Released in 1999 by 3Com,[1] the four-ounce (110 g) PDA has an aluminum enclosure containing a Dragonball EZ central processing unit[2] (capable of overclocking to 39 MHz) and 2 MB of memory.

[3] Measuring 4.5 inches (110 mm) tall and less than 0.5 inches (13 mm) thick, the device's 16-shade grayscale display[1] has a backlight and increased resolution from the previous-generation Palm III.

Palm Vs are equipped with a serial port that is electrically though not physically compatible with the EIA-232-D telecommunications standard[1] (the redesigned enclosure design prevents Palm III-compatible accessories from connecting to the port)[2] and a Consumer IR transceiver.

Units sold in late 1999 came pre-loaded with Palm OS version 3.0, though 3.3 was available to download and install.

[2] Writing for TechRepublic in January 2000, Jeff Thompson was enthusiastically full of praise for the Palm V, both for personal and enterprise uses.