Psion pans MS palmtop pitch

The vendor claims Microsoft?s CE operating system is not up to the job

Psion has hit out at Microsoft claiming that the software developer?s handheld techno-logy will not meet the needs of users as the company repositions itself as a mobile connectivity specialist.

The handheld specialist admitted that it will introduce mobile network computers in a bid to ensure that it stays a dominant player in the mobile computing market.

In a document seen by VNU Newswire, Psion claimed that devices based on CE will not meet the needs of mobile users. The document claimed that, while the Windows CE screen is designed to look like Windows 95, there are ?far fewer? ways of viewing information, battery life is far shorter than on a Psion and CE machines do not provide password protection on files.

?Windows CE is not easier to use than other handheld operating systems because it is similar to Windows 95,? the docu- ment stated.

?Pocket Word and Pocket Excel are so limited in functionality when compared with their desktop versions that they are similar in name only.?

According to Psion, while connectivity is important to all handheld computers, this should not be restricted to PCs. The document claimed that the handheld specialist will provide connections to Macs, printers, mobile phones, fax machines, the internet and corporate data networks.

A source close to the company said: ?Psion is repositioning itself as a connectivity company. It realises that to compete head-on with CE machines is a dangerous tactic and so it will reinvent itself.?

The source claimed that Psion already had technology in its software labs which will allow future machines to connect to the IBM AS/400 platform, as well as other corpor- ate platforms.

Psion is also aligning itself closely to the Java platform. The company recently announced that it had licensed Java for its Epoc 32 platform.