Sony Kills Clie

A Sony spokesperson said earlier this week that the company is killing its Clie brand of Palm-based PDAs in Japan, according to a report in PC World.

The company said last summer that it would stop developing new Clie models for the U.S. and European markets but would continue to develop the devices for Japanese users. The company now is backing off of that statement.

"What we are doing here is exactly the same as what we did before [in overseas markets]," Sony spokesperson Aki Shimazu told PC World.

However, she stopped short of saying that the company would exit the PDA market entirely.

"There won't be any new Clie PDAs but we are not necessarily exiting the PDA business," she said. In fact, she said the company may collaborate with other companies under its umbrellas such as Sony Ericsson for such devices, although she did not divulge any specific plans.

"It's a chance for us to recharge our batteries, to sit down and consider the business," Shimazu told PC World.

Sony's Clie handhelds were the highest-visibility devices using the Palm OS other than those from palmOne. As a result, Sony's retreat from the PDA market was considered a serious blow to PalmSource.