Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc, the one-time Apple II cloner that has not looked back since it switched to pocket-size electronic dictionaries and other reference books, is paying a mere $16m for Rolodex, and is buying the Rolodex Electronics business of Insilco Corp, Columbus, Ohio. Franklin wants to get in on the hand-held organizer market, and has already just come out with a device that runs Starfish Software Inc’s Sidekick organizer software. The Rolodex Electronics organizer business is a perfect complement, Franklin reckons, saying the Rolodex product, scheduled for release next year, will find its niche in the crowded personal organizer market where Casio Computer Co and Sharp Corp prowl. Burlington, New Jersey-based Franklin’s first Rolodex product, equipped with a Franklin Book man memory card, 128Kb of Flash memory, a clock calendar and alarm, will sell for just $50, and other products with the Rolodex name will be sold for $10 to $100, depending on the features, Franklin said.
