Pen Computers Re-energize Stagnant PC Market
BOSTON — May 5, 1992 — Pen computers are already delivering their benefits to hundreds of corporate customers who are improving employee productivity, reducing costs and streamlining the flow of information from their field personnel, said Kirk Cruikshank, vice president of marketing for GRiD Systems Corp., who gave the keynote speech Tuesday at the Pen-Based Computing Conference in Boston.
During his presentation, Cruikshank also said that GRiD — the manufacturer of the largest selling pen computers in North America — believes the pen computer is an antidote for the ailing PC market and will spur new growth by bringing the power of computing to workers who have been unable to use conventional computers.
''I believe that the pen computer will help restore rapid growth to the PC industry in the 1990s because they will make the overall market bigger and deliver on the promise of computing as a vital productivity tool,'' Cruikshank said.
''But what's great about this new technology is that it isn't something far off into the future. If I had any single objective attending and speaking at this conference, it was to make sure that I conveyed to all of you that this supposed technology of tomorrow called pen computing is here. In fact, tomorrow arrived yesterday.''
Cruikshank maintains that the pen computer is the tool that can re-energize the PC industry while also helping to solve both the business and human problems of corporate America. It is the optimum technology for automating the 57 million American workers who do not now use a computer on the job — but who could if it was just another simple tool, like a screwdriver or a pencil.
These workers do not want something that is complex to operate, has a keyboard and is heavy to carry around. At the same time, employers will not commit to another automation tool unless they can see a rapid return on their investment in the form of improved efficiency, productivity, competitiveness and cost savings.
''Pen computers such as GRiDPAD, which runs applications built under PenRight!, GRiD's software platform for developing forms-based applications, exist today and hundreds of companies and corporations are using them,'' Cruikshank said.
Information Systems (IS) managers who haven't done so already have plenty of reasons to examine the ways pen computers can enhance the flow of information within their companies, Cruikshank said. He cited a 1991 poll of IS managers that found their top priorities are to align their computer automation decisions with corporate goals and to use information technology to re-engineer the way their companies do business.
Cruikshank cited a number of existing GRiD customers who are using GRiDPAD pen computers ''to increase employee productivity, speed the flow of vital information and reduce costs by eliminating the expensive and time-consuming tasks associated with re-keying information gathered on paper forms into company databases. With corporations paying up to $7.8 billion for paper forms every year, it's easy to see why pen computers are catching on so quickly with corporations.
''To workers who now fill out paper forms, pen computing will be as natural as using pen and paper for data collection, and will deliver the added benefits of computer technology. They will be able to transfer data electronically to and from their pen computers via modems connected to headquarters' computer banks. Most importantly, the workers don't have to know anything about computing or how any of this works.''
Among the many customers who use GRiD pen computers are:
– Searle, the giant pharmaceutical company (a subsidiary of Monsanto Co.), bought 1,025 GRiDPAD(HD) pen computers with backlit screens and 20MB hard disk drives. The GRiDPADs give sales reps a way to enhance territory management while improving the quality of sales calls by targeting physicians more efficiently.
– In Florida, bridge inspectors with the state Department of Transportation are testing GRiDPADs for use by inspectors conducting annual inspections of the state's 12,000 bridges.
– The West Palm Beach Police Department is testing GRiDPADs for use in writing up traffic accident reports, with plans to expand the test for use in other investigations.
– Detroit Edison, a power company serving 1.9 million customers in southeastern Michigan, expects that the 367 GRiDPADs deployed with the Line Clearance division, responsible for trimming or removing trees that threaten power lines, will save the utility $1.6 million in operating expenses the first year.
GRiD designs, manufactures, markets and services laptop, pen, desktop and multimedia computers, pen-based software development tools, electronic mail and networking systems. GRiD, located at 47211 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, CA 94537, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tandy Corp., Fort Worth, TX, a leading manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronics and computers. Note to Editors: GRiDPAD is a registered trademark of GRiD Systems Corp. PenRight is a trademark of GRiD Systems Corp.
CONTACT:
GRiD Systems
Mike McGuire or Bob Goligoski, 510/656-4700