Hello,
--- On Fri, 6/12/09, Tony Kan <tonykan@xtra.co.nz> wrote:
> The PDA product cateogry is a good example of this, Apple
> starts the product category and persevered for five years. But like many
> pioneers, ends up face down in the mud with an arrow in its back.
It's funny you should say that because, to the best of my knowledge, Apple did not actually start the PDA product category. Sure, Sculley coined the term, but Apple was not actually first-to-market with a PDA device: the EO Communicator 440/880 was released in April 1993, while the OMP didn't hit the market until August of that year.
In fact, I'm fairly sure the EO wasn't the first to market, either, as there were a few also-rans that pre-date even that device (Wikipedia lists a Casio as the first PDA, but, well, that's Wikipedia). I believe that "Defying Gravity" talks about some of these early devices, but I don't have my copy handy (anyone?). However, my point is that Apple did not invent the PDA: they coined the term, but there were other devices that were available for consumers to use before Apple's device was.
Granted, they did help to *popularize* it, and that is important, but it's only fair to point out that Apple is also famous for "borrowing" the ideas of others and implementing them in their own products (the GUI and the mouse are two good examples).
Best,
James Fraser
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Received on Sat Jun 13 02:56:01 2009
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