The PalmPilot Personal and
PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of
Palm PDA devices produced by
Palm Inc (then a subsidiary of
U.S. Robotics
U.S. Robotics Corporation, often called USR, is a company that produces USRobotics computer modems and related products. Its initial marketing was aimed at bulletin board systems, where its high-speed HST protocol made FidoNet transfers much fas ...
, later
3Com
3Com Corporation was an American digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Bill Krause joined as President in 1981. Metcalfe e ...
). These devices were launched on March 10, 1997.
Accessories and pricing
Palm also sold the 10201U
modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more c ...
at 14.4 kbit/s, introduced at a price of $129 (this modem is also compatible with the
Palm III
The Palm III is a personal digital assistant that was made by the Palm Computing division of 3Com. It went on sale in 1998 as a replacement for the PalmPilot handheld. It was the first Palm handheld to support infrared file transfer and a Flash R ...
and
Palm IIIx devices). An upgrade kit was also available, which allowed users of the earlier
Pilot 1000/5000 devices to upgrade the OS, ROM, and RAM to match the PalmPilot Professional. Initially suggested retail prices upon launch were $399 for the PalmPilot Professional (1MB), $299 for the PalmPilot Personal (512KB), and $199 for the Upgrade Kit. Upgrade kits were also available to existing registered Pilot users for $99 for a limited time after the launch. These kits included IR capability, a new plastic memory door to accommodate the IR diodes, a memory card with 1 MB, the new ROM for Palm OS 2.0, and a
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both com ...
with updated desktop software.
Reception
The PalmPilot became a large success and helped Palm further establish itself as the leader in the growing PDA/
handheld PC
A handheld personal computer (PC) is a miniature computer typically built around a clamshell form factor and is significantly smaller than any standard laptop computer, but based on the same principles. It is sometimes referred to as a ''palmto ...
market. PalmPilot had reportedly sold over 1 million units by 1998.
It was succeeded by
Palm III
The Palm III is a personal digital assistant that was made by the Palm Computing division of 3Com. It went on sale in 1998 as a replacement for the PalmPilot handheld. It was the first Palm handheld to support infrared file transfer and a Flash R ...
in 1998.
See also
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Apple Newton
The Newton is a series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) developed and marketed by Apple Computer, Inc. An early device in the PDA category (the Newton originated the term), it was the first to feature handwriting recognition. Apple started ...
*
Tandy Zoomer
*
iPAQ
*
Jornada (PDA)
The Jornada was a line of personal digital assistants or PDAs manufactured by Hewlett-Packard. The Jornada was a broad product line that included Palm-Size PCs, Handheld PCs, and Pocket PCs. The first model was the 820, released in 1998, and the ...
References
External links
U.S. Robotics Announces Two New Models of the Best Selling Pilot Connected Organizer - Press Release, March 10, 1997
Palm OS devices
Computer-related introductions in 1997
Products introduced in 1997
68k-based mobile devices
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