BEIJING, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM), a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, said today it intends to enter the China market in the first half of 2003.

"Palm looks forward to begin selling the world's favorite handheld in the world's largest market, beginning in the first half of calendar 2003," said Philip Chan, Palm Solutions Group vice president, North Asia. He made his comments at the PalmSource China Forum held here.

"Attending the PalmSource China Forum is a rich opportunity for Palm Solutions Group to identify compelling applications being created by China's leading developers, to help foster a spirit of cooperation and collaboration, and to develop the solutions that answer the needs of China's increasingly mobile society," he said.

According to IDC, China is the largest handheld-device market in the Asia Pacific region, which excludes Japan, and will account for 70 percent of total shipments in the region in calendar 2002. IDC also said China is expected to generate 27 percent year-on-year growth in 2003.

With shipments of 19 million Palm(TM) handheld computers, and a 39.4 percent share of the worldwide personal companion handheld device market in 2001, Palm Solutions Group is the leading global provider of products and solutions and is known for its innovative design and easy-to-use interface. In September 2002, Palm signalled a new era in handheld computing with the creation of two distinct subbrands for its portfolio of handheld products -- the Tungsten(TM) and Zire(TM) families.

Palm Solutions Group products represent a standard of excellence in handheld computing for consumers and businesses. Palm handhelds are already entrenched in businesses with more than 80 percent of Palm units synchronized at work, and with more than 16,000 solutions commercially available, Palm users can customize their handheld for their lifestyle, profession and budget.

Information about Palm Solutions Group is available at http://www.palm.com/aboutpalm .

(1) IDC 2001 worldwide figures for pen-based only devices

SOURCE Palm, Inc.