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September 26, 2002—In this issue:
1. MOBILE & WIRELESS PERSPECTIVES
- Palm News
- Simputer: PDAs for the Third World?
2. MOBILE & WIRELESS NEWS & VIEWS
- XcelleNet and Fujitsu Partnership
- RIM Sues Handspring
- Motorola Supports Windows CE .NET
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Planning on Getting Certified? Pick Up Our New eBook!
- Real-World Tips and Solutions Here for You
4. INSTANT POLL
- Results of Previous Poll: Is LBS in Your Future?
- New Instant Poll: Tablet PC Evaluation
5. RESOURCE
- Event Highlight: Internet World Fall 2002
6. NEW AND IMPROVED
- Connect to Any AP on Any Network
- Learn More About Mobile Imaging
7. CONTACT US
- See this section for a list of ways to contact us.
1. MOBILE & WIRELESS PERSPECTIVES
(contributed by John D. Ruley, [email protected])
The past week has seen a veritable blizzard of Palm press releases, and I'm still trying to sort out what they all mean. First, Palm announced that it earned just $172.3 million in revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2002—a 20 percent drop from the same period in 2001—resulting in a net loss in the range of 6 to 45 cents per share. Palm said that it shipped more than 800,000 devices during this period, representing 59 percent of the US retail market share as of August 2002.
Palm also announced the introduction of new brand names—Tungsten for enterprise products and Zire for consumer products. The first product to use the new brand name is the Tungsten Mobile Information Management (MIM) Solution (formerly known as Palm Wireless Messaging), which delivers email, calendar, contacts, notes, and tasks to Palm i705 users from Microsoft Exchange Server and Lotus Domino servers.
Palm expects the first Tungsten and Zire devices to ship this fall. Palm also expects consumer sales of Palm OS devices to exceed 5 million units this year, and "sales of handheld computers to enterprises are expected to account for the biggest growth segment in the market," according to International Data Corporation (IDC), June 2002.
What do all these announcements mean? On the one hand, a company losing money isn't good news, and the new brand names will be only as good as the products that carry them. On the other hand, I'm glad to see Palm acknowledge that corporate users and consumers have different needs (although when a corporate user goes home from work, he or she becomes a consumer). Also on a positive note, the installed base and product ship numbers look good, particularly considering the poor state of today's economy.
In the next couple of quarters, we'll see Palm spin out its PalmSource software subsidiary and deliver the first Palm OS 5 devices (presumably under the new brand names). I hope both go well! For more information, go to the following URL.
http://www.palm.com
SIMPUTER: PDAs FOR THE THIRD WORLD?
The fascinating "Scientific American" article "Computers for the Third World" (October 2002) describes an effort to create a handheld computer with a UI that's simple enough for otherwise illiterate people to operate. The device is called the Simputer. What first caught my eye, however, was what appeared to be photographs of Pocket PC devices—and the specifications sounded familiar. The processor is an Intel StrongARM CPU, with 64MB of RAM and 32MB of flash-ROM.
Pocket PCs for the illiterate? Sounds like a joke, doesn't it? But I can't help but think that the concept might actually make sense in the long run. Moore's Law (formulated years ago by Intel's Gordon Moore) teaches that the number of transistors that can be economically fabricated on a given area of silicon will double every 18 months. In practical terms, Moore's Law says that every couple of years, silicon-based devices (including conventional PDAs and conventional PCs) get faster and more powerful at a given price. Those devices can also get cheaper, if you're willing to live with a given set of capabilities. So the Simputer that costs more than $200 today ought to cost $100 in less than 2 years and as little as $50 a couple of years after that.
This story is worth watching. You can read the "Scientific American" article at the first URL below, and you can find details about the Simputer at the second URL.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000454AE-7675-1D7E-90FB809EC5880000
http://www.simputer.org
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2. MOBILE & WIRELESS NEWS & VIEWS
(contributed by John D. Ruley, [email protected])
XcelleNet announced that Fujitsu will bundle XcelleNet's mobile management product, Afaria, on Fujitsu Stylistic and PenCentra pen-tablet PCs for sales evaluations. Afaria provides tools for mobile device management, including software distribution, content and data synchronization, hardware and software asset tracking, and backup and restore. Including Afaria on evaluation units "will help prospective Fujitsu customers decide on the best possible management solution for ultra-mobile devices, applications, and data in the field, allowing them to reduce support costs and improve productivity," according to both XcelleNet and Fujitsu.
http://www.xcellenet.com
Research In Motion (RIM), creator of the BlackBerry email device, is suing Handspring. The complaint, filed in the US District Court in Delaware, alleges that Handspring's Treo k180, Treo 270, and Treo 300 infringe against "a patent associated with unique keyboard features" of the BlackBerry device. No further details were available at press time.
Motorola announced that it's collaborating with Microsoft to build a development platform that will permit the use of Windows CE .NET (formerly code-named Talisker) as an OS for the company's DragonBall line of low-power CPUs. Motorola also announced that it has joined the ARM consortium. Todd Warren, general manager of the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft, said, "The combination of the DragonBall processor with the Windows CE OS will enable designers to build innovative, small-footprint mobile devices that include support for rich applications, multimedia, and Internet connectivity." What makes this news amusing is that Palm has used DragonBall processors in all its devices since the original Pilot but is switching to ARM-compatible devices in Palm OS 5!
http://www.motorola.com/semiconductors
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
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4. INSTANT POLL
- 32% Absolutely - 18% Probably - 27% Maybe - 23% No
The next Instant Poll question is, "Does your company plan to begin evaluating Tablet PCs within the next 6 months?" Go to the Mobile & Wireless Solutions Web site and submit your vote for a) Yes or b) No.
http://www.mobile-and-wireless.com
5. RESOURCE
September 30 through October 3, 2002
New York
Internet World Fall is the largest, longest-running event dedicated to Internet-driven technology. The conference features a comprehensive show floor, special events, networking opportunities, and keynote addresses from industry leaders. Internet World Fall offers an extensive conference program, including solution-oriented sessions about mobile and wireless functionality, security, and e-commerce. For more information, go to the following URL.
http://www.internetworld.com/events/fall2002/index.php
For other upcoming events, check out the Windows & .NET Magazine Event
Calendar.
http://www.winnetmag.com/events
6. NEW AND IMPROVED
(contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])
SMC Networks announced the EZ Connect 2.4GHz/5GHz Universal Wireless CardBus Adapter (SMC2335W), a dual-band 802.11a/802.11b wireless adapter for notebook computers. The adapter connects to any wireless Access Point (AP) on any network. The autofallback feature ensures the largest possible wireless operating range in noisy environments. Pricing is $139.99 for the SMC2335W. Contact SMC Networks at 949-679-8000 or 800-762-4968.
http://www.smc.com
Cromland released ?Professional Mobile Image," a book that covers the mobile imaging topic. Learn how to take photographs that you can then immediately send over the Internet. Also, learn how to post pictures on the Internet or exchange mobile images with others. The 160-page book costs $49.99. Contact Cromland at [email protected].
http://www.cromland.com
7. CONTACT US
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