Though Sony looks to benefit from the Palm craze, its Memory Stick approach will muddle the handheld-computer market because other hardware makers use different expansion schemes. Handheld aficionados, prepare for confusing times. The Intel processor maker has released a Dot. Station terminal that is being pitched to Internet service providers, telecommunications firms and others that will then offer it to their customers. With a built-in phone, the Dot.
Station is billed as an all-purpose communications device for the kitchen or den.
But Intel enters a field that has yet to produce a certifiable hit. ViewSonic says it will pitch the gear to brokerage firms and such instead of directly to consumers. But the music boxes face uncertain prospects in an untested market. The Dell PC maker has unveiled a Digital Audio Receiver that links a PC to a stereo system using standard networking technologies. The device then pulls music tracks off the PC s hard drive and plays them over the stereo s speakers.