Sunday, August 13, 2000

Hand-held, but easy on the eye

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Company seeks younger market for electronic organizers

The Associated Press

        SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The company that helped market hand-held electronic organizers as a must-have for the corporate set last week began selling a more stylish, and less expensive, device aimed squarely at younger buyers.

Two new electronic-organizing offerings from Palm Inc.: the m100 organizer (left), and the VIIx. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

        Palm Inc.'s new m100 organizer, which has curvy edges, a double-hinged flip top and removable front plate, is the most eye-pleasing model since the Santa Clara, Calif.-company introduced its popular Palm series in 1996.

        “We're targeting people in school, people getting their first jobs, who are computer-friendly but not experts, and saying "Here's a product where you can get everything you need right out of the box for $149,”' said John Cook, senior director of Palm's product marketing group.

        The 4.4-ounce m100 replaces Palm's clunkier IIIe entry-level model. It has a smaller screen and adds a see-through window on the flip lid for telling the time and date — a function that can serve as an alarm clock.

        The device keeps the same 2 megabytes of memory and much of the same software, but adds a “sticky note” feature for those who don't want to learn the graffiti handwriting language. Snap-on face plates sold separately will come in silver, two shades of blue, green and ruby.

        Mike McGuire, an analyst at market research firm Dataquest, called the m100 “a pretty slick little product.”

        The new device has an appeal to those outside of the early-adopter professional set who looked to electronic organizers for their on-the-go benefits, he said.

        “The early stages of this market were easy because you were marketing to people who had busy, constantly changing schedules looking for something to keep track of information,” he said. “But while other people are busy, they're schedules are pretty fixed. It's going to be an interesting little battle to broaden the market for (hand-helds).”

       

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