Palm V is a
personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a handheld PC, is a variety mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. PDAs have been mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of highly capable smartphones, in part ...
(PDA) by
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 ...
.
Released in 1999 by
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 ...
,
the PDA has an
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...
enclosure containing a
Dragonball EZ central processing unit
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...
(capable of
overclocking
In computing, overclocking is the practice of increasing the clock rate of a computer to exceed that certified by the manufacturer. Commonly, operating voltage is also increased to maintain a component's operational stability at accelerated sp ...
to 39 MHz) and 2MB of
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remember ...
.
The 16-shade
grayscale
In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysc ...
display
has a
backlight
A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light by themselves—unlike, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma (PDP) or OLED displays—they need illumination ( ambient light or a ...
and increased resolution from the previous-generation
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 ...
.
Unlike that older device, which uses
disposable batteries (
AAAs), the Palm V has a built-in
rechargeable
A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or pri ...
lithium-ion battery
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also s ...
with an expected charge lasting 1–2 weeks. Palm Vs are equipped with a
serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in parallel. ...
that is electrically though not physically compatible with the
EIA-232-D telecommunications standard
(the new enclosure design prevents Palm III-compatible accessories from connecting to the port)
and a
Consumer IR
Consumer IR, consumer infrared, or CIR is a class of devices employing the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communications. CIR ports are commonly found in consumer electronics devices such as television remote contr ...
transceiver.
Upon launch, the Palm V cost about , though it had reduced to –400 by January 2000 (equivalent to about $– in ). Units sold in late 1999 came pre-loaded with
Palm OS
Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) was a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS was designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is pro ...
version 3.0, though 3.3 was available to download and install.
The IBM
WorkPad c3 is the Palm V, relabeled.
''
Ars Technica
''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sc ...
'' Will Smith raved about his Palm V in 1999, recommending it to all interested, excepting Palm III users for whom the technical-specifications upgrade wasn't substantial enough.
Writing for
TechRepublic
TechRepublic is an online trade publication and social community for IT professionals, providing advice on best practices and tools for the needs of IT decision-makers.
It was founded in 1997 in Louisville, Kentucky, by Tom Cottingham and Kim S ...
in January 2000, Jeff Thompson was enthusiastically full of praise for the Palm V, both for personal and enterprise uses.
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
Press Release: 3Com Unveils the Palm V and Palm IIIx Connected Organizers
{{Palm devices, state=collapsed
68k-based mobile devices
Palm OS devices
Palm, Inc.