NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27/NN_1992_27.iso/spool/comp/sys/pen/705

Internet Message Format | 1992-11-23 | 1.8 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Brian Smithson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.pen,comp.sys.palmtops
Subject: Re: PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS ON HOLD
Keywords: San Jose Mercury News, pen computing, PDA
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 17 Nov 92 15:04:46 GMT
References: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: comp.sys.pen
Organization: Brian Smithson
Lines: 29

A couple of thoughts about SJMN article about a re-evaluation of the PDA
market:


If Sculley is backpedaling, perhaps it's because the marketplace is primed
and ready for products (in large part because of Apple's own hype), but
Sculley is worried that Apple won't be able to deliver product or price.
It's not atypical for a large company to try to chill a market in order to
get buyers to wait for *their* product.  IBM was famous for this.  Even if
the initial batch of PDA products aren't big sellers because they cost too
much or because too few people know what to do with them, those initial
products may set important standards and precedents, and products which are
still in development could find themselves precluded before they get to
market.

The other thing which might be holding up PDA products is that the sub-$400
prices are going to difficult to deliver in a standalone product.  But a PDA
isn't necessarily a standalone product: if you add networking services
into the picture, then one might just want to "give 'em the PDA and
sell 'em the networking".  It seems to be taking shape, but I don't think
that either the networking infrastructure or the corporate alliances are
in place to make that a reality just yet.

--
-Brian Smithson
 [e-mail]