Were y’all fancy?
Posted by Alternative-Light514@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 145 comments
I’m pretty sure Blackberry buried Palm Pilots, then iPhone buried Blackberry? I was never important enough to need a Palm device, but did get the Blackberry Pearl.
Alarmed_Drop7162@reddit
The blackberry movie was very good.
That palm pilot guy was a dick.
TheBillionHeir@reddit
HP iPAQ h1915
CokBlockinWinger@reddit
I got one of these for free from a friend who just bought the newest tech, got bored and moved on right away.
I used it to keep my gig schedule on order until some flavor of the week the bassist was with ran over my cord bag I kept it in, crushing it. At least I didn’t pay for it.
n8rzz@reddit
Graffiti was awesome! I miss the stylus sometimes.
Endent@reddit
I ran with this!
063anon@reddit
Had a palm, then treo, on to blackberry been on android since
Endent@reddit
I ran with this! https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51pqhQ29lxL.AC_SL1000.jpg
pennie79@reddit
I had a palm pilot from my mid 20s until i got an Android phone. I had to carry my A6 planner in my handbag anyway, and replace the inserts every few months, so it made sense to get a palm pilot to replace that. They weren't prohibitively expensive by that time.
The main issue is that it crashed and lost my data from time to time, so I'd have to back it up on my pc every night. Then my o/s no longer supported the sync software, at which point I switched to a smart phone.
Paquistino@reddit
I used to sell these at the electronics booth at the airport when I was in college. Businessmen used to drool over these things. It was a battle between these and Windows CE devices. I was 18-19ish and never had any use for them personally.
UnslakableTemperance@reddit
Yeah, Sony Clié. I mainly used it to keep track of my various Collection Lists. I could check them easily on the go instead if carrying a paper list/folder.
It was a different time.
Crans10@reddit
Handspring my parents had then I got.
BikesAndBBQ@reddit
Where’s my Treo gang? We had smart phones before there were smart phones. And datebk6 is still the best calendar/todo app I’ve ever used.
NavierIsStoked@reddit
Pocket PC.
lucidspoon@reddit
I had a Compaq iPAQ and a Dell Axim.
I bought a Bluetooth GPS module and made the Axim a ghetto navigation system.
-DementedAvenger-@reddit
Cingular 8525 owner checking in!
But I also had a Palm Pilot a few years before that.
lucidspoon@reddit
I had a Compaq iPAQ and a Dell Axim.
I bought a Bluetooth GPS module and made the Axim a ghetto navigation system.
LeftOn4ya@reddit
I had a Dell PocketPC
flxtime@reddit
Remember windows CE??
avalonfaith@reddit
Ha d a flip one of these!
Eastern_Reality_9438@reddit
My dad worked for Palm back in 2000/01 and most of us got few Palm Pilots and I had this exact one. I thought I was the shit because I had the HotSync cradle and everything.
mudley801@reddit
Not THAT fancy. I had a pager in high school.
mxtrekkie@reddit
My uncle gave me his used one after he upgraded as a graduation gift in '02. I tried to use it, but I'm not kind of person who would use a palm pilot lol
Bradjuju2@reddit
Who tf has time for a mid day racquetball before a staff meeting? Let alone time to go lunch with Larry Linder?
SatansFriendlyCat@reddit
Had the Treo (Palm Pilot + Cellphone) because I worked a job which had multiple appointments per day, and the calendar and notes were essential.
Absolutely loved it, even though it was half-way outdated from new. They broke easily, though, and the cellular functionality was buggy as all hell - like, really bad and so very often just quietly not working so you'd be missing calls and have no idea.
Eventually moved to a Samsung with a keyboard but missed the efficient UX of the Treo, and the charm of graffiti.
Also enjoyed a Sharp Zaurus like another guy in the comments did (Linux-based PDA with a keyboard!).
And a Psion 5a! - Absolutely fantastic little machine, with a remarkably good keyboard and decent resolution for the day. I just wished it had been DOS compatible as well for some basic have and tools.
Later, I had some sort of Early PocketPC running what I think would have turned into Windows CE?
And earlier than any of these, various little Sharp databank things (basically a calculator screen and a keyboard, used for not much more than phone numbers and addresses, really - 1-4kb storage) including a real early one which was only a touchscreen!
The touchscreen one deserves more of a mention because it was rectangular, like a layer, and had clearly visible perforation-like marks across the screen in a grid pattern.
The touch was purely pressure-based and though it came with a stylus there was no actual freehand input of any sort, it was basically just a tiny finger to press the distinct segments of the screen which acted like buttons. Like a constantly changing keyboard, really, as what was under each segment changed according to what you were doing.
Still had no more effective functionality than the other PDAs of the time, but looked and felt so much more futuristic. Loved it!
Gadgets used to be so different from one another.
SeanReillyEsq@reddit
I worked in a consumer electronics store in the late 90s straight out of school and as a technical field marketing rep in the early 2000s.
I had an original Palm Pilot, followed by a transparent blue Handspring Visor, then finally a Sharp Zarus SL-5500 which was an awesome Linux based PDA. I never owned any Windows CE products but I did some tactical work launching a Pocket PC based phone in several major stores in London Tottenham Court Road, Heathrow and Gatwick.
Not fancy, just nerdy.
SatansFriendlyCat@reddit
The Zaurus was pretty sweet, ay. A proper tiny computer.
XPav@reddit
I had a Palm III and then a VX and wow I was hot shit
Ezio_Auditore35@reddit
Does anyone else wonder how lunch went with Larry??
freezingprocess@reddit
I had a Palm Pilot until I got my first smartphone. To be fair, I mostly played bejeweled on the Pilot.
To be even more fair, that is exactly what I did on my 1st phone as well.
Fuckspez42@reddit
I had this one, a Palm 3, and a Handspring Visor.
I also had (still have, actually) several Apple Newtons.
DrMcJedi@reddit
I had an OG Palm Pilot that my dad was given from Palm trying to sell them to his company, a Palm III that I bought to replace it, and ultimately a TX that I got instead of a feature phone to go with my Nokia candy bar phone that couldn’t text…
Peanut083@reddit
Nope. I thought having a Filofax was the height of fancy back in 2008. That thing ruled my life for the year. I was so into it that I bought the inserts for 2009, then never ended up using the darn thing ever again.
TBF, I popped out a crotch goblin right at the end of 2008, which probably explains both why the Filofax ruled my life in 2008, and why I really didn’t need it in 2009. I didn’t get my first smartphone until either the end of 2010 or the very start of 2011.
thefanum@reddit
LOVED my palm pilot
OutcomeLegitimate618@reddit
I'm an only child and I got my dad's hand me down tech as soon as he upgraded. Can't remember if it was blackberry or palm, but I got something like that. It had a keyboard.
Disastrous-Bee-1557@reddit
MAILBOXHED@reddit
Beat me to it.
AndyVanSlyke@reddit
Eat em tit
quickstop_rstvideo@reddit
I had Grey Poupon.
Toblogan@reddit
✋ I had two different models, both useless. I would of been better off with a small notebook. But I didn't keep notes to begin with... Oh bother.
Traditional_Entry183@reddit
I've never owned one, but I sold a ton of them working at Office Depot.
CorgiMonsoon@reddit
My undergrad bookstore suddenly started selling Palm Pilots like crazy in either my junior or senior year. I remember a bunch of people bought them, mostly using student loan money. I almost did myself, but luckily I came to the conclusion that this gizmo was not going to make me start being more organized when I’d tried numerous times with paper planners that I always abandoned after a week or two.
I did eventually become a somewhat early iPhone user, getting my first one in early March of 2008
DifficultMinute@reddit
I had the Handspring Visor, which was a knock off blackberry.
No clue why I thought I needed something like that, but it tracked and controlled my whole life for like six months lol
FearMeIAmRoot@reddit
Not a knock off. Handspring was created by the original Palm developers, because they weren't happy with 3Com leading Palm. I had a Visor, followed by the Handspring Treo phones.
DifficultMinute@reddit
Hm. TIL. I bought it back in 99 because it was half of the price of Palm Pilots, so I always assumed it was some Office Center brand lmao.
Loved that thing though.
FearMeIAmRoot@reddit
Yeah, super interesting history. They eventually re-merged with the original Palm in 2003, but kept the Handspring name for phones and other accessory products.
Leia1979@reddit
To clarify, they kept the Treo name for the smartphones. The company went by palmOne after the merger and then back to just Palm.
I worked there post-merger and still have a bunch of devices that are probably long dead.
SeanReillyEsq@reddit
Transparent Blue Handspring was so cool. Traded in my original Palm Pilot for it, then traded the handspring in for Sharp Zarus.
litchick@reddit
I LOVED my handspring and then I lost a bunch of notes I typed into it for a British literature class. Sad.
johntwilker@reddit
I had the translucent visor. LOVED IT! Such a weird and great device LOL
oskich@reddit
I used to impress people by sending and receiving emails via the IR-connection and my Nokia phone, real futuristic stuff back in 1999 😁
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Nokia + Palm could have buried everyone. But that wasn't our timeline...
johntwilker@reddit
LOL! i'd forgotten that!
what heady times !
flxtime@reddit
I had the song clie. The “design” version of palm.
I used it to play drug wars
oskich@reddit
Still have my Visor Deluxe in working condition. That phone-addon was some real science fiction stuff 😁
Cunning-Linguist2@reddit
I had a Visor a few years out of college. I worked on a trading desk and loved to play Drug Wars on it. I was early on the taking your device to the toilet thing and one early morning I dropped it in the toilet....Sigh.
trousershark22@reddit
I got my first blackberry right before iPhone came out 🤦🏻♂️
cbih@reddit
Blackberry had incredible security features
5ubatomix@reddit
They were still used by the Canadian Military as recently as the Covid era if I’m told correctly
cbih@reddit
I've heard the most secure cell phone is and old iPod touch with WiFi calling
Money_Magnet24@reddit
If you haven’t seen this movie, you will love it
Title: BlackBerry (2023)
DaoMooa@reddit
totally thought wallpaper was the height of luxury
Cross_22@reddit
I had an Apple Newton PDA.
Fanboying for Apple 10 years before it became popular!
Ryuujin_13@reddit
I started writing my first book on some rudimentary word processor on a colour Sony Clie and a pop-out keyboard. Good times.
fauxshoyall@reddit
I was wondering if there was any other CLIÉ users in here. I remember liking it.
Ryuujin_13@reddit
I was a big fan. The UI worked really well, especially for what I needed at the time.
Lululemonparty_@reddit
They made us have these in med school. They were so dumb
TopRedacted@reddit
I had a Compaq Ipaq that ran windows CE. I was too fancy for your black and white screen. I had a fold up keyboard and Microsoft office.
MN_Dad@reddit
Are we the same person?
TopRedacted@reddit
Are you playing D&D this weekend?
Nancy-Drew-Who@reddit
My dad gave me one of his old Palm Pilots when I went off to college in 2001, I guess to help me stay organized? It was actually more of a hassle than to just keep my calendar and notes in an actual notebook, so I never really used it.
Eric848448@reddit
My high school math teacher carried his in a belt holster.
Confident-Cellist-25@reddit
I had a Sony Clié in college. I went from carrying around a Franklin planner to the Clié and I’ve never gone back to paper!
Dimplefrom-YA@reddit
Sudama
Mexican_Boogieman@reddit
I had ADHD growing up. Not OCD. And we were/are poor working class folks. Now not as poor. I hope. The current economic reports aren’t coming out, so we really won’t know for sure until they do. So nah. Not fancy. Back to my undiagnosed ADHD life of getting easily distracted. Like all the time.
ValancyNeverReadsit@reddit
Here’s my belief on what happened surrounding these sorts of things at my house: 1) my mom heard that kids with pagers/palm pilots/early cellphones used them to buy drugs; 2) my dad was way too cheap to buy stuff he wasn’t personally interested in
Apprehensive-Stay196@reddit
Not me, my dad. I can still hear his palm pilot alarms going off …
cbih@reddit
I had a Palm Treo that I loved
neogrinch@reddit
I had an HTC Apache in mid to late 00s... loved that thing. I got my first android phone soon after that.. Samsung Galaxy S.
GarminTamzarian@reddit
https://i.redd.it/i5n19c1bmn3g1.gif
Pharmere@reddit
I played many hours of Dope Wars!
supergirlsudz@reddit
Now this just makes me think of Todd from RHOSLC!
ScaredOfTrolls32@reddit
i was fancier, i had the color handspring
middlepathways@reddit
Oh yes super fancy... First phone was the Nokia flip phone. My final Nokia flip lasted well over 10 years! Finally succumbed to carrying around a pocket computer in 2015 😬
All you fancy rich kids with your palmpilots and your blackberries...
FRNLD@reddit
O yeah.
I'm pretty sure mine was a palm IIIxe.
I was able to take pretty good notes in highschool with the palm shorthand and stylus.
Eventually, I moved up to a Compaq pocket PC.
johnnybluejeans@reddit
Yes! I had a Palm V with the cellular modem attachment! It was slow as hell but was great for killing time outside between classes in college.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
I had¹ a IIIe. It was fun but entirely frivolous. Still loved it though.
RoyalZeal@reddit
By the time I was able to get a Palm Pilot they had just gone away, was always sad because it seemed to make a really solid purpose built device. Loved my Blackberry, especially the Pearl. Miss physical keyboards something fierce.
PhatBoyFlim@reddit
I had one and I fucking hated it.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
My dad wasted money on palm pilots. They were borderline useless but such false starts were necessary to get us to the Blackberry.
Dartmouthest@reddit
Yes I had one but I used it exclusively to play Dope Wars on the bus ride home from uni
exquisite_corpse_wit@reddit
Mother got one and never really adopted it, so I inherited it pretty quickly
TerrakSteeltalon@reddit
My boss gave me permission to get one back into 2001 or so.
It was honestly pretty worthless
16yearswasted@reddit
As a teen I got a part-time job just so I could buy a Palm Pilot. That device got me through my last year of high school and kept me vaguely amused while taking public transportation to work for three hours a day.
To this day my cursive writing still resembles the Graffiti symbols used by these devices.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
My ex girlfriend got a palm pilot from her dad for her 18th or 19th birthday. She didn't ask for it and I don't think she was all that interested in it, but her dad was kind of a gizmo guy and would give her stuff like that. The previous year he gave her a CD burner.
Anyway, she did her best to use it for a little bit and probably used it for about a month. Later on she was cleaning crap out of her room and said I could have it. I used it probably once and then it spent the next 10ish years gathering dust in a little basket next to my bed before I finally tossed it.
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
I miss my crackberry
In hindsight tho, the various phantom buzzes we'd get from them were a warning for how addicted the world became to smartphones.
lakotazz@reddit
My current calendar and contacts are the evolution of my 1997 Palm Pilot, which I probably exported back in \~2002.
herseyhawkins33@reddit
Loved my handspring visor deluxe! Fond memories of syncing it with my computer in the mornings to get the sporting news and NY times lol
lazymanschair1701@reddit
I had a tapwave zodiac, a late palm device
muhredditone@reddit
Yeah, you have it right. Blackberry killed Palm, and Apple killed Blackberry. I had two Palms, so I felt it when Blackberry killed them. Then 3 Blackberry's until Apple killed them.
swallowingpanic@reddit
bubblet was such a great game
Plenty-Confection-12@reddit
I actually found my palm pilot stylus in a drawer the other day. We've moved twice since I remember actually using a palm pilot (gigitty still so many good jokes there), so not sure how it ended up in a new piece of furniture.
I probably found it somewhere else, went "huh, how 'bout that?" Then absent mindedly walked it right back into another drawer. Ya know - in case I needed it.
Felinius@reddit
Had one in college, was a gift from my father. It was busted when I was clipped by a car in my work parking lot.
rumblepak1@reddit
I sure did have one. My college job actually bought it for me because our job required us to keep a schedule AND we had to show other university staff how to use them as well. It turned out to be one of the most useful pieces of tech that I could have at the time. Graduated to a Handspring Visor, to the Treos, then finally to the iPhone 3G.
UndoxxableOhioan@reddit
No, I didn’t have money. I wanted one.
PilotC150@reddit
I had one that I was supposed to use to help me keep track of school assignments and homework. I never got into the rhythm of using it, so it basically just sat and collected dust.
Rhediix@reddit
I had Casio Day Planner PDA's throughout high school, in which I stored phone numbers, and addresses but they were cheap (about $15) and usually got damaged in my very heavy backpack.
My first cell phone that wasn't a flip or brick phone (so around 2005) was a Palm One Treo. Which essentially was one of these with a phone on it, and a color screen. I remember I was so proud of myself and showed it off to everyone, but it cost a ton to download stuff, the apps were buggy, and the keyboard (though cool) was hard to type on because the keys were stiff and too close together.
Now the humorous thing is that I worked at Sears from 2003-2016, and we used something called a SNC to do everything from markdowns to inventory control. A SNC was essentially that very PalmPilot you have up in the image housed in a chassis containing a scanning sled and RF transmitter/receiver for the printer (which hardly ever worked). So though I wasn't cool in the late 90's when these came out, I suppose I got to use this very item for 13 years later on.
leeu1@reddit
Darn. I miss mine.
Recent_Permit2653@reddit
We kinda were. My Pa had a Palm Pilot very briefly, and another Casio organizer thing. He didn’t really take to either one, and thus began my family’s DayRunner era lol.
Blackberries actually made sense especially for my Ma (Silicon Valley high level administrative assistant).
We were fancy in other ways. I wouldn’t say we were a stereotypical Silicon Valley family. My parents kinda ended up in Silicon Valley more by happenstance than because they were tech people. But being there, it creeps into your life. I remember the Mac SE30 we had when I was little, and an OG Motorola flip cell phone in the mid 90s. We were…fancy lite lol.
Frunklin@reddit
Does this count as fancy?
Sidetrackbob@reddit
Naw dude I was using map quest until about '08!
Euphoric_Egg_4198@reddit
I still have mine in the miscellaneous cables and old tech drawer 😆 I went to school full time in an accelerated program plus held down 2 jobs and eventually an internship. I also still have my engraved metal iPod and the newer one that looked like an iPhone, those still work!
YarItsDrivinMeNuts@reddit
Still one of my greatest* dad jokes. Hang on everyone! Let me check my Palm Pilot!! And than pull out my empty but open hand from my pocket. Kills em every time
PinkFloydDeadhead@reddit
I learned a whole new way of half writing letters!
ShortBrownAndUgly@reddit
I had a buddy whose family tended to get the latest gadgets and he had one in high school, around 2000. He showed it to me when it was new but I don’t recall ever seeing him use it again
drowevil2@reddit
When I graduated Basic Training one of the first things I bought was a Palm Pilot and Eminems new CD. I never once figured out a way to incorporate the a Palm Pilot into my daily life and I eventually threw it away some 10 years later I think. The Eminem CD on the other hand my son still listen a to.
Professional-Car9621@reddit
Not in ‘97 during my Jr year of HS
rels83@reddit
I had a blue translucent one
AskTheAdmin@reddit
Yes! I loved my dope wars
jfabad1821@reddit
Best calendar ever, no calendar has ever come close.
crzytech1@reddit
Absolutely, had the m505, Tungsten T3, then the LifeDrive.
Took all my notes in school on the m505 with the thin keyboard, way more convenient than lugging around a laptop.
Dailied the OneDrive right up to 2011 when I finally got a smart phone. Missed it for years until calendars in Android caught up (colours etc).
AmbassadorCheap3956@reddit
Palm Pilot is what the kids called me once I hit puberty.
1northfield@reddit
mindpivot@reddit
FemaleMishap@reddit
Loved my palm pilot. Bloody wrote a novel on that thing.
Key_Awareness_3036@reddit
Never had one!
graveybrains@reddit
My favorite Christmas gift was a palm pilot, because when my family bought it for me they don't realize they'd been given the box for the display model.
So, I got an empty box for Christmas that year.
Stardustquarks@reddit
I played a lot of Drug Wars on my Palm Pilot…
SemicolonGuitars@reddit
The nursing program I was in bought us all m505s with full unlocked ePocrates access as a trial program for technology integration.
Quetzalsacatenango@reddit
There were rumors at one point that Palm would buy Apple.
uniquecleverusername@reddit
Racquetball on the schedule certainly adds to the layers of 90-ness.
defrench@reddit
My college dorm-mate didn’t like it, but I NEEDED to play brick breaker for about an hour on this before going to bed
gibson85@reddit
In high school, I had a Palm IIIe that I would sync every morning so I could read the news during study hall. Years later it eventually broke and I replaced it with a Handspring Visor, then an iPod, then an iPod Touch, and then an iPhone.
Cool little devices!
PlantedinCA@reddit
I had a Windows CE machine with an external modem. 😂
Dagonus@reddit
I had a palm! Dad had one for work and when they told him they were scraping the palms, but he could keep it if he wanted to, he handed it to me.
Also how I got my first laptop and desktop that were not shared with the family.
TheREALBaldRider@reddit
I had one in high school but never used it to its full potential.
mysecretissafe@reddit
I had a Royal DaVinci bc I couldn’t afford a PalmPilot.
dollheads@reddit
I remember trying to decide if I wanted a Palm Pilot Centro or a BlackBerry Curve circa 2008. The Centro was cuter, but I ended up going with the Curve based on bbm fomo.
hind3rm3@reddit
Had one supplied by my employer, super handy when walking around the factory floor.
Jimmy_McAltPants@reddit
I got one in 2002, used it for about a year. I almost got a Palm Treo phone in 2003 or 2004, but didn’t want to spend the money on the data plan at that point. My work gave me a blackberry in 2006, I’ve been too connected ever since.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
I was fancy despite being entirely unimportant at work. They just had money to burn and gave me one of these.
Myrtle_Snow_@reddit
I had a palm pilot. I did help me stay organized and I think the novelty of it encouraged me to use it. Funny enough I switched back to paper planners like 10 years ago because electronic ones felt too overwhelming. Now I’m using an electronic notebook on my iPad as a planner. Lol full circle I guess.
bio4m@reddit
I had one of the budget models, the m500 I believe. It was cool at first but had limited use for me.
I picked it up on sale for $99, and stopped using it in a few months
usernames_suck_ok@reddit
Was what I was gonna say.
Besides, weren't we, like...college age when these things were "in"?
"Oh, Palm Pilot to schedule my classes and assignments!"
ElectroSpore@reddit
I had a PalmPilot in post secondary as I was taking computer related studies.. I was very much an outlier but ya I had one, loved it even with its limitations.
Most of what it did became one "APP" in Windows mobile / Blackberry devices before iPhone/Android took over.
Compannacube@reddit
I had a palm pilot. It was great for staying organized. I really miss it.