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PC Expo: What's hot ... and not

John Morris ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 27 Jun 2000 09:07 BST

Palm isn't the only game in town anymore. Acknowledging the potential vast demand for access to information anywhere, all types of companies -- computers, consumer electronics and telecommunications -- are jumping into the pool.

The most eagerly awaited entry will be from Sony Electronics, which has licenced the Palm OS for a new handheld device.

After some initial confusion, Sony has committed to demonstrating the device at the show. It is expected to include wireless connectivity, colour displays, and -- in keeping with the Sony philosophy -- gaming and entertainment applications. Sony is also planning to develop smart phones based on Java and the Symbian OS (Symbian is a joint venture of Psion (quote: PON), Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Panasonic).

Meanwhile, Ericsson has announced its own plans to branch out beyond phones and develop PDAs and Internet appliances.

And after recently cutting the OEM price of Windows CE 3.0, Microsoft will likely use PC Expo to make a renewed push for the flagging operating system and the Pocket PCs based on it (from manufactures including Casio, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard.

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