PDA Companies: We've Only Just Begun

D. A.

Apple has released a slimmer, less expensive, and more capable Newton PDA, the MessagePad 110. The MessagePad 110, which sells for $599, is a half-inch narrower than the MessagePad 100 and supports deferred handwriting recognition, letting you scribble notes for later conversion. Apple also beefed up the system RAM to 1 MB. "I think this new version reinforces Apple's commitment to this technology," says Barry Owen, editor in chief of Intelligent Newton (San Francisco, CA). "There will be many more manifestations of this platform." Apple also plans to beef up the Newton's communications abilities by supporting two-way wireless data-communications services.

More PDA competitors will soon enter the field. Hewlett-Packard and Novell have invested in Geoworks (Berkeley, CA). Th e three companies say they will collaborate on low-cost (under $500) consumer-computing devices designed for anywhere, anytime network access. And Compaq, Motorola, and Toshiba have announced their intentions to develop products for Microsoft's WinPad, which is the code name for a future operating system for hand-held devices. Other companies are reevaluating strategies--Eo's next PDA will likely more closely resemble a smart cellular phone.

Mike French, project director at Link Resources, estimates that Apple's sales of the MessagePad in the product's second four months were only 25 percent of its first four months (20,000 versus 80,000 units). But his company forecasts an upbeat market, as new PDAs reach the market and as large corporations complete pilot projects for specialized applications.

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Illustration: Graph: Forecasts of Personal-Productivity Devices Link Resources (a New York City-based consulting and research firm) forecasts a 45.7 percent compound annual growth rate for personal- productivity devices, including organizers, personal agents, personal communicators, intelligent electronic books, electronic notepads, and entertainment products. Personal communicators will account for nearly half these sales by 1998.