From my memory of what Palm devices were like then and seeing what's happened since, IMHO Apple dodged a bullet there. Palm was an overvalued, overhyped company with a product line that was already hitting technical limits due to design ties to a too-slow processor and too-small screen, and one that's spent all the time since fighting to stay up-to-date and relevant.
OT - a bit of checking a while back revealed that the larger current Smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S are roughly the same footprint as an old Psion Revo. I never had a Revo but did have a 5Mx and could touch-type on it fast enough to take notes. How I would love to have a phone with a keyboard that good, not the silly little things we get stuck with now.
I have a Palm Pre. Previous Palm devices weren't that great from the little I've used them. WebOS is amazing though. It is, without exaggeration, the best piece of software I've ever used.
OT - a bit of checking a while back revealed that the larger current Smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S are roughly the same footprint as an old Psion Revo. I never had a Revo but did have a 5Mx and could touch-type on it fast enough to take notes. How I would love to have a phone with a keyboard that good, not the silly little things we get stuck with now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Revo