Palm m100 Released

Posted By: Ryan Monday, August 7, 2000 5:08:57 PM

Palm sent out a press release early this morning confirming the launch of the new M100 today. The 2 meg Palm M100 features a small, durable, modern design which enables use of interchangeable fashion faceplates, as well as a full line of accessories such as the PalmPix, the Portable keyboard and mp3 players. It includes a new Note Pad application that captures handwritten notes, a clock application and a new HotSync cable, not cradle.

The Palm m100 handheld lets users customize and personalize their handheld through colorful faceplates that snap on and off. The Palm m100 ships with a black faceplate, with optional faceplates available in Silver Mist, Blue Mist, Green Mist, Pacific Blue and Ruby Pearl at an estimated street price of $19.95 each.

Update: The Palm site had been updated with lots of pictures of the new devices.
* Updated further with more info on the m100's new features.

"Consumers love to personalize their products, and the new m100 faceplates give people lots of room to show their style, make a statement and customize their handheld," said Byron Connell, vice president, Consumer Markets Group at Palm. "Plus, the ability to scribble notes, maps and drawings and then store them on a handheld is a great addition to our traditional data input through the on-screen keyboard or Graffiti. And true to the Palm experience people have come to expect, the m100 is fun, flexible and very simple to use."

Press release

Palm m100MORE DETAILS:
The Palm m100 handheld includes:
* ROM - 2 MB Masked ROM (4 MB on Japanese device)
* RAM - 2 MB DRAM
* Processor - 16 MHz Motorola Dragonball (TM) EZ (MC68EZ328)
* Display - 160 x 160 pixel (.29 dot pitch) 4-bit active matrix TFT display. The LCD differs from that of other Palm devices.
* Shape - Completely New Form Factor
* Serial - The pin order is the same as the Palm IIIx, however, the size and shape is new.
* Battery - 2 AAAs
* Palm OS software 3.5.1
* Palm Desktop software version 3.5
* HotSync Manager version 3.06

Other Changes Worth Noting

* The alarm sound is significantly louder than that of any other Palm device (Low = 50 dB in SPL, Med = 62 and High = 75)
* 3 ROM versions will be released:
-US (English)
-EFIGS (which allows you to pick between English, French, Italian, German, or Spanish)
-JAPAN (Japanese)
* 3 New Applications have been added:
-NotePad (allows you to scribble out notes or draw on the screen, as well as set an alarm for these. NotePad records are synched back to a NotePad application that runs on the PC or MAC, which remains separate from the Palm Desktop.)
-Clock (Clock featuring large numbers and alarm functionality)
-New Tutorial
* The European device running the EFIGS ROM will come bundled with a new mail application designed to connect via a cell phone.
* Mail, Expense, and Network HotSync have been removed.
* The MemoPad HardKey now is set to map to the NotePad application. MemoPad can still be accessed from the launcher.
* Two new selectors in the silk screen area. The new clock application displays the time when the user taps a small dot in the top left corner of the graffiti alphabet writing area on the silk screen (analogous to the "abc" keyboard popping up when the user taps the bottom left corner). Further, the contrast control is accessed by tapping the top right corner of the graffiti number writing area.
* When the device is off, the user can access the clock display by pushing the scroll up arrow hard key. This will wake the device up, display the clock for a couple of seconds and then put the device back to sleep. Note that security applications may prevent this from working.

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Sounds great

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 10:33:48 AM #
Students won't need more than than two megs, and the low price will let them buy more accessories. This will kill the standard Visor I bet, since it only comes in gray and you have to pay extra for the cradle.
RE: Sounds great
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/6/2000 12:16:22 AM #
Doubt it. Visors have an expansion slot (even the 2 MB visors) that allow you to add memory or other things, making it much more versatile and worth the extra $20. The Palm m100 will never be able to expand its memory, for example, and the 8 MB memory expansions for the Visor actually work quite well. Other Springboard modules like the Innopak 2V, the OmniRemote (granted, this is available in software), and the digital camera make the Visor the better option. Although, one nice thing about the m100 is the louder alarm...the alarms on the other Palms and Visors are SO quiet....

2 megs??

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 11:20:11 AM #
If there's something student-age users like to do, it's play games and download stuff from the Internet. They're not going to be able to fit many 3rd-party apps into a 2Mb memory. This really seems too small to be useful to most Palm users.
RE: 2 megs??
Ed @ 8/7/2000 11:43:22 AM #
It is a starter machine which, to me, means cheap and limited. If I could make an analogy, it would be great if all 16 year olds could afford a Lexus instead of a Ford but they can't. In the same way, it would be great if all college students could afford to pay $250 for a handheld but they can't. If they can, the M100 isn't what they want. They should get one of the stylish new Vx's that look great and have lots of memory.
RE: 2 megs??
Ralph @ 8/7/2000 11:54:55 AM #
but its not THAT small, granted, it will probably lead to them filling the memory up...but those who are like me, and would like to see how useful their palm will be to them....its a nice stepping ladder.

It can help palm to work their way up to the bigger and more costly units if people run out of room and then need to upgrade for what they want.

RE: 2 megs??
Raishe @ 8/7/2000 11:58:23 AM #
ok obviously there are two sides on the 2mb thing. i get by with two megs and a judicious use of the those megs. i think this is a great first handheld kinda thing, especially with the faceplates. the thing that kills me, if the reported mp3 player is there, how much music can you put in there. maybe there are memory expansion "modules" so we can really listen to some choonz but with 2mbs, maybe you can listen to the intros of one or two songs. otherwise good first effort in the low-end market
RE: 2 megs??
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 2:35:54 PM #
Well someone's buying them. I just ordered one as a gift and was told it's on back order due to the volume of orders
RE: 2 megs??
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 2:35:54 PM #
Well someone's buying them. I just ordered one as a gift and was told it's on back order due to the volume of orders
RE: 2 megs?? MP3 Info
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 2:36:35 PM #
The MP3 Player will have 32MB of flash memory and SD Memory Cards that can be swapped out for additional music capacity.
RE: 2 megs??
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 5:34:01 PM #
The reason Palm has not gone beyond 8MB is that the dragonball processor is limited to 8MB. This is one reason Palm is looking at the ARM processor as an alternative. The expansion slots aren't real memory but "memory disks". This is why you can't run apps from the Axxpac or From TRG's CF slot (without a special system hack). So for now, we're stuck with an 8MB main memory limit!
RE: 2 megs??MP3-411
Raishe @ 8/8/2000 6:42:59 PM #
thanx for the 411 about the mp3 stuff. i wasn't aware and it didn't mention it anywhere (as i can recal)

I actually think its ugly

dw @ 8/7/2000 1:02:38 PM #
I'm sorry but put it next to the V and man, it looks like the AMC pacer of PDAs. What an ugly design, IN ANY COLOR.. nice that they moved the power button to the top for lefties who I know keep accidentally hitting on/off all day. Nobody wants more plastic, they want a higher res screen, color, and more memory. I mean, COME ON, 8 mb can't really cost THAT much can it?? I am actually surprised that there aren't 32 mb palms by now. Memory really can't be that expensive... Before the $400 Vx came out I figured the Vx would have 16 or 32 and the low end would be upped a bit but I guess not.

I have to admit I played with an $450 iPAQ this weekend and wow is it nice. The hand recog was amazingly decent (not graffiti) but the os is too complicated for what the handheld does. They really need to simplify the os a bit. Very nice physical design, metal enclosure, compact flash slot, and it's quite small. The only drawbacks, the weight (very heavy!) and of course WinCE or PocketPC os or whatever. I'll stick to my III for now but the competition is heating up fast and Palm is going to have to adapt quickly. I really don't see much difference in the M100 and IIIe, they're just pissing off the palm peripheral makers now. (can you use the same cradle?)

RE: I actually think its ugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 1:15:46 PM #
I am not sure if the Palm OS can support more than 8 megs at this point.

I think the m100 looks good. Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder!

RE: I actually think its ugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 1:17:39 PM #
The IIIe can use existing III add on devices.

RE: I actually think its ugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/8/2000 4:11:43 AM #
Of all the issues you bring up, focus on the M100. Having had first hand experience (today) using the M100 (and VIIx too), maybe I can give some feedback.

What you may have read online about the screen and overall size is true, but both have been done for functional reasons. The M100 smaller size was easier to hold and felt better than my III or V. All that extra plastic should help those who find themselves dropping their new Palm, it should be fairly rugged in contrast to the III. (I think a serial sync cable--not cradle--is provided)

The stylus is located on the back similar to the III series, and is a little larger in the clip area. Taking the cursor out required a bit more searching than I liked.

Screen size was smaller although very usable--one instance involved reading notes from the new Memo/Jot program. For the demographic group this is aimed at the default text won't be a problem. Battery life is supposedly extended as a result. For finding an appointment or a number it does the job. You want movies stick to a laptop.

For Palm apps which are at most only a few hundred KB in size, expanding to 16 or 32 megs seems useless. Think about how you find one program if you had 100 stored on it. There could be hardware and software issues as well. Maybe if Palm adds in on board sound for MP3 players then going to more memory is okay. Then again, the Visor's add on players use external memory.

The M100 will make waves in the marketplace and attract new customers since its been all over the media. Consider it an evolution of the original concept.

RE: I actually think its ugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/8/2000 9:13:17 AM #
>compact flash slot

Actually the iPaq doesn't have a CF slot unless you add a sleeve, which makes it much much bigger...

RE: I actually think its ugly
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/8/2000 7:02:09 PM #
This is SRAM, not DRAM (like in a PC) memory, and that is much more $$$

If it was cheap, they'd be using it in PCs, as it's much faster.

Screen Size

Adriano @ 8/7/2000 7:05:33 PM #
So can anyone confirm that the lcd screen is actually smaller than the other palm devices.
RE: Screen Size
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/7/2000 11:28:02 PM #
Right from Palm,

Display - 160 x 160 pixel (.29 dot pitch) 4-bit active matrix TFT display. The LCD differs from that of other Palm devices.

The grafitti area is also smaller to accomodate the smaller screen. It's still compatible with all the existing apps, the pixels are just closer together.

eye problems?
angus @ 8/8/2000 7:52:05 AM #

I found that after I use my ex palm v to read, I will have problem focus my eyes second day, if palm m100 screen is smaller then palm v, doesn't that cause more problem to the eye?
personally I think it might caused by not enough light on the palm screen background, perhaps the new color sony pda might solve the problem cause it has a light background just like monitor. Does anyone had same eye problems?

No More Network Hotsynch?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/8/2000 12:35:01 PM #
> Mail, Expense, and Network HotSync have been removed.

Did anyone else see this line from the above release? Doesn't this sorta fly in the face of Palm's "wireless connectivity for everyone"? I hotsynch via the network every day: I would think with cable modems and ADSL becoming more popular, a lot more people will start doing this as well. Why on earth would you remove it?

Also, this implies that you can't hotsynch mail! That's about 1/2 of what I use my Palm for: catch up on email during downtime, then hotsynch to get rid of the deleted messages from my desktop.

Am I reading this wrong? Why would they _remove_ functionality from the IIIe for the M100?

RE: No More Network Hotsynch?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/9/2000 10:58:59 AM #
I believe this is incorrect. It does seem to
have Network Hotsync, because it's discussed in
the online .pdf of the m100 user manual. See the
link to the manual at
http://www.palm.com/support/m100/" CLASS=NEWS TARGET=_NEW>http://www.palm.com/support/m100/
RE: No More Network Hotsynch?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/9/2000 2:40:09 PM #
I don't see any mention in the .pdf file for the m100 of network hotsync... got a page # you saw it??
RE: No More Network Hotsynch?
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/12/2000 3:44:27 PM #
I apologize. The original poster is right: there is no built-in Network Hotsync. I saw the description about setting up the m100 for remote PPP access, and thought this included Network Hotsync setup.

Power users?

404 @ 8/8/2000 4:07:59 PM #
Did palm fotget about the power users? Sure, the M100 is great fot the back-to-school crowd but what about the rest of us?

I love my Vx and would LOVE to see a color V in the future but if Palm is really going to stay in the game, CF or some kind of media port is going to be needed. The TRGPro is looking better & better every day (if the screen didn't suck)....

RE: Power users?
Ed @ 8/8/2000 8:20:27 PM #
No, I don't think Palm has forgotten about the power user. In fact, almost every Palm they've ever come out with has been for the power user. But now it is the entry-level crowd that needs to have a bone tossed to it. If you already own a Vx, then the m100 isn't targeted for you.

The SD slot is coming. It should (note I said should) be on power user Palms by early next year at the latest.

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=1011

--
Plenipotentiary
Palm InfoCenter

Power users?

404 @ 8/8/2000 5:54:29 PM #
Did palm fotget about the power users? Sure, the M100 is great fot the back-to-school crowd but what about the rest of us?

I love my Vx and would LOVE to see a color V in the future but if Palm is really going to stay in the game, CF or some kind of media port is going to be needed. The TRGPro is looking better & better every day (if the screen didn't suck)....

reduce price of Palm3c

Pieric @ 8/8/2000 10:32:23 PM #
The news made me think that some new color palm device is coming .But i just brougt a new iiic.
so. . . .. ..should i sell my iiic now?

palm follows handspring

chris @ 8/8/2000 11:16:30 PM #
copy cat palm? I want to hear from all those Palm owning Visor bashers who denegrated handspring for the color cases. As usual Handspring innovates and 3com imitates... Hah!
RE: palm follows handspring
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2000 1:04:16 PM #
I'm sorry I just felt the need to correct. But, Palm is no longer a member of the 3com familly.


I bought my Palm Vx upgrade already...

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/8/2000 11:40:56 PM #
Its called an IPaq.
RE: I bought my Palm Vx upgrade already...
exlemor @ 8/9/2000 1:36:09 AM #
Sorry to see you went with the inferior OS and heavier device.... the rest of us, will just have to enjoy the better lighter easier platform....

E.

RE: I bought my Palm Vx upgrade already...
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/9/2000 9:15:22 AM #
Geez, everyone is hung up on the easy-to-use, lighter thing. I'd gladly lug around a WinCE machine if they battery life were longer than a day. I hotsynch as soon as I get up and read email just before I put the Palm down on the nightstand for the night, all without worrying about recharging batteries. I carry my Palm everywhere, which is something that I couldn't do if I had to return it to "home base" for recharging every 4-6 hours. My IIIXE goes for weeks without worrying about batteries, and I'm a fairly heavy user, and use the backlight a lot too. THAT is where Palm has the advantage, IMHO...
RE: I bought my Palm Vx upgrade already...
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/9/2000 11:54:05 PM #
The IPaq uses a Lithium Polymer battery which last about 12 hours. This is far more advanced than anything Palm uses. I know from experience that the battery life of the V and Vx is pretty awful.

m-WHAT?!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/9/2000 6:16:41 PM #
I've just seen the specs. on this m 100 travesty and I'm very surprised at its 2MEG memory. I own a Handspring Visor Deluxe and can honestly say that the 8MEG supplied is nowhere near enough for my heavy, daily use.
I know that it may be aimed at the first time palm-user but then, wasn't the Visor?
Come on Palm, be fair to us more discerning consumers and listen to your "fanbase". MORE MEMORY IN FUTURE, PLEASE!!!

I love the M100!

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/9/2000 6:18:26 PM #
I love the idea of a super heavy duty Palm for students, I only wish it had more memory, I am a student and I'm constantly running out of memory on my 4meg IIIx especially since Liberty came out. I've broke my IIIx more than once and the idea of a Palm I can toss around (plastic screen! :) sounds great to me. The clock is a great feature too, but that could have been done with a simple hack, but the louder alarm will make the Palm more usable as a alarm clock, the IIIx is way too quiet to wake anyone up.

Oh well, I'm sure someone out their will figure out how to solder 8 megs to these things like they did with the Palm V for <$100. If they do I'm selling my IIIx and buying a M100 and upgrading it to 8.

Now if they only had a great graphing calculator program for the Palm (like the HP48 or TI84) for free with these new Palms they would sell like hotcakes! I mean those calculators cost ~$100+ each, who wouldn't spend another $50 to have a calculator with lots more features??

RE: I love the M100!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/9/2000 11:57:53 PM #
From the reviews I've read the screen and graffiti area is so small you can't even write on it. That and the 2MB of ram and I have a hard time seeing what you're so excited about. This thing is a not very funny joke.
RE: I love the M100!
I.M. Anonymous @ 8/17/2000 10:31:00 AM #
It's an organizer NOT a gameboy! If you want a gameboy, shell out 69 bucks and get the real deal in COLOR.
Its a great product
Gary Duke @ 8/18/2000 11:43:26 AM #
I am a hard-core palm user. But when I saw
how pretty and light this thing was (you have
to really see one in person to appreciate it)
I bought one immediately for my wife.

It is so cute, and it is a real palm. For the
price and the units small and lightweight, yet
sturdy construction its a wonder this doesn't
cost at least double is price!!

Stop complaining and go see one in person.

Gary

M100 Upgrade to 8 MEGS!!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/24/2000 11:06:27 PM #
I will upgrade your m100 from 2 megs to 8 megs for $69 (plus actual cost of shipping - depending on how fast you need it - but 1 day turn around time regardless). I have sophisticated surface mount technology to do it under a microscope.

Websites that describe this process are here:(BUT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DON'T DO THIS AT HOME - SEND IT TO ME AND I'LL DO IT FOR YOU - I'VE ALREADY DONE SEVERAL M100'S ALREADY)

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tew/m100hack/ http://www.fureai.or.jp/~mori-t/a0825_m108/m100_8mb_e.html

You can opt to provide your own chip - which I will provide a $20 discount. Remember upgrade not supported by palm inc and will void warranty. you can get the chip from:

http://www.interlog.com/~tcharron/palm/DIY.html http://www.interlog.com/~tcharron/palm/upgradeservice.html

I can also do Palm III's too. I prefer payment by www.paypal.com For fastest service, email me at palm@ttk.com or call me at 404-822-4410. Turn around time can be as quick at 2 days. Backup service provided.

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