July 11, 2001 – Handheld computer maker Psion is hanging up on handhelds.

The U.K. pioneer of palm-top computing announced yesterday that it would abandon plans for next-generation handheld devices – notably a Bluetooth-enabled product – and said it would concentrate instead on the corporate and education markets and its Symbian operating system.

Psion's stocks dropped 29 percent on the European market following the phase-out report.

The company said it would continue to sell and service its current keyboard-based handheld products, but that it would dump plans to debut a new generation of handheld devices based around Bluetooth technology.

"Trading in Psion Digital has been difficult," Psion Chief Executive Officer David Levinsaid in a statement. "As a result of this we are taking major action to reduce our cost base while focusing on developing and exploiting our intellectual property and know-how tosecure profitable new markets."

In late May, Psion launched a network services company, called Signa, aimed at the lucrative Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market. Analysts predict WLAN sales to exceed $4.5 billion by 2005.