Comdex/Fall '96: handhelds based on Windows CE start the rush

Electronic News, Nov 25, 1996 by Cynthia Bournellis

NEC will have units in retail stores for the Christmas season. Other channels to which product is currently shipping include office and computer stores such as CompUSA, Circuit City and OfficeMax.

The GP40M HPC from Korea-based LG Electronics is powered by a chipset that includes a Hitachi SH3 32-bit RISC processor and a companion multimedia chip. Future models will contain special chipsets for remote communications through cellular networks. Commercial quantities are scheduled for release in the United States in January.

Not due to hit the market until the second half of 1997, the HPC from Hewlett-Packard will be the only HPC out of the gate that has a 640x240 resolution touchscreen; the Windows CE spec only requires a 480x240 touchscreen. "We made a conscious decision not to ship until mid '97, because of issues regarding display screens," said Roy Breslawski, product marketing manager for HP's Asia Pacific PC division. "You just can't have a PC companion with a screen size that is less than that." While HP is still in the prototype stage of development, Mr. Breslawski said the company is working on specific technologies for backlighting, which will let users leave the device on for "as long as they want."

Probably the most aggressive HPC adversary is Casio. The company is the first to have already shipped product into the channel and is spending $10 million on advertising. The Cassiopeia can be found in more than 10 computer store and retail outlet chains. The company will also experiment with service catalog stores and is currently testing the product in 10 Wal-Mart stores across the country, with product in Best Buy stores in January. "We are not sure how it will sell there (Wal-Mart), because of the price points," said Gary Rado, executive VP of marketing at Casio.

Indeed, Wal-Mart Stores last week said it will stop selling computer hardware in 679 of its U.S. stores, shifting the PC inventory to 1,600 other stores. While those stores affected will continue to sell computer software and accessories, their emphasis will shift to other consumer electronics.

A unique feature of the Cassiopeia that pushes the envelope in HPC functions is its ability to work with the Casio QV-300 digital camera. For instance, users can download pictures from the Internet and transfer them to the camera via a PC Card and print out a digital picture from the camera.

Meanwhile, Compaq is OEMing the Casiopeia from Casio under the name Compaq PC Companion.

One way OEMs will be able to differentiate their products from the rest is through third-party applications, particularly communications software. The latter being vital to the success of HPCs, said many observers. These applications will vary per OEM and include SkyTel's two-way pager, SkyTel Messenger, for wireless sending and receiving of E-mail over the Internet.