Palm handhelds were one of the first popular personal digital assistants (PDAs). They were introduced in 1996 by Palm Computing, which was founded by Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan. The original Palm Pilot was a simple device with a monochrome touchscreen and 128 kilobytes of RAM. However, it quickly became popular for its ease of use and its ability to help people stay organized.
Palm handhelds continued to evolve over the years, becoming more powerful and feature-rich. In 2002, Palm released the Treo, which was one of the first smartphones. The Treo combined the features of a PDA with a mobile phone, making it a popular choice for business users.
Palm handhelds remained popular until the early 2000s, when they were overtaken by smartphones from Apple and BlackBerry. However, Palm continued to innovate, and in 2009, it released the Palm Pre. The Pre was a groundbreaking device that featured a touch-screen interface and a built-in webOS operating system. However, the Pre was not a commercial success, and Palm was eventually acquired by HP in 2010.
HP continued to develop Palm handhelds for a few years, but in 2011, it discontinued the Palm brand. However, the Palm legacy lives on. The Palm OS operating system is still used in some devices, and the Palm Pre’s webOS operating system was later used in the HP TouchPad tablet.
Palm handhelds were a major force in the early days of the PDA market. They helped to define what a PDA could be, and they paved the way for the smartphones that we use today.
Here are some of the most notable Palm handhelds:
- Palm Pilot 1000: The first Palm Pilot, released in 1996. It had 128 kilobytes of RAM, a 16 MHz processor, and a monochrome touchscreen.
- PalmPilot Professional: A more advanced version of the Palm Pilot, released in 1997. It had 512 kilobytes of RAM, a 20 MHz processor, and a color touchscreen.
- Palm III: A smaller and lighter version of the PalmPilot, released in 1998. It had 256 kilobytes of RAM, a 16 MHz processor, and a monochrome touchscreen.
- Palm VII: A PalmPilot with a built-in modem, released in 1999. It allowed users to send and receive email and surf the web.
- Treo 650: One of the first smartphones, released in 2002. It combined the features of a PDA with a mobile phone.
- Palm Pre: A groundbreaking device with a touch-screen interface and a built-in webOS operating system, released in 2009.
