Sony’s ‘Palmtop’ Computer Gets Its Data in Handwriting

Sony Corp. said Wednesday that it would begin marketing in April a computer that it calls a “palmtop” that can recognize more than 3,500 handwritten characters.

The machine is 8 inches wide, 6.2 inches deep and 1.8 inches high, and weighs 2.8 pounds. It will retail for $1,320 (198,000 yen).

Like a laptop, the palmtop computer flips open. It has a screen on the lower portion that a user writes on with a special pen. The computer then deciphers the letters, partly with the use of fuzzy logic, a system adept at interpreting imprecise data.

The product, unveiled late last year, is the latest to use handwriting-recognition technology instead of a keyboard or mouse.

“We’re targeting it at busy businessmen in their 20s and 30s who need a portable mode of data entry,” a Sony spokesman said.

The computer includes a software system that provides a word processor, personal organizer and graphics capability.

Canon Inc., Tandy Corp. and other firms introduced similar models last year.

But Sony’s palmtop, much smaller than rivals’ “notebook computers” and more powerful, can decipher handwritten Chinese characters, Roman letters and Arabic numerals, the spokesman said.

The palmtop is capable of storing 110 pages of Japanese text and has a built-in microphone and speaker to record and play up to eight seconds of sound.

An optional adapter will allow two-way communication of data through a facsimile machine.

Additional software systems for salesman and the insurance industry are being prepared, the spokesman said.

Until new software is written, sales of the palmtop computer will be limited to Japan.