3Com Plans Device "Bigger Than Palm"
3Com Corp. is reportedly planning a summer rollout of an Internet appliance that may be "bigger than Palm." The new device is part of 3Com's new strategy to concentrate on
high-growth products, 3Com Chairman Eric Benhamou told Reuters in an interview during a technology conference at Cannes, France. "We expect
the new product to be introduced in about three months. It is a consumer appliance which leverages all the things we learned about Palm. Our expectation is that this will be bigger than Palm," he said, adding that nearly 7 million of the Palm electronic organizers have been sold.
He described the device as one that would be used on a kitchen counter
top.
Last week 3Com said it would focus on three areas: consumers, small and
medium-sized enterprises, and network service providers, ceding routers
and switches to other companies. Its energy now will be devoted to
products that incorporate Web, Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, wireless,
broadband, and gigabit Ethernet technologies. For business, this will
include Web caching and firewalling, local area network (LAN) telephony,
wireless networking, and high-speed LAN products.
The new product will be sold on the Web and via 3Com's multiple
distribution channels through which millions of modems and other
products have been sold, Benhamou said.
Another hand-held device producer, Handspring Inc., announced today that
its line of Visor hand-helds and Springboard expansion modules will go on
sale in retail stores nationwide next week. While continuing to sell its
products at Handspring.com, the company says it is extending its sales to
brick and mortar venues to gain firmer footing in the growing hand-held
market. The company also said that its Web and retail strategy will be
established overseas later this year.
In a related announcement today, 3Com has chosen information service
provider VIRTMED as its sole handheld-related investment in the
healthcare market. VIRTMED provides healthcare professionals with
patient data via hand-helds and other devices.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com.