dba+@andrew.cmu.edu (David Anderson) (05/30/90)
Laptop Computer Makers Agree On Standard For Memory Cards Mon, 21 May 90 09:06:56 -0400 (EDT) -- Dow Jones TOKYO -- Laptop personal computers that weigh much less and run much longer on batteries than current popular models have taken a giant step toward mass market use, industry officials say. Virtually all the major Japanese and American hardware makers, as well as key software companies, agreed in meetings here this month on industrywide standards for integrated circuit memory cards, credit-card-sized replacements or supplements for floppy and hard disks. An IC memory-card standard allows card-makers to produce the same pieces, and software houses to write similar programs, for the whole industry. It also makes it easier for users to work with different brands. Those factors all help create the critical mass necessary to attract hardware and software companies, and to drive unit prices down. "Everybody in the industry has been waiting for this standard," says Tom Shigeta, senior staff manager of OEM sales for Microsoft Co.'s Japan office. An official agreement will be released by the beginning of June. The technology still faces other hurdles, however, most notably a price much higher than the market rate for floppy disks. The standards committee includes representatives from International Business Machines Corp. and Japan's largest personal computer and semiconducto- r makers, such as NEC Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. Microsoft and Lotus Development Corp. also played a major role in the discussions. The agreement doesn't require the participants to match the standard. But many companies interviewed said they plan to introduce personal computers based on the agreement within the next two years. Most said they didn't want to be identified because they don't want to reveal future product plans. "By this December, there will be half a dozen (IC card-based) PCs, some of the notebook type, others of the pocket type," says Daniel Sternglass, president of Databook Inc., an Ithaca, N.Y., peripherals company active in working on the standard. Currently, NEC, Atari Corp., and Poqet Computer Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., which is 38%-owned by Fujitsu, make computers using IC cards instead of disks, while many makers sell machines that use cards in addition to disks. Several electronic notebooks or organizers, such as the Wizard made by Sharp Corp., also use IC memory-card technology. Of those machines, only the Poqet machine currently is close to the new standard. Advocates of IC memory cards say its advantages will persuade users to pay a higher price. They also say costs will come down as sales volume increases, and as technologies improve. The Japanese companies, represented by the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association, and the American companies, represented by the PC Memory Card International Association, have agreed on physical standards for the cards -- such as the dimensions and the number of pins -- and a basic operating system, compatible with Microsoft's MS-DOS and Digital Research Co.'s DR-DOS. Negotiations are continuing on other features, such as making the software execute on the memory card, but the companies say they expect an agreement on some of those aspects by the end of the month, and the rest by September.