• $200

• Uses most Visor peripherals
• Cool-looking casing
• Fast Lookup in Address Book

• Design starting to look dated
• Reversing backlight

Design:
Cost/Benefit:
Coolness:
Overall:

Casing
The Neo uses essentially the same size and shape casing that Visors have had for years. The advantage of this is it can use all the many, many cases and other accessories that have been designed for the Visor line over the years. The disadvantage is it looks a bit dated.

Handspring has alleviated this a bit by picking some good-looking semi-transparent plastics for the casing. The one I have is called Smoke. You really can see all the internal bits and pieces, especially through the back. The other two colors are red and blue.

The size and weight are decent, just barely small enough to carry in a pants pocket. It isn't really a candidate for the shirt pocket. It fits well in the hand, though it is a bit larger than I like.

Screen
The Neo has a decent monochrome screen, especially when you keep in mind that this is a low-end handheld. It offers good contrast and the background isn't too dark. In my opinion, this is the best screen available on a low-end handheld for viewability in a variety of lighting conditions.

However, I was disappointed to see that Handspring is still using the reversing backlight. This means that when the backlight is on, what was black becomes white and vice versa. Actually, what was black becomes blue-green. Anyway, while this works fine in very dark conditions, in dim light the screen is almost unreadable. Fortunately, there are hacks available that stop the reversing and I recommend them highly if you get a Neo.

Springboard Slot
On the top of the Neo is the slot for Springboards, Handspring's hardware expansion format. This allows any one of the over 50 Springboard modules to be plugged in. These include GPS modules, digital cameras, extra memory, and lots more.

The Springboard was the first expansion slot to appear on a Palm OS device, though no longer the only one. Other handheld makers have now taken a page from Handspring's book, though they still lag far behind.

The great strength of Springboards is that they are plug and play. This means that if you pop in, say, the VisorPhone, the application you need to use it will be immediately available without you having to mess around with drivers. You have to give Handspring credit for this, it just works.

The drawback to Springboards is most of the interesting or useful ones are a bit pricey. For example, the Thinmodem-plus 56K modem is $150. The HandyGPS Pro costs $230. A simple 8 MB Flash memory module is $50. Just a couple of Springboards can quickly add up to the cost of the Visor.

Motherboard
The Neo runs the 33 MHz Dragonball VZ processor, the fastest currently available for the Palm OS and more than twice as fast as the one on the Deluxe. It has 8 MB of RAM.

Operating System
One fact about the Neo that has already proved controversial is that it runs Palm OS 3.5.2H3, rather than the latest, OS 4. This is especially surprising in view of the fact that the main purpose of this model is to replace the Visor Deluxe, which still runs OS 3.1H. I put a bit of thought into this and I decided it didn't much matter.

The major new features in OS 4 are support for new hardware, including expansion cards, USB, and 16-bit color. Handspring has had its own expansion card system for years. The USB support that is in OS 4 was actually written by Handspring and is included in their version of OS 3.5. Handspring also wrote the 16-bit color support that is in OS 4 but the point is moot because the Neo doesn't have a color screen.

There are some minor features that OS 3.5 lacks but I don't think they are reason enough to pass on this model.

Like all Handspring models, the Neo lacks Flash ROM, which means the OS can't be upgraded, though patches can be applied. This is another reason why I think Handspring may have passed on OS 4. It is still fairly new and all the wrinkles haven't been ironed out yet. If the Neo had it, fixing the bugs would be much more complicated.

The next major operating system change is going to be the switch to OS 5, and that's really about support for ARM-based processors. At this point, I haven't seen anything about OS 5 for Dragonball-based handhelds.

Fast Lookup
The version of the Address Book that comes on the Neo has Fast Lookup. This allows you to use the hardware buttons to quickly find a name on a long list.

When this is enabled, names can be looked up by using the hard keys to specify if each letter in the name is in the first or second half of the alphabet. For example, to look up the name "Don", you would press the up arrow key to invoke the look-up function, then press the To-Do key to say that the first letter is in the first half of the alphabet, then press the Memo key to say the second letter was in the second half, then press the Memo key again to say the third letter was in the second half of the alphabet. Theoretically, this should give you a list of all the people whose name is "Don". It will also give you everyone whose name is "Ann" because that name also fits those criteria.

The process works the same for looking up last names except that you use the Date Book and Address Book buttons. You can combine looking up first and last names, too, so you can specify the first three letters of the last name and the first two letters of the first.

In practice, this works surprisingly well. I have a hundred or so names in my address book and, after a bit of practice, I can find a specific one quickly. It's really handy when you're standing with your handheld in one hand and your mobile phone in the other to not have to pull out the stylus to get the number you want to call.

Battery
The Neo runs off AAAs; It doesn't have a rechargeable internal battery. With its monochrome screen, it draws relatively little power, leading to long battery life. It is nice knowing that a new pair of batteries means you won't need to worry about running low for weeks.

I know some people prefer rechargeables but I'm OK with off-the-shelf batteries. Worrying about bringing a recharger on trips is a bit of a hassle, while you can buy AAAs almost everywhere.

Buttons
On the front, under the screen, are the standard hardware buttons. These are silver plastic. The Up and Down buttons are separate and shaped like half circles. None of these seems to be unusually hard or easy to push.

Cover
The Neo has the same clip-on cover that's familiar to Visor users. I have to admit that I've never been a fan of the Visor's cover. It can clip on either the front or back and gives the serial port a bit of protection, both of which I like, but having to manually unclip it and then clip it back on is a bit of a hassle. I prefer a flip cover of one kind or another.

Stylus
The included stylus could be the poster child for what a good stylus should be. It has a reflective silver metal shaft with a plastic top and tip. Unscrew the tip and you see a reset pin. Unscrew the top and you find a small screwdriver that lets you disassemble the casing. I can't think of another stylus that has that.

Cradle
People have somehow come up with the idea that the Neo doesn't come with a cradle. This just isn't true. The cradle is completely clear, which is slick looking. I like it.

It uses a USB connector. Like I said before, Handspring actually wrote the USB code that is in OS 4 and included it in their versions of OS 3.

Etcetera
Below the buttons, on the left, is the microphone. As far as I know, this can only be used by Springboards. I've never heard of any applications that made use of it. You need it if you are going to get a VisorPhone, though.

On the left side is the infrared port. It's there because just about the whole top is taken up with the Springboard slot.

In addition to the standard Date Book, the Pro has Date Book+, an enhanced version that includes some extra features, like an improved weekly view, a yearly view, and a list view.

Conclusion
The Neo is a decent low-end model. At $200 it is a bit more expensive than its competition, though. If you aren't interested in some of the new bells and whistles, the Visor Deluxe is just $130 now. However, those bells and whistles are nice and so is the faster processor and cool semi-transparent casing.