| Palm Universal Connector | |
| Type: | Communication, power supply, USB |
| Superseded: | Palm Serial |
| Superseded By: | Palm Multi-Connector |
| Pin1: | GND |
| Pin1 Name: | Signal - ground |
| Pin2: | USB_D+ |
| Pin2 Name: | Data + USB |
| Pin3: | USB_D- |
| Pin3 Name: | Data - USB |
| Pin4: | VCC |
| Pin4 Name: | USB VBUS |
| Pin5: | HOTSYNC |
| Pin5 Name: | HotSync IRQ - +3.3 V push button |
| Pin6: | N/C |
| Pin6 Name: | not connected |
| Pin7: | GND |
| Pin7 Name: | Signal - ground |
| Pin8: | ID |
| Pin8 Name: | Peripheral ID
|
| Pin9: | Vout |
| Pin9 Name: | power out +3.2 V, 100 mA max. |
| Pin10: | RxD |
| Pin10 Name: | RxD RS-232 in, GPS T |
| Pin11: | TxD |
| Pin11 Name: | TxD RS-232 out, GPS R |
| Pin12: | DETECT |
| Pin12 Name: | Peripheral DETECT |
| Pin13: | CTS |
| Pin13 Name: | CTS RS-232 in |
| Pin14: | RTS |
| Pin14 Name: | RTS RS-232 out |
| Pin15: | DTR |
| Pin15 Name: | DTR RS-232 out |
| Pin16: | CHARGE |
| Pin16 Name: | charge +5 V, 500–700 mA |
The Universal Connector was a standard port fitted to the bottom of many Palm PDAs from 2001 to 2004 and on units from other manufacturers that licensed Palm technology, including Garmin.
Out of the box, it is used to connect to the sync and charge cradle, allowing the Palm to connect to a desktop PC and receive battery power. A range of accessories were also available for the Universal Connector, including folding keyboards, external battery packs, wired and wireless modems, and many more.
The Universal Connector cradles were the first synchronization device that used USB to communicate with the host computer, in addition to the older serial port standard.
Some Palm devices manufactured between 2001 and 2004 did not use the Universal Connector. For instance, the Tungsten E had a mini-USB connector.
The Universal Connector was superseded by the Palm Multi-Connector for the final devices released by Palm, this standard added stereo audio output and mono microphone input.