GRiD Systems President Predicts Huge Market for Pen Computers
NAPLES, Fla. — September 23, 1991 — D. Bruce Walter, president of GRiD Systems Corp., said Monday that there is huge market for pen computers – a computing breakthrough technology – with predictions of 20 million pen computers sold worldwide during the next four years.
He called pen computers ''the first new paradigm in computing since personal computers were introduced'' and noted that corporate customers are buying large numbers of pen computers to increase worker productivity during a softening economy.
Walter also said that GRiD, the only company shipping pen computers in North America and Europe during the last two years, will make several significant pen computing product introductions between now and the COMDEX computer trade show in Las Vegas, Oct. 21-25.
He made his remarks in a speech at the Information Week 500 Conference being attended by several hundred senior American business and government leaders. The conference concludes Wednesday.
In making his forecast, Walter noted that Bill Lempesis, a market research analyst who publishes Pen Vision News, has calculated that sales of pen computers into ''vertical'' markets over the next four years will total about 5 million units while another 15 million pen computers will be sold to users for ''horizontal''' applications. The ''horizontal'' market includes broad usage applications such as database management and spread sheets while ''vertical'' or custom applications are targeted at specific industries including transportation, utilities, consumer goods and health care.
Pen computers, which have no keyboard and use an electronic pen for data and graphics input, are bringing the benefits of computing to millions of workers who must stand or walk during much of their work day.
''These workers,'' said Walter, ''drive trucks, repair aircraft engines, stock bread racks, take orders in supermarkets, read electric meters and repair power lines. They write traffic tickets, sell products, inspect buildings, count inventory, nurse us back to health, man loading docks, fix PC's, deliver overnight packages, inspect pipe lines and perform 10,000 other vital functions in our economy.
''Today, these people don't use computers. This new technology – for the first time – brings them computing power. Millions of workers need the power of information when they are away from an office. They need it beside an oil derrick, at a truck stop, in a shipyard or on the street.''
One major appeal of pen computing, he explained, is the quick return-on-investment (ROI) that companies and government agencies are getting after they buy the computers. For example, he noted, one major pharmaceutical firm that equipped more than 1,000 sales representatives with GRiDPAD computers, reported that it got a full ROI in only eight months.
GRiD, which expects to ship 25,000-30,000 pen computers this year, has sold pen computers to many large corporations including Gillette, Kellogg, Marion Merrell Dow, Phillips Petroleum, Mobil Oil, Chrysler, Ford, Tenneco, Con Edison and Southern Pacific. Government customers include the U.S. Army, Florida, Texas, New York City, Phoenix and San Francisco.
''Our experience in the marketplace,'' said Walter, ''has led us to the conclusion that there will be two enormous markets for pen computers – an 'electronic clipboard' market for vertical applications and a 'personal productivity tablet' market for horizontal applications.''
He predicted that many new pen computing products will be introduced during the next year including pen computers under four pounds and combination pen/laptop computers. Walter stressed that ''sales will be accelerated when companies develop low-cost consumer machines and start selling them in computer superstores'' including the new Computer City stores being opened by Tandy Corp., GRiD's parent company.
GRiD designs, manufactures, markets and services laptop, pen-based, desktop and multimedia computers, pen-based software development tools, electronic mail and networking systems. GRiD, which has an extensive direct sales and support organization, demonstrates products at 45 GRiD Systems Centers and sells products through value-added resellers and federal systems integrators. GRiD is located at 47211 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, CA 94537. GRiD also has offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Spain, Sweden, France, Belgium and Denmark.
GRiD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tandy Corp., Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy is a leading manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronics and computers. A New York Stock Exchange company, Tandy has sales in excess of $4.5 billion annually.
Note to Editors: GRIDPAD is a registered trademark of GRiD Systems Corp.
CONTACT:
GRiD Systems, Fremont, Calif.
Bob Goligoski or Mike McGuire, 510/656-4700