What do you get when you take two popular handheld electronics products and make them one? Qualcomm (QCOM) hopes you get a digital whole greater than the sum of its electronic parts.
The company Monday announced the pdQ smartphone, a handheld device combining a digital phone and 3Com's pen-based PalmPilot electronic organizer. PdQ can be used to browse the Net, make voice calls, send and receive both email and pages, and keep track of appointments and contacts.
The pdQ begins market trials in the fourth quarter of 1998, and is expected to go on sale in early to mid-1999.
The PalmPilot hit pay dirt when it found the winning formula for a digital computing device combining software simplicity and ease of use. Taking PalmPilot and combining it with the ubiquitous cell phone could result in an even bigger sensation.
The smartphone measures approximately 15.7cm x 6.7cm x 3.5cm. Weighing 229 grams, it uses a 160-by-240 pixel liquid crystal display touch screen.
