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PalmPilot

The second generation of Palm handheld organizers, launched on March 10, 1997 and sold over a million units by 1998.

Palm launched the PalmPilot Personal and Professional on March 10, 1997. At the time Palm was a subsidiary of US Robotics, later part of 3Com.

The Professional with 1 MB of memory cost $399. The Personal with 512 KB cost $299. A $199 kit upgraded earlier Pilot 1000 and 5000 owners. The PalmPilot reportedly sold over one million units by 1998.

Why it matters

The PalmPilot helped Palm lead the market for handheld organizers, also called personal digital assistants.

Key facts

  • Launched March 10, 1997.
  • $399 for the Professional, $299 for the Personal.
  • Professional had 1 MB of memory, Personal had 512 KB.
  • Reportedly over one million sold by 1998.
  • Upgrade kit let Pilot 1000 and 5000 owners move to Palm OS 2.0.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, "PalmPilot", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PalmPilot, accessed October 14, 2026.
  2. Wikipedia, "Personal digital assistant", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_digital_assistant, background reading, accessed October 14, 2026.