Handspring Visor Deluxe
Yes, I'm a gadget freak. I love things that are small, yet pack a wallop. The Visor surely satisfies that description. I got it last May and my wife instantly saw all kinds of things she could use it for. Naturally, we got her one, too. Mine's boring old Graphite, and her's Orange.
Her's had the memory problem, so we ended up sending it back. They're both the 8Mb versions and I'll have to say that I'm happy I sprung for the extra RAM. I've never managed to fill the thing up with stuff, but I certainly would have if I had the 2Mb version.
We have some of the cool hardware stuff that runs on the Visor. We got the expandable keyboard from Targus, we got the backup module, I have both a USB and a serial cradle, and my wife has a USB cradle and cable. My wife uses hers as her planner and date book seeing that she's pretty much on the go all the time. I use mine for reading newspapers and such and for keeping track of the many things I need to get done. It's also invaluable as a jotter. I write notes to myself constantly because before I had one of these devices, I'd just have to write it in a notebook. I have tens of notebooks at work and at home with my application data in it, instructions as to how to do some task, settings for this and that, web addresses for people and services, and a myriad of other bits of data that just would have gotten lost prior to having a place to put it.
I find this gadget to be indispensable, and I'm really lost without it. True, I don't use it at work everyday, but I do use it when I'm moving machines around and doing other things that require taking notes. I do have a problem taking it and the keyboard to meetings--over the top gadgetry tends to be disruptive to the flow of staff meetings. I do take it to the library every time I go, and I take it on every trip I go on because it not only is a place to jot ideas and information down in, it's a darn good place to play games as well. I've used it with map software in Chicago and out on Cape Cod, I've used it with guidebook software in Chicago, I've beamed my address book to my printer at home for backup of my address book, I've read a play on a book reader application and I read books on that application as well. I use it to read the local newspapaer and on the days that I don't get to hit the usual websites, I download their content to the Visor and read them later.
Yes, the screen is small and it's only in 4 color black and white. That is a drawback, especially in map programs. The rest of the time it really doesn't cramp my style. I think a cell phone add-on to this machine would be peachy, but I'm going to wait for a while until my cell phone gives up the game. My next PDA will definately have a color screen and an integrated cell phone and MP3 player. I'm not asking too much as I won't be buying another one of these devices for at least another year. I figure by then, there will be many devices out there with exactly those features for probably the same money I paid for this one. Technology marches on. One thing I will say is that I'm going to try to stay with the PalmOS.
