Customer Reviews

Handspring Visor Pro (Silver)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

They used to say in the Apple vs IBM wars, think about the software and then pick your computer. It's the same in Palm vs CE devices.

I'm a RN so I wanted at least a decent Rx database. Now that there is the Davis Drug Guide for the palm I couldn't resist. And there are loads of apps for the palm (check out palmgear.com). The palm has a big user base so most of the plentiful apps are either very cheap or free.

Palm devices are up against the wall though, since the standard 8MB is laughable for anyone wanting more than an address and date book. I like having all my personal info but the Handspring Pro comes with 16MB letting you get down to business, so to speak. I loaded it with lots of apps: Davis Rx, ePocarates Rx, and other medical stuff like ACLS, gtt calculators, lab values... and I even threw in Froggie in case I get some free time =)

I am at 13.5MB with all the medical apps, as well as, noah's dictionary and thesaurus, and hope that I will not exhaust the remaining limit.

Color would be nice! I would not get a color Palm device though. Especially since they don't have any with >8MB. If you are going all the way (with your money) and don't mind the size, a CE device may be ideal.

The Handspring Pro is great for carrying in the front pocket of your scrubs, with all the med information you could dream of moments away. It is easy to use. Long battery life. Seems durable. Hope this helps =)

I have been an avid iPaq user for about a year now. And while WIN CE can be a bit quirky at times, lets face it, iPaq's color screen and agility between applications makes up for Microsoft's shortcomings. However, about 3 months ago, I lost the "partnership" (the connection between the iPaq and the PC) and despite countless attempts to reconnect (by myself and a hired IT consultant), we never could reconnect. (Phone calls to CPQ and MSFT were fruitless.)

Because I really needed a device to handle PIM duties, I began reading the reviews (...) for Palm and Handspring. I had heard good things about the Visor products but had yet to experience them (long ago, I owned a Palm III...less than satisfied). After much trepidation, I took the leap on the Visor Pro. The final feature selling me on the Pro was the resident memory (16 MB) and the ability to extend through add-ons.

Since I've had the Pro, I must report, first and foremost (to me at least!), I've had ZERO connection issues. Synchronization has been flawless and beautiful. Beyond that, the Pro has all the necessary functions for the manager or executive on the go plus many, many more via download shareware. Additionally, perhipheral add-ons can turn your Pro into a phone, internet browser and Pocket PC without much sweat. The losses compared to the iPaq? I must be honest, all the touting of being able to create/manipulate Excel spreadsheets or Word documents (via the iPaq) is grossly overhyped. Yes, the availability is nice but who in their right mind is going to create any document/spreadsheet on a handheld-size screen? My only complaint is the screen. With a B&W screen, one can expect issues with light, hue, and contrast. However, after getting very comfortable with a color screen, moving back to B&W/monochrome is a tough move. I'll adapt, however, as Pro's other features make this a top-notch product.

For the money, Pro is my choice. I plan to purchase one for my partner and one for each of my mid-level managers (affordability is another incredibly nice feature of Pro). I'm actually thinking of getting a Pro for each of my teenagers. What a great device to get in control of the mundane as well as important aspects of your life.

As an avid Palm user, I got lucky to play with the Visor Pro a couple weeks back and have to say, if I were to purchase almost ANY PDA on the market today, this is the model I'd probably go with. When you consider price (and who doesn't?), expandability, accessories and a built-in memory of 16MB (SIXTEEN MEGABYTES???) there simply isn't a handheld product on the market today (that I am aware of) that can touch the Visor Pro.

I remember when my friend first purchased his original Palm about 4 years ago, and with 2MB I thought, there is NO WAY he'll ever have need for more room than that...little did I realize how useful these little guys can be. As far as organizing your life, a Palm device is almost invaluable -- but they can be so much more. With a little patience, you can find free programs on the web to download that you just simply couldn't live without. Everything from maps to games...plus let's not forget the Springboard additions that truly make this PDA something special and a real honest-to-goodness cut above the rest. What really sets the Visor Pro apart from the vast (and growing) competition out there is it comes with 16MB of memory BUILT IN. No need to purchase more right off...this little guy has about TWICE what the *other* guys come with standard. Pretty impressive when you consider the price of this baby. Plus if you need more, the expansion abilities make this one of (if not THE most) versatile PDA's on the market today.

I am still sold on my little Palm M125, don't get me wrong, but for the price of just one single expansion card, I could buy the Visor Pro outright. Food for thought when you plan on making that jump to a handheld PDA that truly lives up to it's billing as an electronic device you simply cannot live without.

this is a great pda! so much memory to hold all the files and applications i downloaded from the net. the visor line and Palm OS devices have so many free/low cost software available on the internet. i was able to download approximately 30 different applications and photos on my pda and still have 10 MB room to spare. if you're looking for a pda. consider this one!!

i always wondered the usefulness of PDAs. now, i'm hooked. i use this to take notes during meetings and school work using the BugMe! program. Use Silverscreen to manage the content of the PDA. Downloaded a variety of games - tetris, chess, zapit, space invaders (to name a few). manage my stocks. keep up to date with the news with AvantGo, maintain addresses of people i need to contact, calculator, scheduler for meetings, keep track of directions to whereever, expense logging, jot down ideas using IdeaPad, email, movie database, dictionary, and more!

i chose the visor pro because of its ability to use springboard modules and the large amount of memory. the large memory because i believe information is such an integral part of my day.

After getting several years of use from my Palm Professional, I decided to get a new PDA. My main motivation was to get a better display, and a USB connection to cut down on the synch times.

I looked at Windows CE devices, Palm, Handspring, and Sony. I saw few devices I hated, and several I really liked. My searching finally narrowed down to the Handspring Edge and Pro versions. This was mostly based on wanting the Springboard slot (Springboard seems to have the most devices and lower cost), faster processor (I was tired of slow searches on my Palm Professional and looking to trade up), rechargable batteries (I was used to more than a month of use on AAA's, but who wants to by batteries anymore?). Friends of mine that bought Windows CE devices complained about short battery life, complex to use, and price. The Sony devices have unbelievably good screens and some neat features, but Sony uses the memory stick slot which has little support.

Color is nice looking on some models, but I can't justify the price for them. I can buy a whole computer for the price of some PDAs.

In the end, I went with the Handspring Pro because of good price (mine was $[money] from CompUSA) and no one had the Edge version in stock. The extra 8M of memory made me stop thinking about the thicker form factor.

I synch my Pro with my laptop running Franklin Covey planner (which came with PalmOS synching software). The Handspring Pro comes with a conduit tool for synching to Outlook, but I find Franklin Planner better for my work. I also have purchased the folding keyboard, and now my Handspring Pro has become my portable computer for business trips. With the Keyboard, I can use it for typing meeting notes, Email, and other typical laptop things while traveling, and I can use it while sitting in a coach airplane seat. You can't open a laptop on a plane anymore! I've been away as much as 5 days already with heavy use, and the Pro has enough battery life and memory to go that long without synching!

For someone not looking for color, and wanting long battery life, and lots of room for additional apps and expansion, I think the Handspring Pro is a great way to go.

(I'd have given 5 stars if the Pro was as thin as the Edge)

This unit is the best unit on the market for those who seek a B&W Palm device. The 16MB RAM coupled with the Springboard slot allows this unit to last for years to come. The Springboard has nearly a hundred modules available, where the others only have a handful. You don't have to pick and choose from your choice apps for only 8MB worth, you can keep them all on your device. Handspring continues to raise the bar for what a Palm device should be. Some people are concerned about the life of the Springboard, because Handspring's latest Treo does not have one - plus the indicated that they would get out of the traditional PDA business (with includes the Visor brand). The fact remains - as long as the Visor brands are out there, the developers will continue to make springboard add-ons. The developers make money off these add-ons, not Handspring.

I upgraded to the Pro from the Deluxe model after a year of being so happy with the Visor I outgrew my old one. What I like about Visors in general is the springboard expandability option, the way they don't seem dinky as some of their competitors. I like the extra memory (16MB) and speed, of course--and the silver color is nice. After a year of learning what one can do with a handspring, I began to have to choose between less frequently used applications or more downloaded content--and that thing always seemed slow. The Visor Pro has quite a lot of room for storage it's faster--they say that the faster processing speed doesn't increase the speed of the sync, but I could swear it even syncs faster. Another reviewer didn't like the cover it comes with, but I like made an "oooooh" sound when I took it from the box--it's a sleek li'l number.

The big win, however, with the Visor Pro is the rechargeable batteries. These are not the kind you need to fully discharge before recharging, so there's no worry about charging too much. It's nice not to have to worry about the batteries running out on you--I've had mine just over a week and have used it extensively, learning the lay of the land, but have never seen any indication on the device other than fully charged.

As someone who had no complaints about the Visor Deluxe, I was somewhat hesitant that upgrading would leave me feeling like I'd succumbed to marketing rather than having made a wise decision--not the case! I would do it again.

I have owned a Visor Delux, several Visor Platimum's and now the Visor Pro. Delux was a nice unit, but slow. The Platimum was nice but I had several because every one I owned had problems with the graffiti so I took them all back! I just upgraded to the Pro. 16 megs is awesome, it is as fast as the platimum and has the extras from the visor edge. It works well with my Targus Stowaway Keyboard and using Quickword to take notes in class is a breeze. My only problem with it is the lack of flash-rom and the smoked plastic cover. The cover is so shiny that it holds fingerprints and scratches easily. The Pro could be faster and in color would be nice. It would also be nice if they included an adaptor to recharge the pro from the supplied power cable that plugs into the usb cable. Battery life is pretty good so far. In a 3 hour class with the unit on full time using my keyboard, the battery meter hardly budged. Not too bad. A metal case would be a nice change, perhaps, even if it added a little weight. If you don't care about color but need space for files, books or other data, this is the Visor to have today.

It's my first PDA. As a doctor I use it both for business and personal information. After owning it for about 8 months, the battery would no longer recharge, so I sent it back to handspring. Service was promt and relatively courteous except for one thing...they didn't fix the problem! The unit was returned to me with exactly the same malfunction. Mechanical breakdowns happen, but since the customer support isn't there to back up the product, I won't buy from Handspring again.
To add some more. Finally got the problem fixed, but it recurred two more times. I am now the happy owner of a Sony Clie SJ20...compact, reliable, good screen resolution.

This is my first PDA and I was happy with it until I could no longer recharge the battery. I exhausted all of the suggestions on Handspring's FAQ page with no improvement. If you buy it, put up the extra money to get the longest warranty you can...you just might need it.