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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Sony Exits U.S. Handheld Market

Brighthand: "Today Sony announced that it will no longer develop and sell Clie handheld models to the United States market ... While Sony claims that it is simply reassessing the conventional PDA market and will continue to manufacture Clie models for the Japanese market, several industry insiders had recently predicted attrition among the ranks of the handheld manufacturers, primarily due to flat overall sales in handhelds for the past two years ... Sony released nearly twenty different Clie models [between 2000 and 2004], breaking new ground in the area of design with its innovate NR and UX series. In early 2004 it released its final U.S. model, the Clie TH55."

Wow. As the owner of a Sony CLIE and a fan, I'm shocked: Sony's devices had style few others could emulate, though I'm not a big fan of the weird scrollwheel-based UI they introduced in recent models. This is a shame, but no doubt related to the parent company's financial troubles and a desire to consolidate unprofitable businesses.

Note: Sony doesn't yet have a press release announcing this event available to the public.

[ Posted at 10:56 AM | Permalink ]