Palm

Search

Colour, Entry-level Zire 31 Handheld from palmOne Designed to Attract Mass-market Customers First Sub-$250 Colour Handheld to Include MP3 and Expansion Capabilities



TORONTO, April 28, 2004 – palmOne Canada today announced the Zire™ 31 handheld. Adding colour and expansion to the best-selling original Zire handheld, the Zire 31 handheld is designed for students, superparents and seniors. It has an estimated street price of $229CAD.

The company also announced the Zire 72 handheld, an affordable multimedia-capable handheld with a built-in digital camera and audio/video playback ability. It has an estimated street price of $449CAD.

"With its bright, colourful screen, the Zire 31 handheld is the first colour handheld introduced at less than $250," said Michael Moskowitz, president and general manager for palmOne Canada. "The Zire 31 handheld will keep your schedule, hold your phone numbers, store photos of family and friends, even play MP3s(1) or games."

palmOne expects the Zire 31 handheld to attract new as well as upgrade customers with the MP3 functionality and the added benefit of colour and enhanced readability. Students and superparents want an easy-to-use device that supports all aspects of their lives: family, friends, school and work. This new handheld is for people who need an easy-to-carry device to replace bulky paper organizers, but who are not willing to spend a lot of money or time managing daily responsibilities.

With 16MB of memory (14MB user-available), the Zire 31 handheld can store thousands of phone numbers, addresses, lunch dates, meetings, birthdays, doctors' appointments and shopping lists. Its bright, colourful screen is perfect for viewing photos of family and friends. Zire 31 handheld owners can select from more than 20,000 available applications(2) and use the expansion slot for adding more memory, applications or MP3 tunes.

With the Zire 31 handheld, users can manage multiple responsibilities at a glance with colour-coded categories, and easily track personal, family, work and school schedules. Store birthdays, set reminders and alarms, and easily set repeating tasks to track recurring activities. The new palmOne™ media software features easy ways to attach a photo to a contact and personalize the Home or Agenda view with a photo background.


Zire 31 Handheld Features/Benefits

Colour Screen
The 160 x 160 display of the Zire 31 handheld is bright, colourful, and easy to read. Whether at home, at work or at school, users can select colour categories to organize busy schedules, as well as view photos and even play a game.

Organization
The Zire 31 handheld gives users the outstanding organization expected from a palmOne handheld. The Agenda view lets users stay on or ahead of schedule, and the ability to attach a photo to an address or phone number provides for easy name-face recognition. The Zire 31 handheld synchronizes with Microsoft Outlook (Windows only) or the Palm™ Desktop and offers colour-coded categories to quickly identify and track schedules.

Bonus Software
In addition to the core organization software, the Zire 31 handheld includes applications for managing money, tracking car expenses, storing class schedules, and much more. Other software allows users to play a game, read a book, even listen to audio books.

Play MP3s(1)
Users can carry hours of tunes and listen to them using the speaker or by adding stereo headphones.(3) Songs will continue to play even while the user is scheduling appointments, adding contacts, or just enjoying a game.

Download and listen to audio books(4)
With Audible software, Zire 31 customers can download books, magazines, newspapers and listen when convenient.

Transfer and back up information quickly and easily
With software included in the box, users can easily keep the same organizational information, photos, contacts and appointments on the Zire 31 handheld as on a Windows or Mac computer. Handheld owners can use Graffiti® software, the keypad, the desktop keyboard or an attachable keyboard (sold separately) to input data. By regularly synchronizing data between the desktop and the handheld, information is safe and secure.

(1) Requires the use of an expansion card, sold separately.
(2) While some applications are available for free download, some must be purchased separately.
(3) Stereo headphones sold separately.
(4) Requires a subscription, sold separately.


About palmOne, Inc.

More information about palmOne, Inc. is available at http://www.palmOne.com.

Broadcast Video and Other palmOne Materials
Broadcast video and other materials are available online from palmOne's Multimedia Library (http://www.thenewsmarket.com/Palm/Registration/Login.aspx). Press can register at the site, which is hosted by The NewsMarket (thenewsmarket.com), a web-based news and video archive, to browse and preview an extensive content library and order footage directly from their desktops. Registration and ordering on the site is free.

palmOne, Zire, Graffiti and Palm are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned by or licensed to palmOne, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.




Palm, Palm OS, and Treo are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned or licensed to Palm, Inc. Microsoft and Windows Mobile are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.