Palm IIIx
Encyclopedia
The Palm IIIx is a PDA
from Palm Computing released in 1999, briefly before the scaled down Palm IIIe
was introduced into the marketplace.
The Palm IIIx improved upon the Palm III
by featuring a new enhanced and easier to read LCD and 4 MB
RAM and opposed to the 2 MB in the Palm III. The Palm IIIx also had a 16 MHz Motorola DragonBall EZ CPU that is faster, along with claims to be more efficient, than the 16 MHz Motorola DragonBall CPU found in all previous Palm
models.
The Palm IIIx featured a new inverse electroluminescent backlight
that illuminated the screen text instead of the screen background. This new feature was an area of controversy as many people disliked the feature while many found it to be an improvement. The Palm IIIx shipped with Palm OS
3.1 which including many fixes over the previous version of Palm OS, 3.0.
The Palm IIIx also featured an expansion slot inside of its casing. This slot could accommodate a 3rd party upgrade card and expand the Palm IIIx's functionality or storage ability.
This model suffered from a design defect in its CPU wherein the date would often fail to change at midnight, especially when the batteries were fresh.
OS Upgrade - The last Palm OS that can be downloaded off the www.palm.com website is 3.3, however the last OS for the IIIx is 4.1 which had to be bought at the time it came out on CD (now the CDs are discontinued and a bit hard to find).
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
from Palm Computing released in 1999, briefly before the scaled down Palm IIIe
Palm IIIe
The Palm IIIe is a PDA from Palm Computing released in 1999 briefly after the more expensive and more advanced Palm IIIx.It shared the same screen as the Palm IIIx, which improved upon the Palm III's screen by featuring a new enhanced and easier to read LCD. The Palm IIIe had 2MB of RAM, which is...
was introduced into the marketplace.
The Palm IIIx improved upon the Palm III
Palm III
The Palm III was a personal digital assistant made by the Palm Computing division of 3Com. It went on sale in 1998 as a replacement for the PalmPilot handheld. It was the first Palm handheld to support infrared file transfer and a Flash ROM-capable operating system...
by featuring a new enhanced and easier to read LCD and 4 MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
RAM and opposed to the 2 MB in the Palm III. The Palm IIIx also had a 16 MHz Motorola DragonBall EZ CPU that is faster, along with claims to be more efficient, than the 16 MHz Motorola DragonBall CPU found in all previous Palm
Palm (PDA)
Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...
models.
The Palm IIIx featured a new inverse electroluminescent backlight
Backlight
A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays . As LCDs do not produce light themselves , they need illumination to produce a visible image...
that illuminated the screen text instead of the screen background. This new feature was an area of controversy as many people disliked the feature while many found it to be an improvement. The Palm IIIx shipped with Palm OS
Palm OS
Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...
3.1 which including many fixes over the previous version of Palm OS, 3.0.
The Palm IIIx also featured an expansion slot inside of its casing. This slot could accommodate a 3rd party upgrade card and expand the Palm IIIx's functionality or storage ability.
This model suffered from a design defect in its CPU wherein the date would often fail to change at midnight, especially when the batteries were fresh.
OS Upgrade - The last Palm OS that can be downloaded off the www.palm.com website is 3.3, however the last OS for the IIIx is 4.1 which had to be bought at the time it came out on CD (now the CDs are discontinued and a bit hard to find).