10Meters News Service

March 4, 2002 – The handheld devices wars are heating up and getting more colorful via two new models from Palm.

The two models, the m130 priced at $279 and m515 priced at $399, feature color screens and are expected to hit stores today.

"We've created the Palm m130 handheld to bring color and rechargeable batteries to a broader market," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Palm's Solutions Group. "Professionals will find the Palm m515 handheld a compelling way to gain more control over their business and personal lives."

Palm, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is struggling to maintain its market lead in the handheld market, according to Gartner Dataquest. Earlier this month, the research group estimated that Palm's slice of the personal digital assistants (PDAs) market fell to 38.6 percent in 2001 from 50.4 percent in 2000. Chipping away Palm's market share: Handspring, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard.

Although most device makers now offer models with color screens, consumers often complain about the lack of memory and battery power. Palm said it is hoping to address some of these issues with the rechargeable batteries for the m130 and boosting the memory of the m515 from 8 to 16 MB.

Palm, along with its rivals, is striving to find the right combination of enhancements that will give provide an edge in a market hit by increased competition and a general economic slowdown.

The new Palm models also feature a wide array of software applications and peripherals as well as expansion cards to support multimedia and additional memory.