Palm ups ante in handheld market

By Bob Brewin

October 28, 2002 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - The battle for the handheld computer market ratchets up a notch today as Palm Inc. introduces a pair of devices aimed at corporate users.
Both of the new models being added to Palm's Tungsten product line offer larger color screens with more pixels and better resolution than competing hardware based on Microsoft Corp.'s Pocket PC operating system, said Barney Dewey, an analyst at Andrew Seybold's Outlook 4Mobility in Los Gatos, Calif.
But the Tungsten devices cost more than some Pocket PC handhelds, Dewey said. For example, Palm's Tungsten T model has a suggested list price of $499, compared with $299 for a Pocket PC handheld introduced last month by ViewSonic Corp. in Walnut, Calif.
Dewey predicted that Dell Computer Corp. will charge about $200 for the Pocket PC device that it's expected to introduce next month. A Dell spokesman declined to comment on the company's pricing plans.


Palm's Tungsten W

The new devices being introduced by Milpitas, Calif.-based Palm also include built-in wireless capabilities. The Tungsten T offers Bluetooth short-range wireless technology for connecting to printers or wireless phones.
Bluetooth support is the exception rather than the rule in Pocket PC hardware. Only models from Hewlett-Packard Co. offer that feature, according to a Microsoft spokeswoman.
Palm said the Tungsten W is equipped with a Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service modem for connections to cellular wireless networks. The W model, which is priced at $549 and will initially be available only in Europe, also features a thumb-operated keyboard similar to the one used on Research In Motion Ltd.'s line of e-mail pagers.
One Up on Pocket PCs?
Both of Palm's new Tungsten models support up to 16MB of memory and come with a 144-MHz processor made by Texas Instruments Inc. Older Palm devices used a 33-MHz Motorola Inc. chip. The hardware runs on the new Palm OS 5 operating system and includes third-party software designed to let users read Microsoft Office files.
David Christopher, senior director of product management for Palm's hardware group, claimed that feature gives the Tungsten devices an advantage over Pocket PC handhelds. "We actually do Microsoft better than Microsoft," he said.
Connell Smith, senior vice president of product marketing at Gearworks Inc., a mobile software developer in Eagan, Minn., said the sharper color screen, faster processor and built-in keyboard match the list of features he thinks Palm needs to add to stay competitive with Microsoft and its Pocket PC partners.

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