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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David Lawrence who wrote (10771)	12/16/1997 9:07:00 AM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

HANDHELD HOPES The Dallas Morning News Mon, Dec 15 1997 The critical and commercial success this year of the Palm Pilot handheld computer has sparked a number of efforts to steal the spotlight from manufacturer 3Com Corp. Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc.'s Avigo handheld model, introduced in September, features a large rectangular screen and small command button on the bottom. It bears a striking resemblance to the Palm Pilot. TI executives hope the Avigo - the stress is on the first syllable - becomes a hot holiday item. Although the company isn't divulging sales figures for the Avigo's first two months on the market, TI said it is pleased with some of the feedback from retailers and users. One of the secrets of the Palm Pilot's success is that it doesn't aspire to be much more than a substitute for a simple calendar and phone book. TI also tried to keep things simple: Avigo is billed as a portable companion to a personal computer. "It was developed for anyone who is away from their PC more than 20 percent of the day, if you walk away for a 30- to 45-minute meeting or you're having lunch and need to check your schedule," said Bob Popsick, product manager for the Avigo. The device also is useful for those who regularly need to carry spreadsheet information around."Sales people might get daily or weekly spreadsheets, and they can take those in a handheld machine for instant reference," Mr. Popsick said. Most handhelds, including the Avigo, have some kind of synchronization connection with a PC so that information can be punched in using the PC's keyboard. Mr. Popsick said users of handhelds enter only 5 percent to 10 percent of information directly into the tiny portables. And tapping data directly into a device is so small can be a challenge. Handhelds using Microsoft Windows CE software have minikeyboards. The Palm Pilot requires that users learn a special handwriting called Graffiti. The Avigo's primary text input system is called T9, and it comes from a Seattle company called Tegic Communications. The user spells out words on the screen by picking from groups of letters - ABC, DEF, GHI, etc. As words are completed, they are identified by a built-in dictionary. "It's very rapid text input, and there's virtually nothing to learn," Mr. Popsick said. o~~~ O