o reading that its a hot item to do ASAP. This helps one prioritize items. It just makes sense.
4. CPU speed. This units fast. Although the color display DOES make the unit slightly slower than a Visor Pro/Platinum.
5. Color games beat B/W games when in waiting rooms. ;-)
6. Display easier to read indoors than a Palm m505. (Isn't this where 90% of its use will occur anyway?)

Cons specific to this unit:
1. Battery life. Handspring advertises up to 2 wk. between charges. Yea right! Maybe if you only use it for <5 mins. a day. Who do you know that can do Graffiti that fast? I usually get 4-7 days between charges. Or about 5 continous hrs. Which is generally better than a PocketPC but worse than a Palm m505's reflective color display.
2. Bulk. In this respect: Don't expect a carry case made for a Visor to fit unless it says it'll hold a Prism. Unit itself is easier to hold than a PocketPC w/ color.
3. Although better than before, you still can't get color with every PalmOS app thats out there.
4. Display washes out in bright sunlight.

Overall I'd give this unit a 9. It's a great unit but...Slim it down and give it more ram and battery life and I'd give it a "10". - Rob B. 9/2001