Brighthand.com
Live From CES 2004 - Afternoon Update
by Brian -  1/9/2004

After some delay here's what we encountered the rest of the afternoon:

Fujitsu has a new PDA coming

One of the most frustrating things about Fujitsu, is that their great products aren't readily available in US retail outlets. We talked to Fujitsu about this issue as it relates to notebooks and tablets, but the same holds true for PDAs. Like Acer, who we talked to earlier in the morning, Fujitsu finds the US market for PDAs to be far too competitive to enter.

This is a shame, because their Loox line arguably offers more spec per dollar than any other PPC manufacturer. This may change though, as Fujitsu is planning a new PDA for release this summer. While it's too early to know for sure, they did say that a US release is a strong possibility. For now, companies that enjoy the Fujitsu brand can buy the Loox PDAs in quantity.

Audiovox isn't very excited about their new PDA phone

We went to check out the new Audiovox phone, but it was amazing how unwilling any of their booth reps were to talk to us about it. The two I tried to talk to seemingly had no clue about the product. In fact, to get any attention at all, I had to pick up the giant plastic dome they had covering their new products. Sadly, the PPC 5050 underneath was only a plastic dummy unit.

ViewSonic could exit the PDA market

ViewSonic has regularly come under fire for quality issues with their PDA line. They only have one commercially available unit, the V36 which was released back in August. Based on our conversation with them, it appears there is a possibility of at least a long hiatus in the PDA world. However, their new tablet is very impressive and their LCD displays continue to be impressive.

Moto quiet on new Smartphones

Motorola won't confirm the rumored MPx220, 100 and 300 Smartphones. However they don't exactly deny them either. The release of the 220 should happen soon, but it's in their best interest to keep the release quiet. Sales of the Smartphone devices have already been a bit spotty, Moto doesn't need people to stop buying now in anticipation of a new unit.

We'll have a number of detailed stories over the next week or so that will profile some of the most interesting PDA-related news. We'll have more on palmOne's plans going forward, Sandisk's SD WiFi card with integrated RAM and an update on what the Bluetooth SIG is up to.