Handspring's New Take On Expansion

The Treo 90 features a color screen; a small, back-lit QWERTY keyboard; and a Secure Digital (SD) slot, which replaces the Springboard expansion slot. The device resembles Handspring's Treo 180, a combination cell phone/PDA released earlier this year, but it lacks cellular capabilities.

Substituting the SD slot for the Springboard keeps the PDA light,the Treo 90 weighs 4 ounces,and accommodates software-based add-ons, said Michelle White, a product manager at Mountain View-based Handspring. "We wanted to keep the product small but still offer expansion," she said.

Handspring last year said it planned to discontinue Springboard expansion in future products.

But some solution providers aren't thrilled about that strategy. Peter Nelson, president of Advanced Computer Resources, a Nashua, N.H.-based Handspring VAR, said the Springboard expansion slot will be missed for vertical applications because it delivers important benefits to customers.

"It provided consistencies for third-party add-ons," Nelson said. "We sell a lot of systems with GPS add-ons, and the Handspring was useful because you could use the same GPS [Springboard module across all of the company's different models."

Although the SD slot supports I/O devices, its small size makes it difficult to develop circuitry that can support attachments, White said, adding that some SD-based hardware expansion may be possible in the future. Handspring hopes customers will be drawn to the Treo 90's sleek design and its QWERTY keyboard, which enables users to enter data with one hand, she said.

"Having to use two hands to navigate can be awkward in the field," Nelson said.

The Treo 90, priced at $299, comes with 16 Mbytes of RAM, Handspring's standard Web browser and an IR port that can be used to sync with cellular phones, White said.