The IIIc (reviewed issue 29, p98) is Palm,s answer to the many Windows CE products in the market which were first to the podium with colour screens in a handheld PC. As its model designation implies, it is based on the III-series platform first introduced with the original Palm III, which was subsequently followed up by the IIIx and IIIe iterations. With a slightly stretched depth where the application launch buttons reside, the Palm IIIc is physically the largest Palm model available in Australia. It manages to hide its size very well, being entirely black, and considering that the colour display tends to detract from any shortfalls the PDA may have.
The screen is the same resolution as the rest of the Palm range, which is 160 x 160 - small by Windows CE (Pocket PC) standards. Also, at 256 colours, it doesn,t measure up against competing Microsoft devices - or so it would appear. However, the IIIc stacks up better in practice than its specification implies as these limitations have all been subject to making the IIIc a useable handheld PC.

Palm's primary considerations for the IIIc,s design brief was battery life, size and weight. Fitting a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery to it takes care of the first issue and keeping the screen size down addresses the second and third.
The display is clear and bright, with the contrast adjustable via holding down the power switch, which brings up a sliding bar. However, it does tend to get washed out in bright sunlight, rendering the Palm IIIc difficult to use outdoors. The growing list of colour applications, games and utilities becoming available since the IIIc,s release a couple of months ago, however, makes the colour screen an almost indispensable aspect of owning a handheld PC. Going back to a monochrome Palm after using the IIIc just seems a little dull.While it may not have the same levels of built-in functionality as the current crop of Pocket PC devices, such as voice recording and MP3 playback, it,s debatable how useful these features actually are with the high cost of memory today. The standard suite of applications supplied with the IIIc, though an improvement over previous models, is rather basic. All things considered though, the Palm IIIc is an exceptionally well-designed handheld PC and a balanced approach to the limited computing power of PDAs, making it a deserved Quality Award winner.