The iconic tech gadgets that shaped our world.
From groundbreaking gaming consoles to revolutionary mobile devices and music players, discover the legends of technology.
A few years later, the Palm Pilot set a new standard for what a mobile rig should be.
The Newton had a resistive touchscreen, that required applying pressure to operate.
When using a sharp object like a stylus or a fingernail, the weight of your hand was sufficient.
But if you used your fingertip, you’d have to press harder.
Battery life was a problem for the Newton even with four AAA batteries.
Later models replaced them with bigger AA batteries, which brought the unit’s weight up to 580g.
To add insult to injury, the over-hyped word-based handwriting recognition system wasn’t consistent enough to be useful.
The Newton’s handwriting recognition was mocked by The Simpsons(note the worm in the Apple logo).
Hawkins realized that Palm’s software was being held back by the Newton and its imitators.
Mobile devices would never gain mass appeal if they were designed like small desktop computers.
Handhelds would be used more frequently than a laptop, but for shorter periods of time.
A wooden Touchdown model at theComputer History Museumin California.
Jeff Hawkins tested the PalmPilot’s design with this model, using a chopstick for a stylus.
He took pretend notes in meetings, and counted the steps it took to perform common tasks.
It featured a 160 x 160 display and a dedicated Graffiti input zone.
The Graffiti handwriting recognition system became a signature element of Palm devices.
Though it required users to learn a slightly different way of writing, Graffiti quickly became iconic.
Many users became proficient with this input method, achieving impressive speed and accuracy.
The Pilot 1000 came with 128KB of upgradeable RAM, while the Pilot 5000 offered 512KB.
IBM reached an agreement to sell the Palm III under the name WorkPad.
Rather than trying to replace the PC, the Pilot aimed to enhance it.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple and became CEO, he discontinued the entire Newton line.
A stunning collection of vintage PDAs, showcasing early mobile computing history.
Image credit:user5518on reddit.
Many of these apps are available on theInternet Archive.
The Pilot line was succeeded by the Arm-based Palm Tungsten series.
All in all, Palm sold more than 30 million PDAs.
The Palm Pilot became a status symbol in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
It was featured in numerousTV showsand movies as a equipment for businesspeople and tech enthusiasts.
The gadget helped cement the idea that handheld technology was essential for productivity and efficiency.
At the same time, Windows-based Pocket PC devices had become the spiritual successors to the Newton.
Ultimately, Jobs decided to build something entirely new in-house.
Still, it’s fascinating to imagine how differently things might have turned out if Apple had acquired Palm.
When Apple revealed the iPhone in 2007, it was obvious that lessons from the Pilot were learned.
In 2009, Palm made a notable comeback attempt with the Palm Pre, featuring the innovative webOS.
While Palm as a company eventually faded, webOS had a lasting impact.
Three decades after the Newton, Apple released theVision Promixed-reality headset, and certain similarities are hard to ignore.
The attempt to recreate the iPad experience in a wearable format resulted in just two hours of battery life.
If mixed reality ever becomes mainstream, it will need itsown version of the PalmPilot.
#2:A brief showcase of the IBM Simon Personal Communicator, considered the world’s first smartphone:
