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Handheld computers: No frills or loaded
By Renay San Miguel (CNN Headline News)
(CNN) -- That rumbling sound you hear is the digital divide that's widening in the handheld computer market. On one side of this particular technological chasm is Palm Computing, the market leader among personal digital assistants (PDAs). It has just released the Zire, a $99 model that is the cheapest handheld computer to date from a major technology company. On the other side are companies like Razor, yes, that Razor, the same company that made those ultra-hip skateboards-with-handles that urbanites had to dodge on city streets just three years ago. Its entry into the handheld market, the Zayo, is a $549 PDA that uses Microsoft's Pocket PC software. And it's targeting the same ultra-hip 20-and-30-something professionals who were probably using those Razor skateboards to get around college campuses. So where does this leave some of you out there in Main Street Land? You know who you are: You want help in getting your life organized -- and you want a few cool features for your money -- but don't want to pay desktop prices for a handheld computer. Charles Golvin, senior analyst at Forrester Research, gave Hotwired a preview of how handheld companies will be selling to consumers during the all-important Christmas shopping season. "The targeted strategy that goes with the sales pitch is, 'Here's the complexity in your life, and we'll help you take some of that complexity out of your life,'" Golvin said. But that strategy will be directed at both sides of the handheld divide: the first-time buyers looking for value, and the professionals who need to take contact numbers and e-mail with them while on the go. Golvin likes the Palm strategy of addressing the lower-end market. "It's a good back-to-basics move for them. They're going back to their roots. The original Palm device was focused on doing two or three things really well; the to-do list, address book, calendar, and it does it at a price point that addresses a segment of the audience that might see the advantage of organization, but not at $200 or $300." Indeed, the Palm Zire has a black-and-white screen, no synchronization cradle (a simple USB cable lets it talk to your PC), and your basic 2 megabytes of memory. The Razor Zayo, by contrast -- and I do mean contrast; the color screen pops out at you -- has all the features you'd expect from a Pocket PC device. A Zayo spokesman tells Hotwired that it's a thinner, lighter (5 oz.) handheld than the HP Ipaq with 30 percent longer battery life and the ability to support 54 frames-per-second of video, compared with the Ipaq's 27 frames. "It's a bit of a leap to go from a scooter to a handheld computer," Golvin said of Razor's new strategy, "but it's a similar idea of trying to go after a younger, more tech-savvy audience and trying to get into a new market." According to Golvin, the handheld companies will attempt more market expansion in the weeks leading up to Christmas. But he's not expecting much variation from the digital divide already carved out by the likes of Palm and Razor.
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