NAND flash PC

Sony also said it plans to launch a palm-top computer that is smaller in size than a paperback book in late May in Japan, competing with handheld computers based on Microsoft Corp.`s Origami project.

Sony said its new handheld computer that works on Microsoft`s Windows XP operating system and is equipped with both a touch screen and small built-in keyboard, is expected to retail for about 170,000 yen.

Microsoft in March unveiled its Origami project, a paperback-book-sized portable computer that is a hybrid between a laptop PC and a host of mobile devices that the world`s largest software maker hopes will create an entirely new market.

Sony plans to start selling the handheld PC in Japan on May 27, and the timing for U.S. sales will not be far from the Japanese launch.

Besides the upcoming model, which has a hard disk drive, Sony is developing a new machine that is equipped with NAND-type flash memory as its storage, Sony`s Ishida said.

``With flash memory, it will take less time to start up application software and become more durable, and its battery will last substantially longer,`` Ishida said.

The move is expected to come as a boon for Samsung and Toshiba, the world`s top two makers of NAND flash memory, widely used in Apple Computer Inc.`s iPod and other portable electronics.