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3CoM CORP.'S PALMPILOT may be the biggest hit in handheld computing since HewlettPackard Co. led the pocket calculator revolution in the I970s. Now other vendors are rushing to cash in on 3Com's success, thanks to a new version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows CE operating system, which runs on any palm-size device.
I was anxious to get my hands on Philips Mobile Computing Group's Windows CE palm-style entry, the $399.99 Nino 300, because I was impressed with the company's sleek, solidly designed Velo series for the keyboard version of Windows CE. I found most of the first-generation Windows CE palm PCs, except for Casio, Inc.'s Cassiopeia, flimsy and hard to read. But the Nino sets itself apart with classy styling and feature-richness Palm-size computers essentially are electronic note takers.They're best used for entering, storing and transmitting short items, such as contacts, calendar items and reminder notes. They don't have real keyboards, and they can't run standard Windows programs.
Product differentiation is hard to achieve because most of the communication and userinput functions are handled by the operating system.
The Nino comes with...