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Discount Store News, Feb 12, 1990

Innovative Home Office Entries Energize CES

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Home office business was big business at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show held here last month. In a year that saw very few new product introductions, the most dramatic innovations occurred in the home office sector.

Most notable was the widespread acceptance of computers in the mass market. Several new and significant players (for instance, Olivetti and Emerson) have entered the market over the past six months, and at retail, Wal-Mart, Target, K mart and several other majors have rededicated themselves to moving computers through the mass market.

Buyers said that although attempts in both the early and mid-1980s flopped miserably, both products and consumers have progressed since then. Shoppers, they said, now are educated enough to make decisions without special service (an observation supported by weak 1989, performances by value-added resellers like Computerland and Radio Shack) and manufacturers are providing low-cost, fully featured systems that are extremely simple to operate.

Some key suppliers are Amstrad, Philips subsidiary HeadStart (with a CD-ROM model that doubles as a limited stereo system), Laser, and several others. Most dramatic, however, was a mobile (formerly, laptop) computer from Psion, an English company that specializes in hand-held and other microcomputer products. According to Steve Rodgers, the product manager, Psion's new solid-state MC line weighs a mere 4.5 lbs. (batteries included), runs for 60 hours on AA batteries, features a full-size screen and keyboard, includes word processing, spreadsheet, and general organization software, and is capable of digitally recording and transmitting an hour of speech.

The beauty of the MC product, Rodgers said, is that it is both simple to use and powerful. Two years in development, the MC features a cross between IBM and Apple technology that includes a mouse pad (the user's finger acts as the mouse), easily understood graphic prompts (move the cursor to a WP icon, for instance, and push--and a word processing file opens), and multitasking.

While memory doesn't approach desktop models, at 512K with up to 10 megabytes of add-on power available, the MC series is not short on power. New software, including WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3, is on the way. At the show, buyers tripped over each other trying to line up supplies for the MC 400, due in March. Some winners: Lechmere, Sears, and possibly Circuit City.

"Unlike most other laptop suppliers, we designed from the ground up, rather than from desktop to laptop," Rodgers noted. "We wrote all the software ourselves, attempting to address what a mobile computer user really needs. For instance, we think solid state technology is the future of computing, so we incorporated that technology rather than floppy disks. We also made sure the product was easy to use, lightweight and interactive." The MC series has a fax link and can communicate with other MCs and desktop PCs, among other capabilities.

"The MC will bring new people into the marketplace," Rodgers added. "Over 90 percent of users only need word processing, general data storage and a bit of spreadsheet capabilities," Rodgers summed up. "The MC provides that and more."

Just as home office finally established itself as a meaningful category, it seems to be mutating into an even more flexible technology, as witnessed by the Psion MC. Briefcase office? Mobile office? Car office (as suggested by NEC)? Take your pick.

Mini Reference Devices

Or maybe even pocket office, if the wide array of miniature computer and reference devices shown at CES is any indication. Sharp's Wizard, more or less the Rolls Royce of this emerging category, was joined by a host of new pocket devices--and the Wizard had a few surprises up its sleeve as well. Included (although not for sale yet) were applications as varied as language translation software that spells translations phonetically and includes exotic languages like Finnish along with standards like French and German, a fax link, a modem that will allow exchange of files with a PC, game software and more.

Casio, with its BOSS (Business Organizer Scheduling System), aims at the same market. The new BOSS SF-9000 has spell-checking, memo functions, business card library, calendar, and a typewriter-style keyboard. With memory expandable to 128K and optional PC links and memory expansion cards, the BOSS (about $299 without options) is an effective electronic reference and organizer.

With international business now the norm, translation devices have been hot, and this show saw several major introductions. At the high end, Franklin introduced its Translation Master English to Spanish/Spanish to English device, which is geared to those who wish to learn languages fully.

Most other products are geared more to the casual user--a tourist or business user who simply needs basic translation to find a bus stop or a local bank.

Royal Business Products impressed with translators in the $80 to $120 range that translate words and phrases in several languages. Pacemark showed a more sophisticated eight-language version including Japanese, and a less expensive model that translates phrases in five languages.