PalmPilot

Updated: 12/10/2023 by Computer Hope
Palm PDA

The PalmPilot was a line of PDAs palmtop computers first produced by Palm in 1992 with the lead of Jeff Hawkins. Their first PDA (personal digital assistant) was called the Zoomer before they were purchased by U.S. Robotics in 1995. After the purchase, U.S. Robotics released several hundred thousand PalmPilots.

The early PalmPilot were made popular because of their portability and Graffiti handwriting recognition. Using a PalmPilot the user could keep notes, manage contacts, play games, and view and manage other documents. The PalmPilot receives input from a stylus. Users hold the stylus like a pen, tapping the screen with the tip to interact with buttons and menus. The stylus is also used to provide natural handwriting input, which the PalmPilot recognized using its "Graffiti" algorithm. In the picture is a Palm Tungsten and an example of a PalmPilot.

In 1998, Palm left U.S. Robotics and created the Handspring company, which was later divided into two companies: palmOne and PalmSource, which was later renamed Palm Inc. In 2010, Palm was later acquired by Hewlett Packard, and the technologies acquired by the purchase were incorporated into WebOS used by Hewlett Packard tablets.

Today, Palm and the PalmPilot are no longer used, replaced with the smartphones and tablets.

Note

Palm Pilot was featured as a top term of 1997.

Handheld computer, Hardware terms, Palmtop computer, PDA