Handspring slashes UK prices

Industry watchers are predicting that Handspring is poised to release details of a new handheld personal digital assistant (PDA), after it cut the prices of existing products by up to 25 percent.

The company has cut between £20 and £60 off the cost of its PDAs in an attempt to boost sales and clear some of its surplus inventory. The entry-level Visor Solo has dropped to £89 (inc. VAT), from £109, with the Visor now costing £119, the Visor Deluxe reduced to £149, the Platinum down to £189 and the Edge cut to £269. The only product that has not been reduced is the top-end Prism, which remains at £349.

The move follows a similar initiative announced recently by Hewlett-Packard, and by Palm earlier this year.

Handspring has also cut the price of some accessories. In a statement released on Tuesday, the company announced special offers on the VisorPhone and the GameFace -- which adds joystick functionality to a Visor. They will now cost $49 (£35) and $24.95 (£17) respectively.

Experts are predicting that Handspring will announce a new PDA sometime on Tuesday. According to the Associated Press, Bill Crawford, an analyst at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, has said that the company will announce a new product to replace the Deluxe and Platinum models.

Palm is also tipped to release details of a new handheld computer very soon. The m125 is expected to replace today's m100 and m105 devices, offering the kind of functionality currently available with Palm's more expensive products.

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