Microsoft Corp has pooh-poohed the possibility of 3Com Corp taking legal action over the name of its new handheld computer the Palm PC (CI No 3,322), and said 3Com should watch its back. Microsoft group manager of mobile devices, Roger Gulrajani said on Tuesday that the company could not understand why 3Com was threatening legal action, and pointed out that when 3Com introduced its PalmPilot, the logo displayed a palm tree, and not a hand as the Microsoft offering implies. It may have been one in the eye – or rather pie in the eye – for Bill Gates last week in Belgium (CI No 3,341), but Gulrajani managed to say with a straight face that people will be so over awed by the new Palm PC device that existing PalmPilot users will turn to the software giant for an upgrade. Microsoft has been divulging greater detail about its new Palm PC and Auto PC devices which are based on the Windows CE 2.0 operating system. Microsoft turned on the charm and tried to convince its audience that CE can empower people and enhance their lives, dismissing competition and continuing its drive to dominate the world. Microsoft intends the Palm PC to be operated by one hand, with an easy input interface and it will have the capability to synchronize with the user’s desktop machine, passing data between the two. The company has signed up 69 third party software companies who will develop applications to run on the Palm PC, and seven hardware companies who have tailored the device to the needs of their specific customers. The Palm PC will run on a 32-bit processor, with 2Mb of RAM and 6Mb of Read Only Memory. The device will be powered by battery, some using standard AA batteries, other AAA, while all devices will have a slot for a rechargeable battery, similar to those used in mobile telephones. The standard applications available on the Palm PC include a contact facility or address book, diary, and tasks file, as well as a voice recorder, calculator, note taker which is handwriting sensitive. The only security that the device possesses is a password. Microsoft claims that having non-encrypted data is not a problem and Joe Quagliani, group manager of Windows CE assured his audience that no-one would be able to get to the data if they didn’t know the password. The Auto PC was also on show this week, designed to enable car users to have access to voice operated email, traffic updates and car maintenance warnings. The device contains voice technology that recognizes a set number of words, meaning users don’t have to train the device to recognize their voice. Auto PC will be aimed at car rental companies, taxi and limousine companies and truck fleets, as well as anyone else who spends time in their cars. Like the Palm PC, Auto PC has a series of software and hardware companies offering different versions. So far Clarion Corp is the only hardware company to put a price on the device, and at $1,300 it is not exactly cheap (CI No 3,323). Palm PC will retail from between $300 and $500 and will be available by the end of the quarter in the US, with the Auto PC following next quarter.
