Mobile & Wireless UPDATE—brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network
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August 29, 2002—In this issue:
1. MOBILE & WIRELESS PERSPECTIVES
- Treo and BlackBerry Readers Respond
2. MOBILE & WIRELESS NEWS & VIEWS
- Microsoft Notification Services
- Linksys Wireless AP
- Sharp Mobile Services
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Planning on Getting Certified? Pick Up Our New eBook!
- Get a Free Digital or Print Sample Issue Today!
4. INSTANT POLL
- Results of Previous Poll: Color or Monochrome?
- New Instant Poll: Internet Connected?
5. RESOURCES
- Tip: BlackBerry Users Can Use Itrezzo to View Attachments
- Event Highlight: Networking Decisions
6. NEW AND IMPROVED
- Build Wireless Networks
- Go Wireless
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])
In the August 15 edition of Mobile & Wireless UPDATE, I discussed recent developments involving Handspring's Treo series of PDAs and cell phones, and Research in Motion's (RIM's) BlackBerry devices. Today, I want to share some readers' responses to that commentary.
Mark Hall wrote, "I just started using the Treo 300 with Sprint after my 2.5G Vision network was enabled." He says the speed of the network (which uses data compression to boost the effective data rate) "makes manual mail retrieval a pretty quick process." Hall said, "I was skeptical about giving up Graffiti in favor of the thumbboard, but I'm already a convert."
Fred Engel said, "I'm afraid to use my minutes for email on the Treo. I get so much email, I'm concerned that I'll use all my cell minutes (because you have to dial in to get the mail)—unlike RIM, which charges a flat rate for as much mail as you can use."
Keith McKinney emailed me from his Treo to say, "The Treo is the best tool I've ever purchased. When Handspring gets data services fully going, the Internet will be much easier to obtain data from—all wirelessly! I can't live without it."
Several readers are pleased with the BlackBerry device. Scott Curtner said that his organization uses about 3000 of the devices. "For the most part, people are happy with them. We also use Itrezzo for Global Address List (GAL) lookup, HTTP viewing, and attachment rendering." (See this week's tip for information about Itrezzo.)
Mark Wayt said, "My organization here at Cellhire in the UK is just starting to use the BlackBerry." Mark is a developer who has "lived and breathed Pocket PC" for the past year. However, he says, "The BlackBerry is so much better. In the time it takes me to turn on my iPAQ, start Bluetooth (I keep it off so the battery doesn't flatten in a day), wait for it to reboot because it says it can't start Bluetooth, enable Bluetooth on my Sony T68, dial in and log in to my mail, and try to type with the fiddly stylus (I don't have the plug-in keyboard, unfortunately), I've read and replied to two or three messages that were already on my device waiting for a response."
Wayt also said, "Don't get me wrong: I think both solutions are great in the right scenario. (I still have an iPAQ, but since the BlackBerry arrived, the iPAQ has spent 90 percent of its life docked in the cradle at work.) I do think some people will be staunch Pocket PC supporters and some will be staunch BlackBerry supporters, very much in the way that the Pocket PC vs. Palm debate is panning out." He also thinks RIM might have an opportunity to provide client software that would run on the Pocket PC platform.
George Petersen wrote, "I depend on my BlackBerry device to be connected." He then listed his favorite features, which include the thumb keyboard ("I hate the little pen on Palm and other devices"), a large, easy-to-read LCD screen, good synchronization with Microsoft Outlook for calendar and tasks online, alert functionality for incoming email, and good ergonomics: "It fits perfectly in my hands."
Scott Perley wrote, "Although I was happy to see you go beyond Pocket PC devices and mention the Treo and BlackBerry devices, I'd also like to hear comments and feedback about Kyocera's Smartphone 6035 and the upcoming 7135." I'll make a point of looking into those devices, Scott. In the meantime, for more information about the Smartphone 6035, see Sam Greengard's Windows & .NET Magazine article "Navigating the Mobile Digital World," September 2002, at the following URL.
http://www.winnetmag.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=25970
I'd also like to know what other devices folks out there are using and are interested in. Write and tell me!
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2. MOBILE & WIRELESS NEWS & VIEWS
(contributed by John D. Ruley, [email protected])
Microsoft announced Notification Services for SQL Server 2000, which provides the necessary infrastructure for organizations to develop notification applications for data subscription and delivery. The product is aimed directly at mobile workers who use wireless devices. Notification Services is based on XML, SQL, and Microsoft's .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR). It's available in both Standard and Enterprise editions. (The latter is designed to be highly scalable.)
According to Microsoft, large corporations around the world—including NASDAQ, "The New York Times," and Consorzio Gruppo Monte dei Paschi di Siena (the world's oldest bank)—are already deploying Notification Services. Per-seat and per-processor licensing options are available; and you can test Notification Services by downloading Microsoft's 120-day trial version of SQL Server 2000. For more information, go to the following URL.
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/ns/
Linksys is shipping the WAP51AB, a low-cost, dual-band wireless access point (AP) that supports both the 802.11a and 802.11b protocols. The WAP51AB "mediates effortlessly between wireless clients in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands" and provides 152-bit Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption and media access control (MAC) address filtering. The WAP51AB costs $299 and is available immediately. For details, go to the following URL.
http://www.linksys.com/
Sharp announced a wireless-email solution for Zaurus SL-5500 PDA users. Sharp Mobile Services runs on the Verizon Wireless Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) network. Developed in cooperation with Aether Systems, Sharp Mobile Services lets users send and receive email from POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. The solution also provides wireless Web browsing and attachment viewing for attachments in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel format. For more information, go to the following URL.
http://www.sharpmobile.com/
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
"The Insider's Guide to IT Certification" eBook is hot off the presses and contains everything you need to know to help you save time and money while preparing for certification exams from Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and CompTIA and have a successful career in IT. Get your copy of the Insider's Guide today!
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4. INSTANT POLL
The voting has closed in Windows & .NET Magazine's Mobile & Wireless Solutions nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "Does your PDA have a color or monochrome screen?" Here are the results (+/-1 percent) from the 87 votes:
- 72% Color
- 28% Monochrome
The next Instant Poll question is, "Is your mobile device connected to the Internet?" 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. RESOURCES
(contributed by John D. Ruley, [email protected]) Mark Hall's mention of using Itrezzo software for attachment viewing on Research in Motion'S (RIM's) BlackBerry device intrigued me. Evidently, his organization isn't alone: Itrezzo claims that more than 25,000 people use the company's itrezzoAgent software, and 450 organizations run itrezzoAgent servers, which operate behind the corporate firewall. The software can convert more than 30 file-attachment formats (including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, and Abobe PDF) to plain text for viewing on the BlackBerry. The software also provides global address list (GAL) and URL-lookup capabilities, and offers a print-to-fax feature that lets BlackBerry users print wirelessly. The itrezzoAgent software costs $75 per user. For test purposes, you can download a free trial version, which runs against an Itrezzo server. The software requires BlackBerry OS 2.1. For more information, go to the following URL.
http://www.itrezzo.com/blackberry_applet.htm
For more tips about using mobile and wireless devices, visit Windows & .NET Magazine's Mobile & Wireless Solutions FAQ section.
http://www.mobile-and-wireless.com/articles/index.cfm?action=faq
October 16 through 18, 2002
Chicago, Illinois
At the free Networking Decisions conference, you'll learn about 10 immediately usable network-management tactics that can drive costs down, business needs that will affect your choice of networking technologies through 2007, how to protect your wireless network from intrusion and attack, and the benefits and pitfalls of Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. You'll also obtain a step-by-step guide to enterprise wireless communication, and you'll learn how to find the right wireless solution for your enterprise. For more information, go to the following URL.
http://www.networkingdecisions.com/
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])
Prentice Hall released "Ad Hoc Mobile Wireless Networks: Protocols and Systems," a book by C-K Toh that teaches you all aspects of building a wireless network. The book covers leading breakthroughs, design and implementation, routing protocols, service discovery, multicasting, performance, standards, power issues, and applications. The 324-page book costs $89. Contact Prentice Hall at 800-282-0693.
http://www.prenhall.com
Network Instruments announced wireless support for its Observer product line, a line of protocol analysis and network-monitoring products that help organizations manage and troubleshoot networks. Wireless support now includes 802.11b packet capturing and decoding, Ethernet, Token Ring, and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). The Observer product line includes Observer for $995, Expert Observer for $2895, the Observer Suite for $3995, and Gigabit Observer for a starting price of $8000. Contact Network Instruments at 952-932-9899.
http://www.networkinstruments.com
7. CONTACT US
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