TheAgenda VR3 was the name of the first "pureLinux"Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),[1] released in May 2001 byAgenda Computing, Inc. ofIrvine, California.[2] TheLinux Documentation Project considers the VR3 to be a "true Linux PDA" because the manufacturers installed Linux-based operating systems on them by default.[3]
The VR3 was unveiled atLinuxWorld Conference and Expo in August 2000[4] by Agenda Computing, which was at the time "a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly traded electronics manufacturing giant,Kessel International Holdings, based inHong Kong." A developer model, theVR3d, was available by December.[5]
By late 2001, theVR3's price dropped from $249 to $119 at some US retailers, which caused some to wonder whether the promisedVR5 (a color handheld) was to be released, or Agenda Computing was closing shop.[6]
In April 2002, after the demise of Agenda Computing,[7] theSoftfield Vr3 became available fromSoftfield Technologies ofToronto, Ontario, Canada.[8] As of July 2008, the device is still available from SoftField.[9]
The VR3 was 4.5"x3.0"x0.8". It included a 2.25"x3.25", 160x240pixel,monochrome,backlitLCDtouchscreen. It utilized a 66MHzMIPSCPU with 8MB ofRAM and 16MB of built-inFlash memory for storage.
For input, it included push buttons for actions (such as Page-Up and Down, and Left and Right),stylus-activated power on/off, on-screen hard buttons for launching applications and a built-inmicrophone jack.
It also included a notification buzzer, anLED notification light, anIrDA port and anRS-232 port. It was powered by twoAAA batteries, and connected toPCs via an RS-232 cable, or adocking station that the cable connected to. Both contained a button for activatingsync software.
The VR3 came with a 2.4.0 version of theLinux kernel,XFree86, theRxvt terminal emulator, theBash shell,[10] and a user interface based on theFLTK GUI library.[11] It includedon-screenkeyboard andhandwriting recognition software, a number ofpersonal information management (PIM) applications (including an expense tracker, e-mail, to-do list, contacts list, and schedule), games, and other tools. Several games were also included, including card games and clones ofSpace Invaders andTetris.[12][13]
It is possible totelnet,FTP[14] and make remoteX connections to the device.
Numerous applications were created bythird-party developers, with theAgenda Software Repository listing nearly 200 titles by the end of 2003.[15] Severalopen-source video games were produced by New Breed Software,[16] Karl Bartel,[17] Dhiraj Gaurh,[18] Delorie Software,[19] and others.[20][21] Several of whom would also support theSharp Zaurus PDA which also ran Linux.
The VR3 comes with many card games to get you through the most boring of business meetings. A Space Invaders clone and a Tetris-like game were also released into the current distributions. These are the first of many games that I'm sure will end up being ported or created specifically for the VR3.
It also has some cleanly ported standard Linux games, including solitaire and checkers.
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