Design of Palm Pilot Rob Haitani Presented by: Pankaj Thakkar

Overview of Palm Pilot PIM Functionality Not a PC replacement Single button Hot Sync capability Touch sensitive screen with handwriting recognition Less is More Dimensions: 4.7” x 3.1” x 0.6” Weight: 5.7 ounces Power Source: 2 AAA batteries Screen: 160x160 pixels; black & white; touch sensitive Processor: Motorola Operating System: PalmOS

Design Goals Build a better device than existing handhelds like Zoomer and Newton Support a limited functionality efficiently Quick and instant access to information (frequently) Target audience: PC users Not a replacement for PCs. Provide Hot-Sync capability to synchronize information with PCs. Do the right thing

Non PC Design Don’t emulate the PC design blindly Mechanical buttons as well as software buttons No “Save” buttons/functions No application switching Predictability more important than consistency Software Miniaturization

Implementation Notes Every pixel counts. No fancy features Make frequent tasks/functions easily accessible (e.g. by reducing the number of taps) If in doubt, do a user-test to evaluate Minimize clutter. Assess user requirements.

Steps to Success Wireless two way through handheld Context sensitive buttons (appearing/disappearing) No menu support ? (As of now Palm does support pull down menus)

Usability Analysis Research about user preferences and requirements Do user testing from the beginning of the project Phone Test: If the other person can tell if you are using a Palm for accessing information (like schedule, phone numbers)

Palm v/s Windows CE CE design close to PC (windows) design CE uses menu, Palm does not According to Palm people, CE has extra bells and whistles, the sluggish performance will be annoying Palm design is kept simple and it is made to do specific functions only

Conclusions Users want an efficient appliance (designed to do specific tasks) not a small PC The interface needs to be simple and predictable Many of the design principles which hold in PC world are not applicable in handhelds Have many special purpose information appliances than a big bulky all rounder