Andy Chase

Almost exactly two years ago, I ordered a PalmOS handeld called a Visor Deluxe from a company called Handspring.

At the time, the only way to get one was by ordering direct from the company... in the months before I ordered mine, demand for Handspring's Visors was so high that shipping delays of weeks and even months were often reported. I received mine in just under a week, and since then I rarely go anywhere without my organizer. I even put the Handspring window cling in the window of my car.

Handspring was attractive because of its built-in "Springboard Slot", which allows you to plug in different modules to expand the functionality of the handheld. Only a couple were available at the time I bought my Visor, but the concept was quite popular and there were many companies who had announced plans to release all sorts of different modules.

After the initial purchase of the Visor itself came the folding keyboard this is being typed on, a used Handspring modem, and an Eyemodule camera. A Christmas gift in 2000 upgraded me from my Visor Deluxe to a 16-bit color Visor Prism, and before my trip to New York last February I purchased a Handspring Backup Module, and I upgraded my cellphone to a Motorola StarTAC; I also purchased a VisorStarTAC cable from Cables4PDAs.com, giving me wireless internet access from my Prism. The very last thing I bought for my Visor was one of the first Compact Flash adaptor modules, the Matchbook Drive... that was nearly a year ago.

In addition to all the money I've spent on Handspring products and related third-party peripherals, I've done a fair amount of evangelizing for Handspring's Visor line; I know of at least five people who have purchased Visors thanks in part (sometimes in whole) to my recommendation. I've written two PDA-related articles for Webmonkey, and for a while (before I began spending so much time on this site) I was planning to get into PalmOS programming. I love my Visor and accessories; I can sit here in the nice, quiet cafeteria at work and write new content for my site, and if I want I can even put it online with my cell phone!

So I'm a little bit annoyed with Donna Dubinsky's vague announcement this last Tuesday (January 15) that Handspring is exiting the traditional handheld market. Now, she didn't say they're abandoning the Visor or Springboard slot, but what else could her statement mean, especially with no further details to explain what she was talking about.

No product line lasts forever, but Handspring's entire pitch of the last two years has been interchangeability; the Springboard you bought for your original Visor would conceivably work in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th generation Visor, providing the same expanded functionality.

The Springboard concept has not done as well as Handspring anticipated... and their only choice may be to abandon it - but like many other loyal Handspring users I have to wonder... why make an announcement which essentially renders your entire inventory of "Traditional Organizers" obsolete and undesirable to prospective buyers?

It seems like a bad move... and since their new product doesn't have a Springboard slot and is priced way out of my range (The PDA/cellphone hybrid is attractive, but not as attractive as the Springboard expansion option), I don't see any reason to stay with Handspring if and when my Prism bites the dust... even if I was interested enough in a Treo to buy one, I would probably decide against it lest Handspring discontinue those as well.

I think what is also getting a lot of people down (me included) is how exciting the Visor was when it came out, and how much more optimistic the tech world was in general. Having my trusty Visor thrown on the scrap heap along with the job market and the economy just adds insult to injury.

Addendum: Handspring has clarified their position without clarifying it all that much. On Visorcentral.com a Handspring rep has pretty much said that while they're not axing the Visor product line right now, they are dropping their only Color model (with no plans for an improvement), and discontinuing the Neo, Pro, and Edge at an indeterminate point in the future. In other words... why buy more Visors and related products? They're already obsolete, especially the Prism.