AST Research has thrown its weight behind the hand-held personal digital assistant (PDA) market.
It announced it would release a 450-gram pen-based unit in the first quarter of next year.
Making the announcement yesterday at Comdex, in Las Vegas, AST said it would target its device - now known only as the Model 2390 - initially at corporate and government users.
The company said the Model 2390 was designed as a data collection and entry device for applications like inspections, inventory control, market research and surveys, or signature verification.
But AST also hopes to find a market for its new device among individuals by including a suite of personal information management (PIM) and financial management software bundled with the device.
The system will run under the BEOS operating software from Geoworks - the same operating system used in zoomer, the PDA device AST acquired when it bought the PC operation of Tandy.
