Ten years of piloting by Palm

Posted on 28. Mar, 2006 by Joanna in News, PDA & Pocket PC, Palm

The Palm Pilot 1000

Ten years ago, the first Palm Pilot was born. Until the success of the first Palm, the Pilot 1000, it was software such as the Graffiti handwriting-recognition program that was keeping Palm afloat. That is, until designer Jeff Hawkins went home one day and whittled his vision of the device out of plywood! His goal was to beat the company’s rivals at their own game by making the device small enough to fit in a pocket – even if it meant cutting back on capabilities.

Hawkins also decided that the device had to be under $300 in order for it to make a wider market. However, ithout such frivolities as a backlight – the Pilot 1000 was quickly revised into its successor, the PalmPilot.

Palm went on to head not only the PDA market, but also take the initiative in the smartphone industry with the still best-selling Treo range. According to one of Palm’s architects, Rob Haitani (as quoted on CNET), the Treo was designed to combine the functionality of the Pilot, with the capabilities of a mobile phone “without breaking anything”. The company attribute much of their later success to this device’s popularity, but they wouldn’t be where they are today with out one man’s vision – and a lump of wood.

So Happy Birthday Palm…

Comments are closed.