Gadget fans listen up to PDA-phone

By CNN's Kristie Lu Stout

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- A new mobile phone that doubles as a personal organizer has made its worldwide debut in Hong Kong..

The U.S.-based Handspring launched the Treo 180 for commercial sale in Hong Kong on Tuesday. It will retail at HK$4380 ($560).

As demand for consumer electronics drops, companies like Handspring are scrambling for the formula for the next must-have gadget -- a handheld that does almost everything.

'One solution'

"I think the appeal of this kind of product is from the very beginning, customers have come to us saying, 'I have a cell phone, I have a pager, I have an organizer. How can I put this all together into one solution?'"said Handspring vice president of international, Bill Holtzman.

"And that's what we've spent the last two years doing."

The Treo is one part mobile phone, one part Palm organizer, with a dash of mobile messaging.

"This is an SMS experience that will be very new to Hong Kong," Holtzman added.

"Having a larger screen and keyboard, you can literally type away. It's designed for thumbs. And believe it or not, a lot of people will warm up to it quickly since it's pretty easy to work with."

Yet the gizmo is much more than a hip handheld. It's also a symbol of hope for a company that is counting on a wireless future.

Wireless opportunity

Personal digital assistants, or PDAs, never achieved the ubiquity of cell phones. So Handspring intends to exit the PDA business to tap into the larger and potentially more lucrative world of wireless.

"That's where the opportunity is. When you look at the number of cell phones in the world, there's about 500 million. The number of personal organizers is about 20 million," said Holtzman.

"So when you look at the sheer size of that marketplace, if you can tap into a small part of that, you have a great business."

But the company insists that it will not abandon its loyal Handspring Visor PDA users anytime soon.

"We're not saying goodbye to our Visor line. It's still a viable business that's moving forward. But we do feel over time in three to five years, that these will become wireless," said Holtzman.

Mobile hazards

Going mobile isn't without its hazards. A component shortage forced the company to delay the Treo's debut in the key U.S. market.

And in Asia, Handspring must contend with a sophisticated and fussy mobile market that may decide that for around $500 the Treo may not be worth it.

"For HK$4300, I might have to hold off on that," said IDC computing analyst Manny Lopez. "That's just my personal thing, because I have a PDA that's great. I have a phone that's great for me also."

Devoted Handspring fans have also raised an eyebrow at the Treo's lack of the celebrated Springboard expansion slot.

The Handspring Visor line had been widely lauded for its expansion slot that would add more memory or transform the PDA into an MP3 player, digital camera, or mobile phone.

"I was a little surprised by the lack of expandability on the memory front, and on the Handspring expansion modules also," said Lopez.

"It's taken the PDA to the next level. It's not a disappointment but not as hyped up as what I expected it to be."