Sony to exit non-domestic PDA market

Sony is expected to announce that it plans to stop selling its Clié handheld anywhere except Japan - a blow for Palm OS supplier PalmSource.

The consumer-electronics giant plans to run down stocks in Europe and the US, only launching new models in Japan, according to sources close to Sony France.

Sony France refused to comment on the news, although it is expected to make a formal announcement this afternoon.

"This is a very bad news for us," said a source at PalmSource France. "Sony is our second-biggest client after Palm and was the driving force behind a number of technical innovations. The Clié range from Sony was the only Palm OS PDA available that included support for simultaneous Bluetooth and Wi-Fi," said the source.

According to Gartner, Q1 2004 saw Palm OS machines take just 40 per cent of the market, compared to 49 per cent in Q1 2003. By comparison, Microsoft and its Windows CE offering increased to 42 per cent from 35 per cent during the same period.

Jerome Thorel writes for ZDNet France.