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Palm to intro new models
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July 24, 2000: 4:58 p.m. ET
Handheld device maker to unveil two new devices, news reports say
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Palm Inc., the leading maker of "personal digital assistants," is set to unveil two new models next month, according to reports in the trade press and a Bear Stearns analyst.
The two new models would be the first change to Palm's product lineup since the company introduced the IIIxe and the IIIc last February. The IIIc was Palm's first handheld device with a color screen, and it featured 8 megabytes of memory.
According to the press reports, Palm (PALM: Research, Estimates) is going to introduce a new low-end product called the M100 aimed at students, as opposed to the mobile professional market for which the Palm III is intended. The ZDNet Web site shows pictures of the M100, which has a curved case and five removable front plates colored silver, gold, black, royal and light blue.
Press reports on ZDNet and other computer news Web sites say that the M100 will be priced at $149, the same price as the competing Handspring Visor, which has an expansion slot that can turn it into an MP3 player, pager, GPS receiver, video arcade, and other devices.
Palm said on June 27 that it will introduce a postage stamp-sized expansion slot for its handheld computers in early 2001. A "secure digital" card will fit into the slot. These cards will be able to make backup copies of data, access digital media like electronic books, maps or MP3 files, or be used with the Bluetooth standard for wireless connectivity.
News about the M100 first appeared on the Web site PDA Geek. Officials at Palm, which has not officially announced the new models, could not be reached for comment.
New Palm VII on the way
Separately, Palm is planning to update its wireless Palm VII, which is now a year old and is the high-end of the company's product line, selling for $449. The new version of the Palm VII will expand the unit's memory to 8 megabytes from the current 2 megabytes, according to press reports on computer news Web sites. In addition, the color of the device will be changed to slate gray, and it will ship with a series of new applications.
 "We are encouraged by the new product launches, which are timed in front of the back to school season," said Bear Stearns analyst Andrew Neff in a research note issued Monday. "While a low-end product would have margins below Palm's corporate average of 39 percent, we have already incorporated this expectation into our revenue and margin assumptions."
Neff expects Palm's revenue to rise 120 percent in the quarter ending in August to $389 million. Palm's stock declined 2-1/4 to 36-1/16 in late trading Monday, amid a broad-based decline in the Nasdaq. The company's stock is 79 percent below its 52-week high of 165, but almost double its 52-week low of 19-7/8. 
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Palm Inc.
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