Mobile & Wireless UPDATE—brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network.
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November 21, 2002—In this issue:
1. MOBILE & WIRELESS PERSPECTIVES
- More About the Tablet PC Launch
2. MOBILE & WIRELESS NEWS & VIEWS
- Microsoft Portrait
- RIM Licenses Its Keyboard
- Graphics for Cell Phones
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- The Microsoft Mobility Tour Is Coming Soon to a City Near You!
- Planning on Getting Certified? Pick Up Our New eBook!
4. INSTANT POLL
- Results of Previous Poll: Mobile and Wireless Applications
- New Instant Poll: Do You Use a BlackBerry?
5. RESOURCES
- Tip: Install an AP
- Event Highlight: Wireless Positioning and LBS
6. NEW AND IMPROVED
- Use Wireless Digital Security
- Use One IP Address to Provide Internet Access to 253 PCs
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])
Two weeks ago, Microsoft launched the Tablet PC at an event in New York City. As I write, the first devices are in stores: Over the weekend, CompUSA advertised Toshiba and ViewSonic units here in Modesto, California. As I anticipated, vendors priced the devices similarly to conventional high-end notebook PCs. Lower-priced units (e.g., the ViewSonic Tablet PC V1100) sell for less than $2000, and higher-end units (e.g., Toshiba's Portege 3500) sell for about $500 more.
The devices vary in design. The Portege is a convertible unit that resembles Acer's TravelMate 100. (For information about the TravelMate, see my Windows & .NET Magazine article "Acer TravelMate 100," http://www.winnetmag.com, InstantDoc ID 26688.) You can use the Portege as you would a conventional notebook PC, or you can fold down the screen to cover the keyboard and use it with the stylus as a tablet device. Fujitsu, Motion Computing, and ViewSonic have produced a "pure tablet" form-factor, although all three vendors provide base stations and wireless keyboards for their Tablet PCs. Hewlett-Packard (HP) has taken the middle ground with its Compaq Tablet PC TC1000. (Interestingly, HP is continuing to use the Compaq name for this device.) The TC1000 is convertible, but you can also completely remove the keyboard from the unit. The TC1000 is also the least expensive Tablet PC, with prices starting at $1699.
For more information about the Tablet PC and the above-mentioned models, see the following URLs.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/default.asp
http://www.acersupport.com/notebook/html/tabletpc.html
http://www.compaq.com/products/tabletpc
http://www.motioncomputing.com
http://63.220.28.252/weber/toshiba/tabletpc.html
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/tablet_pc_tabletpcv1100.htm
Next time, I'll tell you about the Tablet PCs I saw at COMDEX Fall 2002. I'll also talk about the other new devices I saw there, such as the Dell Axim X5 Pocket PC, which is setting a new price point for Pocket PCs (the low-cost 32MB version of the Dell Axim X5 sells for just $199 after rebate) and comes with new Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Premium software that includes Microsoft Pocket PowerPoint.
2. MOBILE & WIRELESS NEWS & VIEWS
(contributed by John D. Ruley, [email protected])
Microsoft Research is beta-testing Microsoft Portrait, two-way videoconferencing software for desktop PCs and Pocket PCs. Portrait requires a network connection and a compatible video camera. The download is free.
http://research.microsoft.com/~jiangli/portrait
During the past few months, I've seen a slew of lawsuits from Research In Motion (RIM) — creators of the BlackBerry wireless email device — against such vendors as Palm and Handspring for alleged violation of patent. RIM has now licensed its keyboard technology to both Palm and Handspring. I'm glad to see this development. What the industry needs these days is more innovation and fewer lawsuits. RIM has also licensed its technology to Nokia, so we might someday see a phone that offers BlackBerry capabilities.
http://www.rim.com
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has released a draft standard for a mobile version of the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) protocol. This mobile version would let you display drawings on cell phones and other mobile devices. The particularly interesting aspect of this development is that the editor of the current draft, Tolga Capin, is a Nokia engineer.
http://www.w3.org/tr/svgmobile
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine, this outstanding seven-city event will help support your growing mobile workforce! Industry guru Paul Thurrott discusses the coolest mobility hardware solutions around, demonstrates how to increase the productivity of your "road warriors" with the unique features of Windows XP and Office XP, and much more. There is no charge for these live events, but space is limited so register today!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/mobility
4. INSTANT POLL
IThe voting has closed in Windows & .NET Magazine's Mobile & Wireless Solutions nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "Which application is best suited to the mobile and wireless form factor?" Here are the results (+/-1 percent) from the 30 votes:
- 77% Email, Instant Messaging (IM), and other communications
- 10% Microsoft Office applications, personal productivity, and synchronization
- 3% Games, music, and other entertainment
- 10% Navigation and location mapping
- 0% News and finance
The next Instant Poll question is, "Do you own or use a Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry wireless email device?" 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]) During the past 2 weeks, I've been troubleshooting an assortment of problems that I've experienced while trying to share a broadband connection over my in-home 802.11b wireless LAN (WLAN). I solved the lion's share of these problems by finally taking some advice offered by my good friend Tom Henderson of Extreme Labs and buying a combination wireless Access Point (AP) and DSL router. The unit I got is a NETGEAR MR314 ($139), but Tom tells me that equivalent models from D-Link Systems, Linksys, and other vendors would also work fine.
Before I got the wireless AP, I was using 802.11b ad-hoc mode and attempting to use Windows 2000's Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to share the broadband connection. That scenario worked fine for sharing a dial-up connection but failed in conjunction with the awful software that my DSL provider (SBC Global) offered. For that matter, even my primary machine's local DSL connection wasn't reliable when I used that software.
Installing the wireless AP/router cleared up my problems. Installation and configuration (accomplished entirely through a Web interface) took only 10 minutes. My wife's upstairs machine now has access to the DSL line even if my machine is turned off. If you've been fighting similar problems, do yourself a favor and buy an AP.
If you need more AP information, configuration details, or definitions of the more obscure settings (e.g., what the heck is "fragmentation threshold"?), check out the tremendously helpful 802.11 Planet at the following URL.
http://www.80211-planet.com
At the Wireless Positioning and LBS event, you'll learn how to identify Location-Based Services (LBS) value streams and capture profits. You'll also learn about international case studies and best practices. For more information about this event, go to the following URL.
http://www.marcusevans.com/eventindex.asp?eventid=6882
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])
SmartSight released the S1005, a digital wireless video server that operates on the 5.3GHz band. Combined with SmartSight's S1000, S1005 lets users operate as many as 35 wireless cameras per site, instead of the standard 6 to 12 with analog systems. The transmitted video provides a clear, crisp image that isn't subject to fading and ghosting. The S1005 features Plug and Play (PnP) installation, a compact design, and integration with motorized domes and pan-tilt-zoom cameras. For pricing, contact SmartSight at 450-686-9000 or 888-494-7337.
http://www.smartsightnetworks.com
SMC Networks released the SMC7004VWBR Barricade Wireless cable/DSL broadband router. The networking device combines a four-port 10/100Mbps dual-speed switch, an 802.11b wireless Access Point (AP), Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall security, network management, and VPN pass-through support. The router uses one IP address to provide simultaneous Internet access for as many as 253 PCs. The DHCP server helps manage all the connections by automatically assigning IP addresses to devices on your network. For pricing, contact SMC Networks at 800-762-4968.
http://www.smc.com
7. CONTACT US
Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions:
- ABOUT MOBILE AND WIRELESS PERSPECTIVES — [email protected]
- ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER IN GENERAL — [email protected]
(please mention the newsletter name in the subject line) - TECHNICAL QUESTIONS — http://www.winnetmag.net/forums
- PRODUCT NEWS — [email protected]
- QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR MOBILE & WIRELESS UPDATE SUBSCRIPTION?
Email Customer Support — mobile_&[email protected]
- WANT TO SPONSOR MOBILE & WIRELESS UPDATE?
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