Xircom breathes life back into the Rex

Rex lives! Xircom adds a touch screen and downloadable Web content to try to revive the PC Card-sized PDA and enter the handheld market.

By Richard Shim, ZDNet News

November 6, 2000 1:19 PM PT

It turns out that the Rex is not extinct after all.

Xircom Inc. announced its plans on Monday to re-release the handheld device as the Rex 6000 MicroPDA and add improvements including a touch screen and downloadable Web content.

The move is Xircom's attempt to enter the popular PDA market and other related markets such as wireless networking while its core business, networking PC Cards, becomes more marketable.

"We are carving out a new sub-category in the PDA market called the MicroPDA," said Frank Gerstenberger, Xircom's director of product marketing. "The PDA market is growing rapidly and we expect to see more and more personalization as an increasing theme, and with that means a wider variety of case designs. And we're going after those who want easy and ultra-portable capabilities."

Purchased from Franklin

Xircom, the networking PC Card maker known for its RealPort line of PC Cards, bought the Rex from Franklin Electronic Publishers nearly a year ago.

Xircom then rebranded the PC Card-sized PDA as the Xircom Rex 5000 MicroPDA and began selling it.

Under Franklin, the Rex had been critically acclaimed among product reviewers for its portability, but did not sell well.

When Xircom purchased the rights to the device for $13.25 million, the company believed the Rex had not been marketed well and that its potential as a PDA had not been properly explored.

Limited resolution, other challenges

ARS analyst Matt Sargent agreed that Xircom's stronger brand and distribution channels could give Rex a boost, but said the device's success will still be limited.

"A better distribution arm and better name will give Xircom a better shot in pushing the product, but the space is very small," said Sargent. "The limited resolution that you can have with such a small device will ultimately hurt this device in terms of offering more features."

Another handicap may be the small developer community for the Rex platform. Palm Inc., for instance, has been touting 100,000 developers for its own device.

"Having a small developer community is a handicap for any platform trying to enter the PDA market," said Sargent, "but this has been blown out of proportion."

"What it really comes down to is that people are still using PDAs in general as advanced date and schedule books. The key for this device will be people who want easy and portable devices."

240x120 resolution

The Rex 6000 has a monochrome screen resolution of 240x120, and it now includes new features such as a touch screen for easier navigation and text input via a graphical keyboard and downloadable Web content.

The device's PC Card size (0.19x2.13x3.38 inches) and weight (1.4 ounces) remain the same, but its colors have changed and it now has a chrome finish instead of the original black.

Other features include 2MB of flash memory, a stylus for the touch screen, and easy synchronization through either a PC Card slot in notebooks or a USB cradle for desktop PCs.

The screen has five navigation buttons and seven hot keys for launching applications.

The device also has the same features as the 5000, including a calendar, address book, task list, and memo pad.

New content-filled Web site

Xircom also launched a new Web site, a portal that allows users to customize the information that is downloaded to their devices upon synchronization.

That information includes news, stock quotes, and sports and weather reports. Xircom plans to expand the site to include more content.

Initial shipments of the $149 Rex 6000 will be limited to online and catalog stores in early December due to the shortage in flash memory. Amazon.com and Buy.com are expected to be among the first sites with the Rex.