The SpringBoard Expansion Slot was a versatile expansion slot devised for Handspring's

Handspring (company)

Handspring was a maker of Palm OS-based Visor- and Treo-branded personal digital assistants. It was run by Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan, the original inventors of the Palm Pilot and founders of Palm Computing, after they became unhappy with the direction in which 3Com was taking...

 range of Palm OS

Palm OS

Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...

 PDA

Personal digital assistant

A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...

s.

In 1999, the flexibility and expandability possible with SpringBoard modules was unavailable in other handheld computers. The innovation earned Handspring the PC Magazine

PC Magazine

PC Magazine is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009...

 Annual Award in the Handheld category for its Visor series. The PDAs available from Palm had been less flexible, and this limitation contributed to the splintering off of many Palm founders in order to form Handspring Inc.

This proprietary hardware standard supported a wide range of accessories. The interface inspired many creative products because it made it possible to use the PDA as a flexible interface to otherwise technically difficult to manage sophisticated hardware. Among the many available modules were auxiliary memory, game plug-ins, GPS navigation receivers, cameras, GSM and CDMA mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s, versatile infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

 remote control

Remote control

A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...

s, wired and wireless

Wireless network interface card

A wireless network interface controller is a network interface controller which connects to a radio-based computer network rather than a wire-based network such as Token Ring or Ethernet. A WNIC, just like other NICs, works on the Layer 1 and Layer 2 of the OSI Model. A WNIC is an essential...

 network interface cards

Network card

A network interface controller is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network....

, Bluetooth

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

 modules, MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

 players, cordless phones with answering machine

Answering machine

The answering machine or message machine, also known as the telephone answering machine in the UK and some Commonwealth countries) and previously known as an ansaphone, ansafone, or telephone answering device is a device for answering telephones and recording callers' messages.Unlike voicemail,...

s, and voice recorders.

Distributing software in plug-in modules was also seen as the next big thing in copy protection

Copy protection

Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...

, with an implementation very similar to game cartridges in entertainment systems. However, the impractical requirement of carrying around multiple modules, not to mention the potential impact on delicate pins, prevented widespread adoption.

Springboard Expansion Modules are available on online auction sites including:

• Games
  • GameFace joystick faceplate
  • Tiger Woods Golf
• Reference
  • The Bible
  • Franklin medical dictionary
  • Physicians Desk Reference
  • Merriam-Webster dictionary
• Storage
  • Handspring backup modules
  • Flash modules
  • MemPlug and InnoPocket Flash Memory adapters (in SM, SD & CF flavors)
• A/V accessories
  • eyemodule and eyemodule2
  • Targus HandCam
  • Margi's Presenter-to-Go slideshow projector controller
  • MyVox voice recorder
  • MP3 players
• Connectivity
• Wired
  • Hotsync PC docking station
  • Phone line modems (Xircom, Handspring, CardAccess ThinModem)
  • USB devices
• Wireless
  • Red Blade BT module
  • Red Blade Wi-Fi module
  • Skytel wireless internet module and service, discontinued(?)
  • Sprint wireless IM, still in service
  • Visorphone cellular (CDMA or TriBand GSM Phone including speaker, Predecessor to Treo
    Treo
    The Palm Treo is a line of smartphones originally developed by Handspring, which was bought by Palm, Inc. They are now manufactured and maintained by Palm, Inc. Treos have a number of integrated features such as the ability to check the calendar while talking on the phone, dial directly from a...
    
    line of cellular phones)
  • Omnisky Minstrel wireless IM, defunct
• GPS
  • Nexian HandyGPS
  • Magellan GPS Companion
• Barcode scanner
  • PSC Momentum I and II
  • Symbol CSM 150
• Other
  • JetLog 24x7 PowerNap
  • Handspring Massager