Handspring's Visor Line Gains Color, Options

Updated Visor Promises Color That Lasts

Color can be a resource drain, especially on a small device. But Handspring promises battery life hasn't gone out the Visor window in order to add color.

Handspring estimates the Visor Prism--similar in size and only slightly heavier than current Visors--will last approximately two weeks with normal use. Shirai defines normal use as "turning it on and off 15 to 20 times a day."

Still, our review of the Palm IIIC shows power loss is almost inevitable with a color PDA. (See "New Color Palm Looks Great but Pays a Price in Battery Life.")

Although the grayscale Visor Platinum runs on AAA batteries as do standard Visors, Prism forges the rechargeable road.

"We've replaced the AAA batteries with an internal rechargeable lithium ion battery," Shirai says. "The HotSync cradle can charge the battery from empty to full in 90 minutes, but topping it off 15 minutes a day can keep the charge full."

Handspring contends both new Visors perform 50 percent better than the Visor and Visor Deluxe--thanks to the faster Dragonball processor--making them ready for multimedia. The faster processor and improved display support by Palm OS 3.5 also suit the new Visors for videos and gaming, Shirai says.

But Dragonball, the Motorola line of processors found in Palms and Visors, may be a fading star among PDA processors, Gartner's Dulaney suggests.

Although Handspring put a top-end Dragonball in its new Visors, the entire Palm line, including Handspring, will eventually switch to the powerful, battery-saving ARM chips already used in Pocket PCs and mobile phones, Dulaney says.

Size Can Matter

Since the Visor's launch last fall, Handspring has touted its hardware's value and expandability through the Springboard slot, where hardware modules offer plug-and-play additions. The Visor Platinum and Visor Prism support existing and new modules and may provide a better platform for future add-ons that support functions such as multimedia or mapping. Still, retaining support for Springboard may limit Handspring's capability to shrink the Visor.

Dulaney doesn't expect many module developers to adopt the Platinum or Visor Prism. Instead, they'll wait for Handspring's competitor to the Palm V, he says.

"You might see a few games, but I think people will view Prism as an interim step," he says. "We were terribly critical of Palm for not using the V form factor for its color IIIC."

Although priced slightly higher than the $400 Palm IIIC, Visor Prism offers more expansion options thanks to the Springboard modules and has a slightly better color display. And while the Palm IIIC is larger than other Palms, Handspring retains its Visor form factor even when adding color support.

Visor Platinum, arguably Handspring's current challenge to the Palm V, provides more memory for less money than the $329 Palm V. The Visor Platinum has 8MB of memory, while the Palm V has 2MB. Platinum's 33-MHz chip outpaces even the Palm Vx, which houses a 20-MHz Dragonball EZ. Still, the large Palm III-like form factor of Platinum doesn't imply a sleek and wearable device.

One problem is the Springboard slot. To retain module compatibility, the Visor simply can't slim down to the size of a Palm V, Handspring representatives say. Still, Dulaney predicts Handspring will find a work-around to improve the size.

"But for now, I think people are going to go for the small size of Palm V over color [of Visor Prism]," Dulaney says. "People want high-end features in a high-end package."