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=                              Handera                               =
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                            Introduction
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HandEra (formally TRG) was a manufacturer, software developer, and
service contractor. HandEra's business previously revolved around Palm
OS, and devices running Palm OS. The company's headquarters were in
Des Moines, Iowa.


TRGpro
========
At the time of their first handheld launch, the company name was TRG,
an acronym for Technology Resource Group. TRG's first handheld was the
TRGpro, which launched at US$329. The TRGpro was made to compete with
Palm, Inc.'s Palm III Series. The TRGpro ran Palm OS 3.3, and provided
a competitive edge over the Palm III with a built-in loudspeaker, a
faster processor, as well as a Compact Flash slot for expansion. The
CF card slot supported both memory expansion cards, as well as I/O
accessories such as modems, network and barcode scanner cards. The
TRGpro is powered by AAA batteries.
[http://www.handera.com/Products/TRGpro.aspx]


*CPU: Motorola DragonBall-EZ MC68EZ328 operating at 16 MHz
*Memory: 8MB
*Display: 160x160 FSTN LCD, 16 Gray Scale
*Sound: Internal audio amplifier and speaker
*External Connectors: 1  RS232 serial port
*Expansion: Compact Flash
*Wireless: Infrared
*Battery: Two AAA Batteries
*Size & Weight: 4.7 x 3.2 x 0.8 in (121 x 82 x 20 mm), 6 oz. (170
g) including batteries
*Color: Black
*Casing: Plastic


Handera 330
=============
HandEra's second handheld was the Handera 330. The 330 introduced many
new features which were not standard for other Palm OS devices at
their time, and launched in April 2001 at US$349.


Dynamic Silk-Screen Area
==========================
The most significant innovation with the Handera 330 was the
incorporation of a dynamic silk-screen area, and the Handera was the
first Palm OS device to provide virtual graffiti input. On all other
Palm OS devices of the time, the text input 'Graffiti' area was
located within a dedicated silk-screened area. However, on the Handera
330, the LCD display region extended across the full touchable area,
with the text input area instead being dynamically displayed, and
could be minimised to provide greater screen area for use in
supporting applications. This also enabled the ability to display a
touch keyboard in the same text-input area. The 330 also offered a
1.5x higher density LCD screen, featuring a QVGA (240x320) LCD
resolution, which was both an increase and a deviation from the
standard 160x160 screens used on most other Palm OS devices of the
time.

As the 330 was also the only Palm OS device at the time to feature a
QVGA screen resolution, Handera provided a free SDK to enable apps to
support these features, but explicit support by the developer was
required to take advantage of the higher resolution and full-screen
capabilities. For all other apps lacking explicit support, the system
enables the user to choose to run programs in either a 1:1 reduced
size mode, or with a 1.5 software zoom. The SDK also enabled
developers to offer screen rotation in their programs.

In addition the 330 also featured a jog wheel (following Sony's use on
the CLIE), a microphone, an internal audio amplifier, an MMC / SD
slot, and a Compact Flash Type II slot. The 330 also supported various
add-ons such as a Wi-Fi Card.
[http://www.handera.com/Products/HandEra330.aspx]

The 330 supports dual power options, offering the choice of either
using four AAA batteries, or an optionally purchased Li-Ion battery
pack. Since most similar Palm OS devices used only two AAA batteries,
this enabled a significant improvement in battery life of 4-6 weeks,
unless consumed by the additional hardware expansion capabilities.


Software
==========
The device shipped with Palm OS 3.5, but a few beta versions of Palm
OS 4.1 update were posted online around 2005. Official updates to Palm
OS 4.1 never happened due to a contract dispute with PalmSource.

The 330 was also bundled with a number of software packages, including
QuickOffice (for Word/Excel compatible files), CardPro, Backup, and
Chapura Pocket Mirror (syncs with Outlook).

The built-in backup utility allows users to backup or restore RAM
contents from an inserted memory card. Multiple backup files could be
maintained on a single card.


Reception
===========
The Handera 330 was broadly highly praised for its numerous
significant innovations, but was also not without criticism. The
larger screen was praised for its greater size, higher text fidelity,
and excellent clarity, but the flexibility promised by the dynamic
silk-screen area was hampered by limited developer adoption, and was
also critiqued for having a slow response rate. By contrast, Sony's
CLIE devices of the time offered an even higher 320x320 resolution,
which offered a perfect 2x scaling, making backwards compatibility far
easier to implement than with the Handera's strange 1.5x scaling. The
incorporation of extra slots and extra batteries also made the device
significantly thicker and heavier than other models from Palm, like
the m505 series, or the Handspring Visor Edge which both offered svelt
form factors that retained expandability and extensibility. It was
said that the device "forgoes sex appeal in favour of significant and
useful innovations" and that it was "bulky and chunky". The painted
chrome silver finish on the plastic housing was also criticised for
both appearing cheap and lacking in durability. As a package, the
device was assessed as "a strong enterprise PDA", thanks to the
included features and software bundled. Finally, while the use of the
standard Palm III connector made compatibility with other accessories
easy, the Handera 330 was let down by only featuring slow serial-based
synchronisation, rather than offering USB support like the Handspring
Visor.


Handera 330c
==============
HandEra's third handheld was the Handera 330c. It was exactly the same
as the 330, except with a full 16-bit-colour screen and running Palm
OS 4.1. This device never shipped, but leaked prototypes have been
seen in the wild. The device never shipped due to a contract dispute
with PalmSource over Palm OS 4.1 licensing fees.


Services
==========
While no longer producing handhelds, HandEra still provides their
services. Their current services include Palm OS Development, OMAP
Technology, Hardware Design, Software Design, EMC Testing, Mechanical
Design, and individual projects.
[http://www.handera.com/Services/Default.aspx]


HandEra 330
=============
*CPU: 33 MHz Motorola DragonBall-VZ
*Memory: 8MB
*Display: 240 x 320 QVGA, 16 Gray Scale
*Sound: Internal audio amplifier and speaker, Microphone
*External Connectors: 1  RS232 serial port
*Expansion: Compact Flash, SD/MMC
*Wireless: Infrared
*Battery: Four AAA Batteries, Optional Li-Ion Battery Pack
*Size & Weight: 4.7 x 3.2 x 0.7 in. (121 x 81 x 17 mm), 5.4 -
5.9oz
*Color: Silver
*Casing: Plastic
*Software: Quickoffice


HandEra 330c
==============
Source:

*CPU: 33 MHz Motorola DragonBall-VZ
*Memory: 8MB RAM, 4MB flash (shared with OS)
*Display: 240 x 320 QVGA, 16-bit color, 3.8" diagonal
*Sound: Internal audio amplifier and speaker, Microphone
*External Connectors: 1  RS232 serial port, 1 USB port (muxed on
cradle connector)
*Expansion: Compact Flash, SD/MMC
*Wireless: Infrared
*Battery: Internal Li-Ion Battery
*Color: Silver & Blue
*Casing: Plastic


                           External links
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*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130511021253/http://www.handera.com/default.aspx
HandEra Home Page]
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040615094544/http://www.handera.com/Default.aspx
HandEra Home Page during Palm-OS Era]
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040614143926/http://www.handera.com/Products/HandEra330.aspx
HandEra 330 Product Page]
* [http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/handera_330_review/ Gadgeteer
review of the Handera 330]


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=========
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