DescriptionPalm Computing was founded in 1992 and acquired by U.S. Robotics Corp. in 1995. In 1996, Palm introduced the Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 products that led the resurgence of handheld computing. In June 1997, Palm became a subsidiary of 3Com Corp. when U.S. Robotics was acquired by 3Com. With its acquisition of Smartcode Technologie in February 1999, Palm added advanced wireless communications capabilities to the Palm OS? platform to address the market for mobile information appliances, such as cellular telephones, messaging devices, data communicators and smart phones. In September 1999, 3Com announced plans to make the Palm subsidiary an independent, publicly traded company. The company became independent on March 2, 2000, and was traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PALM.
In October 2003, shareholders voted to spin off PalmSource, Inc., maker of the Palm OS platform software, as an independent company and acquire Handspring, Inc. The combined company is known as palmOne, Inc. and is traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PLMO. Uniting the Zire?, Tungsten? and Treo? subbrands, the creation of palmOne launched a new, stronger market leader in handheld computer and communications hardware and software solutions.
Known for its unique commitment to an elegant, simple interface that is easy to use, the palmOne product family is built for what matters to customers. Today, the product family consists of the Zire and Tungsten series handhelds and the Treo brand of smartphones. These palmOne products are equipped with a comprehensive suite of Personal Information Management (PIM) software, infrared beaming capabilities, calculator, note-taking applications, and games. They also come with the desktop software (a companion desktop PIM) and the HotSync? local and remote synchronization software.
