A Rocket in Its Pocket

Palm Computing's Pilot is a sleek, 5.7-ounce gizmo that is slightly wider and longer than a pack of cards, but it is thinner. Unlike some other personal digital assistants (PDA), it will not send faxes, collect e-mail or track expenses. What it will do is keep the user organized. Since the Pilot was introduced in April, retailers can barely keep the $299-device in stock. The pilot was created by PDA veterans Jeffrey Hawkins and Edward Colligan. Last summer, when Palm was running out of money, U.S. Robotics purchased all of Palm for $44 million. Today, Palm's marketing goal is to make Pilot the standard for corporations trying to keep traveling employees' schedules and databases in sync.