By Dan Jones
Casio Computer Co Ltd and Siemens AG said yesterday that they have teamed up to develop a wireless Palmpilot-size handheld based on the new version of Microsoft’s CE operating system code-named Rapier. The news will see the German and Japanese firms developing a device with mobile phone functions, instant messaging, wireless email and internet access and digital audio and video features. The firms say that they will follow this up with a series of CE-based products with multimedia, wireless internet and mobile phone capabilities.
Casio and Siemens are initially looking to build on their positions in the handheld and mobile markets with the new device. Casio is one of the few vendors that has actually been somewhat successful with WinCE. And Siemens is looking to increase market share in phones, and extending their PC/computing base, said Jack Gold, head of the mobile and pervasive computing practice at Meta Group. Casio’s Cassiopeia device is the best selling CE handheld in the US, according to NPD Intelect, with a 9.5% share of the market. Siemens is the number three suppliers of GSM mobile phones in Europe. The new device will be Siemens’ first consumer handheld device; it has previously used CE in automotive and embedded applications.
Rebecca Thompson, productivity manager for Microsoft’s productivity applications division, said that Microsoft would be working closely with the two firms to develop the device. She wouldn’t be drawn on when the Rapier OS will actually be available but our sources expect a spring launch date. Hewlett- Packard Co, Compaq Computer Corp and NEC Corp are all said to be working on new handheld devices using the OS.
Along with new CE handhelds, the multi-function, multimedia Siemens/Casio device will face competition from similar devices being co-developed by Sony and Palm. Jill House, handheld analyst at International Data Corp, sees the Sony devices – which will have wireless and audio/visual functions, as the most natural competitor to the Siemens/Casio product. I wouldn’t expect Compaq or HP to be asleep at the switch in terms of multimedia and some of the other specs, she said, I would also think that Handspring and its module-based expansion idea would potentially compete with this device.
However, some industry watchers question the validity of integrating so many functions on a handheld device. The Siemens/Casio thing sounds like a Swiss Army Knife – by bundling so much functionality in the device they’ll probably end up with something that’s a relatively poor alternative to a highly portable cell phone, a cumbersome organizer, and a less than sleek digital audio player, said Seamus McAteer, director of web strategies at Jupiter Communications. We’ll see, he added, success will be about great industrial design and drop dead simplicity. IDC’s House concurs, Most people don’t want a device that does absolutely everything, especially since the cost and battery life issues are likely to make it prohibitive to a mass market consumer.
The companies will initially launch the device in Europe. They will show a working prototype at the CeBIT trade show in Germany in February next year, but have not given any release date for the product. If it is 2 years away (like the Nokia/Palm device), says Gold, then that is too long and will probably have a difficult time in garnering any market share. However, Microsoft’s Thompson says that the device will be available much sooner than that, although she could not give a timescale.
