Visor Edge released in Japan

PDA maker Handspring noted today that its first slim-design PDA, the Visor Edge, is shipping to the Japanese market. The new PDA was introduced to consumers in North America in March.

The Visor Edge is the latest iteration of Handspring’s Palm OS-based PDA line. The executive PDA is designed as an alternative to Palm’s own Palm V line — it features a sleek, stylish design in a metal casing available in three colors: silver, blue and red (silver and red are available this month, blue will come in May). The Visor Edge offers comparable performance to the Handspring Visor Platinum edition, and is equipped with Palm OS 3.5.2H2.

The diminutive PDA incorporates a 16-shade grayscale screen, an integrated rechargeable lithium ion battery, and Handspring’s own trademark Springboard expansion slot, to incorporate support for various hardware devices made specifically for the Visor series. Other Visor handhelds incorporate the Springboard expansion slot on their backs, but in order to maintain a low profile, the Visor Edge’s Springboard interface is removable. The interface itself fits into the Edge connector, a small connector on the back of the handheld. Handspring said that new peripherals designed specifically for the Edge are headed to market this spring.

The Visor Edge ships with 8MB of RAM, and includes enhanced applications, USB support, Mac compatibility out of the box and other unique features. Handspring expects the Visor Edge to be available to Japanese customers both from its Web site and in retail stores throughout Japan this month, with a suggested retail price of ¥44,800.