Palm’s Ed Colligan Comments on Pilot

(Pull-quote) Pilot has a replaceable ROM/RAM module which allows developers to configure their own devices suited to their needs.

Pen-Based Computing: How long has Pilot been in development?

Ed Colligan: From concept to today, about 20 months.

PBC: And how instrumental was US Robotics to the enterprise of bringing Pilot to market?

Ed Colligan: Palm and U.S. Robotics merged on September 1st 1995, so as you can probably imagine, much of the core development was done by then. However, they have been truly instrumental in bringing the final product to market through their financial support and commitment to the product line for the launch and long term. And their manufacturing expertise has been helpful and will become more critical in the future as we continue to drive costs out of the product.

In the long run U.S. Robotics core communications expertise will be essential in making Pilot a product line with a wide range of communications options. Finally, U.S. Robotics’ line of modems is ubiquitously distributed through the same channels that the Pilot will sell through and so they have provided us with a smooth entry into the distribution channel which would have otherwise been extremely difficult for a start-up like Palm Computing.

PBC: How suitable is Pilot for vertical applications?

Ed Colligan: Pilot was designed for a focused set of functionality out of the box to be delivered at a great value. Yet, it was also designed to be extremely flexible for vertical market application development or additional hardware add-ons. Pilot has a replaceable ROM/RAM module which allows developers to configure their own devices suited to their needs.

In addition the card slot has a pass-through serial bus, enabling communications technology to be added to the unit while maintaining the current form factor. Also, add-on hardware can be added through a mechanism on the bottom of the device where detents were provided to snap on modules attached to the external serial port. Finally, applications for Pilot are written in C using Metrowerks’ Code Warrior IDE. UI objects are described using the Macintosh ResEdit program with Palm OS-specific templates. The application is then linked with the Palm OS library to create a Macintosh-based Pilot Simulator application.

The Pilot Simulator runs the Palm OS application on the Macintosh, simulating the Palm OS device, and provides debugging, data access, and automated stress testing capabilities. The application logic is debugged using Code Warrior’s source level debugger. Once the application is debugged, a Palm OS device application is compiled using MPW scripts and makefiles. The compiled application is downloaded to the Palm OS device from the Macintosh for additional testing and tuning.

PBC: What type of vertical applications, if any, do you envision for Pilot?

Ed Colligan: We could see a wide range from Health Care to Point of Sale to Shipment tracking. PBC: How important is one-touch synchronization for vertical applications?

Ed Colligan: For the applications mentioned above, I think very important. It seems almost everyone uses the devices in the field for data gathering and viewing, and then returns to the office for downloading to compile reports or update databases.

PBC: Please explain some of the memory and storage options for Pilot. What are the limitations, and how could they affect vertical applications? Are these considerations less critical for the typical everyday horizontal user?

Ed Colligan: Pilot comes in two configurations with an upgrade option. Pilot 1000 will hold approximately 1000 records (750 names, a year’s worth of appointments, 100 memos, and 100 to do items). The Pilot 5000 will store five times as much data. There will also be an upgrade available to take you to 10,000 records.

The operating system really has no memory limitations. The hardware limitations are defined by the memory module which has pads for 8 chips, so depending on the storage size of the chips you can configure the device for a range of options.

PBC: Please describe the reasons for selecting Motorola’s DragonBall processor.

Ed Colligan: The DragonBall is a highly integrated processor which provided all of the basic services we needed in a single small package chip at an affordable price. Our software is so efficient that we can run the DragonBall at 16 MHz and get instant performance. The chip even has some services which we are not currently using but gives us some flexibility going forward, including PC Card support.

(Pull-quote) Palm OS was necessary because nothing to date had been designed from the ground up with PC connectivity in mind, and with a form factor that would allow us to build a device which costs less than $300 to the end user.

PBC: Why did you feel that another OS (Palm OS) was necessary? What are its unique features. Is there room for another OS in the vertical markets?

Ed Colligan: Palm OS was necessary because nothing to date had been designed from the ground up with PC connectivity in mind, and with a form factor that would allow us to build a device which costs less than $300 to the end user. The entire OS with Graffiti fits in less than 300K of ROM. We started with the assumption that we would always be connecting and this gives us the ultimate one-touch connectivity solution. As you know, we were a leading developer on every other platform and we know the pluses and minuses of each. We did not take on the OS effort for our health, we did it because we felt it was necessary to build the great product we think we have done.

As far as the room in the vertical markets, I just don’t know. We designed the Palm OS to handle opportunities like vertical applications and I think developers will find we have a very robust system which is easy to program using standard tools.

PBC: Are you actively marketing Palm OS to other manufacturers? Any you can mention? Are they in North America, Europe, or Asia?

Ed Colligan: We are absolutely interested in licensing the OS and are in active discussions with many different communications and other OEM partners. As you may know, Toshiba intends to sell their own version of the Pilot under the Noteworthy brand of Toshiba peripherals. PBC: You’ve announced that the Palm OS SDK will be available in April 1996? What will this include?

Ed Colligan: The Palm OS SDK will include:

• Header Files
• System and UI Libraries
• UI Resource Templates
• Pilot Simulator Library
• Remote Debugger
• MPW Scripts and Makefiles
• Sample Applications
• Tutorials
• Online Developers Guide

We are currently working with Metrowerks to understand what other options we have with them and how we can work more closely together.