New PDA Choices On Tap

ViewSonic told CRN that it plans to release in the fourth quarter its first Pocket PC device at an estimated street price of $299.

Eschewing high-end features such as built-in wireless and a Compact Flash slot, the device is aimed at companies looking to use the Pocket PC platform without having to spend $400 to $700 to get it, said David Feldman, senior product manager at ViewSonic, Walnut, Calif.

"We are going after existing Palm customers today or those customers looking to buy Palm who would be interested in a more powerful device that costs less," Feldman said.

ViewSonic will likely compete with Dell Computer, which reportedly plans to release a Pocket PC also priced at $299.

Tom Teates, president of Pen Computing Solutions, Las Vegas, said $299 is "a pretty good price point." Low-priced PDAs, particularly from Palm, have sold well to companies with large field-sales forces, he said, adding that in the field, devices easily get lost or broken. "Some companies are buying multiples of these because they expect a certain amount of loss or damage," Teates said. "It's much easier to absorb the loss when the device doesn't cost $500 or $600."

At the high end, meanwhile, Samsung plans to roll out a U.S. version of its Nexio handheld in limited volume during the fourth quarter, said David Nichols, director of product marketing at Samsung, Irvine, Calif. The company has a similar product shipping in Korea now, but the U.S. version will feature built-in 802.11b instead of wireless WAN connectivity, he said.

Initially focused on solution providers serving vertical markets, the Windows CE .Net device, priced at $749, will include a screen with 800 x 480 resolution and 128 Mbytes of flash RAM, Nichols said.

Nichols said Nexio's screen distinguishes it from the Pocket PCs already on the market. Because of the resolution, mobile workers can view the full width of a typical Web page. Lower-resolution PDAs, such as devices using the Palm and Pocket PC operating systems, can display only a portion of a Web page at one time, he said.

"The device provides a much richer and more engaging Web experience than [what's available on today's PDAs," he said.