Sony Introducing New PDA Line

T O K Y O, Sept. 8, 2000 -- Japan’s market for handheld digitalorganizers will enter a new round on Saturday, when Sony Corpjoins the ring with CLIE, a new unit that adds video playback tothe usual array of functions.

The launch of the CLIE (which is pronounced “klee-ay” andstands for Communication, Link, Information and Entertainment)takes Sony one step closer toward the integration of itselectronics empire.

Sony’s new PDA, or “personal digital assistant” as thedigital organizers are increasingly being called, will be able toplay video clips and link in to the Internet via cell phones.

“We’re selling a concept,” said Tetsuo Kanno, a Sonyspokesman for the new product. “We see the CLIE evolving from abusiness tool into an entertainment tool.”

Sony’s confidence in its aim to capture a share of thegrowing PDA market, despite being a late entrant, is partly areflection of Japan’s well-known enthusiasm for digital gadgets.

Simpler versions of today’s digital personal organizers werebeing sold more than a decade ago, and the recent explosivegrowth of Internet-enabled mobile phones has already heralded thearrival of wireless digital organizers.

Snazzy Cell Phones PDA-like

In some ways, PDAs are already competing with Japan’s snazzycell phones, which already have some of the digital organizerfunctions built in.

Technology data firm IDC Japan says that handheld computersales were dampened in 1999 due to brisk growth of Web-connectedmobile phones.

IDC Japan says 1.3 million handheld computing devices weresold in Japan in 1999, and that this would more than triple tofour million units per year in 2004. By comparison, there arealready more than 15 million people logged on to the Internet viatheir cell phones in Japan.

The market for handheld computers in the United States isestimated at some three million to four million units, followedby Europe’s two million to three million.

Well Connected

The CLIE will pit Sony against other established PDA makersin Japan, which include Palm, Casio Computer Co Ltd, and SharpCorp

Not to be left behind, Palm’s Japanese unit has plans tointroduce a wireless version of its popular Palm Pilot organizernext year, although it wasn’t clear whether this would integratethe wireless function into the device, like the Palm VII.

The CLIE, which comes pre-equipped to connect to the Internetvia cell phones, will be sold in two versions. The color-screenversion is expected to retail for around 55,000 yen ($525) andthe monochrome display model at 50,000 yen.

Although the CLIE’s video function doesn’t include sound,Sony’s Kanno said later generations are likely to include fullmusic and video capability.

That’s the defining strategy for Sony’s efforts to integrateits products into one-stop audiovisual entertainment centers,something it is already pushing hard with efforts focused aroundits line of VAIO personal computers.

Sony has already proven that it knows how to be a successfullate market entrant. After only a few years in the business, Sonynow ships the fourth largest number of PCs in Japan, according tothe Multimedia Research Institute’s report for April-June.

The CLIE will use Palm Inc’s operating system, and willfeature a slot for Sony’s proprietary storage media, thegumstick-sized Memory Stick, which will allow it to swap out moreinformation and import images.

Although the CLIE connects directly to PCs through itsdocking station, the Memory Stick allows it to exchangeinformation more easily with other Sony products, such as itsdigital cameras, camcorders and digital audio players.

Sony said it plans to produce 70,000 to 100,000 units of thenew PDA per month. Its allotment of online pre-sales sold outalmost immediately, it said.