Palm Pilot

[richb at pioneer.ci.net (Rich Braun)]

I wrote:
>    The 3Com pocket-organizer will likely either get clobbered by a
>    Microsoft success, despite the fatness of Windows CE and its apps,
>    or else it will enjoy modest success as a niche product which never
>    hits the big-time simply because only a limited number of people
>    will ever want pocket-organizers.

Jerry Callen wrote:
> Hmm. I wonder. I bought a Palm Pilot recently (in the past 6 weeks)
> because a cow-orker has one, and I saw how obviously useful his is.
>...
> All the available free/shareware is nifty (I have a few hacks I really
> wouldn't want to give up), but the basic product does OK on its own.

Were it not for USR's focus on recruiting third-party hackers, I think
Sharp would have taken over this market with their version (model 500
or something like that), since it has the same basic features, the
same physical size, and comes from a company well-known for pocket
gadgets (as opposed to a modem company???).  I compared the Sharp and
3Com pocket-organizer websites recently, and it's like night and day
when it comes to 3rd-party stuff.

-rich
> Now my wife (a distinctly non-geekly sort of person) wants one;
> another cow-orker has purchased one, and at least one more is strongly
> considering it. I think a *lot* of people want these, though they may
> not know it yet.
> 
> The draws are (and you mentioned a few):
> 
> - instant on
> - dinky (all the Windows CE gizmos I've seen are *huge* in comparision)
> - insanely easy to use
> - quick and easy backup (a *big* plus!)
> - long battery life
> - just the right feature set (calendar, address book, memo pad)
> - cheap (compared to Windows CE products)
> 
> All the available free/shareware is nifty (I have a few hacks I really
> wouldn't want to give up), but the basic product does OK on its own.
> 
> 3Com has to be making a fortune on these (there's nothing to the
> hardware...).
> 
> It will be interesting to see just what happens to this market over
> the next year.
> 
> -- Jerry Callen
>    jcallen at world.std.com
> 
>    "The best lack conviction, given some time to think,
>     and the worst are full of passion without mercy."
>         -- Joni Mitchell (borrowing from W.B. Yeats)
>