3Com To Unwrap Palm III X Next Month

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January 21, 1999 (12:00 AM EST)

3Com will introduce this quarter a new version of the PalmPilot -- the Palm III X -- and slash pricing on its existing model to $299, retailers said.

The Palm III X, which will debut Feb. 23, offers several new features, including a "cleaner" screen, Microsoft Outlook conduit, and 4 megabytes of RAM, letting the device hold twice as much information as the existing model, sources said.

The updated device, for example, will be able to hold 12,000 addresses, five years worth of appointments, 3,000 to-do items, and 400 e-mail messages, said sources familiar with the device.

The screen and text will appear sharper and more legible for users. "It looks cool. The fonts are thinner and it's a cleaner view," said one retail source.

The Microsoft Outlook conduit, another new feature, eliminates the need for users to buy third-party synchronization products, such as Puma's IntelliSync, to synchronize Microsoft Outlook e-mail with the Palm III X, sources added.

While the Palm III X is expected to carry a street price in the same ballpark as the existing model, which ranges between $350 and $370, the existing Palm III will drop to an expected street price of $299.

Analysts said Santa Clara, Calif.-based 3Com typically updates its models within a 12-month window from the previous unit's release, but the introduction of several new Windows CE-based palm devices by Microsoft's partners has turned up the heat in the PDA category. The Palm III was introduced last March.

"3Com needs to rev [the Palm] consistently so it doesn't look old and tired," said Tom Rhinelander, an analyst with Forrester Research, in Cambridge, Mass. "In this case, you don't rev it too much -- just enough so users can just plug it in easily but it looks different compared to the competition."

A major redesign of the device will debut with the Palm V, which will sport an "ultra-thin, galvanized look" and launch with an expected street price of $449, retailers said. A release date for that model has not yet been set.