From: johnlee@crash.cts.com (John Wiley)
Subject: Re: CES revelations
Organization: CTS Network Services (crash, ctsnet), El Cajon, CA
Date: 10 Jan 93 15:09:14 PST


The following is excerpted from 1/7/93 press release TC-93-021 given to me
at CES Las Vegas by Casio (my comments in () parentheses -jw):
 
---begin commented excerpts--
CASIO AND TANDY UPDATE PROGRESS ON "ZOOMER"
 
"...new family of 'Personal Information Processors'" (PIPs) "being developed
jointly by the two companies.  ...technologies required...miniaturization,
low-power design, intuitive powerful software, pen-based input, and an open
extensible architecture.
 
(note they say "family" of products.  the first one, which I saw at the
show, looks pretty neat!)
 
"...fit conveniently in a suit coat pocket or pocketbook, provide instant
access to information...used for extended periods of time without having to
recharge batteries, and ... priced for consumers.  ...lightweight, compact
design that offers more power, expandability and ease of use--and is less
intimidating--than current hand-held or palmtop products..."
 
(want, want!)
 
"...momentum for this new product platform is building."
 
(hope so, but the market may be limited without a real keyboard.  there's
plenty of useful work you can do without kb, but text entry/editing is the
largest single use of PCs.  hunt & peck, or say putting a touch point on
each finger for on-screen virtual kb doesn't sound like fun.  but this is
the first product, so perhaps we'll see one with kb, or someone will sell a
suitably small/cheap aftermarket kb.)
 
"...will feature software from leading developers, including GeoWorks...
operating environment...  Palm Computing will provide bundled applications
software, handwriting recognition software and...add-on products..."
 
(the handwriting recog. is very good - same as used on Grid for past 3 yrs.)
 
"...support of...America Online" (AOL) "<r> and Intuit."  (AOL) "in ROM...
Intuit...will" (also provide) "specialized software."
 
(AOL is nice, and Intuit's popularity is bound to garner mass interest -
even if they don't try to put a full version of Quicken on it)
 
"The first product from this joint effort will be shipped from the factory
beginning this summer."
 
(the rep told me this would be volume shipments, not samples - YEAH!  he
said they're seeking developers, but was vague about available tools)
--end of commented excerpts--
 
Retail price is to be $600-$1,000.  I saw some very nice palm/laptops with
keyboards at the show in that price range.  One prototye I saw would run the
full desktop version of GW very nicely, had a full keyboard & screen, about
9"x7" < 2 lbs., and was $600-900.  Hope "Zoomer" can compete with that - it
sure is a handier size, and is fun to use.
 
The rep said their goal is to combine the best of a PC and an organizer in 1
product.  It will have PCMCIA 2, block letter handwriting recognition, not
be completely DOS or Intel-compatible, have > 100 hrs. battery life, a
complete set of organizer apps, electronic ink (ability to store script,
sketches, etc. in an efficient vector format), and sound capability.  There
will be 3rd party apps, possibly including script handwriting recog.
 
It has fixed icons, avoids menus, and is designed to need no manuals for
effective use, but will have customizability for power users.
 
That's probably about all the hard info I can tell you.  It's extremely
cute!  There are some planned capabilities which are very remarkable.  It
may or may not have a phone dialer as standard equipment (I hope it does,
but that's apparently not a feature sought by most users).
 
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.pcgeos