To: jim bender who wrote (15144 ) 4/7/1998 3:02:00 AM From: Scrapps Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 45548
Microsoft backs down on using the 'Palm PC' name By John Dodge, PC Week Online April 6, 1998 5:13 PM PDT Microsoft Corp. will drop the "Palm PC" name for its line of Windows CE-based devices, defusing what could have been a protracted legal battle, 3Com Corp. President and CEO Eric Benhamou said today. "Microsoft will no longer use the Palm PC name. We expect an announcement [of a settlement] in the next few days. There is a good likelihood we will have [new] names for the devices," Benhamou said in an interview at the Herring on the Enterprise conference here today. 3Com will drop lawsuits As a result, 3Com would drop its copyright infringement suits filed against Microsoft (MSFT) and its hardware partners using the term "Palm" in its reference model for palmtop devices. Microsoft had argued that its hardware OEMs used the name, and that its Palm PC moniker was an informal name to describe that category of devices. The suits, Benhamou said, were filed in France, Germany and Italy. 3Com filed a trademark infringement suit against Microsoft in March, complaining that the "Palm PC" name was too similar to the PalmPilot. "This may clear up a lot of confusion that might have worked against Microsoft at retail," said Mike McGuire, an analyst with Dataquest. PalmPilot leads the market 3Com's PalmPilot line, which boasts some 1.6 million users, leads the personal digital organizers category. Although analysts expect 3Com to lose some market share, they don't believe the imminent arrival of competitors will immediately change things. The first crop of products based on Microsoft's Windows CE operating system are expected to reach the market later this month when Everex Systems Inc. and Casio Inc. debut handheld devices. Reviewers who have compared the Palm PC noted that it is approximately the same size and weight as the PalmPilot.. However, it also allows users to read Web pages offline and view graphics in 2-bit gray tones. 3Com's palmtops require users to add third-part products in order to get that kind of functionality. In March, 3Com cut prices on the Palm Pilot by about 20 percent in preparation for the April rollout of the next incarnation of its PDA, which will tentatively be called Palm III. Microsoft: no comment A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment in detail on Benhamou's remarks. "Basically, we have nothing to say. I personally don't know that's the case and we're not talking about that," she said. ZDNN's Charles Cooper contributed to this report