Status Symbols: Palm V

PDAs weren’t beautiful until Palm decided to change that

But none of these devices were built with design truly in mind. Not Palm’s, not anyone’s. They were strictly utilitarian, a way for businesspeople to quickly check a phone number before thrusting this impossibly boring, boxy, gray gadget back into their suit pocket. They weren’t pretty, they didn’t capture the eye. Even Apple, now considered a benchmark for industrial design worldwide, was producing dark gray rectangles.