Pip-Boy 3000

The Pip-Boy 3000 is an arm-mounted electronic Personal Information Processor (PIP) manufactured by RobCo Industries in the mid-21st century.

History
The Pip-Boy 3000A (the model the player is equipped with, though it is indicated there are other models, with A being one of the oldest) has been programmed by Pip-Boy developers with numerous functions which include displaying a wearer's stats, area maps, inventory, item properties, and a Geiger counter. In addition, a Pip-Boy is equipped with a radio and its screen doubles as a lamp. A user can set their color preference for the display. The four colors available are Amber, Blue, Green, and White. This has to be changed through the pause menu rather than the Pip-Boy itself.

Stats Tab

 * Status
 * Displays the user's Condition, Radiation Levels and any Effects that are currently active.
 * CND - Status of limbs, and enables directional application of stimpaks to crippled areas or to the body as a whole.
 * RAD - Precise reading of user's radiation level using internal Geiger Counter and options to administer Rad-X and RadAway as necessary.
 * EFF - Displays effects of currently equipped clothing, radiation level, chemicals the user has ingested, the well rested function, any addictions the user may have and any crippled limbs.
 * S.P.E.C.I.A.L
 * Displays the user's S.P.E.C.I.A.L information as well as indicating positive or negative effects on their levels.
 * Skills
 * Displays the user's skill levels as well as indicating positive or negative effects on them.
 * Perks
 * Displays a comprehensive list of the user's perks.
 * General
 * Gives a rough indication of the user's Karma level and gives various interesting pieces of information about the user and their actions. See General Stats.

Items Tab

 * Weapons
 * Gives a readout of the stats of all weapons that the user is carrying on their person and aids in repairing of them.
 * Apparel
 * Gives a readout of the stats of clothing the user is carrying and, similar to weapons, aids in their repair.
 * Aid
 * Shows the stats of any food or medical items the user is carrying.
 * Misc
 * Shows any items that do not fall into any of the above categories.
 * Ammo
 * Gives details on the types and amounts of ammunition that the user is carrying.

Extra Information

 * Weight
 * Show how much weight the user is carrying/the maximum that the user should be carrying at any time.
 * HP
 * How many Hit Points the user has/the full Hit Points the user has.
 * AP
 * How many Action Points the user has/the full Action Points the user has.
 * XP
 * How many Experience Points the user has to level up.
 * Bottle caps
 * How many Bottle caps the user has.

Data Tab

 * Local Map
 * Shows a detailed map of the user's local area.
 * World Map
 * Shows a complete map of the area the user is residing in, allowing new locations to be automatically added when discovered. It also features a quest-linked map marker which appears on the Pip-Boy HUD as a large, solid arrow and guides you to your current quest destination. There is also a secondary, user-selectable marker that can be positioned anywhere on the map and provides the same real-time guidance. This marker appears on the Pip-Boy HUD as a large, unfilled arrow.
 * Quests
 * Shows any quests the user has been given as well as a record of those completed. Can also link an active quest to the Local and Global maps.
 * Notes
 * A record of notes that the user has obtained and allows playback of holotapes and paper notes
 * Radio
 * A built in radio receiver that can tune into local radio stations.

Pip-Boy light
The display of the Pip-Boy 3000 can be set to an over-bright mode, and used to illuminate an area immediately around the user, acting as a makeshift light in darkened areas. The user's color preference will not affect the color of the light, and even though the display is located on the PC's arm, and is usually facing away from the player while not in use, it still provides 360 degree, three-dimensional lighting.

To activate the Pip-Boy Light, hold down the Pip-Boy access button. The default Pip-Boy access buttons are  for PC, O for PS3, and B for Xbox. The Pip-Boy light can be deactivated the same way.

Note that the Pip-Boy light understandably makes you easier to detect while sneaking, even in broad daylight and with a Stealth Boy active or while wearing the Chinese Stealth Armor.

Functions (Fallout: New Vegas)
The Pip-Boy 3000 that the Courier is given from Doc Mitchell functions exactly the same as its Fallout 3 counterpart. The only differences are that the default interface color is set to Amber as the default instead of Green, and the world map will display your reputation with the associated faction of a region you highlight. It also seems that it is not permanently sealed to one's arm like the ones of the vault dwellers in Fallout 3, as Doc Mitchell was able to remove it from himself, and the player is able to remove it to switch to to the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion

Pimp-Boy 3 Billion
The Pimp-Boy 3 Billion can be obtained from Mick, the arms dealer located in Freeside at Mick & Ralph's. In order to get this item you must first inquire as to why the Omertas stopped buying arms from them. You can find the Omertas in the Gomorrah Casino in New Vegas. When you speak to the Omertas during their quest be sure to ask about why they no longer buy arms from Mick & Ralph's. Get them to continue to buy arms from them and return to their shop. Even if you kill the Omertas you can still get the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion. Mick will comment about the death of the Omertas but you will still have the option to tell him they will buy from him again. You will then obtain the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion. You can switch back to the regular Pip-Boy by simply asking Mick to switch it back and you can switch back to the Pimp-Boy again the same way.

Glove
The Pip-Boy glove is a separate item, with a weight of 0, a health of 10000, an armor rating of 0, and curiously, a value of 30. However the item is marked as unplayable and therefore cannot be removed and sold. It fits over the left hand, and has a dial on the back of the hand, presumably to represent control of volume for the Pip-Boy.

Bugs

 * When viewing the player in Third Person, the Pip-Boy 3000 glows green. It has been known to stay glowing as you bring it up to your face, rendering it almost impossible to read it. Usually, you can just exit the menu and turn it off for it to work, if not restarting the game. The easiest way of removing the green light is to turn on your Pip-Boy light which usually gets rid off the green light if not enter a house and load the autosave, at which point the green light should be gone.
 * There is a bug where the top of the Pip-Boy screen is cut off, it usually happens when viewing the Pip-boy while getting shot at,. This may be due to using the Chinese Stealth Armor.
 * When viewing the maps section of the Pip-Boy and then pausing for a period of time the background will disappear. Easily fixed by lowering and raising it again.
 * Ocassionally, if one steps out of a building an directly opens the pip-boy, the screen will be highly lit causing the screen to be almost unreadable. To fix this, load a previous (auto)save.

Behind the scenes
It would appear that at one time or another, the PipBoy 3000 was going to have a tunable radio, (possibly for hidden radio stations in certain locations) a far more GPS-like map feature and a more digital font judging by concept art found in the textures archive under interfaces/shared. (shown right)

Video
thumb|350px|left|Official Commercial 