Computerworld - It's not anywhere near Christmas, but handheld PC vendors have started to roll out new gizmos that might look good under a Christmas tree, including the first sub-$300 Pocket PC -- a $299 model introduced today by ViewSonic Corp.
While Walnut Creek, Calif.-based ViewSonic has taken Pocket PC prices close to the range of hardware that runs on the competing Palm OS from Palm Inc., Sony Corp. in Japan plans on Wednesday to introduce a Palm-powered handheld in its Clie line that costs $599, according to published reports in The Register, a U.K. Web site that specializes in new computer industry product stories. Low-end Palm hardware sells for as little as $99 in Web specials.
Besides boasting the lowest suggested retail price for a Pocket PC, ViewSonic also claims that its new PocketPC V35 model is the lightest piece of hardware available that runs Microsoft Corp.'s Pocket PC OS. The 4.2-oz. V35 runs on an Intel X-scale processor, has 32MB of flash memory, 64MB of RAM and a 3.5-in. LCD display. The V35 will go on sale Nov. 1.
The $299 suggested list price for the V35 is close to the $340-plus Web prices of the Hewlett-Packard Co. iPaq Pocket PC. That price, if attractive to enterprise users, could put some price pressure on HP, according to Tim Scannell, an analyst at Shoreline Research in Quincy, Mass.
He said he doubts ViewSonic will keep that price advantage for long, predicting that HP will introduce iPaqs "that compete in that price range" for the Christmas buying season. HP didn't return calls for comment about its product plans this afternoon.
According to The Register, the new Sony Clie justifies its high price by coming loaded with built-in features unmatched by other Palm OS or Pocket PC hardware. This includes a built-in digital camera and a card slot for an 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, wireless LAN card. Sony wouldn't confirm plans for the product's launch.
The new Palm OS-based Sony Clie could "inject some life into a platform [the Palm OS] that is severely threatened by the Pocket PC juggernaut," according to The Register, which termed the new handheld a "seriously dangerous" product in the mobile computing wars.
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