.KEYWORD color
.FLYINGHEAD PALM READING
.TITLE A sneak peak at Palm’s color future
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT FIGALT color-cover.gif
.AUTHOR Heather McDaniel
.SUMMARY Over the last few weeks, rumors of a Palm device with color have been running rampant. In this article, News Editor Heather McDaniel discusses the latest news and tries to separate fact from fiction.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR Over the last few weeks, rumors of a Palm device with color have been running rampant. In this article, News Editor Heather McDaniel discusses the latest news and tries to separate fact from fiction.
.END_SIDEBAR
As you know, here at PalmPower, we tend to avoid rumor-mongering. While we don’t have direct confirmation from Palm of such a device, we have found indications that support the rumors.
.H1 Source: Palm Computing’s developer site
Palm Computing’s Web site (at http://www.palm.com/devzone/docs/palmos35.html) gives us our first clue.
It states that Palm OS software 3.5 will support 1, 2, 4, and 8 bit color and grayscale. 8-bit color allows pictures to have up to 256 colors, suitable for games, but not quite up to the task of displaying photos or video.
.H1 Source: Palm’s letter to developers
The following is a letter from Palm Computing that was sent to developers. One such Palm developer, who asked to remain unnamed, sent this letter to us:
Dear Solution Provider:
Color is coming! By now you all should have heard about, or perhaps even seen, the newest release of the Palm OS that includes color support. In the spring of 2000, one of the hardware manufacturers that makes products based on the Palm OS will release a device with a color display! This licensee is interested in showing some of the stable, useful, quality, color applications that exist at the time of the product launch in its media campaign and possibly on its Web site. They also want to give you, the developers, enough time to prepare for this new product introduction.
In order to provide assistance and support to your development efforts, the licensee would like to invite all developers who have created color applications (that are stable on the color emulator!) to submit them for review. A number of applications will be selected and their developers will then be invited to a Color Device Developer Connection event on February 2nd. Please be advised that participants will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before entering the event. Information regarding the agreement will be sent with the details of the event.
At this event, the licensee will have several color devices on hand for testing and viewing your applications. Moreover, we will have several Palm OS engineers available to interact with.
In order to submit your color application for review, send it to devrelations@palm.com as soon as possible (please ensure that your app is stable, useful, and of high quality).
We hope that you will create applications in all categories, from games to productivity enhancements to document readers to image viewers. Anything that uses color in an interesting way.
For further details on the Palm OS version 3.5, including technical details and color-enabled emulators, please visit http://www.palm.com/devzone. We are delighted to assist you in order to make your color applications successful.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Acosta-Lopez
Director Platform Development Services
.H1 Who’s the licensee?
Palm Computing has several hardware licensees. They include IBM, Sony, Handspring, and TRG. But do any of them have a color device in the works? No one is willing to say, but News.com published a story (at http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-1529292.html?tag=st.ne.1002.) saying that Palm Computing, not another licensee, is going to release the new color device. That device, according to News.com, is to be called the Palm IIIc.
The report also says that coinciding with the launch of the Palm IIIc is the launch of the Palm IIIxe (an 8MB version of the Palm IIIe).
.H1 Rumors from the distribution channel
There are also numerous reports stating that CompUSA has the devices in its inventory management system. While we haven’t been able verify the rumors, the reports list the Palm IIIc at $449 and the Palm IIIxe at $249. While we haven’t been able to verify these rumors, it would make sense for the 8MB unit to be priced at $249 since that’s what the 8MB Handspring device is listed at.
Here’s another report we saw on the MacInTouch site (at http://www.macintouch.com/newsrecent.shtml — be aware that URLs do shift on this site). A reader sent an email to them which says:
.QUOTE I work at Best Buy, and I’ve seen the specs on these new models. The Palm IIIc does indeed have a color screen, 8MB of memory, and will sell for $449.99. The new Palm IIIxe has the shell of a the III series, typical III-series screen, but will also have 8MB of RAM and a price of $249.99…I’m assuming that this is to directly compete with the Handspring Visor…Best Buy’s approximate in-stock date is 2/20/00, though it could show up anytime near that date…
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.H1 Final thoughts
So what does this all mean? It means that Palm’s finally doing something about color — or so it seems. They always said that they won’t come out with a color screen until the technology is ready. Is the technology ready? I have a feeling we’ll find out very, very soon. Stay tuned to my news reports, available on a daily basis at http://www.palmpower.com/news/news.html, for the latest inside scoop.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
You can see the color specifications on Palm Computing’s Web site at http://www.palm.com/devzone/docs/palmos35.html.
News.com’s reports on the Palm IIIc and Palm IIIxe can be found at http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-1529292.html?tag=st.ne.1002.
The MacInTouch posting can be found at http://www.macintouch.com/newsrecent.shtml. The comments were posted on January 26 and may rotate off by the time you read this article.
Visit the PalmPower News Center often, at http://www.palmpower.com/news/news.html.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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.BIO
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?13@@.ee6de0d
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