3Com Unveils the Palm V And PalmIIIx Connected Organizers; Company extends industry-leading Palm Computing platform, adds new line of matching accessories
February 22, 1999 08:11 AM
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 1999--Palm Computing, Inc., a 3Com company COMS , today unveiled two new additions to its industry-leading family of handheld computing products: the Palm V(TM) and the Palm IIIx(TM) connected organizers. The Palm V organizer offers a groundbreaking sleek, ultra-thin industrial design, convenient new features -- such as a rechargeable battery so the device maintains a continuous power supply -- and a full line of matching accessories. The Palm IIIx organizer, a new addition to the award-winning Palm III(TM) product line, is designed for consumers and corporate users who require increased storage capacity for data and applications. The Palm IIIx product offers twice the memory, enhanced expandability and improved durability over the highly-acclaimed Palm III product.
Both models feature new advanced liquid crystal display screens with improved contrast and clarity for easier viewing. The Palm V and Palm IIIx organizers are available immediately for suggested retail prices of U.S. $449 and U.S. $369, respectively. International versions of the products also are available in Europe, Latin America and Asia in local languages, including French, German, Spanish and International English.
"3Com is committed to providing handheld computing solutions for a wide range of customers consumers, professionals, executives, corporate fleets, remote workers and students all over the world," said Robin Abrams, president, Palm Computing and senior vice president, 3Com. "With our expanded product line, we're advancing the standard for functionality and form factor in the handheld industry, while remaining true to the ease-of-use and simplicity that made the Palm Computing platform the world leader."
Both the Palm V and Palm IIIx connected organizers are based on the popular Palm Computing(R) platform and run on version 3.1 of the award-winning Palm OS(TM) software, which has been improved to include built-in network synchronization capabilities. Both new models ship with Palm(TM) Desktop software. In addition to the same core features and applications as the market-leading Palm III organizer, this version of the Palm Desktop software includes, for the first time, on-board connectivity to Microsoft Outlook.
The Palm V Organizer
The Palm V organizer rounds out the Palm Computing product family on the high end as the optimal handheld solution for executives, mobile professionals, design-conscious consumers and others for whom style and size are key determinants. With its ultra-slim, elegant form factor, the Palm V organizer is nearly one-half the thickness of the Palm III and Palm IIIx models and weighs four ounces, delivering unprecedented portability to the handheld computing market.
The product's innovative industrial design features an anodized aluminum finish, smooth curves and edges, recessed buttons, and a removable embossed leather front cover. Along with a new screen offering improved contrast and clarity, the Palm V organizer's display contrast is adjusted using a built-in software control instead of a hardware dial, as in the other Palm Computing products.
In addition, the Palm V product frees the user from periodic power considerations by running on a single lithium ion battery that is recharged automatically via the included HotSync(R) cradle. This eliminates the need to use AAA batteries. Recharging begins as soon as the device is slipped into the data synchronization cradle, and the device can be kept fully charged with just a few minutes of charging a day.
The Palm IIIx Organizer
The Palm IIIx organizer is intended to meet the increasing mobile computing demands of the corporate workplace and enterprise applications. Building on the proven ease-of-use and performance of the Palm III organizer, the Palm IIIx organizer is easily expandable to meet specialized application needs. With an expanded memory of 4MB of RAM, the Palm IIIx organizer can store numerous add-on applications as well as large amounts of data from powerful enterprise systems such as Oracle, Remedy and SAP R/3. Also, Palm IIIx users have greater flexibility with a new internal expansion slot that allows for the addition of peripherals such as add-on memory modules or pager cards. The Palm IIIx organizer runs on two AAA batteries.
Award-Winning Features
The Palm V and Palm IIIx organizers share the same award-winning features that made the Palm III and PalmPilot(TM) products the most popular handheld organizers in the market. Infrared (IR) "beaming" enables users to share information wirelessly with other IR-enabled Palm Computing platform device users. An extremely efficient design for data storage enables the Palm V organizer's 2MB of memory to store 6,000 addresses, five years of appointments (approximately 3,000), 1,500 To Do items, 1,500 memos and 200 e-mail messages. Palm IIIx users will be able to store about twice that amount with 4MB of memory. Flash memory in both devices enables future software-only memory upgrades of the Palm OS software.
Broad E-Mail Compatibility
Both new products offer built-in e-mail compatibility with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Outlook, Lotus cc:Mail, Microsoft Outlook Express and QUALCOMM's Eudora Pro. Many third-party conduits are available that provide connectivity to almost every other major e-mail application, including POP3 Internet Mail clients and Lotus Notes.
Enterprise Connectivity
Palm Computing's enhanced HotSync software for network connectivity is built into the Palm Desktop software and allows users with a modem to remotely access and update files via the corporate network. In addition, through a feature called file linking, the Palm IIIx and Palm V organizers can be set to automatically import data from a file located on a remote corporate server each time the device is synchronized with the desktop computer.
3Com's growing list of strategic partners are also helping take corporate connectivity to new heights. Computing industry leaders such as Oracle, Sybase, SAP, Remedy, Computer Associates and others are working to deliver mobile extensions to their business solutions for the platform. Other strategic partners such as IBM, QUALCOMM, Symbol Technologies and Franklin Covey are shipping Palm Computing platform-based handheld products designed to meet the needs of their specific markets.
Distinguished Line of Accessories
The Palm IIIx organizer is compatible with all existing Palm Computing platform accessories from 3Com. For the Palm V organizer, 3Com also unveils today a full line of accessories designed with the product's sleek, elegant form factor in mind. Customers may now personalize their Palm V devices to suit their individual style and connectivity needs.
-- The Palm V Modem is a slim, snap-on 33.6Kbps modem that allows
users to synchronize their data remotely via dial-up access
either directly to their primary PC or to a remote access server.
The new Palm V Modem has a thin, lightweight design that connects
through the Palm V serial port and fits snugly onto the back of
the product; the Palm V device with the attached modem slips
easily into a shirt pocket. It comes fully equipped to handle
various international communications standards and is now
available worldwide for a suggested retail price of U.S. $169.
-- The Palm V Travel Kit includes a HotSync cable for traveling
light as well as an AC/DC converter/charger with adapters for
recharging the Palm V organizer on the road from most countries
in the world. The suggested retail price is U.S. $49.95.
Users may further personalize their Palm V devices by selecting from more than 12 special Palm V organizer cases and accessories now available, such as the dual-action pen-stylus combination, aluminum hard case, slim leather carrying case, designer leather device covers, belt-clip case and more. Because of its breakthrough form factor, the Palm V organizer is compatible with Palm V accessories only.
The consumer-targeted Palm III and PalmPilot Professional Edition organizers remain available at their recently reduced suggested retail prices of U.S. $299 and U.S. $199, respectively. The Palm VII(TM) product, expected to ship later this year, is the first handheld organizer solution for out-of-the-box, wireless Internet access. It is designed for heavy Internet and information-centric users, travelers, consumers and corporations for which instant access to Internet and intranet data is critical. Palm Computing platform organizers currently hold a 72 percent share of the worldwide personal companion market, according to IDC, November 1998.
About 3Com
With more than 200 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people to information in more ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to large, medium and small enterprises; carriers and network service providers; PC OEMs; and consumers. 3Com - More connected.(TM) For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at www.3com.com or the Palm Computing site at www.palm.com.
Note to editors: 3Com, HotSync and Palm Computing are registered trademarks, and Palm, PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm V, Palm VII, Palm OS and More connected are trademarks of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. No products mentioned herein are manufactured by Pilot Corporation or Pilot Corporation of America, manufacturers and distributors of writing instruments.
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