Both 3Com Corp and Microsoft Corp are working on Palmtop computers for launch on the Chinese market by the end of the year. However, Microsoft is counting on localized features for Windows CE-based devices and Chinese admiration for Bill Gates to give it the edge over 3Com, which is virtually unknown in the potentially massive market. In an interview with Reuters, Microsoft Regional director for China, Michael Rawding, said that the company had been working on improved inputting for the traditionally troublesome Chinese script, and a local dictionary for the CE operating system. Microsoft intends to link with a local manufacturer to produce naturalized WinCE machines but has not yet announced any deals. However, the biggest factor in Microsoft’s favor may apparently be Bill Gates himself. In a China increasingly open to Western ways, Gates is held to be a technology and business guru. On the other hand, despite being market leader in handheld computing, 3Com is virtually unknown in China. Nonetheless, the company is also preparing localized machines for year-end release in China.
