The market for handheld devices may get a shot in the arm now that Microsoft Corp. has introduced Windows CE, a 32-bit operating system platform that can support a broad range of communications, computing and entertainment products, including those for wireless networks.
“We think this is a very important introduction because it integrates desktop functionality and synchronization with handheld in a platform that’s recognized and that people are comfortable with … Our market research with end-users clearly demonstrates a desire for a handheld unit if it automatically synchronizes with the desktop/notebook,” said Gerry Purdy, president and chief executive officer of Cupertino, Calif.-based Mobile Insights Inc., a research firm specializing in the mobile computing industry.
The software giant’s operating system, developed under the widely known code name “Pegasus,” is compact, providing high performance in limited memory configurations, said Microsoft. Windows CE also will be suitable for digital information pagers and cellular smart phones along with next-generation entertainment and multimedia consoles as well as Internet access devices, the company added.
Microsoft said more than 40 hardware and software companies have committed to developing products based on the Windows CE platform. The company expects these companies to announce the availability of handheld devices in November at Comdex in Las Vegas.
“Windows CE has solicited a large number of software developers to develop handheld specific applications that will also operate in the CE module that runs under Windows ’95,” said Purdy. “The first products introduced will have limited capability and functionality, but the platform should allow a large number of manufacturers to build both general-purpose and industry-specific handheld products in the coming years.”
Developers are likely to “do something to [the products] that is incremental,” said Ira Brodsky, president of Datacomm Research Co. of Chicago. “If they can develop an application that will work off of Windows and create a spinoff, that’s going to be a much more inviting scenario for them.”
Purdy predicts about a few hundred thousand handheld devices will be sold in 1997, but sales of about 1 million a year thereafter are expected.
“We believe the price point of $500 is about right, and over time we’re more likely to see more functionality at that price point,” said Purdy.
