Handspring Cuts Prices on Visors

Faced with stiff competition in a market that is becoming increasingly crowded, Handspring announced Monday it has lowered its price for its Visor line of personal digital assistants.

Handspring has reduced the MB Visor by $20 to $129 and the Visor Deluxe by $30 to $169, the company said in a statement. The Visor Platinum shed $50 to now cost $199. Most significantly, the Visor Edge drops $100 off its price tag to $299.

The reduced PDAs can be purchased directly from Handspring's Web site or at various retail locations, the company says.

Price Cut Redux

The new pricing is effective immediately and is the second cut in Visor prices since May, when the midrange Visor Deluxe was reduced to $199 and a $50 rebate was offered on the Visor Platinum. That move compelled rival Palm to cut the price of its Palm VIIx the following week from $299 to $199.

Price reductions are not unusual for Handspring. Last month, the company reduced its VisorPhone module from $249 to $49 when purchased with a one-year service contract from specific wireless providers. The mobile phone module plugs into the back of a Visor handheld computer and allows users to make wireless calls and access the Web and e-mail accounts.

The PDA market has become increasingly crowded of late with Handspring and Palm facing competition from relative newcomers Compaq, Sharp, and Sony. Furthermore, Toshiba and NEC both have plans to debut devices on the Japanese PDA market by the end of the year.