A Deeper Look at the HandEra 330
Now that the first rush of excitement is over with the release of the HandEra 330, it is time to take a longer look at some of its features.
The device's 240x320 pixel screen is possibly its most important new feature. Rather than simply use pixel doubling, the 330 takes the raw output an application is sending to the screen and totally reformats it using higher resolution fonts before displaying it. Applications may a require a bit of modification for this to work but it means the same app that runs on a 330 can run on a 160x160 Visor or other Palm.
The 330 will ship with Quickoffice 5.1, which has been modified to use the new screen. This suite will perform two functions most business users want their handhelds to perform out of the box: access Microsoft Word and Excel files.
For applications that haven't been modified to take advantage of the 330's screen, HandEra offers three options. First, it can do something like pixel doubling, except that each pixel becomes 1.5 pixels, stretching the display from 160 to 240 pixels. The other two options are to display the application at the old resolution in a small window, either in the middle of the display or in the upper left hand corner. Because the 330's pixels are smaller than those of other Palm powered handhelds, apps displayed like this will be smaller than they appear on other devices. Take a look at the image on the right for an example of this. (Thanks to Mike W for the screenshot.)
The downside is the 330 isn't likely to be a great platform for playing games. Increasing the resolution slows down screen refreshes slightly and, if the other options are used, few gamers will be interested in playing even smaller versions of their favorites. Add in the lack of color and hard-core gamers will almost certainly be looking elsewhere for their next Palm.
That brings up the issue of target market. HandEra designed this device with the business user in mind. They plan to primarily sell it directly companies seeking to give them to their employees for some specific business task, like salesforce automation. However, they are aware that plenty of consumers will like the 330 so they are offering them in retail stores. But notice that they will mostly be sold in office supply stores rather than consumer electronics stores. HandEra is mostly unconcerned about its limited game-playing ability; this is a business-oriented handheld.
Another major feature is the expansion slots, of which it has two: an SD slot and a CompactFlash one. HandEra's primary plan with this was to have one for memory and one for hardware expansion. The SD slot at this time is good only for memory expansion. The Secure Digital Association is still working on the Input/Output specification needed to allow SD modems, cameras, and other peripherals to work so these aren't likely to appear before Fall. However, there are plenty of CF I/O devices already on the market. HandEra's plan is to allow users to use both simultaneously. Apparently, one of the frequent complaints from users about the TRGpro's single expansion slot was the need to remove a memory card before plugging in a modem, for example.
Some CF peripherals, especially the microdrives, require quite a bit of juice to run. To handle this increased battery drain, the 330 uses either four AAAs or a lithium-ion battery pack. This satisfies users who prefer the convenience of not being tied to a wall plug and those who prefer to not have to frequently buy new batteries. Also, this means the 330 has one of the most flexible power options of any Palm. Even if a user has the li-ion pack, if they run out of power in a place where they can't recharge, they can just remove the pack and put in some AAA's and keep going.
It should be noted that even at its heaviest, with all four batteries installed, it still weighs less than the Palm IIIxe, which is the same size. Getting the li-ion pack shaves half an ounce off. While we're on the subject, the li-ion pack can be charged from the cradle or from an external AC adapter.
A discussion of batteries leads easily into one on a major feature than the 330 does not have and for which many have immediately attacked it: the lack of a color screen. HandEra examined the possibility and eventually decided to hold off on a color model because they were determined to have the high-resolution screen. They determined that a full-color, high-resolution screen would have given the 330 an unacceptably short battery life. As discussed earlier, they are targeting the 330 towards business users who are frequently away from places where they can charge a handheld for long periods of time. Also, they were trying to keep the device as inexpensive as possible and a color screen would have increased the price considerably. However, HandEra hasn't totally dismissed the idea of color. As screens become more efficient and battery technology improves, they may someday have a model with a color screen.
Another feature they passed on is USB. This is another decision made based on their target market: business users. Many companies are far behind consumers when it comes to technology and the business world is full of computers with no USB support. This includes all computers that run Windows NT and the USB support in Windows 95 is questionable.
While this may seem amazing to some who don't work in large, conservative companies, it is true. As a quick example, let's take a look at the usage statistics for this site. Today, just over 15% of readers are running Windows NT and almost 6% Windows 95. HandEra simply couldn't ignore about 20% of their potential market. This is especially true when considering that USB doesn't add any additional capabilities over a serial connection besides speed of HotSyncing.
Also, adding USB would have required them to redesign the serial port, which would have removed one of the 330's most useful features: its backwards hardware compatibility. The device can use all clip-on peripherals designed for its predecessor, the TRGpro and the Palm III series. For companies that have already invested in large amounts of expensive equipment, like wireless modems, this can be a major selling point. This can also be a selling point for consumers who would like to keep their investment in III series peripherals and were irritated by Palm's abandonment of the Palm III form factor.
Finally, HandEra has donated a 330 to #palmchat, the Palm IRC channel on the OpenProjects network. It will be given away tonight, April 25, at 9:30 pm EDT (6:30 pm PDT, 2:30 am GMT). To win, you must log onto #palmchat between 8:30 and 9:15PM. You must also be present at 9:30 pm when the winner is announced.
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RE: Thanks Mike
Thanks again! You deserve a bonus from HandEra.
---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter
RE: Scale-To-Fit Clarification
Awesome technology! What happens to legacy applications (made for 160x160 resolution) when you minimize the graffiti area? In the case of a scrolling application, does it utilize the extra space or is it blank?
RE: Scale-To-Fit Clarification
Incidentally, Almost every program I've tried to use that doesn't draw to the screen buffer directly scales acceptably. I don't have any programs set to run in centered of left mode, just scale to fit. Their algorithm may not be perfect, but it sure comes close. :-)
--GrouchoMarx
Incorrect timeconversions?
If it starts on 25th, 8:30PM (in the evening) EDT (Eastern (NewYork) Daylights Savings time),
it would be Thursday 26th april, at 00:30 (Half past midnight) in the night GMT (or UTC) time.
-- -- Time calculations performed by http://www.timeanddate.com/ -- --
Please do correct me if I am wrong here.
RE: Incorrect timeconversions?
Example:
If it's 10 a.m. in New York, it's 3 p.m. in London (or Greenwich, where the time lab is located)
Simple Math and Geography:
3 p.m. --------> 15:00
TZ Difference -> - 5:00
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
EDT Time ------> 10:00 (am)
RE: Incorrect timeconversions?
RE: Incorrect timeconversions?
The correct informations is:
Log in to #palmchat between 00:30 and 01:15am GMT and be in the channel at 1:30am GMT to be eligible to win.
Good Luck everyone!
Contributing Editor, http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/palm_computing">Suite101 Palm Computing Devices
RE: Nice work, Ed
You note the HandEra as the ultimate writer's tool. Since I do a lot of heavy editing, multiple documents, etc, and since that is an issue for me in selecting a replacement for my present Palm III (which I attempted to dribble and discovered it doesn't bounce all that well), I am curious as to your analysis. My very tentative conclusions, and my technical skills are pretty weak I am afraid, were similar. Thanks.
Bear
Screen contrast on 330?
Thanks
IBM Palm m505 clone?
http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?dept%5Fid=3890&cat=pc&pf%5Fid=PDA1129&blind=no
RE: IBM Palm m505 clone?
m500 series handhelds, in the second quarter. Palm is an OEM for IBM WorkPads."
p.s. To the person whose comments were here: Sorry, your links were so long they were throwing off this entire page and I had to delete them. If you would like to add your comments back in without the very long URLs, it would be great.
---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter
RE: IBM Palm m505 clone?
For those of us who want to be different.
Eric
Custom HandEra
A proposal was just made asking if members would be interested in ordering a custom HandEra 330 with a plain black case and 4 MB of FlashRAM. The group has over 1800 members, so I think there's probably a reasonable chance that they could get enough people together to have HandEra make the custom PDA.
If you are interested, their website is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TRGPro_Users_Group
RE: Custom HandEra
RE: Custom HandEra
Other suggestions:
1) Put in a headphone jack! Why on earth did they leave this out if they're going to include recording capabilities? Very strange.
2) 16 MB of RAM (not essential, but a good option for "power users").
3) WordSmith/MiniCalc would be an even better software bundle. I wouldn't be surprised to see Handspring do this in a few months (you heard it here first).
4) Eventually it needs to get smaller. (The Palm Vx/m50x size is nearly ideal.)
5) Start actually supporting CF peripherals with drivers. For over a year TRG was unable to provide much in the way of drivers and so far, not much has changed.
6) Make sure the screen works with the software that's out there. (I just heard that DateBk4 and Launch 'Em aren't compatible. These are my 2 favorite apps, and I wouldn't use the Handera if either program doesn't work with them.)
RE: Custom HandEra
I heard that insted of a color screen, next year's Handera 550 will come with an electric toothbrush. ;-) Seriously though, Handera looks like they've made the nicest PDA that no-one will buy. They're probably going to get trampled in the mad rush to get the Sony and Palm models.
OK Handera salespeople, repeat after me: "We don't need to sell a lot to be successful; We're really gearing ourselves towards the enterprise market; Our customers don't need color; We feel long battery life is more important than having a color display...:
--
Visit the Internet Only Palm Users Group Home Page
http://www.interpug.com/iopug/
RE: Pity me!
Flash
RE: Flash
Contributing Editor
Suite101 Palm Computing Devices
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/palm_computing
Availability in Asia???
Just aching to get my hands on one...
(I would love to have the custom made one actually, black with 4mb ram.... yeah...)
Congrats Handera for a great product!
Thanks especially to Mike for the additional information, I am sold!
RE: Availability in Asia???
high rez pics wanted
(For $50 more, one could get a greyscale iPAQ)
RE: high rez pics wanted
The HE 330 comes with two.
The iPaq, s a great machine, but it has its flaws and limitations. The relatively small size for a PPC did come at a cost.
Very tempting
But the 330 looks very nice indeed. I'd love to see a color model, but I haven't been swayed to open my wallet for a Prism or an m505 at this point (and I thought the IIIc's color screen was a joke) so I'm still ok with greyscale. Personally I don't care for the shape of the V/m50x and prefer the shape/size of the III/Visor/330. I have been watching the SDIO developments and the prototype toys, er, I mean accessories that have been shown, and that was a bit tempting - but I'll take a 330 with SD/MMC over an m50x anyday. (Small concern - is the 2MB Flash enough for PalmOS 4.0? I have seen the talk of a 4MB Flash unit, that'd be an interesting direct order option on the Handera website.)
You know what would have sold me, and I bet a lot of other people too, on this in a heartbeat? If they'd extended the sound capabilities to stereo and included a headphone jack. With both CF and SD/MMC slots the 330 is so close to being a kickass PDA/MP3 combo - that kind of capability would put it up there with the new Sony easy - it already has an improved screen (better than the Sony in some ways - soft Grafitti, landscape mode, etc), jog dial, two slots, etc. Even without a dedicated codec you could probably pull it off in software on the 33MHz DB.
I understand why they didn't - not a corporate feature. But if Handera wanted to hit the consumer market I think that would be more of a 'killer app' than color - and it already has twice the battery capacity of other units, it could easily outlast a Visor + Soundsgood or the like. With an integrated codec it could do play/record to stereo MP3 at a high bitrate. It'd sell very well, I believe.
I own three modules for my Visor - a backup module, a GPS receiver (which is really just a geek toy for me), and the Matchbook drive CF memory adaptor. I can do without the toy, and the capabilities of the 330 make the other 2 moot. If I drop my Visor (again) I know what I'll be replacing it with... even if I don't, geek toy lust may do it anyway. :-)
And since I'm posting, I thought I'd toss out a random idea. We've seen units with expansion at the top - CF, SD/MMC, SB, MS - what if the lower rear panel was swappable? USB-serial converters are small and fairly cheap. If the unit were wired with USB it could perhaps be possible to design one with the new Palm 'universal' socket, and a swappable 'classic III series serial' socket. That would maintain backwards compatibility with existing systems and accessories, and provide forwards compatibility with new accessories. From the little I've looked into it, it seems feasible electrically, and at least the idea of a swappable clip is feasible physically. But there may be other physical issues preventing compatibility with accessories.
This is definitely an interesting evolution for PalmOS based PDAs - I think Handera could carve out a nice niche for themselves. I hope they do decide to attack that consumer market, I know I'd open my wallet (if I haven't already, or maybe even then. ;-) ). Well done.
-MegaZone
-MegaZone, megazone@megazone.org
Personal Homepage http://www.megazone.org/
Eyrie Productions FanFic http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
RE: Very tempting
1) MP3 playback would require a separate CPU for decoding, since the Dragonball chip is not powerful enough. Indeed, some dedicated MP3 players have as many as 3 processors!
2) Headphone jacks were included and then discarded during the development process after it was found that they were a feature that everybody wanted, but nobody used. Certainly that would be different if Palms could play MP3's without assistance, but that is not the case at present.
In short: Right now, if you want to play MP3's, get an MP3 player. (As I did.)
If you must have a PDA that plays MP3's, get a PPC.
That is just the current state of the industry, based on technological limitations and current cost barriers. I hope it's different next year.
RE: Very tempting
I wasn't sure the DB could handle MP3 - I thought i might, but I guess not then. I wonder what the cost of the guts from an InnoGear MiniJam is. They sell a MiniJam with 32MB of Flash built in for $199, and it also includes a MMC slot and associated HW, controls, the case, etc. If you stripped it all away to just the decoder - leave the controls to SW (and/or remapping the existing buttons when in that mode), memory to the existing CF/SD/MMC slots, etc - I wonder what the component cost and added manufacturing cost would be? $50? $100? I'd easilly pay $400 for a 330 that was also a full MP3 player. Maybe $450. Still less than a PDA + good MP3 player, about the same as a Visor + MiniJam, but MUCH better.
Maybe it isn't really feasible today - but technology marches ever forward, who knows, six months down the road maybe they'll want to go after that consumer market and component costs will have dropped.
I can understand dropping headphone jacks in the current unit - low-fi mono sound is just worse in headphones. :-)
-MegaZone, megazone@megazone.org
Personal Homepage http://www.megazone.org/
Eyrie Productions FanFic http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
RE: Very tempting
http://www.palmstation.com/view_article.py?article=4080&flat_mode=1
If you make enough online noise, and get others to do the same, I see no reason why a CF-slot MP3 addon for the 330 could not be created by some enterprising 3'rd party hardware developer.
Like you, I want the feature. I'm just not as willing as you to pay US$400 for it...
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
d r. a. c h a r l e s
barbados
To Color or Not to Color -that is the question
RE: Very tempting
RE: Very tempting
1) App compatibility. Given that the "compatibility mode" results in the creation of a tiny 160x160 virtual screen, I'm not too eager to settle for it. If my bread-and-butter apps, in particular Datebk4, don't look good on the 330, I'm not buying.
2) I do so love the idea of that m500 vibrating alarm...
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
d r. a. c h a r l e s
barbados
RE: Very tempting
Color is something that's nice to have. If the 330 were color with a vibrating alarm, yeah, I'd probably already have preordered it. As it is my Deluxe is serving me well, so I'll wait until the 330 is in more hands to see how the new features work out. That also gives me time to see what Handspring, Sony, and Palm get up to in the next quarter or so. But if I have to replace my Visor for some reason - right now the 330 is first in line.
As for a CF MP3 system - I'd rather have it built in, because I'd rather use CF memory for the MP3s than SD/MMC. I'd probably end up buying a microdrive for capacity... I haven't picked up an MP3 player yet because I really want one that can do CF+ Type II media.
Since I prefer the 330s form factor to the m50x the 330 is the equal in most areas - supposedly upgradable to PalmOS 4.0, and with SD support. It lacks the vibrating alarm, USB, color, and little neat things like the LED power button. But USB isn't that big a deal - I'm still using serial myself anyway. I had NT on my desktop at my last job, Linux at my current one (I still haven't bothered syncing to that though). At home the machine I sync with is my oldest PC - a Win95 box I use as my terminal. My newer boxes are Linux and either servers or lab mules to test things on. The vibrating alarm and LED are really just nice to have features.
And it has things the m50x lacks - CF support, jog dial, better sound, audio recording, higher res screen, soft graffiti area, better backlight (and the graffiti area backlights - I've wished for that for a long time, I've used my Visor in some pretty low light conditions), landscape mode - and a lower price.
I think greyscale will be fine in this market for a while, though I don't know about waiting a full year. I rather hope they don't wait another year before refreshing the line - or at least providing some updates. Bringing out a consumer model for xmas would be interesting.
-MegaZone, megazone@megazone.org
Personal Homepage http://www.megazone.org/
Eyrie Productions FanFic http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Oh, one more thing...
I bought a handful of NiMH AAA cells early on. I keep two in the bag I take to work, there are two in the Visor, and two in/near the charger in my room. If my batteries get low I can swap them any time, and in the worst case I can buy alkalines and keep running. (This has never actually happened, when I go on a longer trip I toss a few cells in my bag. And I tend to use it less on a vacation, etc.)
But I can see the convenience of charging in the cradle, so the optional pack is a nice idea (and a nice way for them to keep the base price of the unit down) *without* locking you into needing a charger - you still have the option of using normal cells.
I love it.
-MegaZone, megazone@megazone.org
Personal Homepage http://www.megazone.org/
Eyrie Productions FanFic http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
MP3, Sigh...
Yes, I could get a Visor and one of the MP3 springboards, or an M105 and the MP3 sled, but both of those solutions leave me cold. Either too bulky, or too limited by storage and battery life.
Jon Acheson
p.s. Megazone, did you enjoy the Moldiver LDs I sold you back at Otakon '95? Long time, no see!
RE: Very tempting
Hmm, wouldn't be Otakon '95, I didn't go to Otakon until 2K. :-) Maybe KatsuCon, or AX - but I still have the Moldiver LDs. Selling them soon though - it just hit DVD. :-)
Man, I *REALLY* hope TRG decides to hit the consumer market - forget color, MP3s are a killer app. So close, and yet so far... I have to say the Sony Clie looks tempting with ATRAC 3 MS playback - but I expect battery life will suck with that screen, and no landscape, etc because it just squeezes in the pixels. Sure it can do 320x320 - but much smaller. And I like the expansion on the HE330, and the graffiti backlight, etc.
-MZ
-MegaZone, megazone@megazone.org
Personal Homepage http://www.megazone.org/
Eyrie Productions FanFic http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Color? forget it...
RE: Color? forget it...
Same goes for color. Color is indeed awesome and when the day comes that Handera makes a color device that can do all that the 330 does and does NOT need recharging every day, I'll be the first to jump at it. But in the end, color is not worth it to me for the problems it caused. Just trying using a CF modem on a color device, you'll be lucky to get a couple hours of battery life. Lot of good it did me to have a wireless modem card to use with my cell phone when the darn PPC would keep dying on me. No, I'll stick with the greyscale for now, particularly now that the good backlighting is back (thank you Handera so much for this!!!!)
Fools! Look what Palm is Doing!
1) lack of a color screen
2) Lack of headphone jacks!
1) Don't whine about Palm's slow pace of innovation, he M505 handheld has something no other PDA I've seen has:
A Color screen that doesn't require a backlight. While this is nothing new, developers seem to be a little slow figuring out that you DO NOT need a backlight to have a color screen! HandEra should have done this! However, the sharp contrast of their screen minimizes the loss..
2) Even though it cannot play Mp3's, a headphone jack would have been more-than-welcome!!! If you're in a crowded area, and you need to listen to messages, it's awkward to listen to them out loud! Not to mention, if I want to play lesser quality music, I would be able to!
Other than that, this is a splendid little device!
Latest Comments
- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
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- My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
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Scale-To-Fit Clarification
The HandEra 330 traps all the drawing routines (WinDrawLine(), WinDrawChar(), etc). When an app is in Scale-To-Fit mode, the 330 modifies the parameters sent to these calls.
For example, if an app calls WinDrawLine(10, 10, 20, 20), the 330 converts the parameters to (15, 15, 30, 30) before drawing the line. Also, when an app draws characters, the 330 swaps the font with a crisper font that is 1.5 larger than the original.
You're probably asking yourself what happens with odd coordinates, there's got to be rounding errors. WinDrawLine(15, 15, 31, 31)
The 330 has algorithms that ensure controls, lines, characters etc, line up or touch each other as necessary. It's easy to multiply all parameters by 1.5, but it's tuff to get everything to line up. This is why we say that 95% of the apps will look very good. However, our algorithm is not perfect, that is why some apps will need to be run in 160x160 Centered mode.
Mike Walter
HandEra