Handspring Visor Edge (Metallic Silver)

[Archived in $100 - $200, Handspring, Products]

Manufacturer: Handspring
Price at amazon.com: $164.99
This item is not stocked or has been discontinued.

Product Features:

• Ultrathin, light handheld with cutting-edge design
• 8 MB RAM stores thousands of addresses, appointments, to-do items, and more
• Features address book, to-do list, memo pad, date book, advanced calculator, and world clock
• Supports optional expansion modules for MP3 player, pager, modem, GPS, video games, and more
• What's in the box: Visor Edge, USB HotSync cradle, 8 MB RAM, rechargeable lithium ion batteries, metal flip cover, metal stylus, AC power adapter, Springboard expansion slot, Palm Desktop software for Windows and Mac

Product Description:

The Handspring Visor Edge is a thin, lightweight Palm OS organizer that combines cutting-edge design with all the expansion capabilities you've come to expect in a Visor handheld. It's all metal--from the stylus to the protective flip cover--and features a rechargeable battery that charges in the included USB docking cradle. In addition to such standard Palm OS applications as an address book, to-do list, and memo pad, Handspring adds extra features such as an enhanced datebook, advanced calculator, and a world clock. Plus, the Visor Edge has new usability features like Fast Lookup, silent alarms, wireless synchronization, address duplication, improved security, and enhanced navigation. And since it uses the Palm OS, you can download thousands of Palm-compatible applications and beam information to other Palm users. Using its unique detachable Springboard expansion slot, you can add a wide variety of Springboard modules whenever you want--from digital cameras and MP3 players to wireless modems and modem connectors to cellular phones. With a fast USB connection, synchronizing the Visor Edge handheld to your PC or Mac is simple and faster than a normal serial connection. (An optional serial cradle also is available.) HotSync technology ensures all your data is backed up to your desktop PC. The Handspring Visor Edge comes with a metal stylus, metal flip cover, USB recharging cradle, AC power adapter, and detachable Springboard expansion slot. It also includes Palm Desktop software (for Windows and Macintosh) and a link to Microsoft Outlook (Windows only). Important note to customers: Your Visor comes with a free USB cradle, but not all computers and operating system are USB compatible. If your computer uses Windows 95 or NT or Mac OS 8.0 or below, or if your computer is not equipped with USB ports, you'll need to purchase a serial recharging cradle to synchronize your computer with your new Visor. What's in the box Visor Edge USB HotSync cradle 8 MB RAM Internal rechargeable lithium ion batteries Matching metal flip cover Weighted metal stylus AC power adapter Detachable Springboard expansion slot Palm Desktop software

Description from Manufacturer:The Handspring Visor Edge is a thin, lightweight Palm OS organizer that combines cutting-edge design with all the expansion capabilities you've come to expect in a Visor handheld. It's all metal--from the stylus to the protective flip cover--and features a rechargeable battery that charges in the included USB docking cradle.

In addition to such standard Palm OS applications as an address book, to-do list, and memo pad, Handspring adds extra features such as an enhanced datebook, advanced calculator, and a world clock. Plus, the Visor Edge has new usability features like Fast Lookup, silent alarms, wireless synchronization, address duplication, improved security, and enhanced navigation. And since it uses the Palm OS, you can download thousands of Palm-compatible applications and beam information to other Palm users.

Using its unique detachable Springboard expansion slot, you can add a wide variety of Springboard modules whenever you want--from digital cameras and MP3 players to wireless modems and modem connectors to cellular phones.

With a fast USB connection, synchronizing the Visor Edge handheld to your PC or Mac is simple and faster than a normal serial connection. (An optional serial cradle also is available.) HotSync technology ensures all your data is backed up to your desktop PC.

The Handspring Visor Edge comes with a metal stylus, metal flip cover, USB recharging cradle, AC power adapter, and detachable Springboard expansion slot. It also includes Palm Desktop software (for Windows and Macintosh) and a link to Microsoft Outlook (Windows only).

Important note to customers: Your Visor comes with a free USB cradle, but not all computers and operating system are USB compatible. If your computer uses Windows 95 or NT or Mac OS 8.0 or below, or if your computer is not equipped with USB ports, you'll need to purchase a serial recharging cradle to synchronize your computer with your new Visor.

What's in the box

• Visor Edge
• USB HotSync cradle
• 8 MB RAM
• Internal rechargeable lithium ion batteries
• Matching metal flip cover
• Weighted metal stylus
• AC power adapter
• Detachable Springboard expansion slot
• Palm Desktop software

Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: From Palm IIIx to the Edge Rating:
After a bunch of research, I decided to make my jump to Handspring from Palm. I checked out all the current models and decided on the Sliver Metallic Visor Edge, being used to a Palm IIIx that I definitely loved. The Palm had been losing time and crashing until I figured out that my email hot synching took up too much memory. Anyway, the Visor arrived with its small USB cradle and was easily installed over my Palm desktop. I was able to beam all my extra applications with no trouble. After almost a month I am very pleased with the size and performance of the Edge. It's a very classy looking "second brain". I have no need for color, or expectations of using it with modules, so can recommend the Edge for all who would like a powerful package in a compact case. My only quibble is not being able to change the display intensity--you can put the backlight on, but you can't ease the light on or off the way Palm allowed. In spite of this, I won't miss my Palm when I'm in such good hands with the Edge.

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Comment: Stylish, thin, and easy to use. A great basic unit! Rating:
Handspring's Visor Edge is my first venture into the world of PDAs and I love this thing. The features that helped me to choose this were first the size (able to easily fit into a shirt pocket): if I'm not carrying it, I'm not using it. Second was the cost. Despite my lust, I really didn't need a pocket PC or color. Now with two months of use, I am still very happy. The Handspring proprietary datebook plus is great, and hotsyncs so far flawlessly with Microsoft Outlook. The notepad however is not terribly robust. An essential add-on for me has been a wonderful program called Quick Office, which allows me to organize my data in excel spreadsheets and word documents and sync them back and forth with Microsoft Excel and Word on my PC. The Visor Edge's battery life is tremendous, the display clear and large for the size of the unit, the USB sync quick and seamless. The standard cover is nice and retains the unit's slim profile, but I have been using the optional aluminum case which adds only a little to the thickness and seems to give it security while retaining it's coolness. I have yet to try any of the springboard modules, which I gather make it much more bulky.

In sum, if you are looking for a thin, cool-looking PDA that is quick, very easy to use and stylish, and if you don't need color, don't plan to add-on a ton of additional games and stuff (8meg is the limit), and don't regularly need other stuff like a phone or MP3 player, this is a great unit that gets my five stars.

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Comment: After 2 years, I still love it. Rating:
I've dropped it countless times. I run all sorts of software on it. And I've never had any problems whatsoever; this thing just keeps on working perfectly. Despite its dated bios and b&w screen, this remains the most elegant, usable pda I've ever seen. And I love the way it looks and feels.

Posted at November 11, 2003 05:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)