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Sony Puts Its Hand-Helds on Hold Wednesday, June 2 2004
Sony Electronics Inc. said it is "reassessing" its involvement with hand-held computers, stating that it has no plans to release new models of its Clie devices in the U.S. later this year.
The action amounts to an exit by Sony Electronics, a unit of Tokyo-based Sony Corp., from the U.S. hand-held-computer industry, by far the world's biggest market for the devices. Sony's move is the latest sign of the waning prospects for the gadgets known as personal digital assistants, which are being vastly outsold by cellphones that offer computing capabilities.
Sony's pullout underlines the overall decline of conventional hand-held devices, which typically are used to keep track of contact information and appointments. That market was hit hard by the tech downturn several years ago. Since then, the industry has been battered by the rise of competing devices, including high-end cellphones. Sony is still developing sophisticated cellphones in a joint venture with Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson.
Sony's decision was better news for palmOne Inc., which sells competing devices based on PalmSource operating systems. PalmOne's shares traded at $21.45, up 1%, in 4 p.m. Nasdaq trading. A palmOne spokeswoman said, "Sony's exit bolsters our leadership position" in the hand-held market.
Sony entered the hand-held market in 2000 with its first Clie, which stands for Communication Linkage for Information and Entertainment, following the success of market leader Palm Inc., which subsequently split into palmOne and PalmSource.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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