Handspring to unveil two new PDAs

From...

By Laura Rohde

(IDG) -- Handspring will launch two new products in its Visor line of handheld PDAs (personal digital assistants), a spokeswoman confirmed.

The new devices, called the Visor Neo and Visor Pro, will replace the older Visor and Visor Deluxe models. An offical announcement was scheduled by the Mountain View, California-based company on Monday, in time for the crucial holiday season, the spokeswoman from the company's U.K. office said.

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The devices will be made available in both the United States and the United Kingdom from Handspring's Web site beginning on Monday, according to the spokeswoman. The devices could hit the shelves of retail stores, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal newspaper.

The Visor Neo, priced at $199, will come with 8MB of memory and will be available in red or blue color casings, while the Visor Pro, priced at $299, will feature 16MB of memory, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and a silver casing, the report said.

Last month, Handspring lowered its suggested retail prices for its Visor line of handheld PDAs, in an attempt to make its products more competitive in a handheld computer market that is becoming increasing crowded. The MB Visor became $20 cheaper to retail at $129, while $30 was knocked off of the Visor Deluxe to retail at $169. The Visor Platinum became $50 cheaper at $199 and $10 was taken off of the Visor Edge to retail at $299.

Handspring and market leader Palm are facing stiff competition from relative newcomers Compaq, Sharp, and Sony. Furthermore, Toshiba and NEC both have plans to debut on the Japanese PDA market with their own devices by the end of the year.