From: Pelham123@pobox.com (Nigel Ballard)
Date: 1996/01/06
organization: The Paperless Office
reply-to: Pelham123@pobox.com
newsgroups: comp.sys.palmtops
January 6th 1996
I believe that by December 1996, PDA manufacturers are either going to have established a firm and profitable foothold in the US marketplace, or they'll walk, possibly run away from it altogether.
Although compartmentalizing is often a risky business, in the case of digital organizers however it is really quite plausible to have a stab at defining the marketplace, and where manufacturers need to go in order to survive.
Even before Microsoft returns with their 'Project Pegasus' Wallet-PC, the battle lines are becoming increasingly evident. Casio have their sort-of colored PDA in the wings. Hyundai decided to take Gulliver back to the drawing board. HP took a cautious entry into the pen-based PDA marketplace with their OmniGo-100 that apart from an abysmal and undersized LCD, No IrdA(Grrr) it is otherwise a nicely rounded product. With Graffiti in ROM and a clever double-hinged case incorporating the option of either pen or keyboard input, It certainly represents very good value.
Psion are trying to establish a firm foothold in the US, but are going about it in a fashion that is less than impressive. For some strange reason Psion seem to think the US/Can market is just like it is in the UK...WRONG! UK companies trading in the US need to define a whole new set of marketing rules.
The current Psion3a, loved and defended by users like no other computing hardware except perhaps for the ever-decreasing Mac O/S userbase. As an alternative to carrying about a bulging DayRunner it is a perfect, albeit a rather expensive replacement.
The proprietary nature of the Psion isn't a problem unless you want to expand the usability beyond what is was intended for. A portable communicator it isn't. With that lumbering great 'soap on a rope' serial cable, and the oh-so 80's 2400bps Psion modem, it is clear that communication was very much an afterthought. Then again the 3a follows on from the equally successful Series 3 and that was designed many years ago, long before anybody who thought they were somebody just HAD to have an Email address, and easy access to it.
Psion clearly want to tap into that cheap sub $300 pocket organizer market with their next retail offering due out real soon now. Take out the SSD storage slots and generally shrink the 3a down, and there you have the next offering, or so I understand.
1997 however, will see the next leap in Psion technology. All that is certain today is that it will be RISC-powered thanks to the Cirrus Logic ARM7100 processor. The 7100 incorporates IrDA InfraRed drivers as well as speech recognition possibilities thanks to a codec interface. And with only an external buffer, the 7100 can accommodate PC-CARD technology. However it is unclear whether Psion will see it is high time to drop their SSD card technologies and fall in line with the general trend of things. My feelings are that Psion will adopt the PC-CARD standard, especially as their Psion-Dacom modem group are heavily into developing PC-CARD hardware.
Psion users have always appreciated the long battery life afforded by good design and power management. The 7100 only consumes a mere 66mW at full speed, and with two low-power modes users can expect very decent battery life.
And what of connectivity? Surely this is the one area Psion developers know they have to excel in if they aren't going to be out-gunned by Japanese offerings. With the cellular GSM specification taking an ever-increasing foothold in the marketplace, and HP already some 10 months ahead of Psion with their soon to ship OmniGo-700. It is almost a sure bet that the next generation hardware will be firmly designed around an electronic pocketable organizer that can both fax, SMS (Short Message Service) and of course Email. The inclusion of a VT100 terminal emulator and ROMed access clients for the likes of CompuServe & AOL will prove almost a necessity for the US market.
And finally what of the Internet? By the end of 1996 the take-up on the World Wide Web will be so great that users will demand portable access to theirs and others web sites. If that means forgoing the graphical interface for a faster more manageable text-based interface, then so be it. A TCP/IP stack would give any hardware heaps of street-credibility, and with the processing speed of a RISC processor and ever-increasing ROM sizes, this is well within the realms of possibility.
I both know and know of, a number of famous individuals in both entertainment and commerce who use and swear by their Psion's. These people for the most part are not computer nerds or OPL hackers. They stick with the product because it looks right, works right, never locks up and manages to delive a reassuring and reliable sense of organisation to their hectic lifestyles.
SHARP The first US Zaurus really failed to take the market by storm. This wasn't expected as the totally different but like-named Japanese Zaurus was the best selling pen-organizer ever! A Possible reason for the failure was due to the designers poor positioning of the product. A sexy looking and quite expensive keyboard/pen-based organizer with NO recognition? Surely not! More than a organizer but less than a Newton, it always stayed in that 'Sharper Image' gadget bracket.
This is set to change now as Sharp have taken into consideration what online users had to say, and are ready to release no less than two new models in the Zaurus product range. Most impressive (on paper anyway) is the ZR-5800 which might well prove to be the Psion/Newton-killer product Sharp are clearly hoping for. The specifications, especially concerning connectivity and document manipulation look so good, and that all important third-party PC-CARD support looks equally well thought out.
More to come when I find the time.
Cheers Nigel
Nigel Ballard (UK) The Paperless Office
Email: pelham123@pobox.com
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