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Handspring Visor Cell Phone and iPhone: old skool versus bleeding edge

Posted on September 27, 2007June 19, 2019 by

In the midst of packing for my big move to Brooklyn, I ran into some interesting legacy technology that I’ve been lugging around with me everywhere — cassette tapes of 80s music, movies on VHS, film point-and-shoot cameras, and this blast from the past: the Handspring Visor with the cell phone attachment!

Man, I loved that crappy old PDA phone.  I lined it up next to my iPhone, and it actually wasn’t as enormous as I remembered it, at least from the front.

It’s when you turn it on it’s side that you see the difference:

Definitely not sexy that big bulky thing sticking out of the back of the Handspring.  Impossible to keep in even a cargo pocket, with a knobby antenna sticking out the top.

The back is even uglier, with a big battery case protruding out of it.  (No, that’s not my number anymore.)

Aesthetics aside, the Handspring Visor was a nice device.  Advantages over the iPhone:

  • Sim card based phone — so not locked into a single (sucky) cell provider!
  • Lots of third party apps
  • Lots cheaper (I think I got mine for around $125?)
  • Cool peripherals you could add through expansion slot (GPS, games, camera, keyboard, etc.)
  • Worked with stylus or just your finger
  • Ran for 2-3 weeks on one battery charge!
  • Three color options: metallic, blue and red
  • Metallic cover to protect the face

That said, it really wasn’t a very good cell phone. Audio quality was just crap, even by 2001 standards.

But for the time, it was a great little machine.

3 thoughts on “Handspring Visor Cell Phone and iPhone: old skool versus bleeding edge”

  1. Paul says:
    September 28, 2007 at 6:31 am

    That’s awesome. I love comparing off-shelf tech with on-shelf. You often reflect “this was so cool back then.” And the visor has nearly a steampunk vibe to it too.
    /me pines for an iPhone…

    Reply
  2. Deborah says:
    February 28, 2009 at 12:54 am

    Just found this great vintage post, and it was great memories for me. I had the same gear, and am still using my Treo 700p until the Pre is released. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

    Reply
  3. fahrrad says:
    March 6, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    Dies ist ein großer Ort. Ich möchte hier noch einmal.

    Reply

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