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Technology Stocks : VALENCE TECHNOLOGY (VLNC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Curtis who wrote (3436)	7/20/1998 11:14:00 PM
From: Javelyn Bjoli	Respond to of 27311

I think the battery industry has been hoping that handhelds will become the "third application" for several years now. For that matter, so have the handheld computer makers! So far, though, the Palm Pilot has maintained 65%+ market share, and runs for a month from 2 AAA cells. Even the Pilot will sell only 2 million units in 1999. That is a long ways from the tens of millions of handhelds per year that would put them on par with notebooks & cell phones. The good news is, color screens, faster CPU's, and wireless integration are all on the near horizon, all of which will probably necessitate a rechargeable battery solution. Polymer batteries may be the only way to keep the form factor as slim as it is now. Keep in mind, though, that unit prices are only around $3-400, and are not subsidized by carriers as cell phones are. Wireless partnerships may solve that issue. But so far there is not a lot of disposable margin to spend on an expensive battery.