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Sony to Unveil Palm-Based PDA

Handheld device will compete with Handspring and Pocket PC this holiday shopping season.

By Reuters   

The move adds the consumer electronics giant's name to a growing list of competitors in the hot market for handheld organizers first made popular by Palm, a majority-owned unit of 3Com. Others vying for space in the market include software powerhouse Microsoft and Handspring, founded by the creators of the Palm.

Sony had struck a licensing agreement with Palm late last year, allowing its device to run on Palm's operating systems.

Sony said on Monday its pocketbook-sized personal digital assistant, as the device is being called until it comes up with a formal name, will include such standard features as calendar and address book functions. In addition, it features a slot that allows users to store additional memory in a "Memory Stick" card that can be removed from the device, the company said.

By the end of March 2001 Sony plans to introduce a stick card that can store up to 128MB and a 256MB stick card the year after. Its current stick cards can store up to 64MB.

The gadget also features a "Jog Dial" control, which allows users to scroll and open applications on the device with one hand, without the need of a stylus or pen-like item used by most electronic organizers, Sony spokesperson David Yang says. A stylus will be needed, however, to perform other functions such as editing or entering data within an application, he says.

The digital assistant is expected to be on store shelves in time for the key holiday selling season.

Though it will not have wireless capabilities to access the Internet, it features some audio-visual capabilities, Yang says, though he would not elaborate. Sony is, however, planning to include digital imaging capabilities in the device, he says.