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Jim Thorpe of BellSouth Cellular Corp. Shows off Simon, an all-in one personal communicator.
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BellSouth yesterday unveiled a hand-held, portable personal communicator. The device incorporates everything a traveler would need to keep in touch -- a cellular phone, pager, task organizer, and fax and electronic-mail receiver-sender.
It was designed by IBM for Bell-South Cellular Corp. as the first entry into what may soon become a crowded market.
Other companies working on Similar devices - integrating some or all of the technologies include AT&T, Apple and Microsoft.
Jim Thorpe, BellSouth's vice president for marketing, said the device was the industry's first all-in-one personal unit.
All the communications tools are packed in one wireless, portable unit with the size and looks of a small cellular phone.
BellSouth plans to put it on sale for $899. It will be introduced in Jacksonville, Orlando, Daytona Beach and Melbourne in December and rollout nationwide early next year, company officials said.
Approval by the Federal Communications Commission is pending.
Weighing just over a pound Simon has a liquid crystal display as a keypad and touch screen to give users a choice of applications.
Customers can use a stylus to write directly on the screen to create facsimiles and memos, or they can use built-in touch screens with letters and numbers. Faxes can then be sent, or received, over the cellular or land-line network.
The organizer includes a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator and note pad.
(This article reprinted from the Florida Times-Union, November 3, 1993)
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