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More than a year after it launched the Visor, a Palm clone with an expansion slot, Handspring has arrived on Asian soil.

Handspring's products will be sold through SAR distributor PacRim Technologies, as well as Tom.com's Web site.

The Tom.com deal is exclusive for a limited period, after which PacRim might work with other online retailers, according to Handspring officials.

The Visor and the Visor Deluxe (a version with 8MB of Ram instead of 4MB) have been available in the SAR for a number of months, in computer malls in Wan Chai and Shamshuipo. Unauthorised resellers buy them from the United States for distribution - but they do not usually offer product support.

'We wanted to come over to Asia only when the support for the products was ready,' said Bill Holtzman, president of Handspring's international operations.

Mr Holtzman said Handspring had trained GrandTech Group, its Asian distributor, to provide support services. GrandTech will distribute the Visor, Visor Deluxe and the Springboard modules in Taiwan and Singapore. SAR distributor PacRim Technologies is a GrandTech company.

A key feature of the Visor is the Springboard port that accepts modules that add new functionality. These include Handspring's 8MB backup module, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf game module from EA Sports, and an MP3 player module - all of which are expected to be available immediately from GrandTech.

Mr Holtzman said all 25 Springboard modules should be available in Asia this Christmas.

The VisorPhone add-on module transforms the Visor into a GSM mobile phone. Handspring co-developed the VisorPhone with Belgian company Option.

The company tried talking 'to the big phone guys first, like Nokia and Ericsson, but we decided that we want to be in the driver's seat', Mr Holtzman said. 'We want the Visor to be more PDA than phone.'

The VisorPhone will be available in Asia by year-end, according to Handspring's spokesman.

The VisorPhone is a reflection of increasing convergence in handheld computers and telephony as consumers demand cellphones that can do more.

Palm and Motorola recently announced they would work together to make Motorola cellphones with larger screens running the Palm operating system.

The attempt to merge cellphones with personal digital organisers is not new. In fact, the path is littered with spectacular failures. Qualcomm last year released the pdQ, a cellphone fused with a Palm III. It did not take off.

Nokia's Communicator 9000, a combination GSM phone and organiser, was launched more than three years ago. It also failed, despite having a starring role in The Saint, a Hollywood re-make with Val Kilmer.

The Accompli, known in Hong Kong as the Taiji, is Motorola's small step in that direction. It is a GSM phone with minimal calendar and scheduling functions.

Mr Holtzman said in each of those examples the mistake was that the application issue was neglected.

'We believe that the way is to make a better phone,' he said. 'A phone can only get better with better and more applications. One thing that the VisorPhone can really do better than any cellphone in the market is SMS [short message system].'

Visors have two things Palm handhelds do not - a built-in microphone and the Springboard port in the back.

Mr Holtzman said its creators saw from 'very early days that telephony will take a big role in [the Visor's] future'.

While Palm has released the Palm IIIc, which has the latest Palm OS featuring colour, Handspring has yet to adopt it on the Visor. However, Mr Holtzman said new configurations of the Visor would soon be available.

'There will be Visors with form factors and richer features more attractive to professionals,' he said. 'There will be basic Visors under US$200 and there will be Visors for the power user.'

A Chinese version of the Palm OS is not yet available, although a Japanese one is ready.

Handspring, founded in July 1998 by Palm creators Jeffrey Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky, began by selling the Visor over its Handspring.com Web site. However, it had trouble most of last year filling orders. In March this year, Handspring decided to pursue a hybrid Web-retail strategy. It took the retail plunge and is now developing a worldwide distribution network.

'Eventually, we think that the non-US market will either equal or overtake the US market,' Mr Holtzman said.

Handspring has taken a significant market share from Palm Computing, according to GartnerGroup. The market researcher said the company has 25 per cent of the handheld market. Palm still leads with almost 70 per cent, while PocketPCs made by Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and Casio running Microsoft's watered-down OS for the small screen take 5 per cent.

Analysts are expecting Handspring's revenue growth to outpace Palm's.

Apart from broadening its retail reach, Handspring is bringing in partners. Last week, PC maker Gateway said it would sell the Visor and selected Springboard cartridges on its Web site. A discount would be given to customers who purchased a Visor with a Gateway PC.

Mr Holtzman describes Handspring's relationship with Palm Computing as 'schizophrenic'. Handspring is Palm Computing's biggest licensee of the Palm OS, as well as its biggest competitor.

The Visor will sell for HK$1,560 and the Visor Deluxe for HK$2,090. All units come with a cradle which allows them to synch data to a desktop.



Handspring brings its Visor vision to SAR