Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : 3Com Corporation (COMS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E. Davies who wrote (27315)	1/30/1999 9:04:00 AM
From: Shroder Wertheim (Hijacked)	Respond to of 45548

As Sales of Win CE Devices Lag, 3Com Greases Palm OS Market techweb.com Santa Clara, Calif. - As Microsoft's Windows CE partners get off to a slow start in the palmtop market, 3Com is pressing ahead with an aggressive product release schedule as a means to preserve and extend its lead in the marketplace. 3Com, the developer of Palm OS, this month will release an updated version of its Palm III organizer, the Palm IIIx. The Palm IIIx features an Open Connector Slot, a Microsoft Outlook conduit, a sharper screen and twice the storage capacity of the Palm III. The Palm IIIx will ship with 4MB of RAM, allowing the organizer to store 12,000 addresses, five years of appointments, 3,000 to-do items and 400 e-mail messages, according to sources briefed on the upcoming product. Microsoft, meanwhile, has seen a tepid initial response to its palmtop operating system, Windows CE. In June, Casio and Everex shipped the first palmtops based on Windows CE, but retail sales have been less than impressive. According to PC Data, Reston, Va., Palm III outsold all Windows CE devices (palmtop and handheld PCs) by a ratio of 5-to-1 in units and 3-to-1 in revenues. Distributors and retailers said the market researcher's numbers are on target. "We're seeing some new growth in CE devices, but the Palm product still outsells everything else five-to-one," said Mark Greenwald, director of marketing for D&H Distributing. Analysts and retailers contend that Microsoft has not put enough marketing muscle into promoting Windows CE at retail, where the mini operating system is perceived as more complex than the Palm OS. Additionally, 3Com and Microsoft have failed to communicate the benefits of synchronizing palmtop organizers with desktop PCs, analysts said. "It's a difficult product to display and sell," said Stephen Baker, senior analyst at PC Data. "You can't sell it off the shelf because it's too small and expensive. And if you display it in the PC section, it's overshadowed by PCs and monitors. No one has stepped up to the plate to find their way around these problems at retail." 3Com is expected to lower the Palm III's price to $299 when Palm IIIx ships, sources said. 3Com lists the Palm III at a $369 SRP; some retailers sell it for $20 less