PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide, Second Edition

Third Generation: Palm III and Palm Clones

After having so carefully cultivated a recognizable brand name, 3Com adopted a new and confusing name for the third generation of its famous palmtop. Threatened legal action by the makers of Pilot pens explain the move.

This model introduced infrared beaming, a sleeker case shape and 2MB of memory. A matching desktop application for Windows, Palm Desktop 3.0, accompanied the Palm III. Once again, though, those major items accompany a longer list of minor enhancements:

• The screen is clearer and higher-contrast than any previous PalmPilot model. To prevent accidental screen changing, the contrast wheel is now recessed into the edge of the unit.

• A sturdier stylus with a metal shaft has replaced the flimsy plastic model—and the end cap unscrews to reveal a pin that’s perfectly sized to fit the Reset hole (see Chapter 17). There’s also a new, removable, flip-up protective lid that can lock into either of two open-position angles. (You can’t remove or insert the stylus while the lid is fully open—get into the habit of removing the stylus before opening the lid.)

Going In and Out of Stylus

The stylus provided with the Palm III and its III-series successor is superior to the previous plastic Palm stylus in every way except one—early versions have a way of dropping out of the stylus pocket. The metal shaft provides little friction, and is susceptible to expansion and contraction with temperature.

Online Palm fans were quick to share their various solutions, ...