Toshiba to launch PDAs in September

TOKYO: Japanese electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp said on Monday it would

begin selling two handheld computers by the end of September and target combined

sales of 10,000 units per month.

The handhelds, called "Genio", are the top Japanese chipmaker's

first foray into the personal digital assistant market and follow on the heels

of Sony Corp , which last year introduced a PDA to its product line-up. Japan's

electronics makers have been moving into the handheld PC market as they look for

new growth areas.

Toshiba's PDAs will employ Microsoft Corp's Windows Pocket PC operating

system and feature two types of slot, SD (secure digital) and Compact Flash II,

for expanding memory or adding other features such as wireless communications.

One version of the Genio will go on sale from August 20 and another with a

hard drive capable of storing one gigabyte of data will be sold from the end of

September. Shares in Toshiba were up 0.5 percent at 607 yen in late afternoon

trade, while the Nikkei 225 average was down 0.45 per cent as investors in Tokyo

braced for US technology earnings due this week.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.