A Brief History of Palm Devices
| If you have any familiarity with the original Palm Pilot handheld devices, you can probably appreciate that the Palm family of devices has come a long way in a few years. The devices aren't all that have changed, however. The companies associated with Palm devices have morphed into and out of each other, making it confusing to figure out exactly who makes what. Given the rapid evolution of Palm devices and the major upheavals that have taken place in the companies that make them, it's worth a little history lesson on how today's Treo devices came to be. If you aren't too concerned with the history of Palm devices, feel free to skip ahead to the section "The Treo Device Family." The Ever-changing Palm CompanyThe Palm story begins in January 1992 with the Palm Computing company, started by Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan. Jeff Hawkins was the leading force behind Palm Computing and co-founded the company with the plan of developing a handheld device called the Zoomer. With $1.3 million of venture capital funding at its disposal, Palm Computing set out to make the Zoomer a reality and released it in October 1993 on the heels of the ill-fated Apple Newton handheld. The Zoomer fared better than Apple's Newton, but it still failed to take the world by storm. So Palm went back to the drawing board and got to work on the Zoomer II. In the process of redesigning the user interface and jazzing up the device to meet user demands, Palm lost some of its investment partners and ultimately had to scrap the Zoomer II. This led to refocusing its efforts on the software side of the handheld equation, with a goal of emerging as the major player in the handheld software industry. The problem was that handheld devices had yet to be established enough for a handheld software industry to exist. Out of necessity, Palm Computing decided to take a shot at developing an entirely new device for its software, and the Palm Pilot project, also known as Project Touchdown, began. This time around, Hawkins hammered home his concept of elegant simplicity at all costs. The new device had to cost less than $300, fit in a shirt pocket, and be usable by the average person. To successfully establish a handheld market, Palm had to win over more than just computer hobbyists. The other big conceptual shift for the Palm Pilot that distinguished it from the Zoomer is that the Pilot was designed from the ground up as a computer accessory, not a computer replacement. This seemingly subtle design change allowed Pilot designers to throw out anything that didn't expressly serve to bolster the mobile computing experience. In other words, they opted not to include anything that could be done better on a desktop computerlet the mobile device do mobile things well, and leave the rest to the desktop. As the Pilot got closer to production, Palm Computing needed a new investor to pony up the cash to fund initial launch costs. Although Palm was looking for investors, it ended up getting a buy-out offer from U.S. Robotics, the dominant modem maker at the time. In August 1995, U.S. Robotics acquired Palm Computing for $44 million. Funding was now in place for Pilot production, and despite a few early technical hurdles, the first devices hit the street in April 1996. Both the Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 devices were released in 1996. It took less than a year for the Palm Pilot to take a 70% share of the handheld market and win numerous product awards. The Palm Pilot would eventually go on to become the fastest-selling computer product in history. Note You might be confused by seeing Palm devices referred to both as Pilots and PalmPilots. Which is it? Pilot was the original name for handhelds made by Palm, but Pilot Pen Corporation brought a lawsuit against Palm that forced a change in the name. As a result, Pilot become PalmPilot. Eventually, the PalmPilot name gave way to just Palm. Although Palm Computing's relationship with U.S. Robotics was working, things changed quickly when 3Com Corporation acquired U.S. Robotics in 1997. It didn't take long for Palm's founders to bristle at being a subsidiary of a company with an imposing bureaucracy. In June 1998, Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky left Palm to form a new company that would later become Handspring, Inc. Shortly thereafter, all three original co-founders were reunited when Ed Colligan joined them at Handspring. At Handspring, Hawkins, Dubinsky, and Colligan set out to repeat their success at Palm. Their initial focus was making a Palm-compatible device with more expandability than Palm Computing devices. Handspring released its first device, the Visor, in September 1999. The Visor was different from other Palm devices in that it used Universal Serial Bus (USB) to synchronize with desktop computers and included an expansion slot for adding optional components, such as extra memory, software modules, modems, cameras, and MP3 players. In addition to the Springboard Expansion Slot, the Visor line of handhelds was designed to be more hip and appealing to the average user than Palm's offerings. Not surprisingly, the Visor line took off and began to represent a challenge to Palm's handheld dominance. Note The modern equivalent device for the original Palm Pilot 1000 and 5000 is the Zire 31. Note Microsoft made a splash on the handheld front in 1998 when it announced a new handheld platform called Palm PC. Palm promptly filed suit, and Microsoft eventually agreed to change the name to Pocket PC. The Pocket PC name is still in use to describe handhelds that run on the Microsoft platform, although Microsoft's mobile operating system was later renamed Windows Mobile. In early 2000, the Palm story took an important turn as 3Com decided to spin off Palm as an independent, publicly traded company called Palm Inc. Had 3Com made this decision a few years earlier, Handspring might never have come into existence, as Hawkins, Dubinksy, and Colligan would have likely stayed on. This turn of events didn't seem to matter, however, as things would come full circle anyway. In October 2003, the Palm story took its last surprising turn when Palm Inc. agreed to acquire Handspring in a deal worth close to $169 million. Palm's three original founders (Hawkins, Dubinsky, and Colligan) were finally reunited with the company they first created. At the time of the Handspring acquisition, Handspring had shifted its focus to smartphones, which was likely the primary motivation for Palm's purchase. The last product made under the Handspring name was the Treo 600. As part of the Handspring acquisition, a process that became known as "PalmSpring," Palm decided to separate its operating system division into a company called PalmSource, Inc. The idea is that Palm would continue to focus on making handheld devices, while PalmSource would focus on extending the reach of the Palm operating system, independently of Palm. But Palm didn't stop there. To help drive home the point that Palm was truly a new company, the name of the core company was changed to palmOne, Inc. To recap, the Palm operating system and associated Palm-branded devices are affiliated with the following two companies:
Just when it appeared that all the smoke had cleared in regard to palmOne and PalmSource, palmOne made yet another naming move by fully acquiring the Palm name from PalmSource in May 2005. As part of the deal, palmOne decided to revert back to its original Palm name, although Treo devices have continued to sell under the palmOne name during the transition. The bottom line is that we'll eventually be back to where we started, and can simply refer to devices made by Palm as "Palm devices." That is, until palmOne/Palm/PalmSource decide to play musical chairs with their names again! For the sake of minimizing confusion, I refer to the palmOne/Palm company simply as Palm throughout the remainder of this book. Note In addition to palmOne and PalmSource, a third entity, Palm Trademark Holding Company, was created to own the Palm name and trademark. This holding company was owned 55% by PalmSource and 45% by palmOne but was acquired entirely by palmOne in mid-2005. What matters in all this naming is that a clean division between the Palm operating system (OS) and Palm handheld devices makes it much easier for PalmSource to license the Palm OS to other device manufacturers and help extend the platform's reach. In fact, this has already taken place. Current Palm OS licensees include Sony, Samsung, Kyocera, Garmin, Fossil, Aceeca, AlphaSmart, Tapwave, and, of course, Palm. The Evolution of Palm DevicesAlthough the Zoomer was the first device Jeff Hawkins pursued under the Palm name, it wasn't his first attempt at a pen-based handheld computer. His first stab at it came a few years earlier while working for the GRiD computer company. At GRiD, Hawkins worked on a product called the GRiDPad, a handheld device that used a pen for user input much like future Palm devices. In fact, the handwriting recognition software developed for the GRiDPadcalled PalmPrintwas a precursor to the popular Graffiti handwriting recognition software that would later help seal the success of Palm Pilot devices. The problem with the GRiDPad was that it weighed more than 4 pounds and had a retail price of $2,500not exactly a consumer-oriented device, which was a problem. The GRiDPad was later resurrected as the Zoomer by Hawkins at his startup company, Palm Computing. But you've already heard that story, so you can fast-forward past the Zoomer and the original Palm Pilot 1000 and 5000 devices. The following vertical timeline that gives you a quick glimpse at how the Palm family of devices evolved from the original Palm Pilot 1000 to the Treo 650 that is the primary focus of this book:
Although the distinction isn't noticeable until the last few entries in this list, there is a clear difference between Palm handhelds and Palm smartphones. The Treo devices (270, 300, 600, and 650) are the first Palm devices to merge mobile phone capabilities with traditional handheld (PDA, email, Web access, and so forth) capabilities. Every other Palm device to date falls under the more general "handheld" category, whereas the Treo devices are considered smartphones. In reality, all the devices are handheldsyou can think of a smartphone as a handheld with the addition of a mobile phone built into it. The Current Palm LandscapeAs you've learned, the Palm family of devices has come a long way since its journey began back in 1992. And I'm guessing that about now you're ready to put the history aside and start getting down to business with your Treo. Before you venture into the land of Treo smartphones, however, it's worth taking a quick look at what Palm currently has to offer in the way of handhelds. By knowing a little about the entire Palm family, you'll have a better idea of what kind of device the Treo is and how it fits into the overall Palm equation. The Palm lineup of devices is currently divided into three families:
The Zire and Tungsten handhelds originated with Palm and can be considered direct descendents of the original Palm Pilot handhelds. The Treo handhelds (smartphones, actually) arrived at Palm via the Handspring acquisition and are a different animal in that they add mobile phone functionality to the traditional Palm feature set. All the Palm devices share one thing in commonthey are pocket organizers, or personal digital assistants (PDAs), meaning you can use them to manage contacts, tasks, and events. From there, each device takes a different path in addressing a specific need. The Zire handhelds are Palm's consumer-level devices that target a lower price point yet still offer as many handheld features as possible. The Zire 21, the first Palm device under $100, is a bit stripped down compared to other devices in the lineup. The Zire 31 builds onto the Zire 21 by adding a color screen and support for MP3 music. The Zire 72 takes things a step further than the Zire 31 by adding a high-resolution color screen, music and video support, Office document compatibility, a digital camera, Short Message Service (SMS)/Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) messaging, and wireless Bluetooth connectivity. Note It's interesting to point out that Treo devices are the first Palm devices to ship without built-in support for the Graffiti handwriting recognition system. With a full QWERTY keyboard integrated into the design, Palm apparently figured that hardcore Palm users would learn to type and do without Graffiti. You can still add on a handwriting recognition system to your Treo if you find yourself missing Graffiti too muchsee "Use Handwriting Recognition" in Chapter 15, "Improving Your Lifestyle with Your Treo," for more details. The Tungsten handhelds are Palm's professional-level devices that offer a more consistent core group of features, such as a high-resolution color screen and Office document compatibility on all models. Most Tungsten models also support music and video playback and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The Tungsten T5 even includes a 160MB flash drive, which allows it to double as a portable memory drive. The Tungsten family of devices represents some of the most powerful non-smartphone handheld devices on the market. Finally, you arrive at Treo, which is what you're here for. You can think of the Treo family of devices as tricked-out Tungsten devices with a smartphone intelligently incorporated into the mix. I say "intelligently" because a lot of companies have rolled out "smartphones" by simply adding a wireless radio to a handheld without concern for the realities of how phones are used. Palm (or, more accurately, Handspring) carefully considered the manner in which mobile phones are used, as compared to handheld computers, and made a serious attempt at giving Treo devices more of a phone feel. The days of the chunky smartphone that doesn't fit in your pocket are over. What makes Treo devices somewhat unique in the smartphone marketplace is that they manage to have a full QWERTY keyboard within a mobile phone footprint. Not only that, but they have a relatively large 320x320 color screen, which is much larger than most smartphones with a similar form-factor. Is the Treo family of devices perfect? No, and the reality is that no smartphone will ever be perfect. People use smartphones in such different ways that it's unlikely any single device will ever solve everyone's problems. But the Treo is one of the closest devices I've seen to date that successfully marries handheld computing with wireless mobile communication. |
