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New handhelds by Palm
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August 7, 2000: 12:09 a.m. ET
Company debuts m100 devices aimed at mass market; upgrades Palm VII
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Palm Inc. is rolling out the latest addition to its popular line of handheld computers Monday, hoping to broaden their appeal beyond the current core of users.
Called the Palm m100, the new devices have been designed, and priced, to appeal to the mass market, particularly students, as opposed to its current base of customers, which is made up largely of business professionals and "techies."
The m100 is the first change to Palm's product offerings since February, when it introduced the IIIxe and the IIIc, its first handheld device with a color screen. Priced at $149, the m100 is slated to replace the Palm IIIe, currently the low-end of the company's product line.
The new devices weigh in at 4.4 oz. and have 2 megabytes of memory. They have been designed to allow users to customize them with different colored interchangeable faceplates, available separately for $19.95 each.
"We tried to do something that was a little more fun and lively," said Timothy Twerdahl, a Palm product manager. "We had a very professional looking device."
 The new devices include Palm's date book, address book, to-do list, memo pad and infrared beaming applications. However, they do not include the e-mail, expense and network-synching features available on other Palm devices.
But the m100 also has some features that other Palms don't, including a travel alarm clock function with a louder alarm, a notepad application that allows users to jot down quick notes and sketches, and an on-board tutorial that covers the basics of handheld computing.
"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," said Byron Connell, vice president of Palm's consumer markets group. "And true to the Palm experience people have come to expect, the m100 is fun, flexible and very simple to use."
The introduction of the m100 is Palm's (PALM: Research, Estimates) latest effort to extend its reach to a broader audience.
Last week, the company entered into a marketing and distribution alliance with supermodel Claudia Schiffer, who will sell a customized version of the Palm Vx through her fashion Web site beginning this fall.
Separately on Monday, Palm began selling its latest wireless-enabled handheld computer, the Palm VIIx. These new devices, priced at $449 - the same as their predecessors - expand the memory from 2 to 8 megabytes and include additional Web-clipping applications, which are used to access Internet content from various providers.
The price for a standard Palm VII has been reduced to $399 from $449. Palm also cut the price of the Palm IIIc to $400 from $449.
Formerly a unit of computer networking-gear supplier 3Com (COMS: Research, Estimates), Palm is currently the leading supplier of handheld computers.
Palm has sold more six million units since it first introduced its popular "Pilot" devices in 1996. The company also has expanded its strategy to include licensing the Palm operating system. It lists Handspring (HAND: Research, Estimates), Sony (SNE: Research, Estimates) and Nokia (NOK: Research, Estimates) among its current licensees. 
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Palm Inc.
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