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Handspring Visor Neo (Smoke)

Handspring Visor Neo (Smoke)

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A real NEOphite, Darlene: San Francisco Bay Area Girl
Review: So I'm not a data speed mocha latte wired places to go meetings to keep expenses to track corporate techno junkie. I am however your average over-stressed over-committed everyday person and I really like my new Neo (Red! So cool). Admittedly I'm getting to know it slowly but everything I've seen so far pleases me with only minor considerations. I intend to use this to keep me from missing appointments and events so the feature I wanted most was an audible reminder to keep me on track. This wasn't available on other similarly priced PDA's. I needed a better way to keep all my personal contacts in one neat place so I'd rather that the address entry page didn't list business pertinent entries first but it's not that big a minus. Graffiti ability is great and only took minor adjustments in my writing style, besides there's an on screen keyboard that covers everything you might want to type. At first I didn't think the expenses app would be a big hitter but now I see it will be helpful in tracking my antique glass purchases and since I buy all my elder mother's meds this will help for insurance purposes. The touch screen is much easier to use than I'd imagined and the buttons are placed to make manuevering thoughout the system very easy. I feel very satisfied with the quality and versatility of this product and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't necessisarily need business applications....

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Decent price, but terrible customer service
Review: Summary: If you want something reliable with a good customer service organization behind it, don't buy from Handspring.

This is my second Visor. I first had a Deluxe that had all sorts of flakey problems like burning through batteries (get NiMH - you'll need them) and strange behaviors like waking on alarms and staying powered up. Customer service was horrible, and that is when you could get through to them! Ex. their solution to the unit not going back to sleep after alarms was to turn off all alarms in the calendar. Yup, sooooper idea guys.

When my Deluxe was stolen from my baggage on a flight, I only bought another HS because I had invested in a keyboard and modem that only fit the HS's. Big mistake. Should have bought a Palm.

With this Neo unit at least half the times I change the batteries the whole unit locks, and then when I reset it has dumped all its memory. Great stuff when you are travelling and away from the home PC. Now it refuses to sync. After 2 days of troubleshooting it myself, I gave up and called the support line. Don't ever call the toll number because they don't pick it up and you will be out the long distance charges. After 25 minutes in queue on the toll free I finally get through, tell the whole story, and request them to ship me a replacement with return shipping label. WARNING: this industry-standard practice is deemed a "premium" service at HS, and they charge $[money], even on product returns of their defective merchandise. Fun. So, instead they are going to FedEx an empty box to me, so I can put my Neo in it (never mind that I have the original box here) and pay shipping back to them, then wait for them to send me a repaired unit. Crazy! Wasted time and wasted money.

I know I'm a support person's nightmare. I buy products and I use them hard. I expect them to work, and expect support when they don't. I feel especially bad when support people are constrained by their corporate policy from doing logical and obvious things to help a customer too, like promptly replacing a defective unit for a customer relying on their product on a day-to-day basis.

If you want something reliable with a good customer service organization behind it, don't buy from Handspring.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A fantastic PDA
Review: The Springboard slot allows amazing use variety--

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great organizer, even if it looks kinda green
Review: The Visor NEO is my fourth PalmOS handheld (8th handheld overall), and while I miss the smaller size of my Palm V, it's the best so far.
My only real complaint is the semi-transparent 'smoke' case looks green around the screen.
I would strongly recommend protecting the screen with clear plastic (I use a sheet of 4 mil vinyl I got from the hardware store).
I'd also recommend looking around at the 3rd party software - there's enough free/shareware around to truly personalize your orgainzer (I've added a bunch of stuff, including all the fonts, on mine).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The best PDA for the price...
Review: The Visor NEO is practically identical to the Visor Deluxe, except it comes with a processor that is twice as fast. Because the Palm software is so efficient, that speed is rarely an issue, and you can save a bit by getting the cheaper Deluxe.

All Handspring models run variations of the Palm operating system, and have all of the PALM functions people have come to know and love -- addresses, to-do lists, and access to downloadable features like Avantgo (a free service that allows you to download publications like the New York Times, CNN, Sports Illustrated onto your Palm).
I've even put a free map of my county on my PDA from Mapopolis.com (a must if you haven't tried it! Streets are searchable). Also, make sure you add Vindigo, a city guide that gives restaurant and movie reviews and showtimes.

The Handspring models have the best features for the money. They have a noticeably larger screen than the m105 (which I returned after a week), expandability (which I have yet to use, although I long for the GPS attachment from Magellan -- maybe when it goes on clearance?)
These models only get four stars, however, because they do have two significant shortcomings.
One is bulk. The low-end Deluxe and Neo are significantly larger than the Palm V, which is significantly more expensive.
The PDA still fits in my chest pocket, though.
Also, unlike the Palm V, 500 and 505, the Deluxe and Neo require new batteries after about two weeks of relatively heavy usage. That can amount to $20 a year or so on batteries alone. The Palm V has a lithium rechargeable, and the new Palm 500 has an even better battery, but I can't justify paying that kind of money for what is still basically, at heart, an appointment calendar.

BTW, I am a newspaper reporter who previously had four Rolodexes on my desk. No longer. No longer do I misplace names, numbers, or dates. This thing has changed and organized my life in ways I didn't expect -- just ask my wife.

It's basically an extension of your brain -- now isn't that worth a couple hundred smackers?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Get rechargeable batteries!
Review: This device would have earned 5 stars if it only had a rechargeable battery. But rechargeable batteries add a significant cost to a pda. Here's my suggestion for those who find the lack of this "feature" unbearable. Simply go to Radio Shack and buy 4 metal-hydride rechargeable batteries and a AAA / AA charger. You save lots of money AND you save the environment. Plus you can use the batteries in other devices.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: This is a cool product. If you use an organizer, you will like this. If your not that organized, you still may find it useful. However, 2 things to keep in mind:

1) They are not unbreakable. I had mine in my bookbag and it cracked the screen from the badg being thrown aroung...be careful not to abuse it.
2) The screen is scratchable. Write softly and get a plastic cover to protect it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Blazing. Like its red color.
Review: This is probably the best PDA on the market for the money. It has a top notch, crystal clear, B&W screen. The Dragonball 33Mhz processor makes it twice as fast as the Palm Vx. The body color and the clear Hotsync crade are too cool for words. Add to this the enhanced Address Book, Datebook and include the City Time clock and you make up for the Palm OS 4.0 upgrade that you can't apply. The only other worthwhile addition to OS 4.0 is the new Notepad. You can buy a comparable product, QuickPad, from Landware. The USB Hotsync soars compared to serial. Add to this the slew of available expansion modules and you have a true winner.

Cons:

1. Uses AAA batteries.
2. The cover that is provided is not attached and could be misplaced.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: good handheld
Review: Unfortunately I bought this just before the price dropped... Had I known that, would've waited and got the visor edge, it's a little sleeker, but . . .
this is one good handheld for the money. it works great! the palm os software is easy to use, and there's tons of stuff out there you can download to run on it. I use it mainly for contact info, notes, and email

the only downside of this particular handheld is that it uses AAA batteries instead of rechargeable. if you use it a lot, that can get annoying. for me a set of batteries lasts 3-4 weeks though. make sure you get screen protectors, 'cause it can scratch easily if the cover isn't on. I also bought a nice aluminium hard case by Kensington, those leather ones can fall open and the nylon ones are too soft to really protect anything.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I quit working on me.
Review: While connected to a Magellan Companion GPS, the NEO went blank and never worked again. I sent both back with less than one hour of use.


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