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Introduction
Just a few months ago I received the Visor Platinum for Christmas, and it really impressed me with all the features and expansion possibilities it had. Although it was a little more bulky than the sleek Palm Vs out there, it made up for that in functionality. Since then I've gotten a lot of use out the ol' Platinum, and even have a few cool Springboard modules. Even though I'm happy with my Platinum, a part of me wishes it was smaller, had a flip cover, and came in another color. Enter the Visor Edge. Pretty much all my prayers were answered a couple months later when Handspring introduced their latest addition to the Visor line of PDAs, the sleek Visor Edge. They basically took everything inside the Visor Platinum and scaled it down into a thinner aluminum body, added more colors, added a rechargeable battery, and finally added a flip cover. Along with these enhancements, Handspring increased the price to $399 from the Platinum's $299. So was the increase in price worth it? Not to those like myself with Visor Platinum's already. So I didn't exactly go out and get myself an Edge right away. I think Handspring noticed that their new baby wasn't going to be appealing to current Visor owners unless they added something else. Well it seems Handspring has continued its loyalty to the consumers by offering a promotion to upgrade to the Visor Edge. Basically, if you're a current Visor owner or PDA owner, you are eligible for a $100 off a new Visor Edge, bringing down the price to $299. Handspring suggests you donate your old PDA to a relative or friend. I think most people will have other things in mind, *cough* Ebay *cough*. So anyway, I decided to get myself a Visor Edge and "donate" my old Platinum to some needy person out there. Now that brings us to this review. Let's see if the Edge is really all it's cracked up to be.
Specifications
| Handspring Visor Edge |
| Suggested Retail Price |
$399 |
| Processor Technology |
33 MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ |
| Memory |
8 MB |
| Palm OS |
version 3.5.2H |
| Stores approximately |
- 12,000 Addresses
- 10 Years of appointments (approx. 6,000)
- 6,000 to do items
- 6,000 memos
- 400 email messages
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| Available colors |
Metallic Silver, Metallic Red and Metallic Blue |
| Cover |
Matching Metal Flip Cover |
| Size |
4.7"(11.9cm) x 3.1(7.9cm)" x 0.44"(1.1cm) |
| Weight |
4.8 oz. (136g) |
| IR |
Yes |
| Backlight |
Yes |
| Built-in microphone |
Yes |
| Battery Life |
1 months |
| Charging Time |
90 minutes from empty to full, just minutes per day to top it off |
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As you can see from the specifications, you get the standard Visor Platinum insides with a brand new outside. You get the 33 MHz Dragonball VZ, 8 MB of memory, IR, and backlight, which should all be the standard nowadays for Palm OS based PDAs. The Palm OS version on the Edge is the same as that of the Platinum, which means they are virtually identical when it comes to software. However, I suspect Handspring has probably changed a few things to fit everything a smaller package. In terms of outward appearances, it's a different story. The Edge comes in 3 available metallic colors, silver, red, and blue, with red only being available from Handspring directly. It's size has been reduced and instead of painted plastic, you get anodized aluminum. Handspring also added a metal flip cover, which I think has been long overdue, and a custom stylus as well. Another well needed addition is the built in rechargeable battery. Gone are the days of swapping out batteries and fumbling for new ones. So let's see what this baby is really like...
>> First Impressions
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