Tandy Corp’s contribution to the festivities comes from the other camp, the personal digital assistant world: the company is launching its Z-550 Zoomer, the digital assistant developed with Casio Computer Co Ltd that combines the functionality of pen and paper, the logical power of a computer and the ability to connect to the world in a pocket-sized device weighing less than 1 lb. Driven by an unidentified iAPX-86-derived chip, the Z-550 also features substantial input from GeoWorks Inc, which supplied the Geos operating system, Palm Computing Inc, the pen-driven technology, plus America Online Inc and Intuit Inc. The machine runs for up to 100 hours on three standard AA alkaline batteries, and serves as an electronic note pad and includes a date book, address book, bank book, calculator, dictionary, thesaurus, world clock and language translator. It also includes three game applications and a reference section for US city and state information, nutrition guide, US and international dialling codes, and other information that Tandy thinks people on the move might find useful. It has a personal finance manager that provides money management features for recording cash expenses, bank account transactions and credit card spending. Palm’s PowerInk and BackspaceInk enable data to be entered and edited much like pen on paper – or by tapping an on-screen virtual keyboard. Electronic ink and text from handwriting recognition can be mixed in notes, lists, sketches, maps or other fields and applications. Built-in infra-red transceivers provide wireless communication between Z-550s, and there is an RS-232 port. A modem is optional and links to the America Online information network. It has one PCMCIA 2.0 card slot in a unit 1 by 4.2 by 6.8. Promising significant competition for Apple Computer Inc’s Newton, the Z-550 Zoomer Personal Digital Assistant will be available in October at $700.
