Japan’s Casio Computer Co has opened a software arm in the US called Casio Soft Inc (CSI) that will build and market applications for consumer and business Windows CE users. Casio is a majority shareholder in the company and has provided start-up funding. But software product manager, Brad Nemer, was keen to stress that the fledgling company had complete autonomy, explaining that the parent company had felt that software was unfamiliar territory. With a staff of 12, CSI – which started off life as a department of Casio – does not represent a major boost to Microsoft’s attempts to make Windows CE the de facto operating system for hand-held PCs and PDAs, but is interesting because this is Casio’s first attempt to spin off an independent company. Though Casio will still provide help in areas such as distribution, CSI will pay for all services as if it were an independent company. CSI plans to distribute its products directly over its own web site and through conventional retail outlets.
