Palm is a kind of PDA, an operating system, is one of the three mainstream mobile device operating system.PDA (Personal digital assistant), is a handheld computer, the basic structure is similar to the computer, is a handheld consumer products. PDA (Personal digital assistant), is a handheld computer, the basic structure is similar to a computer, is a handheld consumer products. Now the mainstream PDA products have PALM and POCKET PC two operating systems.
PalmPilot series products were originally developed and designed by a company called "PalmComputing", which became a business unit of 3Com after two mergers and acquisitions, and then Palm became independent from 3Com and became an independent company. independent company.
PalmComputing was founded by Jeff Hawkins in January 1992 in Silicon Valley with the goal of designing a lightweight, easy-to-use, and user-friendly pen-based PC, and it took some time to plan the company's fundraising and operational strategy, as well as to seek out partners. On June 15, 1992, Donna Dubinsky, then 35 years old, joined PalmComputing, although at first Donna's knowledge of the "pen computer" was limited and her curiosity far outweighed her expertise. "Curiosity far outweighed expertise. However, Donna and Jeff later became a top-notch team with perfect cooperation. Jeff obtained $500,000 in funding from Bruce Dunlevie's VC firm, which invested in GeoWorks, $300,000 from Tandy, and another $500,000 from other VC firms to start PalmComputing's first product program.
In October 1993, PalmComputing launched its first product, the Zoomer. Unfortunately, it was still a pen computer that was not light enough or efficient enough to be marketed. Worse still, Apple's Newton PDA was launched in August of the same year, capturing the momentum of the market. It is a pity that the two products were not successful, connected down to HP, GO, Sharp, Toshiba and other manufacturers to launch PDA products, have been defeated down one after another. Fortunately, PalmComputing still has the remaining funds available, did not collapse, but also can carry out a review of the new wash. So, from Zoomer's customers, they started to analyze the features of PDA products that are really useful to users. They found that 90% of Zoomer's customers owned a PC, and that transferring files and updating applications from a PC was very important. PalmComputing also found that the theme of PDA products should not be to replace the user's desktop PC, but rather to replace some of the simple functions of traditional "paper". After much thought and deliberation, Jeff found two simple fundamentals that served as the basis for improving Zoomer's product development. These two principles would later become major keys to the success of the PalmPilot product.
The first principle was to simplify the heavy burden of handwriting recognition systems, because Jeff believed that it was feasible for people to learn new strokes to work with machines. It was not yet practical or desirable for machines to cope with people's complex and difficult handwriting. Therefore, Jeff invented the Graffiti input method, with a new special and simple penmanship to input English, numbers, symbols, etc., so that people can efficiently and conveniently enter information, and thus make the computational burden of the recognition system much lower. Even later analysis revealed that learning Graffiti's penmanship proved to be easier than expected, and that many users found the novelty of Graffiti's penmanship enjoyable.
The second principle is about size. How small is too small? Jeff boldly decided that he was satisfied with a size that would fit in his shirt pocket. This critical limitation made the new product's goal of simplicity a perfect success, as all features that could be sacrificed were eliminated, and all features that could be made "optional" were not necessary.
Three months after rethinking the market's needs, in August 1994, a prototype model was built. Two small #4 batteries can start and long time use, built-in four applications, including "schedule management", "phone book", "to-do management", PalmComputing decided to codename this revolutionary new product development project "Touchdown" and in April 1996, PalmComputing launched the "Touchdown" product. In April 1996, the "Touchdown" project was completed, and the lightweight portable PDA product, officially named "Pilot", was finally released. As we all know, it was a very successful product, and within 18 months after its launch, one million units were sold, which unprecedentedly surpassed the best-selling records of color TVs and VCRs in the history of electrical appliances. Over the past three years, there have been the "Pilot1000", "Pilot5000", "PalmPilotPersonal", "PalmPilotProfessional", "PalmIII", and in March 1999, the "PalmIIIx PalmIIIx", "PalmV", "PalmVII", "PalmIIIe" and other series of products launched in March 1999, it is said that the cumulative sales volume has exceeded three million units. It is said that more than three million units have been sold so far. What's more, the open architecture of the PalmOS program development platform has attracted many programmers to develop applications for the PalmOS platform, and now there are more than 10,000 types of shareware and freeware in circulation, with a variety of excellent applications still expanding rapidly.
There are at least 10 million users of the PalmPilot around the world, and with the introduction of the PalmIII, PalmIIIx, and PalmV models, users have evolved from the more specialized to the casual user. The percentage of new users appearing in newsgroups discussing tips and tricks has increased dramatically. Although Microsoft developed WindowsCE for the PalmPilot and invited numerous hardware companies to support the production of similar products, Palm still holds 60 percent of the PDA market.
PalmPilot: A Mobility Computer That Changed the Way People Live and Work
- Celebrating 10 Years
From the online Pilot to the TreoTM smartphone,
Palm remains committed to mobility computer systems
. Ten years ago, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) captured the hearts of working adults with the first online Pilot organizer - a powerful 161-gram Pocket PC that combined calendar, contacts, to-do lists, and notes. Today, Palm has sold more than 30 million mobile computers, is committed to improving the public and private lives of people around the world, and remains steadfast in its vision of the future: the future of personal computing is mobile.
The first Pilot notepad to hit the market, priced at more than RMB 2,000 (US$9), was an unparalleled success because of two things: not only did it sync easily with desktop computers, but it was also incredibly simple to use - what we often refer to as the Palm product experience. In addition to staying true to its design philosophy, Palm has continued to innovate and add new features such as e-mail, wireless Internet access, and multimedia capabilities - from video to music. The latest is the TreoTM smartphone, which combines the best of a Pocket PC and a cell phone in one device, and offers e-mail service through select global carriers(1).
Over the past decade, PalmTM products have been sent into space to collect data, have been active on Mount Everest expeditions, and have helped the business community close millions of deals with men, women, and children, winning the hearts and minds of consumers around the world. From doctors and real estate agents to students, celebrities, and even CEOs of major corporations, Palm products have been a part of everyone's life and work.
Multimedia materials: Includes audio, photos, and a Palm timeline at www.palm.com/anniversary. The audio section includes testimonials from Palm's founders, industry analysts, and employees who have worked at Palm for many years.
"To be honest, we were a little surprised that the first Pilot notepad was as successful as it was," said Ed Colligan, Palm's chief executive officer. "But in my first conversation with Jeff Hawkins, he convinced me that the future of personal computer systems -- real personal computer systems -- will be highly mobile. That's why we designed Pilot, and that philosophy continues today. That philosophy continues today, and the Pilot and the many Palm products that have followed have become part of millions of people's lives - allowing them to stay in touch with their work and family, send and receive e-mail and surf the Web even when they're on the go, and carry their favorite files, music, photos, and movies with them. I am y proud of what we have accomplished and even more excited about the future."
Loyal Customers and Developers
Palm's success must be attributed to the support of these important groups:
Loyal customers have purchased more than 30 million Palm products over the years -- including 3 million smartphones. Foremost among them are individual consumers whose lives are organized and who receive important information at all times with the help of Palm products. For the majority of these consumers, the Palm V handheld computer - with its elegant styling and high performance features - was the first product to appeal to novelty and fashion seekers, and has become the focus of the mainstream market. Other customers from the business and service industries - such as physicians - can also use the decision support software to improve the quality of care they provide to their stations and patients.
There are now more than 29,000 developers supporting products on the Palm OS(R) platform, and Palm is backed by innovative consumer and enterprise applications, as well as hardware peripherals such as keyboards, GPS units, and bar code scanners. When Palm added the Windows Mobile(R) platform as one of its smartphone platforms of choice, it also signaled another growth spurt for its team of developers.
Retailers, agents, and reseller partners around the world help market Palm handhelds and Treo smartphones. Many of the retailers that have been with Palm since 1996 are still our best partners, including Circuit City, CompUSA, J&R, Fry's, and Staples, and Palm and resellers - such as Ingram and Tech Data - and distributors: Palm also has a 10-year history of working with resellers - such as Ingram and Tech Data - and distributors - such as CDW, PC Connection, and PC Mall.
And telecom carriers representing the world's top cell phone system operators and resellers.
And employees who are passionate about communicating the company's philosophy that the PC of the future will be a mobile computer.
Their support has not only given the company more creative ideas, but has also helped the company develop product trends.
Today, Palm continues to offer a wide range of mobile computer systems -- from the simplest, most attractive universal organizers priced at less than $900 (US) to the most powerful, wireless-equipped Pocket PCs -- with a focus on smartphones. These powerful smartphones allow customers to send and receive email, access personal data such as contacts and calendars, listen to music, take and share photos, and, with the aid of additional software, watch live TV shows, listen to podcasts, and post them to their personal blogs.
Palm has also attracted a large number of enterprise users. More than 8,000 companies equipped with Treo smartphones use GoodLinkTM from Good Technology as the standard software for corporate email. Currently, 40 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies are using Treo smartphones, and another 35 percent are testing or piloting them. A recent study by Frost & Sullivan found that mobile professionals tend to prefer Treo smartphones over other vendors' products for a number of reasons: they have a wide range of built-in business applications, It's highly flexible, has a choice of operating systems, is powerful and easy to use.
Some facts about Palm
Palm's early leaders are still very much involved in the company today - Jeff Hawkins helps set the direction of Palm's products, and Donna Dubinsky is still a member of the board of directors. Donna Dubinsky is still a member of the Board of Directors, and Mr. Colligan, Palm's current President and CEO, is the company's 20th employee.
The Palm Pilot notepad has sold more than one million units in the 18 months since its launch - a market acceptance far faster than that of the IBM PC, Macintosh, or even the microwave oven.
The original Pilot was the first mobile device to work with a PC, so customers could synchronize their information and take it with them wherever they went.
The first Pilot used a processor similar to that of a standard traffic sign, so it was power efficient, operating on two AAA batteries (which lasted up to 3 months).
Palm products have been featured in everyday life, not only in Broadway theaters, mainstream Hollywood movies, reality TV shows, and New Yorker cartoons, but also at weddings and banquets.
Palm broke new ground and set a number of industry firsts - including the industry's first Pocket PC with integrated wireless technology for email and Internet access, and the first color Pocket PC priced under HK$800 (US).
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., the leader in Pocket PC systems, is committed to enhancing the capabilities of Pocket PC systems so that people can access and share their most important information on the go. The company's products for consumers, mobility professionals, and business people include the Palm(R) Pocket PC, the Palm TreoTM smartphone, and the Palm LifeDriveTM mobile lifestyle, as well as software, services, and accessories.
Palm products are marketed worldwide through select Web sites, retailers, resellers, and wireless network operators.