Can Handspring handle success?

From...

March 20, 2000
Web posted at: 11:05 a.m. EST (1605 GMT)

by Cameron Crouch

(IDG) -- Handspring, creator of the much-talked-about Visor, is suffering from its own success.

Last fall the masses went gaga for the expandable personal digital assistant. It runs Palm software, is expandable, syncs fast with PCs via Universal Serial Bus, and carries a low price tag ($249 for an 8MB device).

But its very popularity caused problems when Handspring faltered with Visor delivery delays, product glitches, and support oversights.

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Recently the company has beefed up inventory, fixed its product problems, and boosted tech support. But today, customers have a different kind of inventory complaint: They're waiting for the Springboard add-ons that helped lure them to pick Visor over Palm in the first place.

The Visor's Springboard slot accommodates modules so you can add things like an MP3 player or a wireless modem.

Today your only choices are a Handspring 33.6-kilobits-per-second modem, an 8MB backup module, an 8MB Flash module, and EA Sports' Tiger Woods Golf game.

A number of other modules have been announced. Still in development are Concept Kitchen Travel Guide, IDEO's Eyemodule camera, CUE's radio module for music and paging, MP3 players from Diamond and InnoGear, voice recorders from InnoGear and Sycom, Navicom GPS radio, PeanutPress electronic book, Widcomm's Bluetooth, and Home RF wireless networking from Zilog and Xircom.

Many were expected late last year.

"It took longer then we originally anticipated for some of our partners to get the hardware out the door," says Alan Bush, a Handspring spokesperson.

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The first third-party module, IntelliGolf, is shipping, he says. Expected by summer are the IDEO eyemodule camera, the CUE radio, InnoGear's modules, and GPS, Bush adds.

Non-Springboard add-ons are also due, Bush says. They include a physician's desk reference and keyboards from Think Outside and Landware.

By the end of the year, some wireless add-ons should be available, Bush adds. Expected are two-way paging modules and phone modules, as well as Bluetooth and Home RF wireless devices.

One department Handspring has improved already is its customer service. At first, customers reported hour-long waits to reach tech support. And sometimes when they got through, service was less than spectacular.

Brad Crouch, a graphic designer (and my brother) ordered a Visor in December, largely because of its USB support for Macs. When his Visor arrived after six weeks of waiting, he had almost immediate problems.

"[The Visor] worked for one-and-one-half weeks. Then the HotSync adapter broke and wouldn't sync," he says. "I was on hold with them for over an hour--at my expense, not toll-free--only to be cut off twice."

Later, when he called for a new HotSync cradle, he waited on hold again and even asked for a refund. Crouch uses his Visor now and is happy with the Palm operating system, particularly its calendar and HotSync capabilities. (For future purchases, Crouch has his eye on the Palm V: "It's beautiful.")

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Handspring

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