PalmPilot
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Personal digital assistants |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Parent | U.S. Robotics (at time of PalmPilot Personal release), later 3Com |
The PalmPilot Personal alongside the PalmPilot Professional represent the second iteration of Palm PDA products manufactured by Palm Inc, which was then a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics and later became part of 3Com. These devices were introduced on March 10, 1997.
Accessories and pricing
Palm released the 10201U modem with a speed of 14.4 kbit/s, retailing at $129. This modem was also compatible with the Palm III and Palm IIIx models. An upgrade kit was available for owners of earlier Pilot 1000/5000 units, allowing them to enhance their systems' OS, ROM, and RAM to match the capabilities of the PalmPilot Professional. At launch, the PalmPilot Professional (equipped with 1 MB memory) was priced at $399, while the PalmPilot Personal (512 KB memory) cost $299. The Upgrade Kit was offered at $199. Shortly after release, registered Pilot users could obtain upgrade kits at a discounted price of $99; these kits included infrared functionality, a new memory door designed for IR diodes, a 1 MB memory card, Palm OS 2.0 ROM, and updated desktop software delivered on CD-ROM.
Reception
Achieving significant commercial success, the PalmPilot firmly established Palm's dominance within the growing PDA and handheld PC market. By 1998, sales had surpassed one million units.
The device line was eventually succeeded by the Palm III in 1998.
Notable uses
For its Quick Turn Reel Units that project films on 70mm, IMAX utilized a PalmPilot emulator. Prior to the premiere of Oppenheimer, IMAX Engineering created software replicating the classic PalmPilot interface to operate these large-scale film platters.