Rating: 
Summary: A Good PDA
Review: I've been using the Visor Platinum for 2 months now and find it an excellent companion. Fit and finish are OK. Haven't found a palm app I can't run. AvantGo rocks.pros - It's fast. I can search my email and use large spreadsheets very easily; also quick sync using the USB cradle - It's expandable. I can read and write to compactflash cards using a springboard adapter; + keyboard + modem and I can leave that 5lb laptop in the office. cons - it's not as aesthetically pleasing as the Palm V - the form factor is a little bulky - not sure how the painted finish will hold up - case options are a somewhat limited compared with the Palms wash - disposable batteries; yes it would be nice to recharge on the cradle, but I keep spares scattered at home, office and in the briefcase; and they're easy to find on travel. I'm considering using AAA LiON rechargeables. If you work with large amounts of data and you want access to PalmOS apps, Visor Platinum is a very good option.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy upgrade for Palm III users¿
Review: I've used a Palm III (1Mg) for several years, and recently upgraded to the Handspring Visor Platinum (after my brother successfully did so). My decision was based on several factors which made the difference: (1) the USB cradle is super fast, and with 8Mg I wouldn't want to be waiting on a serial transfer; (2) the Backup Springboard module which eliminates the risk of data loss between synchs; (3) the built in conduit to Microsoft Outlook (selectable during setup, so pay attention during installation!); (4) the built-in Date Book +, which has several features found in Pimlico Software's fantastic"DateBk3" upgrade to the Palm III basic calendar (more below!); a mind-numbingly superior built-in calculator; and an improved find function which (like FindHack) searches for partial strings - like 'eber' to find 'eberhardt'. --- For those upgrading to the Handspring, transferring applications by beaming was fast and easy. The only wrinkle was remembering that the Handspring IRDA is on the left side of the unit, not on the top end. I was NOT able to beam my appointment records from DateBk3 to the Handspring unit. If, like me, you have the Palm Desktop on a pre-USB computer, and the Handspring on another (USB-equipped) machine, getting the data from one PDA to the other will be something a bit more than trivial. I'm not even going to bother; for awhile I'll carry both - using the Palm III for 'historical information', and the Handspring for current and future events... Incidentally, the built-in Date Book + DOES have floating events and 6 views (compared to 3 for the basic Palm III calendar, and 5 for the DateBk3 add-on). If you installed icons for the Monthly view in DateBk3, be aware that Date Book + does NOT offer this option. This is the only drawback I've found in the Date Book +. --- The installation of the Handspring desktop was so easy I was - frankly - surprised, after so many times being told that 'installation is a snap...' On minor snag I hit while installing was a spurious 'virus warning' (I scan daily on continually updated Norton Anti-Virus) when it tried to import data into Outlook. I fiddled with the timing options, and it straightened itself out. Otherwise the initial installation was boringly uneventful ; ). --- If, like me, you hesitated upgrading because of previous unpleasant experiences, rest assured that it's really not very hard at all, and the built-in software has come a LONG way in the past 4-5 years! --- The 8Mg of RAM may seem like a lot, but it was only a few years ago that I bought a laptop with a 2 Gig hard drive and couldn't imagine how I could EVER fill it up! Moral: Always buy fast machines with big memories! I hope other users enjoy their Handspring Visor Platinum as much as I am enjoying mine!
Rating:
Summary: First PDA I bought that I can really use.
Review: In the past, I have owned at least half a dozen different organizers, like Sharp wizards, and cheap folding /keyboard style ones. I almost never really used them because entering and finding information was slow and inefficient. I used to think that people who owned Palm's owned them to have the latest cool gadget, but I have found more uses for my Visor Platinum than I ever thought. Whether that's a credit to the Palm OS and Apps or the Visor... well its probably the Palm OS. But the power of the unit is very impressive. With Hackmaster and the Afterburner plugin (palmgear.com), the unit can be pumped up to 45 MHz and made to run 331% faster than a Palm IIIe (normal Visor Platinums run 204% faster than a IIIe). Whether its sorting and reading a list of emails or playing Liberty (A Palm based Gameboy emulator), the speed is impressive. I haven't used any of the Springboard modules yet, so I really can't comment on any of them. If some of them were cheaper, I might consider buying one or two of them, like the GPS or the MP3 player. Battery life on the unit is good. I have had the unit for over 2 weeks and battery life is still around 40% left. The USB cradle and software setup was as easy as one can expect. Setting up the hot sync software to syncronize my outlook email to the visor was also easy. While I can't send emails instantly from the visor, I carry all my email around with me (which is more useful than you might think). Overall, I honestly have no complaints about the unit, and I finally feel like I have a PDA that I can really use regularly. I suppose I have only 2 minor gripes... at 3 bills, the thing isn't exactly cheap but I haven't regretted once paying the relatively steep price for the unit. Also, almost no apps or games make use of the 16 gray levels, but that isn't really the unit's fault. Since I bought the Visor, I also bought a leather case to hold the unit, my cash and a few credit cards, and it has replaced my wallet. Altough its really too big to put in your pocket, I don't mind carrying it around in my hand at all. Overall, I would recommend the Visor Platinum highly to anyone who has been disappointed with other cheap PDAs... spend the extra money for a Palm based unit like this one and you'll be pleasantly suprised.
Rating:
Summary: Great product -- but, for the $$ Palm is even better...
Review: My 3rd trip into the facinating world of Personal Digital devices. My 1st was a dismal failure (I don't want to go into it for fear I may weep onto my keyboard -- again), my 2nd was my Palm M125, and now my Visor Platinum. At first, I figured just by the looks of it, this was going to be my PDA of choice -- but after the initial surprise (I was given this device by a friend for my birthday) I found that yes, this IS a very good product, but is it better than my M125? Nope. They cost roughly the same, have 8MB of memory...both are upgradable...fast...but for MY personal tastes, the M125's smaller size was actually a better selling point for me. Plus it has Palm OS 4.0, a small but significant improvement over the Visor. Sure the screen is smaller (some would say too much) but for me this is in NO WAY a problem. The screen is crisp and very sharp, and I haven't had a problem with viewing it in different lighting conditions. The basic advantage (for me anyway) of the M125 over the Platinum is it sits more comfortably in my hands, and it's smaller size makes it easier to carry and use...not to mention the multiple faceplates that Palm offers as well as other accessories, hands down I find myself using it more than my Visor. Okay, enough of the downside. If size IS a problem for you, then maybe the Platinum could be your next handheld. Personally I'd go with the less expensive Visor Deluxe, which does basically everything the Platinum does, but for about $70.00 cheaper. But again, that is up to you. If you are already familiar with a Palm device, getting used to pretty much ANY Visor product will be a walk down the same pathway (for the most part, anyway). They both use the exact same graffiti script and, with small exceptions, set up virtually identical. A quick note, Handspring plans to slowly (but surely) cut back on their production of PDA's and begin to market cell-phone/PDA's as they work to become a communications company. They will be introducing their TREO phone/PDA any day now (if not already) and they are nifty items, but again, the cost is prohibitive (for now anyway) for many folks who just cannot afford to have a 2-in-1 product such as this. Personally, I've found that my cell phones wear out the more often I use it, and if I handle my cell phone as much as I handle my PDA, I simply cannot see it paying off in the end (but that is just MY opinion). I feel the more you know, the easier it is to make a decision...and when it comes to PDA's and what is availble versus the cost, the more information you have the better. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: Great product -- but, for the $$ Palm is even better...
Review: My 3rd trip into the facinating world of Personal Digital devices. My 1st was a dismal failure (I don't want to go into it for fear I may weep onto my keyboard -- again), my 2nd was my Palm M125, and now my Visor Platinum. At first, I figured just by the looks of it, this was going to be my PDA of choice -- but after the initial surprise (I was given this device by a friend for my birthday) I found that yes, this IS a very good product, but is it better than my M125? Nope. They cost roughly the same, have 8MB of memory...both are upgradable...fast...but for MY personal tastes, the M125's smaller size was actually a better selling point for me. Plus it has Palm OS 4.0, a small but significant improvement over the Visor. Sure the screen is smaller (some would say too much) but for me this is in NO WAY a problem. The screen is crisp and very sharp, and I haven't had a problem with viewing it in different lighting conditions. The basic advantage (for me anyway) of the M125 over the Platinum is it sits more comfortably in my hands, and it's smaller size makes it easier to carry and use...not to mention the multiple faceplates that Palm offers as well as other accessories, hands down I find myself using it more than my Visor. Okay, enough of the downside. If size IS a problem for you, then maybe the Platinum could be your next handheld. Personally I'd go with the less expensive Visor Deluxe, which does basically everything the Platinum does, but for about $70.00 cheaper. But again, that is up to you. If you are already familiar with a Palm device, getting used to pretty much ANY Visor product will be a walk down the same pathway (for the most part, anyway). They both use the exact same graffiti script and, with small exceptions, set up virtually identical. A quick note, Handspring plans to slowly (but surely) cut back on their production of PDA's and begin to market cell-phone/PDA's as they work to become a communications company. They will be introducing their TREO phone/PDA any day now (if not already) and they are nifty items, but again, the cost is prohibitive (for now anyway) for many folks who just cannot afford to have a 2-in-1 product such as this. Personally, I've found that my cell phones wear out the more often I use it, and if I handle my cell phone as much as I handle my PDA, I simply cannot see it paying off in the end (but that is just MY opinion). I feel the more you know, the easier it is to make a decision...and when it comes to PDA's and what is availble versus the cost, the more information you have the better. Good luck.
Rating: 
Summary: Great product...until you try to have it repaired
Review: My Handspring was a trusted resource for the first 9 1/2 months I had it. Last week, it suddenly stopped working. I went to Handspring's site and filled out the return form only to be told it was out of warranty, which wasn't true; I have 2.5 months left on my warranty. I called Customer Service and was told of my options: Call Tech Support with my claim, which charges a flat fee of $20; have it repaired "out of warranty," for $100; or, as Handspring's website suggests,
"Sometimes the cost of repairing an older device is almost as much as purchasing a new one. We welcome you to explore your options: maybe it makes more sense to simply buy a new device of the same type, or even treat yourself to the latest & greatest..." Thanks, Handspring, I've explored my options--and I'm switching to Sony.
Rating:
Summary: It's great!
Review: My Platinum is a great addition to the organization of my life. I'm not a "task-person", but this forces me to do it. Plus, as a pastor, my contacts are very important - keeping up-to-date information is more than necessary. It's hard to keep my kids from playing with it, but that's par for the course!
I give it a 4-star rating because it lacks a built-in removable memory storage and a rechargable battery.
Yes, I know you can get the other model and add on a cartridge - but without those, what do you have? A "Deluxe" model with a "faster" chip (not that fast!) but only one choice of color and older OS. Are you really getting what you pay for? I guess so. But if they are going to compete with Palm, they need to sweeten the deal.
By the way - as soon as you get a PDA, get one of those pen/stylus combos - it has a better grip and thus a better feel with grafitti. My wife bought me a pen/pencil/stylus combo (PhD Multi) and I love it! They should give these away - I mean, how much more could it be?!
Rating:
Summary: Visor Platinum rules!
Review: Pros: Runs PalmOS, more flexible than PalmPilots. Cons: All PDAs, not just Visors, are still expensive. Backlight feature does not light the icons below the screen. Have you ever had a Game Boy from Nintendo? Well, I would be surprised if someone told me that the creators of Handspring Visor did not get the idea for Visor from Game Boy. Like a game cartridge, Springboard Module gives the flexibility to add functionality that is (not available in the PDA itself but) built into the module. Theoretically, Visor is infinitely expandable (Handspring's claim), albeit Visor can handle one module at a time. If only these modules were affordable. Since Visors (regular (2 MB), deluxe (8 MB), platinum (8 MB), prism (8 MB)) run on the same OS that PalmPilots run, not only can Visors do everything their PalmPilot counterparts can, they can also do a lot more (via Springboard Modules) that PalmPilots just can't. Visors started out cheaper than PalmPilots (Palm has been lowering PalmPilots' prices since the introduction of Visors by HandSpring), but are a little bulkier than PalmPilots. No, don't get me wrong, Visors are still sexy and colorful. I bought a Visor Deluxe from HandSpring six months ago. After exhanging it for two more defective units, I had to finally return it. A few months ago I got another Visor Deluxe--this time from Amazon.com. No problems so far, everything is working like magic. I now have a Visor Platinum and have experienced no problems--I am still using the same software that installed when I had my Visor Deluxe. The other day I had to use my Visor Platinum at night--in the dark--and I was able to use the backlight. Though I was able to see the screen clearly, the backlight doesn't show where the 'home', 'menu', 'calculator' and 'find' icons are. We still have to guess the area below the screen for these icons. I hope Handspring does something about this. If you are in the US (especially in CA), you can get them at Amazon.com... If you are thinking about to buy a PalmPilot, do not buy it until you've tried out a Visorr.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The handspring visor platinum is the best bang for your buck. I have been extremely impressed by the versitility and durability of this product. It has everything you could want. I use it for Ir, mp3, wifi, word, excel, powerpoint. You name it, the platinum can handle it. Everything you need, nothing you don't and it's the most stable system you can buy.
Rating:
Summary: Visor Platinum
Review: This is a great pda for anyone! I use it for everything I do! My fried does the same. I reccomend it to anybody who is into computers, needs something to keep track of things on the go, or someone who has a busy schedual. Don't go with anyone else.
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