Processor - The Palm Vx organizer uses a 20Mhz processor, while the Visor Deluxe uses a 16MHz. Handspring has improved some of the OS 3.1 code to decrease wait times. The two organizers should be comparable in speed, with the Palm Vx perhaps a little faster.

Flash ROM - The Palm Vx organizer has it; the Visor Deluxe does not. What does this mean? First, FlashPro will not work on the Visor Deluxe. On the Palm Vx, FlashPro will add an additional 696KB of space.

The Visor will not be flash upgradeable, but any OS patches can be installed into RAM on the Visor. Palm OS 3.3 will be the first time that 3COM has made available any flash upgrades. All prior upgrades have resided in RAM. Most of the major improvements to the Palm OS are currently available as 3rd-party programs.

Palm OS - The Palm Vx has the most current version of the Palm operating system, and now has support for syncing through the IR port. Handspring has improved on Palm OS 3.1 to speed things up, and has enhanced the main applications. Both organizers have support for the Euro (€) symbol. Visor owners that want the ability to IrSync can download IrSync+ or the IR Synchronization driver from IBM.

Form Factor - For many people this is the key factor in determining whether to buy the Palm Vx or the Visor Deluxe. The Palm Vx comes in a brushed aluminum casing that is almost twice as thin as the Visor Deluxe. The Visor Deluxe, however, can accept springboard modules that infinitely expand its capabilities. The Palm Vx can only be expanded by add-ons that connect to its serial port. For people with large fingers, the Palm Vx may be too small to operate effectively. On the other hand, the Visor Deluxe does not fit in a pocket as easily as a Palm Vx. Both organizers have roughly the same size screen.