Hitachi PC Makes a Fashion Statement

Hitachi will roll out a wearable PC and companion head-mount display for business users in February, the company announced on Tuesday.

The WIA-100NB Wearable Internet Appliance will allow workers to access the Internet or intranets and to browse data while keeping their hands free. The head-mount display, which can be placed in front of an eye with or without glasses, gives the user the illusion of a 13-inch display in front of their eyes and has an SVGA (800 by 600 pixel) resolution, Hitachi says in a statement.

Aimed at workers on the move, Hitachi has tried to keep the weight of the computer and display to a minimum. The entire set weighs under 18 ounces, including a 11-ounce main appliance, an 2.8-ounce head-mount display, and other peripherals such as a cable. The main appliance measures 5.5 inches by 3.5 inches by 1 inch, the statement says.

The product uses Microsoft's Windows CE as its operating system and can be operated by a pointing device that allows a finger to trace the cursor around the screen and click on items in view.

The WIA-100NB features Hitachi's SuperH 32-Bit 128-MHz RISC processor, 32MB of memory, a Compact Flash slot, and a USB interface. The battery lasts for 3 hours, according to Hitachi.

Let's Make a Deal

The company developed this product and supplied it to the U.S.-based wearable computer maker Xybernaut on an original equipment manufacturer base under a license agreement, which was completed between the two companies in June last year, Hitachi says.

Xybernaut will market the device under its brand name in the U.S. as the Poma and showed samples of the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month. Hitachi will market the device in Japan under its own brand name as the WIA-100NB Wearable Internet Appliance.

In the U.S., Xybernaut started taking orders on January 7 and plans to ship the product before the end of the first quarter this year at a price of around $1499. The product is targeted at consumers for entertainment purposes, according to a Xybernaut statement.

In Japan, Hitachi will start taking orders from corporate users on January 23 and begin shipping the product on February 28 for around $2283.

"There are different market trends in Japan and the U.S.," says Yoshinobu Ohinata, a spokesperson for Hitachi.

"The reason why Hitachi targets business users in Japan, while Xybernaut targets consumers with the same product, is that the Japanese market has less experience in wearable computing products, so that we need to make it clear what this product can be used for. Once people get used to this kind of product, our marketing strategy may change in the future," he says.