Psion in netBook drive

Psion wants to recruit more resellers to help sell its Java-based netBook device into niche markets.

Going head to head with sub-notebook Windows CE machines such as Hewlett-Packard's Jornada, Psion hopes it can build on the foothold created by its earlier Organiser products in sectors such as healthcare, transport, financial services, retail and warehousing.

The vendor has launched a channel strategy to give partners training, marketing assistance, pre- and post-sales support and tech support, according to Vipul Palan, UK sales manager at Psion. There is also a discount scheme for bulk buys.

"If resellers want a Psion representative to attend a bid process, we will provide that too," he added.

The strategy follows Psion's recent alliances with Sun Microsystems, IBM and Oracle.

The netBook (pictured) offers users integration with IBM's MQ database, with DB2 on the way, and Oracle 8i and 8i Light, which comes with Oracle 8i. Palan also said Psion hoped to enlist its partners' resellers to sell the netBook.

In addition, Psion hopes the netBook will offer resellers added value for customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

"The mobile end of CRM is something that very few people are thinking about at the moment," Palan said.