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Practically a twin to the Visor Deluxe, HandSpring's new Visor Platinum is a souped-up version with a faster processor and a loftier price tag.

At the heart of the Platinum is Motorola's new 33 MHz Dragonball VZ processor (the Deluxe uses the 16 MHz Dragonball EZ).

It also features Palm's newest operating system - version 3.5.2.

Apart from these differences, the Deluxe and the Platinum are similar and their prices quite close, which is why it is worth buying the Platinum in preference to the less-powerful option.

No need to worry about having to select a colour - the Visor Platinum comes in only one - a metallic silver matched with a removable black-plastic cover. Design-wise, it is a rather poor attempt to make it appealing to executives.

The Platinum, as with the Deluxe, incorporates eight megabytes of Ram, although it is evident the Dragonball VZ processor does give the Platinum an extra performance boost.

According to Quartus' freeware Palm benchmark, the Platinum is twice as fast as the Deluxe.

You will never be aware of the difference when inputting data.

The speed differential becomes more obvious when you are using large databases and games.

There are plenty of free Palm games to download over the Net.

One of the best is Pac Man, available from http://download-game.com/PacuMan.htm

The benefits of the Palm OS 3.5.2 include improved synchronisation over the 3.1 version and greater infra-red transfer capabilities.

Mac users will appreciate that HandSpring produces all Visors with a USB HotSync cradle.

Windows 95 and NT users will have to spend an extra HK$260 for a serial cradle.

Windows users can HotSync the device straight out of the box with the included Palm Desktop PIM or Microsoft Outlook, and Mac users can use the Palm Desktop.

An interesting, and useful, standard feature on all HandSpring devices is the Springboard expansion slot.

According to Pac Rim Technologies, HandSpring's official distributor in Hong Kong, the VisorPhone will be available by the middle of the year.

Four Springboard modules are available from Pac Rim, but there are well over 50 modules available and they can be bought over the Web.

Graphic: platingwz



Springboard provides balance and speed