The implications of this development could be HUGE! Sony has decided to leave the U.S. and European PDA markets, stating that it will not introduce new CLIE models this fall in the United States. (The company still plans to sell CLIEs in Japan.)
What could really wreak havoc is that PalmSource, suppliers of the Palm operating system used by Sony, will have to scramble for business to pick up the slack. It'll be interesting to see which of the big manufacturers will do the most marketing to consumers (like me) who are in the market for a new PDA. WOW!
The surprise move reflects changes in the market for handhelds, as traditional models make way for devices such as smart phones. It also comes as a blow to PalmSource, which makes the operating system for the Clies.
The move is bound to create some upheaval in the handheld market, as Sony turns its attention to expanding its Vaio computer brand. Other companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell and PalmOne, are sure to fight it out for Sony's stake in PDAs. And PalmSource is left to figure out how to handle the loss of one of its largest customers for the Palm OS. Sony pledged to continue to support PalmSource, but analysts said that the software maker could take a revenue hit nonetheless.
