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The Handspring
Visor is a personal digital assistant (PDA) by the company
directed by the folks who originally developed the Palm. The
Visor Deluxe model, reviewed below, is equipped with 8 Mb
of RAM, a leather case, USB cradle, instruction manual, and
software install CD. Software included is normal for PDAs
- Datebook, Calendar, Expense Tracking, Graffiti recognition,
and so forth. The base Visor model and the Deluxe come in
a variety of colors but both are a bit more square in appearance
than some other PDAs.
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I purchased a Visor for several reasons. First, in my estimation
there was more bang for my buck with the Visor versus other PDAs
on the market at the time. Secondly, I was not fond of carrying
around a conventional paper and pen Datebook, regardless of its
size. And lastly, the functional expansion capabilities were greater
with the Visor. This last reason was what really sold me on the
Visor and its potential utilization by nurses.
When I purchased my Visor, about 4 months ago, I also purchased
the backup module and an 8 Mb ROM module. The backup module has
been moderately useful for me, more as a security blanket than anything
else has. However, the ROM module has been very useful. I am able
to store most programs on it and not directly on the Visor. This
gives me more room on the Visor. And, the ROM module has more than
enough room to hold many applications. The down side, though, is
that the module must be in place to utilize those programs.
The Graffiti recognition software works well. It is not difficult
to learn, and, what is interesting is that I now find myself, when
using pen and paper, using graffiti strokes to try to compose on
paper. Kind of annoying when the paper doesn't recognize my handwriting
. (grin)
I found installing programs very easy. I have not had any difficulties
in this area. The batteries are AAA's and I found that longer life
from using batteries touted as having greater staying power in these
kind of devices. The manual advises replacing batteries within a
minute or else you risk losing all of data. Another way of losing
all of data on the Visor was to perform a hard reset, which requires
a paper clip. From personal experience, I encountered a system error
from an application and had to perform a hard reset. I didn't use
my backup module to restore data, opting instead to HotSync with
my office PC the next day. Because I keep regular synchronization
with my desktop PC, there was no loss of data.
Overall, I must say that I've been pleased with the performance
and function of the Visor. And, with the purchase of a belt holster,
I now travel without restriction.
William Scott Erdley, DNS,
RN
Clinical Assistant Professor - SoN University at
Buffallo
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