New Handspring Smartphone Coming this Fall

[Ed Hardy]

Handspring will release a new model this fall that its CEO describes as “a significant new product.”

Read more about it at http://www.brighthand.com/article/Ne...ming_this_Fall

[gfunkmagic]

New smartphone in "3 MONTHS"? ARHHH! I dunno if I can wait that long before my next smartphone purchase! I hope HS come out with a winner here. In about that time Samsung should be releasing their i700, SGH-i500 etc and a host host of M$ smartphones shoud be finally arriving to the US. In the meantime though, lets hope HS can survive....

[Ed Hardy]

Originally posted by gfunkmagic
New smartphone in "3 MONTHS"? ARHHH!

No, the announcement is going to be in next three months. The actual release isn't going to be until this fall. Realistically, I think we're looking at near the end of the year.

[Scott R]

Considering that the company currently has agreements with both Sprint and Verizon, it seems likely that there will be both GSM/GPRS and CDMA versions of any future smartphone from Handspring.

I think you meant to say "Sprint and T-Mobile." Not only does HS not have any deal with Verizon, but Verizon is CDMA as well.

I was shocked to see how many Treos they're selling in comparison to Visors. The Treo is a great device and you can't beat affordable unlimited data. Unfortunately, they priced it too high (though at current deals, the price is sweet - $150 at Amazon). I seem to recall some comment Donna made after her initial flub where she hinted about the end of the Visor line. In trying to appease people (and save stock prices, I'd imagine) I believe she said something like, "We aren't killing the product line. We'll keep making them so long as people want them." Or something to that effect. Well lookey here, the Visor line is outselling the Treos and now they're officially killing off the Visor line.

I love my Treo 300 but the keyboard is too small. Rumor has it that their new device will be smaller overall but still incorporate a keyboard. Unless they twist the keyboard around (think in terms of a new device like the Nokia Communicator or Danger hiptop), this could mean a smaller thumbboard still. I sure hope it's the former and not the latter. Of course, Fall/Winter is a long ways off and they're not doing so well financially. The color Danger hiptop is rumored to be out in a month or two. If Danger can get a partnership with Verizon and/or Sprint, I really believe Danger could own a huge chunk of this market.

Scott

[Ed Hardy]

Originally posted by Scott R
I think you meant to say "Sprint and T-Mobile." Not only does HS not have any deal with Verizon, but Verizon is CDMA as well.

Actually, I meant to say Cingular. I've corrected the article. Sorry about that.

Originally posted by Scott R
Well lookey here, the Visor line is outselling the Treos and now they're officially killing off the Visor line. [/b]

I think you mis-read the article. Handspring had $21.1 million in Treo sales and just $9.7 million in sales of Visors and accessories.

[Fzara2000]

Handspring was doing much better when they had visors than wit their "smart" phone

[NocTurnerV]

Originally posted by Fzara2000
Handspring was doing much better when they had visors than wit their "smart" phone

Yes, that's true, but they were also losing a lot of ground to both Sony and Palm, because they were kind of resting on their laurels too much. If Handspring had put out a newly designed device, they might have been able to hang on to a solid piece of market share. Then again, maybe not...it's hard to say for sure.

I remember when the Visor Edge debuted, which I think most people will agree was the drop-off point for Handspring; it was cool, sure, but it was also less-than-thrilling. It never really took off, and Handspring never really recovered.

That being said, I sure hope their new smartphone takes off, because I'd hate to see them go out of business altogether. I think they're a great company with some solid, if perhaps misguided, ideas about the market.

[NeonSapphire]

I currently own a Palm Vx and a Motorola StarTac cell phone.

I generally use my Palm for basic stuff like contacts (addresses and phone numbers) and memos (basic information and lists).

I have been waiting to replace both devices. Since I use the PDA for a limited (but important) use, I think one device is the answer for me.

The question is...

Do I look to a Palm-powered smartphone like the new Treo or a Microsoft-powered smartphone like the anticipated U.S. version of HTC's SPV?