PC Retail

Back in the dark days before handheld technology was a part of everyday life, Widget was busy carving itself out a niche as a software provider for Psion, whose personal organisers will no doubt be remembered fondly by many. But with the turn of the century, things took a turn that left Widget in a rather difficult situation.

"Widget was founded in 1987, so we're 21 years old this year," says marketing director Mathew Jones (pictured right). "Until about 1997-8 we worked exclusively on Psion products. The death knell came in 2000 when Psion pulled out of the handheld computer market."

The situation that the company found itself in was soon rectified thanks to a bit of foresight and a lot of faith in a brand that was soon to become one of the biggest in the UK. "We had to reinvent ourselves so that rather than being a mail order company, we became a distributor with relationships with certain vendors," continues Jones. "Probably the most important one of those was with a company that supplied software that was called Palmtop BV, which became TomTom. So when that happened we were there first at the punch. That's how we became what we are today."

The explosion in sat nav technology, and the prevalence of the TomTom brand meant that Widget was able to concentrate on distribution, picking the products that not only interested the team at the company, but also tapped into market trends.

Having been given the stability to move forward thanks to its work with TomTom, Widget expanded its ranges to include a whole raft of similar innovations. "After Psion was dead in the water, TomTom was absolutely key for us, there's no doubt about that," adds Jones. "We were its first distributor in the UK, and we have cashed in on that.

"We're now looking at a stable of products that include things like the Pocket Surfer 2, which is a mobile web-browsing device – again, it's innovation that bought us to that. It allows you to browse the web at broadband speeds on a standard connection. We also have Cardscan, which is a product we've been supplying for quite some time, and is the longest standing intelligent business card reader."

The next few months look to be an exciting time for Widget, as it is looking to bring more new products to market, as well as a further expansion on its existing product lines. "In the next six to 12 months we're looking at two new product introductions," continues Jones.

"TomTom has obviously got its product roadmap set in stone, so we need to be able to capitalise on that. With Pocket Surfer we've got new models in the pipeline, as well as improvements on the hardware and on the deal, making it a more compelling offer which I believe is going to see uptake increase significantly on those products.

"We're also looking at an e-book reader, which I think is going to be quite a big area. The key to what I think is going to drive e-book sales is e-ink and e-paper technology. It makes me think that finally these electronic documents have got a chance."

So with plenty of new products on the horizon, Widget's boundless enthusiasm for its products combined with a dedication to finding the right technology to exploit at the right time should make the future just as interesting as the past 21 years have been.

"Historically, Widget has always had to go out and find the products people want, rather than wait for people to want them and then source them," concludes Jones. "It's a very proactive approach. Everyone at Widget loves gadgets and is really into the products we sell. So when we get a new product on board, part of the skill in what we do is knowing whether there's a market for it, knowing whether it's filling a hole, or whether it's just a gadget for the sake of being a gadget.

"We look at the trends and decide exactly what we think is going to be next, and there's a lot more mileage in that for us as we're a small company and we have to capitalise on the expertise that we've got."
Widget: 0870 755 3300