Three days ago, we were issued two Palm III devices by 3Com -- just days before the official, scheduled product announcement. The devices examined here are not final production models, but are quite similar to what will eventually reach store shelves. Since we've had only three days to completely examine these devices before going to press with this special report, we're giving you our subjective impressions along with early test results.

The Palm III device may be a disappointment to some because it does not include any radical new software elements. However, it does include a number of nicely thought out, welcome additions to the familiar PalmPilot user experience.

These new features in Palm OS 3.0 include a completely new Applications Launcher, an additional font, beaming capabilities, improvement to the desktop applications, a new game, and a few other subtle additions.

Software compatibility
Although we were excited by the new functions of the Palm III, we were most concerned about software compatibility. One of the first things we did was install a whole load of existing PalmPilot applications and see how things worked out.

Stressing the OS

First, we installed HackMaster and virtually all the system hacks from PilotZone (http://www.pilotzone.com). These included AppHack, MenuHack, CaseToggleHack, ClockHack, CorrectHack, GlowHack, PowerHack, SafeHack, SelectHack, and SwitchHack.

Our reasoning here was that if the new Palm OS 3.0 could withstand all of these hacks, compatibility was pretty well assured. It worked pretty well. While combining all these hacks made for a pretty funky little Palm III, everything worked just fine.

Loading up on the apps

Then we decided to load up on the applications. Since there are so many available applications, we decided to load Bob Freud's favorites, from his article "Great add-on software for your PalmPilot". The article showcases a pretty fair representation of the variety of applications available. We loaded the following applications (in addition to HackMaster and all the hacks):

• Agenda
• AportisDoc
• BrainForest
• Check-In
• Dinky Pad
• Giraffe
• HardBall
• Doktor Badura
• LaunchPad
• MineHunt
• Puzzle
• SubHunt
• TealPaint

Once again, everything seemed to work well. There was no evidence of instability or the other typical red flags of a new OS release.

Based on our test results (admittedly, only two days worth), we are reasonably comfortable saying that if it ran on the PalmPilot, it should run on the Palm III without difficulty.