HandEra Rolling Out New Handheld Soon (Updated)

Posted By: Ed Friday, April 20, 2001 8:49:22 AM

It is beginning to look like the new HandEra device will be revealed in the next few days. The HandEra website, which has shown just a "Coming Soon" message for months, is starting to change. In a unique way of rolling out the new device, HandEra has begun to roll back the "Coming Soon" message, revealing their new site underneath.

We can begin to make a few deductions about the new device. It appears to be monochrome and have a metallic case. It also seems to have new sound capabilities. The corner of a large speaker can be seen and a bit of an application that might be named "Voice Recorder". In one corner of the Graffiti area in what looks like a volume control.

Speaking of the Graffiti area, at this point this appears to be "soft", meaning that it isn't silkscreened on and is instead created by the OS. If so, HandEra will almost certainly release some applications that can take advantage of this new screen real estate.

HandEra will certainly be revealing more soon. It goes without saying that we'll be keeping a close eye on the HandEra site.

Rumors have been circulating for months that TRG, which recently renamed itself HandEra, will be releasing a new model with a more up-to-date design and a better screen. The TRGpro hasn't had a major hardware change since its release in October of 1999.

In contrast to Palm's handling of the release of the m500 series, HandEra has been very tight-lipped about this new model. There has never been anything official from the company on it.

HandEra dropped the price of the current model of the TRGpro to $250 earlier this week in a move that many took to mean that the new models release was immanent.

Rumors The new device is rumored to be released on Monday, April 23 and have an advanced monochrome screen. Rumors have also predicted that it will sport both a Compact Flash slot and an SD/MMC one.

Update: HandEra.com now contains all the information on the new 330.

Related Articles:

On the Web: Thanks to DvsMark and yasin for the tips. -Ed

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Shipping?

jkirvin @ 4/20/2001 10:27:29 AM #
The real question, given the recent Palm pre-announcement debacle, is whether HandEra will be ready to take orders and ship the same day they officially announce the new device. If they announce it and it also turns out to be impossible to get--a la the Palm m505--then this is much ado about nothing. OTOH, if they do have units ready to ship, this could give them the opportunity to get a leg up on both Palm and Sony, neither of whom are expected to have any volume of new devices in the channel until later this summer.

JK

RE: Shipping?
mikecane @ 4/20/2001 12:43:57 PM #
Wow! A visit from the redoubtable Jeff Kirvin himself! Ryan, Ed -- bow!

Palm M500
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 3:05:23 PM #
The Palm M500 is in stock at my local Office Depot. I have verified this at 4 stores. Palms web site still reads pre-order. I read another post that Palm admits that Office Depot will have them before anyone who pre-ordered from Palm.

huh?

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 11:16:34 AM #
And where, exactly, is this 15% of the screen you see?

RE: huh?
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 11:26:33 AM #
I think the author meant 15% of the Web site, not the PDA screen.

No Color????????????

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 11:29:15 AM #
They really think they'll sell something with no solor screen...hum, this product may be really tooooooooo late to be a success. If no color, I don't see any advatages comapred to m500, and I'm not talking about sony 700 and m505...



RE: No Color????????????
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 11:33:57 AM #
There are, indeed, advantages. For one thing, the HandEra will include slots for BOTH SD/MMC AND Compact Flash. If the 2 slots can be used simultaneously, this is a serious advantage over m500. As an example, consider the simple practice of sending e-mail. I find it frustrating that NO Palm modem allows me to check e-mail while directly using the Palm Portable Keyboard--this includes the newest modem for the m50x series. But the TRGPro(and the new HandEra) will allow this using the PreTec 56k CF modem, for one. Combine this ability with seamless use of the SD slot, and you've got a definite winner.

What's more, color is not as big an issue as people make it out to be--not when the screen res is still only 160x160. What's the point at that size? Grayscale is fine.

RE: No Color????????????
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 11:41:51 AM #
I agree. Look at the success of the m10x series. Also, look at the Visor Edge. These are grayscale devices, and they're very nice and very popular. HandEra's screen is purported to be "the best" grayscale screen ever released(strong words--hope they're true).

This whole color issue reminds me of junior high boys arguing over who's got the "most." "Mine has 256." "Well, mine has 4,096." "Mine's biggest at OVER 65,000." 65,000 colors sounds impressive UNTIL you realize it's packed in a 160x160 screen AND that most color applications still only support about 256. But I guess people will play "One-Up" as long as the human race exists. I'll take functionality, thank you very much...

RE: No Color????????????
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 11:50:33 AM #
Without color, TRG won't stand a chance. They waited too long (18 months!) to introduce the new PDA and now the market has changed. Unless it's color, no high end PDA will sell - not when Sony and Palm (and even Handspring, very soon!) have legitimate offerings in color. By the way TRG is getting trumped in the release of pictures of their device. Someone got a hold of one and is doing their own "unveiling" of the HandEra today, making a mockery of TRG.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TRGPro_II_Users_Group

This is hilarious! TRG should have hired a marketing professional to help them co-ordinate the release. Right now they are coming across as amateurs, and are tarnishing their reputation.

RE: No Color????????????
MadMax @ 4/20/2001 12:06:58 PM #
there's nothing to see at the link you posted.

Spam Alert!!!
MadMax @ 4/20/2001 12:12:01 PM #
Spam Alert!! don't follow the http....yahoo.com/group/TRGPro_II_Users_Group link above. In order to "view" the messages, you need to supply your E-mail address. I did. You know what comes next. The photo turns out to be a "soft Porn" photo. Nothing Palm/TGR Pro related what so ever. Belive me, there's plenty of this stuff on the web that's much easier acceessable...

RE: No Color????????????
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 12:14:03 PM #
No color = no sales.

The only monochrome PDAs that will sell in any numbers in the next year will cost < $150.

I was recently advised that Palm is about to aggressively pursue the vertical market that TRG traditionally sold to. They will be selling discounted m105 and m500 models for MUCH less than the anticipated list for the Handera, so Handera has now effectively lost a big portion of their revenues. Yes, Handera has integrated wireless, but there is no MP3 - a feature that might have sold the PDA to Average Joes. It also has a true B+W screen, but we're living in a color world now.

It's too bad. Misjudgement of the market by TRG's directors will likely result in them going under within a year I hope Palm or Handspring (or even Micro$oft if they are smart) buys them out so the engineering talent isn't wasted.

RE: No Color????????????
PFloyd @ 4/20/2001 12:26:03 PM #
I think that equation is false.
The CF format is very popular and the MMC/SD format has a lot of potential. The M10x has neither.
I'm pretty crazy about my Prism but I'm ready to go back to grayscale. Battery life is more important to me than color. A very readable display, long battery life, and easy expansion are traits that will hold out in the long run, IMHO. (No wait, four things, portability.)
I haven't been very taken with the Springboards and I'm getting tired of waiting for one I must have. I did buy a Flash card. I'd get an Edge but I'd end up looking to big springboards for expansion, etc.

RE: No Color????????????
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 12:55:15 PM #
where did you see that the new Handera has integrated wireless??????

RE: No Color????????????
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 4:39:25 PM #
"It will *never sell* because it has no color"... what a bunch of crap. It's all about value not features. If they price it right, it will sell.

It is amazing how you guys bash a product you know so little about. Why are you so threatened by HandEra anyway? You should be happy that another Palm based product is coming out. More power to Palm (and their licensees). Right?

2c

RE: No Color????????????
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/21/2001 5:56:57 PM #
If color was so all important, why can palm get away with selling all but two of their models with greyscale screens (including the M500)?

The Handera 330 has everything the M500 has, and a basketful of innovative features that the M500 doesn't. The M505 has the color sure, but still none of the other features.

1. Do the M50x's have as much screen realestate? NO
2. The 330 optionally has the same lithium rechargeable battery, but maintains the option of reverting to AAA's
3. It can be rechaged either on the cradle on by a port on the side if you're using it on a keyboard or other serial device.
4. It has voice recording
5. It has two external slots, so you can leave your apps and databases on one and use the other for device
6. It maintains compatibility with Palm III series accessories
7. TRG/Handera offers free OS upgrades (and releases more of them than Palm)
8. It's the only PalmOS device that can back up 8MB's of RAM to external storage in 20 seconds.
9. I believe it's still the only PalmOS device that does OS flashes from rom images off external cards (another 20 second process).
10. It has a virtual grafitty area, shows your strokes in the grafity area, and lets you write easily in the dark.
11. It is the most compatible with apps and data on external storage, having OS4's VFS, as well as FFS, and AutoCF.
12. It has CF in addition to SD. And CF and CF readers are still more ubiquitous than MemoryStick and SD.

These rumors are just hilarious...

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 1:15:48 PM #
OK, so far the HandEra device apparently has:

CF slot
SD/MMC slot
integrated wireless access
"true B+W" screen
size of Palm V

You simply *cannot* have the first 3 in the thin form factor yet; integrating all that would make the device as least as large as a Visor Prism, probably larger.

And as for the "true B+W screen," _that_ was an old rumor that died when the rumor appeared that TRG was getting a 60% failure rate in manufacturing of the screens. The HandEra screen will more than likely be the same screen from the m500, just like the TRGpro's screen was lifted from the Palm IIIx.

RE: These rumors are just hilarious...
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/21/2001 1:13:55 AM #
I wonder if TRG will ever to try restarting development of the true B+W screens. I'm sick of looking at green screens - anyone who has ever seen the color screen on a Casio E125 knows how nice color can be...

go now.

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 2:40:48 PM #
Go to www.handera.com and they have updated the pic with a more revealing look.

It's a mono screen btw...

RE: go now.
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 2:50:46 PM #
OK, from what I can tell it looks like it's got:

1. Voice...something. If it's got a voice recorder function then that might explain what looks like a mic in the lower right corner of the picture. Could that mean it's got integrated wireless/phone too?

2. A soft Grafitti area! Yay! Looks like that might be something you could turn off, too.

3. A serious weight problem - if the illustration is anything to go by then it's chunky (just look at the depth of the edge around the screen).

RE: go now.
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 3:27:44 PM #
Based on that screen, the graffiti area is 240 pixels wide and 80 pixels high. If this is an actual screen dump, then the resolution is 240x320. Also notice that the fonts look better.

RE: go now.
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 3:33:50 PM #
Where are you getting this? I can only see the corner of the device and the blinking LED.

RE: go now.
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 3:37:50 PM #
This looks very promising. If you look at the icons in the graffiti area itself, you see some nice things. There's an arrow pointing down, which I guess would indicate the soft graffiti area(allows you to close it). There are also icons for contrast adjustment and speaker volume. Plus, the word "Voice" appears on the applications menu. This appears to indicate some type of voice recording software. Could the device support mp3? Not sure, but it would definitely increase the value of the device. I like what I see so far.

I also agree with the earlier post which points out that HandEra may likely have a color device in the works.

As for all of you who've already slammed it: what's your problem? This thing hasn't been fully unveiled, no details are official, you haven't seen one, and yet you rush to judgment? Look, I know you've get pent-up aggression over the fact that your m505 hasn't arrived yet, but don't take it out on HandEra. This reminds me of all the idiots who slammed the Visor Edge over an "unofficial" photo. The Edge has turned out to be a pretty nice little PDA. I'll bet the new HandEra device is, too. Now if only they can get the marketing team into action...

Still mono market

Nate @ 4/20/2001 2:46:15 PM #
I know that color is very popular, and that a lot people will want to upgrade to color, but when you think about it, the fact that the Handera isn't color isn't such a big deal - Handspring just released the Edge and it's not color, and Palm released the m500 and it's not color. There is a market for mono units, it's just going to be hard to "up-sell" customers if there isn't a color Handera in the line. Also. Handera has a problem because their user base is fairly small, and is mostly people who are more serious Palm users (gadget freaks) and vertical markets. While the vertical markets may still want mono because of battery life, the consumer gadget freaks, like myself, want to upgrade to color. But just because they're debuting a mono doesn't mean they don't have a color Handera in the works. Let's wait and see what they've got and how it compares to the m500 and the Edge before we slam them.

_________
Syncplicity. Redefining Simple. www.cognitiveroot.com
HandEra will not have a color PDA for 12 months
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/21/2001 1:26:16 AM #
In an interview with the Des Moines Register today, HandEra CEO and chairman, Micheal Downey stated that HandEra will not release a color HandEra for at least 12 months.
Oddly, last Friday, he also told a CNET reporter, "We don't have to sell millions of units. We don't even have to sell hundreds of thousands to make money on the product", suggesting that HandEra may be resigned to maintaining their role as a minor player on the Palm scene. It has been estimated that TRGPros account for less than 0.5% of the PalmOS devices currently being sold.



Screen

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 2:50:22 PM #
Hi,
From what I can see they eventually have a soft grafiti zone : nice

Fred

RE: Screen
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 3:45:08 PM #
Actually, I think the fact that the device itself is just a drawing makes it appear that the Graffiti area is soft. We'll see.

We've got pictures

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 4:00:10 PM #
Some pictures on this new handheld can be found in the PalmStation site:

http://www.palmstation.com

RE: We've got pictures
twizza @ 4/20/2001 4:12:28 PM #
if it wasnt for the case i would say that i ahve found my replacement for my IIIxe

Voice recorder!

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 4:11:09 PM #
I'll buy it!

UGLY!

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/20/2001 4:52:58 PM #
It's UGLY! Man would I feel like a nerd for carrying that nasty thing around...LOL

RE: UGLY!
jkirvin @ 4/20/2001 5:34:44 PM #
I don't think it's any more garish than the iPaq, and I owned an iPaq.

JK

RE: UGLY!
GrouchoMarx @ 4/20/2001 6:43:51 PM #
It's the same color front as the Palm V series, from the look of it. Do you think the Palm V is "ugly"? It was ugly enough that it sold in vast quantities.

--GrouchoMarx

RE: UGLY!
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/23/2001 10:22:24 AM #
It's not the color of the casing, it's the strange swoopy pattern of pock-marks around the hardware buttons. Otherwise, it's almost identical in shape to a III series, but it looks like they added those styling cues to distinguish the unit from the old Palms.

I think it's ugly too - it sort of reminds me of the Pontiac Aztek (you know, the Survivor car) which takes the standard SUV shape and morphs it just enough that it's the ugliest thing around. I don't think the 330 is quite that ugly, but it's not as nice as the newer Palms or the Egde. They could have done better.

Color? We don't need no stinkin' Color!

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/21/2001 11:02:25 PM #
Color? We don't need no stinkin' Color! Color? Ya' want color? Buy a GameBoy. That's what color is for. Games. Show me a Business app or Professional app that requires color. Color? Get over it. You don't need it!
RE: Color? We don't need no stinkin' Color!
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/23/2001 11:26:21 AM #
I really like the fact that Handera has built a tool for the working professional and not a toy. It has all the right stuff. I ordered mine from Palmgear this morning and can't wait. My only color PDA was a Phillips Nino and fact is I had to keep the charger plugged in all the time and the screen washed out. Then my Aero 1550 Pocket PC, well it just could not stand my environment. Work! Then came my TRGPro. Wow, I have been in heaven. A tool I can actually use. So I wait, and I can as my TRGPro is in hand untill then, for my New Handera 330. I just don't need or want a flimsy, light weight color toy to keep up with. Thanks Handera!

HandEra.com Locked

Ed @ 4/22/2001 11:42:12 PM #
I just went to HandEra.com to check the status of their rollout and the site is password protected. I guess they are working on it.

I thought the whole thing of slowly revealing the 330 on their site was a nice bit of advertising. Too bad they blew it by giving all the info to news sites before the official rollout was done.

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter

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