Psion Plc, billed as the world market leader in handheld electronic organizers with a 33% share, is expected to make its move for Amstrad Plc any day now – or decide to walk away – and it’s main interest is the potential for adding a cellular data capability to its organizers by exploiting technology developed by Amstrad’s Dancall A/S. But Psion is not going to hang around and wait until that deal is cooked: in the interim, it has got together with Nokia Oy’s Nokia Mobile Phones to enable digital cellular users to send and receive short messages over a Groupe Speciale Mobile network using a Nokia phone, Psion’s palmtop computer and Palmtop BV’s Messenger software. Messenger is designed to provide a low-cost easy-to-use means of preparing, viewing, editing, storing, sending and receiving short message service messages over networks that support the service, in the US to start with. Psion has designed an intelligent cable that will connect the Nokia 2190 digital phone to the Psion Series 3a; the system will also work with Psion’s Workabout line of industrial handheld computers. Messenger includes address-book management so users can send messages to more than one person at a time. Groups of contacts can also be defined for such broadcast messages. No prices were given for the software or the cable needed to set up the message system.
