Palm V
personal digital assistant by 3Com
The Palm V is a personal digital assistant (PDA) by 3Com.
Released in 1999 by 3Com, the four-ounce (110 g) PDA has an aluminum enclosure containing a Dragonball EZ (a central processing unit capable of overclocking to 39 megahertz) and two megabytes of memory. Measuring 4.5 inches (110 mm) tall and less than 0.5 inches (13 mm) thick, the device's 16-shade grayscale display has a backlight and increased resolution from the previous-generation Palm III. Unlike that older device, which uses disposable batteries (AAAs), the Palm V has a built-in lithium-ion battery, which can be recharged, with an expected charge lasting 1–2 weeks. Palm Vs are equipped with a serial port that is electrically though not physically compatible with the EIA-232-D telecommunications standard (the redesigned enclosure design prevents Palm III-compatible accessories from connecting to the port) and a Consumer IR transceiver.
Upon launch, the Palm V cost about US$500 (equivalent to about $970 in 2025), though it had reduced to $300–400 by January 2000 (equivalent to about $560–750 in 2025). Units sold in late 1999 came pre-loaded with version 3.0 of Palm OS, though 3.3 was available to download and install. The IBM WorkPad c3 is the Palm V, relabeled.
Ars Technica's Will Smith raved about his Palm V in 1999, recommending it to all interested, excepting Palm III users for whom the technical-specifications upgrade was not substantial enough. Writing for TechRepublic in January 2000, Jeff Thompson was enthusiastically full of praise for the Palm V, both for personal and enterprise uses.
Vx
On October 4, 1999, 3Com released the Palm Vx.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Palm V” as personal digital assistant by 3Com. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as personal digital assistant by 3Com. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7128091. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1999, 2025 and 2000.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Palm V”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Palm V primary sources, Palm V archive and Palm research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Palm V”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Palm V” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.