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[1997/01/31]

In The News July 30 - Aug. 3, 2002

Palm Desktop 4.1 Now Available

Aug. 1, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. has announced that its Palm(TM) Desktop 4.1 is now available for free downloading. Palm emphasizes that this software is freely downloadable and useful for people, even if they do not currently use a Palm OS device.
[2002/08/04]

Sharp Expands Linux Line In Japan -- Partial Retraction

Previously Posted:

In case you were wondering what Sharp has been up to lately, the answer is, in a word, "Linux." First, to put this in perspective, the Zaurus SL-5500 available in the US is actually better than any product that Sharp has sold in Japan. That is surprising but true. In Japan, the top of the line was the Zaurus MI-E21 which appears to be the same unit, but with only 32MB SDRAM compared to 64MB in the SL-5500. Recently Sharp introduced a new device which might either be looked at as a specialty unit or a new top - of - line, the MI-E25DC which incorporates a digital camera in the back of the unit. But otherwise it is the same as the MI-E21, including the original 32MB SDRAM.

On July 12, 2002, Sharp introduced is newest Zaurus SL-A300. This unit is a new direction for the Zaurus product line. It looks much more like the lower priced Pocket PC 2002 and Palm devices. It does not have the built-in full QWERTY keypad of the previous Zaurus devices, and even the regular function keys are in a more common looking arrangement. It still retains a 64K colour reflective display screen, but only comes with an SD/MMC card slot (no Compact Flash slot like previous Zaurus units). However, it finally gets 64MB of SDRAM memory. The processor is an XScale PX2100 running at 200 MHz (not really faster than the older SL-5500, but perhaps a bit more energy efficient). According to Sharp it is 113 * 69.4 * 12.5 mm. I couldn't find the weight. But unlike the earliest Zaurus products, Sharp is featuring the Linux software prominently in its advertising materials.

Apparently my information above is incorrect in some areas. I have read a posting in the "comp.sys.handhelds" newsgroup which contradicts my information about the MI-E21 (and MI-E25DC) in some important ways. The message stated that the CPU in these units is a Hitachi processor and that the OS is proprietary.

If I am correct, then that's ok. However, if I am wrong, then I must apologize to all. I did make an effort to confirm the matter of the OS and had some reason to believe that it was, though not stated, based on Linux. However, it was a rushed effort and it is well known that my Japanese is somewhere between weak and non-existant. As for the CPU, I have "a feeling" that the fellow who contracted me is correct about it being a Hitachi CPU. In the jumble of memories I have tracing the history of the "eZaurus" line in Japan, (yes, this series is "eZaurus" in Japan and not "Zaurus") I do recall something about the Hitachi processor. But I do not think I heard it mentioned specifically for the MI-E21. On the other hand, as I write this (still in a rush unfortunately), I do not think I have any solid information contradicting it. Hopefully, I will get a chance to look into it further in the future.
[2002/07/17] revised [2002/07/31]

In The News July 27 - 30, 2002

MIPS Announces That Windows(R) CE .NET 4.1 Supports MIPS CPUs

July 31, 2002, Business Wire reports that MIPS Technologies, Inc. has announced that the updated version of Microsoft Windows CE .NET version 4.1 includes support for MIPS(R) 32 and 64 - bit architectures.
[2002/07/31]

HanDBase Synch With Databases

July 31, 2002, Business Wire reports that DDH Software, Inc. has announced that it has launched its "HanDBase Sync Exchange" which is available for users of Palm OS or Pocket PC devices. Three versions are available: "Sync Exchange for Microsoft Access", "Sync Exchange for FilemakerPro (Macintosh)" and "Sync Exchange for ODBC". HandDBase Professional has an introductory price of $39.99 US and includes exchange for either Access or FilemakerPro (Macintosh). HanDBase Enterprise includes Sync Exchange for ODBC for $99.99 US.

DDH Software, Inc. http://www.handbase.com/
[2002/07/31]

Microsoft Announces Window(R) CE .NET 4.1

July 30, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced the availability of its Windows(R) CE .NET version 4.1 update. Features include support for IPv6, Speech API (SAPI) 5.0, support for viewing Microsoft(R) Word, PowerPoint(R), Excel and Adobe Acrobat files, "performance improvements to Web browsing", remote display protocol (RDP) and Windows Media(TM) Technologies.
[2002/07/31]

Palm Canada Reduces Prices

July 29, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Palm Canada has announced reductions in suggested retail sales prices.

(All Prices following are in Canadian dollars)
Palm m105 was $229, now $169
Palm m125 was $299, now $269
Palm m130 was $449, now $399
Palm m500 was $499, now $299
[2002/07/31]

In The News July 23 - 27, 2002

IPWireless To Develop 3G PCMCIA Modem

July 24, 2002, PR Newswire reports that IPWireless, Inc. has announced that it is working with Wireless House of Sweden to develop a PCMCIA broadband (3G) modem targetted for early 2003.

IPWireless, Inc. http://www.ipwireless.com/
[2002/07/28]

In The News July 20 - 23, 2002

Toshiba Powers Up Satellite Pro(TM) Series

July 22, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada ISG has launched 4 new models of its Satellite Pro(TM) 6100 laptop computer series featuring 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 and 1.9 GHz versions of Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 processors. Prices range from $2,949 - $4,299 Cdn.
[2002/07/24]

In The News July 16 - 20, 2002

Nothing worth reporting for the last few days. -- JO]
[2002/07/21]

In The News July 13 - 16, 2002

Palm Introduces eBook Software For Windows And Macs

July 17, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Palm Digital Media has unveiled new versions of its Palm(TM) Reader eBook application for Windows and Mac computers, allowing Palm's eBooks to be read on these desktop platforms. The application software is freely available.

Palm Digital Media http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/
[2002/07/17]

D-Link Announces 802.11a/b Router

July 17, 2002, PR Newswire reports that D-Link has announced its first dual band D-Link AirPro DI-764 IEEE 802.11a/802.11b router which features higher speed 22Mbps 802.11b, 4 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports and simple interfacing. It will be available in August at a MSRP $499 US.
[2002/07/17]

Fujitsu Lowers Prices

July 17, 2002, Business Wire reports that Fujitsu PC Corporation has announced price reductions for its LifeBook(R) Series laptop computer. Prices now start at $1,499 US.

Fujitsu PC Corporation http://www.fujitsupc.com/
[2002/07/17]

AMD Announces mobile AMD Athlon(TM) XP 1800+ CPU

July 15, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has announced the introduction of its "mobile AMD Athlon(TM) XP 1800+" CPU built using 0.13 micron technology. Concurrently, according to AMD, HP and ACER Europe are introducing new laptop computers based on the new processor.
[2002/07/17]

How Bad Software Design Can Really Bite You

I decided that I wanted to move a large amount of work from Arranger on the Handspring Visor to a Palm DOC file. Arranger's "export" function might have a bug in it. I think the order of the items was wrong. Then again, I might be wrong about that. Regardless, when Arranger exports the data, it is important to check the exported data and edit it because "linked items" are not fully exported. Arranger only exports the title of the linked item. Also, it will look strange seeing all the data in various items concatenated, making them run together.

In order to work quickly, I decided to edit the DOC file in BigDoc on my laptop. So I was checking the original Arranger items on the Visor and deleting them as I was editing the DOC file on the laptop. Near the beginning of the work, I selected the menu item to load the DOC file back to the Visor.

After about 2 hours of mind numbing work work, I deleted the last of the items from Arranger and decided to synch everything. Unfortunately, although I saved the DOC file, I didn't go to the menu again to set it to load the file. I thought that since I had already done that, the current saved DOC file would be loaded to the Visor. Apparently, this isn't done. Most of the 2 hours of work was lost in the synch. Moreover, the Arranger data that was deleted was "gone" too.

This was very dangerous. Luckily, because I'm accustomed to such problems, on occasion I do a complete re-backup of the Palm data to another location on my computer. So I was able to recover the Arranger databases. Although I lost today's work, I still have the underlying files so I can do it again. Most people will not have done this and will lose the Arranger files. The main fault was "BigDoc" which should automatically update the synchronization setting to the last saved version.

Arranger might have been partly at fault because it is not as well designed as it could have been. First, if it could handle multiple files, then "exporting" the data would be less important. In this case, I would still be exporting the data because I'm completely removing it from the Visor for other reasons, but there have been cases where I have moved data out of Arranger to DOC files to reduce the "backup" time. Second, if it would have exported directly to a DOC file in the first place, that might have saved me some time, reducing the amount of work that I could have lost. In this case, I actually didn't lose that work because I had set it to synch the file right after I had finished importing it into the DOC file. But I did take some time cutting the "Memo" items that Arranger created and pasting them into "BigDoc".
[2002/07/17]

In The News July 09 - 13, 2002

Palm And Handspring Win NCR Patent Suit

July 12, 2002, PR Newswire reports that the US District Court for the District of Delaware has granted Palm and Handspring's request for summary judgement, finding that they have not infringed NCR's patent for a "portable personal terminal." [There were 2 separate announcements but they are the same case. -- JO]
[2002/07/14]

Treo 90 In Canadian Stores

July 11, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Handspring, Inc. has announced that its Treo 90 handheld computer is now available in Canadian retail stores at a suggested price of $479 Cdn. Its features include 16MB RAM, SD/MMC card slot, a colour transflective STN display, LiIon rechargeable battery, QWERTY keypad and Palm OS 4.1.1H. It is 10.8 * 7.1 * 1.6 cm and weighs 4 oz.
[2002/07/14]

EZTeach PocketPC Robot Programmer

July 10, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Genmark Automation, Inc. has introduced its EZTeach "Intelligent Teach Pendant Terminal" based on Pocket PC technology, for programming industrial computers.
[2002/7/14]

In The News July 06 - 09, 2002

PatientKeeper 3.0

July 9, 2002, PR Newswire reports that PatientKeeper, Inc. has announced the release of PatientKeeper version 3.0 medical software.
[2002/07/10]

Panasonic Goes GPS

July 9, 2002, Business Wire reports that Panasonic Computer Solutions Company has announced that its Toughbook(R) 01 ruggedized handheld computer now has a GPS option provided by Sokkia Corporation.

Sokkai Corporation [surveying and measuring instruments] http://www.sokkai.com/
[2002/07/10]

In The News July 02 - 06, 2002

Nothing New, After Long Wait

I am very annoyed. After having great difficulty accessing Canadian Corporate News today, I still ended up with no news worthy of reporting. I have no idea why accessing CCN is so slow lately, but at the same time of day I had no problem accessing my other news sources, so it was not a local problem, nor a general network problem. I hope they do better in the future.
[2002/07/07]

In The News June 29 - July 02, 2002

Kingston Announces 128MB MMC

July 1, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Kingston(R) Technology Company, Inc. has announced the immediate availability of a 128MB MultiMediaCard (MMC). The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $116.00 US.
[2002/07/03]

Symbol And Socket Agreement Re. Wireless And And Barcodes

July 1, 2002, Business Wire reports that Symbol Technologies, Inc. and Socket Communications, Inc. have announced that they have agreed to work together on 802.11b wireless LAN cards for Pocket PCs and mobile bar code scanning products.

Socket Communications, Inc. http://www.socketcom.com/
[2002/07/03]

aJile Announces Design For 100% Java Mobile Device

July 1, 2002, PR Newswire reports that aJile Systems has announced the availability of a reference design for a pure Java wireless mobile device (aJ-100WRP) which combines the functionality of a mobile telephone, PDA and game device, based on aJile's Java bytecode processor.
[2002/07/03]

In The News June 26 - 29, 2002

Franklin Teams With Mobipocket Reader 4.4

June 27, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. has announced that the coming release of Mobipocket Reader 4.4 with Franklin Thesaurus will feature integration of the Thesaurus into the reader. An upgrade will be available to a "Pro" version which will also feature Franklin's "Merriam-Webster's Vest Pocket Dictionary."

Mobipocket software http://www.Mobipocket.com/
[2002/06/30]

Electrovaya Claims Highest Energy Density Rechargeable

June 26, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that Electrovaya, Inc. has announced that its Patented Lithium Ion Super Polymer battery in its PowerPad series products uses Lithium Iron Phosphate postive electrodes allowing it to have what the company claims is the highest energy density for a rechargeable battery.

Electrovaya, Inc. rechargeable batteries http://www.electrovaya.com/
[2002/06/30]

In The News June 22 - 26, 2002

Handspring Treo 90 Now Available In US Stores

June 26, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Handspring, Inc. has announced that its Treo 90 (colour display, 16MB memory, SD and MMC card) is now available in US retail stores for about $299. US.
[2002/06/26]

Access Supplies Browser Technology For Palm OS 5

June 26, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that ACCESS has announced that PalmSource Inc. has licensed its NetFront(TM) ver. 3.0 technology for Palm OS 5 browsing.
[2002/06/26]

Toshiba Plans Total Mobile Integration

June 25, 2002, Business Wire reports that Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. has announced plans to converge data and voice through all levels of wireless mobile roaming through its Mobility Communications System (MCS) which is being built on its Internet Technology Supporting Universal Mobile Operation (ITSUMO). Toshiba is targeting 2003 Q2 for launch of MCS.
[2002/06/26]

Sony Adds New Clie PEG-T665C

June 24, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Sony Electronics has announced its new CLIE(TM) PEG-T665C which will be available in retail stores in the US in July for around $400 US. It features a 66 MHz processor, 16MB memory, Palm OS v. 4.1, a 320 * 320 colour display, and can be used as a universal remote control device with coverage up to about 15 feet.
[2002/06/26]

In The News June 18 - 22, 2002

[Sorry, nothing noteworthy for the past few days. -- JO]
[2002/06/19]

Internet Being Killed By Poorly Run ISP's?

There are many things hindering the Internet, but the one thing that could kill its chances for the near term, it is the poor quality of ISP service. I've noticed this for years. The last couple of days were typical of the worst practices of ISPs. I used Pathcom particularly heavily on Tuesday because I needed a download. It should not have taken more than around 40 minutes. It took around 4 hours. A quick check using 'tracert' indicated that the problem was local. So today I used Sympatico to research for this website. It was roughly as slow as Pathway was yesterday. Again, a quick check with 'tracert' showed that the problem was probably local. I checked with someone on Rogers' and he claimed that service was fine. Again, this indicates that the there was nothing particularly wrong "out there." It was just problems within the two ISPs. It is, unfortunately, common in this industry to "over sell" services. The companies keep signing more users despite the fact that their facilities are already overloaded. I believe AOL got sued for such practices years ago. I don't know how that law suit turned out. Maybe it's time I looked into it.

Is this a "Mobile" issue? Actually, yes. The current strategy promoted by mobile data device vendors is to rely on the Internet, and wireless access to it, to create value for newer products. If ISPs over- book services so that data cannot be retrieved in a timely fashion, then that whole approach becomes worthless. Unfortunately, current business practices seem to indicate that this problem will continue for now.
[2002/06/19]

In The News June 15 - 18, 2002

SMC Announces SMC7004VWBR Router With Enhanced Security

June 19, 2002, Business Wire reports that SMC Networks has announced its latest SMC7004VWBR "Barricade" series wireless router will feature many enhancements aimed at security such as Virtual Private Network pass-through support and Denial of Service protection, along with its 802.11b connectivity featuring 64/128-bit WEP encryption. It will be available June 14 at $149.99 US.
[2002/06/19]

Sharp Microelectronics Announces CompactFlash Bluetooth Card

June 19, 2002, Business Wire reports that Sharp Microelectronics has announced that its DC2C1BZ001 BlueTooth(TM) Compact Flash card will be available in North America. [Dates and prices were not given. -- JO]
[2002/06/19]

Pocket PC Films And nREACH Bring Films To Airports And Retailers

June 17, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Pocket PC files and nREACH have announced a distribution agreement which will bring Pocket PC films data products to Airports and retailers throughout the US through nREACH's Mobile Content Kiosk(TM). Data will be delivered on "media card" or "disc".
[2002/06/19]

AlphaSmart Introduces PalmOS Based Educational Product

June 17, 2002, PR Newswire reports that PalmSource, Inc. and AlphaSmart have announced the unveiling of AlphaSmart's PalmOS based educational product "Dana" which is a laptop size product based on PalmOS. It will be available from AlphaSmart's website in the Summer, 2002.
[2002/06/19]

Toshiba Updates Laptop Lineup

June 18, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba has announced a number of new laptop configurations. (I am omitting details. It is a fairly typical set of upgrades. See their website. -- JO]
[2002/06/19]

Toshiba e740 Pocket PC Has High Connectivity

June 17, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada ISG has introduced its e740 Pocket PC which includes integrated 802.11b Wireless LAN and a 400 MHz Intel(R) PXA250 CPU. It also has CompactFlash II and Secure Digital(TM) expansion slots giving good expandability. The device is immediately available at prices starting at $949.00 Cdn.
[2002/06/19]

In The News June 11 - 15, 2002

Network Associates Warns of JPEG Related Virus

June 13, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Network Associates, Inc. AVERT has announced that it has found a virus it is calling "W32/Perrun" which they are calling a ".JPG" virus. In fact, it is a 2 part virus system with a Visual BASIC executeable. It arrives as an 11,780 byte portable executable ("PE") file with an ".EXE" currently called "EXTRK.EXE" which is an extractor component (5,636 bytes). The system registry key is modified as follows:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open\command "(Default)" = (current directory)\EXTR<.EXE %1

McAfee antivirus software has been updated to handle this virus system.
[2002/06/16]

In The News June 8 - 11, 2002

TheraSense Turns Handspring(TM) Handheld Computer Into Glucose Monitor

June 12, 2002, PR Newswire reports that TheraSense, Inc. has announced that it has received FDA clearance to market its "FreeStyle Tracker(TM) Diabetes Management System which works with a Handspring(TM) Visor(TM) handheld computer. The kits will be available by June 14, 2002. Prices were not announced.

TheraSense, Inc. http://www.therasense.com/
[2002/06/12]

June 12, 2002, The Open Mobile Alliance has announced its formation. Its stated goals are ". . . to foster worldwide growth in the mobile services market." It expects to achieve this through development of open standards in the wireless industry.

The Open Mobile Alliance http://www.openmobilealliance.org/
[2002/06/12]

C-COM Proprietary Mobile Antenna

June 11, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. has announced the completion of development its iNetVu(TM) Mobile 74 antenna, which is a proprietary 2 way satellite antenna that allows stationary vehicles to maintain high speed (1 Mbps) connections for Internet use. The antenna was developed in conjunction with the University of Waterloo. The company intends to mass produce and market the antenna by Q4 this year.
[2002/06/12]

CDMA2000 Leads 3G Wireless?

June 11, 2002, Business Wire reports that The CDMA Development Group has claimed that there are more than 10 million CDMA2000 subscribers worldwide and that this accounts for more than 98% of the total number of 3G users.

CDMA Development Group http://www.cdg.org/
[2002/06/12]

Fujitsu Announces P2000 Powered By 867MHz Crusoe

June 11, 2002, Business Wire reports that Fujitsu PC Corporation has announced that its latest LifeBook(R) P2000 laptop computer is powered by a Transmeta Corporation 867MHz Crusoe TM5800 CPU. The estimated street price is $1,499 US. [It is not clearly stated, but it appears to be immediately available. -- JO]

Fujitsu PC Corporation http://www.fujitsupc.com/
[2002/06/12]

NEC Vesa E120 DayLite For Outdoor Use

June 10, 2002, NEC Solutions America has introduced its Versa(R) E120 DayLite(TM) laptop computer which is intended for outdoor use, having an "illuminated reflective display" and very long battery life.

NEC Solutions America Mobile Solutions http://www.necsolutions-am.com/mobilesolutions/
[2002/06/12]

In The News June 4 - 8, 2002

Telus Mobility Begins 1xRTT Service w/LG TM-520 Handset

June 6, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that LG Electronics Canada, Inc. has announced the release of its TM-520 which is currently exclusively available through Telus Mobility for use on Telus' 1xRTT high-speed (up to 144 Kbps) network service. It is immediately available for $249.00 Cdn.
[2002/06/09]

Semotus Announces Equity Pro For RIM 5810

June 6, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Semotus Solutions has announced the launch of its J2ME based Equity Market Pro (EMPro) real-time financial data application for professional equity traders. The software is mainly aimed at the RIM(TM) 5810 device which operates on GPRS networks.

Semotus Solutions (RIM financial application) http://www.semotus.com/
[2002/06/09]

SMC Networks Bundles Boingo Wi-Fi

June 6, 2002, Business Wire reports that SMC Networks has announced that it has partnered with Boingo Wireless and will include Boingo's Wi-Fi software with its 802.11b wireless PC cards.
[2002/06/09]

In The News June 1 - 4, 2002

Magellan GPS Companion For Palm m500 Series

June 4, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Thales Navigation and Ashtech(R) have announced the availability of its Magellan GPS Companion(TM) for Palm m500 Series Handhelds.
[Price was not given in the announcement. -- JO]
[2002/06/05]

In The News May 28 - June 1, 2002

Pocket PC Films Supports Palm With Generic Media

May 30, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Pocket PC Films has announced that it has a multi-year license with Generic Media to use Generic's "gMovie Player" to include the player on CD-ROMs, making Pocket PC Films' data available to Palm OS device users.

Pocket PC Films http://www.pocketpcfilms.com/
[2002/06/02]

Casio And Sierra Wireless Bring CDMA2000 and GSM/GPRS To BE-300

May 30, 2002, Business Wire reports that Casio and Sierra Wireless have announced that the companies are offering bundles in North America and Europe which include Sierra Wireless' AirCard 555 CDMA 1X and AirCard 750 GSM/GPRS network cards with Casio's Pocket Manager BE-300. [Prices and availability were not give in the announcement. -- JO]
[2002/06/02]

Toshiba Increases Investment in Audiovox For CDMA Coverage

May 30, 2002, Business Wire reports that Toshiba Corporation has announced that it has increased its minority interest in Audiovox Communications Corporation up to 25% to increase Toshiba's interest in the CDMA wireless market.
[2002/06/02]

In The News May 25 - 28, 2002

Handspring Introduces Treo 270

May 28, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Handspring, Inc. has introduced its Treo 270 wireless communicator which adds full colour support, a backlit keyboard and longer battery life. The list price is $699 US. It measures 4.2" * 2.8" * 0.82", weighs 5.4 oz. and comes with 16MB memory and a lithium-ion battery. The current model only supports GSM but includes an upgrade for GPRS in its price. It is immediately available.
[2002/05/29]

Handspring Introduces Treo 90

May 28, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Handspring, Inc. has also introduced a new "low price" version colour display Treo, its "90" model which only costs $299 US including 16MB memory and SD and MMC card expansion.
[2002/05/29]

Legacy Claims Memory Chips Extend Battery Life

May 28, 2002, Business Wire reports that Legacy Electronics claims that using low power Infineon Technology memory chips in its latest SODIMM SDRAM modules it's "Cool-ROM(TM)" units can save battery power.

Legacy Electronics http://www.legacyelectronics.com/files/56S5DS40-1HAG.pdf
[2002/05/29]

Source Problem At Canadian Corporate News

Unfortunately, Canadian Corporate News' site was not working properly when I was updating this page. I hope to check it again later this week. The site recommended contacting Microsoft if problems occur. This might be because it is using Microsoft software.
[2002/05/26]

In The News May 21 - 25, 2002

Palm Saves Money For Enterprises

May 23, 2002, PR Newswire reports that "[A]n independent study of enterprise deployment [of Palm OS and Pocket PC devices] . . . conducted by The Gantry Group LLC of Concord, Mass., shows that Palm OS platform delivers a 41 percent annual cost savings to enterprises. . . ."

Palm v. Microsoft cost study http://www.palm.com/enterprise/
[2002/05/26]

Consumer WLAN Growing

May 23, 2002, Business Wire reports that according to the Synergy Research Group, worldwide Wireless LAN sales grew 3% in Q1, 2002 over the prior quarter with sales reaching $450 US. Enterprise sales were down sequentially 12% but up 6% year over year. SOHO/home WLAN equipment sales were up 16% quarter to quarter but up 145% year over year. According to the report, SOHO/home sales represented almost 55% of the total WLAN market.
[2002/05/26]

Intermec Introduces 700 Colour Handheld

May 20 and 23, 2002, Business Wire reports that Intermec Technologies Corp. has introduced its 700 Color mobile computer which features the X-Scale PXA250 CPU in a Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 based handheld computer. [Price and availability were not announced. -- JO]

Further information in an announcement on the 23rd:
The Intel(R) PXA250 CPU runs at 400 MHz. The screen is '[a] 3.8" (97mm) reflective TFT display.' The unit also integrates 802.11b Wifi, Bluetooth(R) and either GSM/GPRS or CDMA 1XRTT, thus covering 3 ranges of wireless in each device.

Intermec Technologies Corp. http://www.intermec.com/
[2002/05/22] updated [2002/05/23]

Sony Not Geared To Mobile Computer Realities

I have found out that if you break or lose a stylus from a Sony product, you might have problems obtaining a replacement. Unlike Palm and some other companies which have ensured that such accessories are easily available to consumers, stores carrying Sony handhelds apparently are not carrying replacements, and ordering them from Sony, in at least once case, costs over $20 Cdn. for a single stylus. If this is going to be typical Sony practice, I may end up advising people to avoid Sony in the future.
[2002/05/26]

In The News May 18 - 21, 2002

Handspring Lowers Prices

May 20, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Handspring, Inc. has announced price reductions. Examples are the Visor Neo reduced to $149 US and Visor Pro reduced to $199 US.
[2002/05/22]

Apple Updates iBook

May 20, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Apple has announced an updated version of its iBook laptop computer which features a 700 MHz PowerPC G3 CPU with more on-chip Level-2 cache and an upgraded ATI graphics chipset. The new versions are immediately available at prices starting at $1,199 US.
[2002/05/22]

In The News May 14 - 18, 2002

Mobility Presentation Graphics On Palm

May 17, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Mobility Electronics, Inc. has announced a clip which attaches a Palm device (m5xx series, m130 or m705) to a video projector or monitor for immediate viewing.

Mobility Electronics, Inc. http://www.mobilityelectronics.com/
[2002/05/19]

In The News May 11 - 14, 2002

Novatel And Sprint To Market 3G1x PC Card

May 15, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Novatel Wireless, Inc. and Sprint (USA) have announced plans to co-brand and jointly market Novatel's PCS Connection Card(TM) (Merlin C201(TM)). Speeds up to 144 kbps are possible with average speeds of 50 - 70 kbps expected over Sprint's CDMA based network. Pricing has not been announced. The card and services will be available "later this summer."
[2002/05/15]

Socket Connects Pocket PC To Mobile Phone Via Bluetooth

May 15, 2002, Business Wire reports that Socket Communications, Inc. has announced an enhanced Bluetooth Connection Kit for Pocket PC devices or other Windows CE 3.x devices enabling connection to mobile hones by Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, NTT, DoComo and Sony working on GSM/GPRS, CDMA, PHS and cdmaONE networks via a CompactFlash Bluetooth card.
[2002/05/15]

Toshiba Includes Jeode Java On Genio e550G

May 13, 2002, Business Wire reports that Insignia Solutions has announced that Toshiba has included its Jeode PDA Edition (JVM) implimentation on its GENIO e550G Pocket PC 2002 device which is intended for the Japanese market.
[2002/05/15]

In The News May 7 - 11, 2002

OQO Ultra-Personal Windows XP Computer

May 10, 2002, Silicon Motion has announced that OQO will use its Lynx3DM graphics computer in its XP "ultra portable" computer. The computer measures 4.1" x 2.9" x 0.9" and weighs less than 9 oz.

Silicon Motion http://www.siliconmotion.com/

OQO Corporation ultra portable computer http://www.oqo.com/
[2002/05/12]

Wireless Roadside Medical Messages

May 9, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Roadside Telematics Corporation has announced that it has partnered with CUE Corporation to deliver emergency roadside medical messaging over local wireless networks using "802.11 and Bluetooth technology [sic]." [It appears from the rest of the announcement that the companies are using IEEE 802.11b and not 802.11a. -- JO]

Roadside Telematics Corporation http://www.roadsidetelematics.com/
[2002/05/12]

Good Technology Announce New Wireless Pocket Technology

May 9, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Good Technology Inc. ahs announced that its "GoodLink(TM) wireless corporate messaging system is now available and supports RIM products as well as its own "Good(TM) G100" wireless messaging device.

Good Technology http://www.good.com/
[2002/05/12]

Wireless Networking Too Much To List

There have been a number of announcements lately for wireless networking, particularly regarding 802.11a products, due to the NetWorld+Interop 2002 Las Vegas show. Check out your favorite product sources and you will probably find something to read about. I suggest SMC, D-Link (dlink.com), Cisco and Nortel Networks for starters.

Networld+Interop 2002 http://www.key3media.com/interop/lv2002/media/index.php
[2002/05/08]

In The News May 4 - 7, 2002

ARM And LynxWorks Provide Platform For Embedded Linux

May 8, 2002, PR Newswire reports that ARM and Lynux Works have announced that LynuxWorks' BlueCat(TM) 4.0 Linux and VisualLynux(TM) Integrated Development Environment will be packaged withthe ARM920T(TM) core-based Integrator(TM) Porting Platform. The kit is available immedately at $18,000 US.
[2002/05/08]

Mobile PDR For Handheld Computers Free

May 7, 2002, Thomson Medical Economics has announced that its "mobilePDR(TM)" is a free handheld version of the PDR available for both the Palm(R) OS and Pocket PC platforms.

The Thomson Corporation (mobile PDR for Palm and PocketPC) http://www.PDR.net/
[2002/05/08]

Toshiba Launches e310

May 6, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada Information Systems Group has introduced its Toshiba e310 Pocket PC. The company notes that this is the first computing product beyond notebooks launched by Toshiba in Canada in 17 years. It measures 125 mm * 80 mm * 12 mm and weighs 140 grams, and has a screen capable of "65,000 colour". The suggested price is $649 Cdn. and it is immediately available.
[2002/05/08]

Nokia A036 Cuts Cost of IEEE 802.11i Public Wireless LAN

May 6, 2002, Nokia has announced that its new A036 public wireless LAN should cut roll-out costs for operators by 25%.
[2002/05/08]

In The News Apr. 30 - May 4, 2002

D-Link Bridges Ethernet To Wi-Fi

May 3, 2002, PR Newswire reports that D-Link claims that its DWL-810 Ethernet to WiFi Wireless Bridge converts any Ethernet enabled network resource into an IEEE 802.11b wireless network resource. [Availability and price were not included in the announcement. -- JO]
[2002/05/05]

Bachmann FilePoint Pro Simplifies Palm Data Conversions

May 2, 2002, Business Wire reports that Bachmann Software has announced that its FilePoint Pro simplifies handling of Microsoft Office and PDF files for users of PalmOS devices. The software is immediately available at $49.99.

Bachmann Software & Services http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/
[2002/05/05]

Mazingo Brings Timberwolf Audiobooks To Windows CE

May 1, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Mazingo is now distributing audio dramas by Timberwolf Press for listening on Windows CE devices. [Some information taken from Website. JO]

Mazingo Network (Windows CE content distributor) http://www.mazingo.net/
[2002/05/05]

In The News Apr. 27 - 30, 2002

LSI Licences ARM7EJ-S Core

May 1, 2002, PR Newswire reports that LSI Logic Corporation has announced that it has licensed ARM's ARM1026EJ-S(TM) processor core and the Jazelle(TM) ARM7EJ-S(TM) core. The company intends to implement these cores in its Gflx(TM) 0.11 micron (drawn) and G90(TM) 90 nanometer (drawn) process technologies.
[2002/05/01]

W3C issues Scalable Vector Grahics 1.1 and Mobile SVG Profiles

Apr. 30, 2002, Business Wire reports that the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has issed Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 and Mobile SVG Profiles as W3C Candidate REcommendations. The Mobile SVG Profiles in particular are intended to bring vector graphics to handheld devices.
[2002/05/01]

AMD Licences MIPS64

Apr. 29, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has announced that it has licenced the MIPS64(TM) architecture as an addition to its current MIPS32(TM) based product line.
[2002/05/01]

In The News Apr. 24 - 27, 2002

Symantec Warns W32.Klez Virus Spreading Quickly

Apr. 26, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Symantec's Security Response hs upgraded its warning regarding the W32.Klez virus which is spread as an email attachment and particularly spreads through "unpatched" versions of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express
[2002/04/28]

D-Link Claims First 802.11a/.11b Dual Band Access Point

Apr. 25, 2002, PR Newswire reports that D-Link has claimed that its new D-LinkAir Pro DWL-6000AP Dual Band Wireless Access Point is the industry's first fully integrated IEEE 802.11a/802.11b dual band wireless access point device. It allows up to 54 Mbps connectivity on 802.11a and 11 Mbps connectivity on 802.11b devices. It incorporates 2 mini-PCI slots. The new device will be available in June at $499 US.

D-Link http://www.dlink.com/
[2002/04/28]

724 Claims High Performance Mobile Internet Gateway

Apr. 24, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that 724 Solutions has announced availability of its Mobile Internet Gateway which is aimed at 2.5G and 3G networks. Based on Tandem Cmoputer's development work, 724 claims benchmarks up to 10,000 transactions per second.

724 Solutions Inc. http://www.724.com/
[2002/04/28]

In The News Apr. 20 - 24, 2002

Perseus MobileForms For Datacollection On Palm

Apr. 24, 2002, Business Wire reports that Perseus Development Corporation has announced the release of its Perseus MobileForms information collection software system, for use with Palm-Powered(TM) devices, for the market research field.

Perseus Development Corporation (Palm based survey software) http://www.perseus.com/
[2002/04/24]

IBM T30 Has New Mouse Controller

Apr. 24, 2002, Business Wire reports that IBM has introduced its latest ThinkPad T30 model which incorporates its new UltraNav mouse pointer system has TrackPoint and touch pad characteristics. The new model will be available May 8, 2002 with prices starting at 2,499 US.
[2002/04/24]

Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor-M Hits 1.8 GHz.

Apr. 23, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Intel Corporation has introduced 3 new mobile processors. These are 1.8, 1.5 and 1.4 GHz. versionf of Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor-M. According to Intel, more than 30 new laptops will be produced with these processors, at prices starting at $1,999 Cdn. Prices are $637 US, $268 US and $198 US respectively in 1,000 unit quantities.
[2002/04/24]

Toshiba Announces Pocket PC e310

Apr. 22, 2002, Toshiba Computer System Group has announced that it has added its new Toshiba Pocket PC e310 to its line of handheld computers. The new product is priced at $399 US and features 64K colours and an SD expansion slot. It is immediately available.

Toshiba Computer Systems Group (Pocket PC) http://www.csd.toshiba.com/
[2002/04/24]

GTRAN DotSurfer(TM) 5000 Combines CDMA With 802.11b

Apr. 22, 2002, Business Wire reports that GTRAN Wireless' DotSurfer(TM) 5000 Modem Card supports both Wi-Fi (802.11b) and CDMA2000 1X on a single card. [NOTE: Price, availability and even the card format are not given in the announcement. One wonders if they actually want people to buy it. -- JO]
[2002/04/24]

In The News Apr. 16 - 20, 2002

Worm/Klez.G Virus Growing Problem

Apr. 19, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Central Command, Inc. has warned that the Internet Worm/Klez.G mass mailing virus is a growing problem on the Internet. It exploits a hole in "unpatched" versions of Microsoft Outlook Express or Outlook. It attaches random files to outgoing mail, posing a serious security problem.
[2002/04/21]

In The News Apr. 13 - 16, 2002

Mobility Electronics Announces EasiDock v. 3.02

Apr. 15, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Mobility Electronics, Inc. has announced the availability of software upgrades for its EasiDock(R) 1000EV and EasiDoc 5000 products. EasiDock v. 3.02 features hot docking and undocking with Microsoft Windows XP and 2000.
[2002/04/17]

Pumatech Announces Satellite Forms 5.0

Apr. 15, 2002, Business Wire reports that Pumatech, Inc. has announced the availability of Satellite Forms(TM) MobileApp Designer 5.0 software which is part of the Satellite Forms software system. The latest version of Satellite Forms allows for development for Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 devices as well as PalmOS.
[2002/04/17]

Toshiba Launches Portege 4010 Series

Apr. 17, 2002, Business Wire reports that Toshiba Computer Systems Group has unveiled its Portege(R) 4010 Series which features a 933MHz Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) III Processor-M. The base price is $2,199 US. [Availability was not specified. -- JO]
[2002/04/17]

AMD 0.13 micron Mobile Athlon(TM) XP

Apr. 17, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has announced the coming of its 0.13 micron version mobile AMD Athlon XP processor. The new version processor is pin compatible with the older 0.18 part and operates with a 266MHz front-side bus option. A low power version in a new "micro Pin Grid Array" (uPGA) is currently sampling. 1400+ and 1500+ versions began sampling in Q1 2002 with 1600+ and 1700+ versions available later this quarter. Prices start at $190 US for the 1400+ version in 1,000-unit quantities.
[2002/04/17]

In The News Apr. 10 - 13, 2002

SMC Launches 802.11b Compact Flash Card

Apr. 12, 2002, Business Wire reports that SMC Networks has announced the launch of its EZ Connect(TM) 11 Mbps Wireless Compact Flash Card Kit. The kit includes a Type II Compact Flash card (SMC2642W) and a Compact Flash to PCMCIA adapter. Maximum transmission distance is 700 feet and 64- or 128- bit WEP encryption is supported. Supported OSes include Microsoft(R) Pocket PC 2002, Window(R) 98/ME/NT/2000/XP. The kit will be available in May in retail stores at a street price of about $132 US.
[2002/04/14]

In The News Apr. 6 - 10, 2002

Summus Brings BREW(TM) Compatibility To PocketPC

Apr. 10, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Summus, Inc. (USA) has announced that it has ported its "exego(TM)" application to the Microsoft PocketPC platform which allows sharing data with BREW(TM)-enabled mobile phones.

Summus, Inc (software) http://www.summus.com/
[2002/04/10]

Compaq Announces 2 New iPaq Pocket PC Expansion Packs

Apr. 8, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has announced 2 new Expansion Packs for its iPAQ Pocket PC Series devices. The new PC Card Expansion Pack Plus ($150 US) and CompactFlash Expansion Pack Plus ($100 US) respectively use Type II PC Card or CompactFlash cards. Both use the new Cover Pack design and incorporate removeable rechargeable Li-Ion battery packs (920 mAh) with 1840 mAh batteries optionally available.
[2002/04/10]

Toshiba Tecra(TM) 9100 Features Latest Intel P-4

Apr. 8, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada Information Systems Group has introduced its Tecra(R) 9100 which features the Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processor- M (top speed is 1.7GHz). The suggested list price starts at $4,749 Cdn and it is immediately available.
[2002/04/10]

AMD Alchemy Au1100 Gives 400MHz On 250 mWatts

Apr. 8, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has announced its latest Au1100 (MIPS32 based) processor for the mobile market. Performance ranges from 333 MHz (at under 200 mW) to 400 MHz (at 250 mW) and to 500 MHz (at 500 mW).

Alchemy Semiconductor, Inc. (AMD) http://www.alchemysemi.com/
[2002/04/10]

In The News Apr. 3 - 6, 2002

Linux Labs Releases Palm OS Browser

Apr. 5, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Linux Labs has announced that it has released a new Web browser "Vagabond(TM)" in beta form for Palm OS. Its features include support for HTML, WAP, i-mode, cookies and SSL.

Linux Labs (Vagabond Web Browser for Palm OS) http://www.linuxlabs.com/
[2002/04/07]

Pentax Introduces DSmobile(TM) USB Colour Scanner

Apr. 4, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Pentax Technologies Corporation has introduced its DSmobile USB portable colour scanner which measures 11", weighs less than 12 oz. and costs less than $99 US.

Pentax Technologies Corporation http://www.pentaxtech.com/
[2002/04/07]

Kasten-Chase Acquires DataGator(TM) Assets

Apr. 4, 2002, Business Wire reports that Kasten Chase has acquired the DataGator(TM) )encryption/security software for Palm OS) assets from the receivers of JAWZ Canada Inc., and has contracted many of the development team. The product will be continued and as part of Kasten Chase' "Assurence SecureData" product line.
[2002/04/07]

In The News Mar. 30 - Apr. 3, 2002

Vocal Claims 4X Battery Life

Apr. 2, 2002, Business Wire reports that VOCAL Technologies, Ltd., has announced tha availability of a proprietary mode of operation combining asymmetrical use of Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) Codes and Turbo codes resulting in battery life increase of 4X.

VOCAL Technologies, Ltd. http://www.vocal.com/
[2002/04/03]

In The News Mar. 26 - 30, 2002

Sun Claims Breakthrough Consumer Device Java

Mar. 27, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Sun Microsystems, Inc. has announced its two new "Java(TM) Virtual Machine" developments (code named Project Monty) Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) and Connected Device Configuration (CDC)/Dynamic Compiler. Performance is expected to improve to about 10 times higher than existing VMs. The work is in collaboration with ARM and Symbian.
[2002/03/31]

In The News Mar. 23 - 26, 2002

Palm Desktop 4.0 For Mac

Mar. 25, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. has announced the immediate availability of its Desktop Software 4.0 for Mac. The free downloadable software adds Mac OS X support, superior synchronization with vCard and vCal support and multiple languages.
[2002/03/27]

iPass And Wayport Combine Public Wi-Fi Access

Mar. 25, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that iPass(R) Inc., has announced that over 450 Wayport, Inc.(R) high-speed Wi-Fi (802.11b) locations in airports and hotels are now integrated into the iPass Global Broadband Roaming network. iPass claims over 14,000 wireless and wired broadband and dialed access points worldwide.

iPass(R) Inc. http://www.ipass.com/
[2002/03/27]

In The News Mar. 19 - 23, 2002

Worm/MyLife.B Virus Alert

Mar. 22, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Central Command has announced the discovery of an Internet worm which it has named "Worm/MyLife.B". The virus incorporates a cartoon image of former President Bill Clinton. The company rates the virus as "fast spreading" with "Medium" risk.
[2002/03/24]

In The News Mar. 16 - 19, 2002

Palm Bluetooth Card

Mar. 19, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Palm has announced the availability of its Bluetooth SD card purchaseable through its website for $129 US.
[2002/03/20]

Microsoft Releases "DirectPlay(R)" API

Mar. 19, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced the availability of its DirectPlay(R) API for Pocket PC 2002. This free download for developers enables applications including games, to connect and interoperate over wired and wireless networks.
[2002/03/20]

Rayovac Announces In Cell Charge Control NiMH Cells

Mar. 19, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Rayovac Corp. has announced the development of a patent pending "In-Cell Charge Control" (I-C3) rechargeable NiMH battery cell which shortens recharge time to 15 min. or less.
[2002/03/20]

Rogers AT&T Markets Sierra Wireless AirCard 750

Mar. 19, 2002, Business Wire reports that Rogers(TM) AT&T(R) and Sierra Wireless have announced that Rogers will support the Sierra Wireless AirCard 750 for GSM/GPRS in Canada.
[2002/03/20]

Nokia Announces WLAN/GPRS PC Card

Mar. 18, 2002, Business Wire reports that Nokia has announced that is Nokia D311 GPRS WLAN PC card supports 802.11b WLAN and GPRS connectivity. It will be available Q3 2002. The Type II/III card is supported on Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP, CE 3.0 and Linux.
[2002/03/20]

Audiovox Pocket PC with Integrated CDMA 2000 1X

Mar. 18, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Audiovox Communications Corporation has launched its newest Windows Powered Pocket PC "Thera(TM)" which features "fully-integrated CDMA 2002 1X" support, which will be distributed by Verizon Wireless this spring.
[2002/03/20]

MPEG-4 Player in J2ME

Mar. 18, 2002, Business Wire reports that Philips and Sun have demonstrated an MPEG-4 player on Java(TM) 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME(TM))
[2002/03/20]

In The News Mar. 13 - 16, 2002

Magellan GPS Companion For Palm m500

Mar. 15, 2002, Business Wire reports that Thales Navigation has announced that its Magellan GPS Companion for the Palm m500 will be available Spring 2002. According to Thales, the main breakthough is that the battery life is up to 12 hours which Thales claims is 5x the battery life of competing products.
[2002/03/17]

Olympia Data-phone Uses Bluetooth Wireless

Mar. 14, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that Olympia International Holdings has announced that its "Data-phone" cordless phone based on NewLogic Bluetooth chip technology supported integrated voice and data transmission over public phone systems and other Bluetooth enabled devices. Production is planned for July 2002.
[2002/03/17]

AMD To Ship 0.13 Athlon Thoroughbred" Later This Month

Mar. 13, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has announced plans to begin shipping 0.13 micron process Athlon "Thoroughbred" CPUs by the end of this month. According to Siegle "Our closest competitor's most recently announced processor on 0.13 micron technology is nearly 83 percent larger than AMD's 0.13 process solution." AMD expects to migrate all "Athlon" processors to 0.13 by the end of the year, with 0.13 "silicon-on-insulator" "Hammer" devices by the end of the year.

[While this does not directly speak to mobile CPUs, the announcement, and past AMD practices, seems to imply that the mobile versions will occur within the general timeframe. It does seem to leave open the migration of Duron and mobile Duron processor. -- JO]
[2002/03/17]

In The News Mar. 9 - 13, 2002

AMD Announces Mobile AMD Athlon 4 1600+

Mar. 13, 2002, Canadian Corporate Newsw reports that AMD has introduced its "mobile AMD Athlon 4 1600+" CPU for laptop computers. Price and availability information were not given in the announcement for this 0.18-micron device.
[2002/03/13]

Mitsubishi And Toshiba Mobile Phone Alliance

Mar. 13, 2002, Business Wire reports that Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Toshiba Corporation have announced that they have agreed to collaborate in the development of 3G mobile phones.
[2002/03/13]

ACCESS Releases WIP Stacks With WAP 2.0 Support

Mar. 12, 2002, PR Newswire reports that ACCESS Co., Ltd. has released a new version of its AVE-TCP(TM), (IPv4/IPv6 dual TCP/IP protocol stack) and AVE-SSL(TM) (an SSL/TLS-compliant security protocol stack) optimized for small handheld devices. Support is included for WAP 2.0, and may include ACCESS' microbrowser 2.5G/3G.

In a separate announcement on the same day, ACCESS announced that its microbrowser is available on Symbian OS for the TI OMAP(TM) platform.

ACCESS CO., Ltd. (software) http://www.access.co.jp/english/
[2002/03/13]

Incomplete Update

Unfortunately, Canadian Corporate News was not working when I was updating this file. It is a slow period, so I don't think I missed anything, but I'll try to check it again later in the week.
[2002/03/10]

In The News Mar. 5 - 9, 2002

Samsung Sues SanDisk

Mar. 8, 2002, Business Wire reports that SanDisk Corporation has announced that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has filed a Patent infringement suit against SanDisk based on US Patents 5473563, 5514889, 5546341, and 5642309.
[2002/03/10]

Tiqit x86 Based Handheld

Mar. 7, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Tiqit Computers will unveil its "eightythree" an X86 based handheld computer at CeBIT. The form factor is 5.4" * 4" * 1.1" and weight is about 20 oz. It is based on a National Semiconductor Geode 266-300 MHz CPU.

Tiny ubiQuitous Technology http://www.tiqit.com/
[2002/03/10]

In The News Mar. 2 - 5, 2002

Symbian OS Powered Sony Ericsson P800 Q3 2002

Mar. 6, 2002, Business Wire reports that Symbian has announced that the Sony Ericsson P800 multimedia smartphone using Symbian OS v. 7.0 and UIQ interface will ship in Q3, 2002.
[2002/03/06]

Toshiba Portege 2000

Mar. 5, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada ISG has launched its Portege(R) 2000 laptop computer which features a magnesium-alloy case (0.6" thick) and weighs 2.6 lbs. Prices start at $3499 Cdn. and they are immediately available.
[2002/03/06]

Handspring Visor Platinum Available Again

Mar. 5, 2002, Business Wire reports that Handspring, Inc. has announced that its Visor Platinum is immediately available again for a limited time. The price is $169 US.
[2002/03/06]

Palm i705 Uses Certicom Encryption

Mar. 5, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Certicom has announced that Palm's new i705 wireless handheld was developed using Certicom's Security Builder(R) toolkit and "Elliptic Curve Cryptography".
[2002/03/06]

Mar. 4, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Palm has introduced its m130 and m515 handheld computers:

m130
- 8MB RAM
- colour screens with 65,000 colours
- rechargeable battery
- $449 Cdn.

m515
- 16MB RAM
- colour screens with 65,000 colours
 (new, brighter screen)
- $649 Cdn.

Both are immediately available in most countries.
[2002/03/06]

Acer TravelMate 630 Laptop Series

Mar. 4, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Acer America Corporation has announced the addition of its TravelMate 630 laptop computers featuring Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processor-M.
[2002/03/06]

Sharp PC-UM20

Mar. 4, 2002, Business Wire reports that Sharp Systems of America has announced general availability of its new PC-UM20 ultra-light laptop computer $1,699 US.
[2002/03/06]

In The News Feb. 26 - Mar. 2, 2002

Dolch Announces FlexPAC P4 Industrial Portable

Feb. 27, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Dolch Computer Systems has announced that its FlexPAC P4 industrial portable computer features an Intel Pentium 4 in a multi-slot portable package.
[2002/03/03]

Retiring Sony B1207 CDMA

On Mar. 1, 2002, I retired my original Sony B1207 CDMA handset. I have replaced it with a later version of the same handset that I obtained second hand. Having used it since the Fall of 1997 (about 4 1/2 years) it has given good service. In fact, the circuitry and battery are still working. The only problem is that after many drops, the case is cracked the looseness is causing erratic functioning.
[2002/03/03]

In The News Feb. 23 - 26, 2002

Legend GSM/GPRS To Use TI OMAP

Feb. 27, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Legend Holding Limited has announced that it has selected TI's OMAP(TM) processors for its 2.5G and 3G handheld Internet devices.
[2002/02/27]

Sharp Announces Better LCD For Handhelds

Feb. 26, 2002, Business Wire reports that Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas has announced the availability of a 3.5" High-Reflective Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display (HR-TFT LCD) LQ035Q2DD54. Contrast ratio is 8:1 with 6-bit digital colour and power consumption of less than 56 mW.
[2002/02/27]

NetBSD For Intel(R) XScale(TM)

Feb. 26, 2002, PR Newswire report that Wasabi Systems has announced "its support for the Intel IOP321 I/O processor based on the XScale(TM) core.

Wasabi Systems (NetBSD for Intel XScale) http://www.wasabisystems.com/
[2002/02/27]

Samsung SPH-a400 GPS Enabled Wireless Handset

Feb. 25, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Sprint PCS and Samsung Telecommunications America have launched the SPH-a400 GPS enabled handset in the US market. It is available now at Sprint Stores for $199.99 US.
[2002/02/27]

Trident Annoucnes Low-Power XP2(TM) Graphics

Feb. 25, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Trident Microsystems, Inc. has announced that it is delivering its CyberBLADE XP2 family 200 MHz discrete XP2 chip and support chips for notebook computers.

Trident Microsystems, Inc. http://www.tridentmicro.com/
[2002/02/27]

In The News Feb. 19 - 23, 2002

SplashShopper For PalmOS Virtual Wallet Shopping List

Feb. 22, 2002, Business Wire reports that SplashData has announced that its "SplashShopper(TM)" is a shopping list manager. It is immediately available for $9.95 US. The price will double on Feb. 28, 2002.

SplashShopper http://www.splashdata.com/
[2002/02/24]

Music Videos On Mobile Devices

Feb. 19, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that Alcatel, Compaq and Packet Video have jointed to demonstrate music video charts and clips over GPRS enabled Pocket PC devices such as the Compaq iPaq Pocket PC.
[2002/02/24]

Why I Hate Mail-in Rebates

On Feb. 21, 2002, I received the two rebate cheques for the SMC LAN products. I'm still waiting for the HP camera rebate. But it doesn't change my opinion of mail-in rebates. I'd rather have an in-store discount, even for a little less of a saving.
[2002/02/23]

On Nov. 15, 2001, I mailed in a rebate applications to Future Shop for an SMC network kit ($40 Cdn. rebate) and another for an SMC 10/100 LAN PC-Card ($30 Cdn. rebate). On Dec. 31, I sent in a rebate application for an HP PS-315 camera ($20 Cdn. rebate). As of Feb. 20, 2002, none of these have arrived. Even if they do, I'll have had to keep track of all this paperwork in the meantime. I think in most cases, I'd prefer a $20 discount over a $30 mail-in rebate.
[2002/02/20]

In The News Feb. 16 - 19, 2002

Earthlink Brings Wireless Email to Palm OS And Pocket PC

Feb. 20, 2002, Business Wire reports that EarthLink has announced that its "EarthLink Wireless Email and Internet Service" is now available on select Palm OS and Pocket PC handheld devices.
[2002/02/20]

Palm Licenses Bluetooth Based Chat And Whiteboard Software

Feb. 20, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Colligo Networks, Inc. has announced that Palm, Inc. has licensed two of its Bluetooth based "Portable Collaborative Networking" (PCN) applications -- its BlueChat (private messaging and chat application) and BlueBoard (shared real-time imaging software). Palm's Bluetooth card and the software are expected to begin distribution on Mar. 4, 2002.

Colligo Networks (Palm bluetooth software) http://www.colligo.com/
[2002/02/20]

Microsoft Announces Mobile Information Server 2002 Enterprise Edition

Feb. 20, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced the availability of its Mobile Information Server 2002 Enterprise Edition.

Microsoft Mobile Information Server 2002 Enterprise Edition http://www.microsoft.com/miserver/
[2002/02/20]

Sharp and iAnywhere Promote Java Development For Zaurus

Feb. 20, 2002, PR Newswire reports that iAnywhere Solutions, Inc. and Sharp Electronics Corp. have announced special promotions, pricing and technical information are available for their developers to promote Java development on the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500.
[2002/02/20]

Symbian Announces Symbian OS 7.0 And "UIQ" User Interface

Feb. 20, 2002, Business Wire reports that Symbian has announcedits UIQ user interface for Symbian OS 7.0. It focuses on "peer-to-peer messaging, including Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)." Also announced was Symbian OS v. 7.0 which enables 2.5G and 3G mobile phones.
[2002/02/20]

Columbia University School of Nursing Chooses Palm

Feb. 20, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. has announced that Columbia University School of Nursing has selected Palm(TM) handheld computers "an initiative designed to promote evidence-based, error-free patient care in nursing." The school is providing Palm devices for student nurses for use in documenting patient care. The basic platform used is the Palm m500 with ePocrates databases.
[2002/02/20]

Mitsubishi Announces Colour M-Services Mobile Phones

Feb. 19, 2002, PR Newsiwre reports that Openwave Systems Inc. and Mitsubishi Electric Telecom have announced the availability of "the first colour, M-Services compliant mobile phone, the Trium Eclipse, with multimedia download capabilities and GPRS." The Trium Eclipse has a 120 * 143 * 256 colour display.

Mitsubishi Electric Telecom http://www.mitsubishi-telecom.com/

Openwave Systems Inc. http://www.openwave.com/
[2002/02/20]

Pretec Announces GPRS/GSM CompactFlash

Feb. 19, 2002, Business Wire reports that Pretec Electronics Corp. has announced that it will demonstrate its new "CompactGPRS(TM)" card GPRS/GSM CompactFlash card working with Microsoft Pocket PC devices. The company claims speeds roughly twice as fast as 56K land-line modems and 10 times faster than GSM data. The device has also been demonstrated with Sharp's SL-5000 Linux based PDA.
[2002/02/20]

Novatel Announces Tri-band GSM/GPRS PC Card

Feb. 19, 2002, Business Wire reports that Novatel Wireless has announced the development of its Merlin G300(TM) Series tri-band (900/1800/1900) GSM/GPRS Type II PC Cards.
[2002/02/20]

Voice Signal Technologies Claims Breakthrough In Speech Interface

Feb. 19, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Voice Signal(TM) Technologies, Inc. claims to have a breakthrough technology for voice control of handheld devices, expanding vocabulary and eliminating training.

Voice Signal Technologies, Inc. http://www.voicesignal.com/
[2002/02/20]

Sierra-Wireless Announces GSM/GPRM PC Card

Feb. 18, 2002, Business Wire reports that Sierra Wireless has announced that its AirCard(R) GPRS/GSM Type II PC Card is a tri-band device supporting speeds up to 56 Kbps.
[2002/02/20]

In The News Feb. 12 - 16, 2002

Samsung A300 Theft

Feb. 14, 2002, Business Wire reports that 26,000 units of Samsung's A300 mobile phones were stolen from Samsung's warehouse in Hayes (west London, England) last week. About 2/3 are still unrecovered. There is a reward for the return of the remaining units.
[2002/02/16]

2001 Moving Target Mobile Technology Awards

I am pleased to present the Moving Target Awards for 2001. I am particularly pleased to have additional comments on these awards by Emru Townsend who is a fellow product evaluator with many years and column inches of experience.

2001 Awards
[2002/02/16]

In The News Feb. 9 - 12, 2002

Wireless Village Releases Initial Specification

Feb. 13, 2002, Business Wire reports that the Wireless Village initiative has announced the release of its "Wireless Village version 1.0" specification for enabling the interoperability of mible instant messaging and presence services (IMPS).

Wireless Village http://www.wireless-village.org/
[2002/02/13]

RF Solutions Announces 802.11a/b/g Power Amp

Feb. 13, 2002, PR Newswire reports that RF Solutions, Inc. has claimed that its new FRS P5910 is the worlds first dual-band power amplifier capable of supporting 802.11a, b and g. It is suitable for both "orthogonal frequency division multiplexing" (OFDM) and "direct sequence spread spectrum" (DSSS).

RF Solutions, Inc. http://www.rf-solutions.com/
[2002/02/13]

Red-M Introduces Its Portable Office

Feb. 13, 2002, Business Wire reports that Red-M(TM) has announced that it will showcase its "portable office" at the 3GSM Congress (Feb. 19-22). It combines a number of wireless technologies including GSM, GPRS, Bluetooth and 802.11.

Red-M (portable office) http://www.red-m.com/
[2002/02/13]

Sony Introduces New R505 Laptop Models

Feb. 12, 2002, Business Wire reports that Sony Electronics has introduced new models of its SuperSlim Pro(TM) line of VAIO(R) R505 laptop computers. The new R505DS and R505DL will be available next month.
[2002/02/13]

Toshiba Plans 400MHz PDA

Feb. 12, 2002, Business Wire reports that Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS) has announced plans to sell a Pocket PC PDA based on the Intel(R) PXA250 Applications Processor which is based on the Intel XScale(TM) core running at 400MHz. The new device will be available in Q2 2002. Price was not announced.
[2002/02/13]

Microcell Announces 2001 Q4 Results

Feb. 12, 2002, Microcell Telecommunications Inc. has announced its unaudited Q4 2001 results:

Microcell Telecommunications Inc.

                    Three months      Twelve months
                       ended              ended
                      Dec. 31            Dec. 31
                   2001    2000      2001      2000
Revenues          145,822 123,079   560,837   428,813
EBIDA (before
restructuring
charges)           13,332 (43,231)   (9,803) (112,332)
...
Monthly average
retail revenue
per user (ARPU)
Postpaid           $59.42  $56.38    $60.56    $56.69
Prepaid            $18.47  $24.61    $20.99    $27.14
Blended            $40.14  $41.47    $41.14    $43.55
Cost of
acquisition
of a retail
subscriber           $262    $374      $321      $388
Net retail
subscriber
additions
Postpaid           51,814  38,169   169,880   119,770
Prepaid            48,535  96,485   116,803   218,270
Total             100,349 134,654   286,683   338,040
Churn rate           2.8%    2.3%      2.6%      2.2%
Total Retail
Subscribers
at end of
period
Postpaid          637,698 467,818   637,698   467,818
Prepaid           571,512 454,709   571,512   454,709
Total           1,209,210 922,527 1,209,210   922,527

(In thousands of Canadian dollars, except for pre-share data).
[2002/02/13]

Handspring Treo In US

Feb. 11, 2002, Business Wire reports that Handspring, Inc. has announced that its Treo Communicator which combines a mobile phone and Palm OS organizer is now available in the US in 2 versions for $399 US when bought with a service plan from Cingular Wireless. The Treo 180 comes with a built-in QWERTY keyboard and the Treo 180g uses Graffiti handwriting software. The device is 4.3 * 2.7 * 0.7" and weighs 5.2 oz. and will support GPRS via user installable software this coming summer.
[2002/02/13]

GVC Announces Personal Mobile Gateway

Feb. 11, 2002, PR Newswire reports that IXI Mobile, Inc. and GVC has announced the availability of the first Personal Mobile Gateway and 2 new Bluetooth-enabled devices. The two devices are a "Sleek Handset" (Bluetooth phone) and "Sleek Messenger" (Bluetooth messaging device). [Prices and availability were not announced. -- JO]
[2002/02/13]

Personal Area Networking Unify Bluetooth

Feb. 11, 2002, PR Newswire reports that IXI Mobile, Inc. has introduced its mobile communcations software and reference designs. Its "Personal Mobile Gateway" (PMG) is a micro router and server for Bluetooth devices and forms the core of "Personal Area Networking" (PAN). Aside from the micro router PMG includes a micro server and applications server. It bridges the cellular network and connects to SMS, voice and IP.

IXI Mobile, Inc. (Bluetooth Personal Area Networking) http://www.ixi.com/
[2002/02/11]

Newbury Networks Bring Location Enabled Networking To 802.11

Feb. 11, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Newbury Networks, Inc. has announced the availability of its LocaleManager(TM) and LocaleServer(TM) which it claims are "the industry's first and only software solutions for managing and deploying location-enabled networks and applications" over 802.11 based Wireless LANs.

Newbury Networks, Inc. (location-enabled 802.11 WLANs http://www.newburynetworks.com/
[2002/02/13]

Evolutionary Robotics Announces Open Software Platform

Feb. 11, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Evolutionary Robotics, Inc. has announced the availability of its "Evolution Robotics Software Platform which it expects to become the dominant open software platform for personal robotics. It will be available for Linux in March.
[2002/02/13]

In The News Feb. 5 - 9, 2002

Yambay Mach Push Via Motient To Palm

Feb. 7, 2002, Business Wire reports that Yambay Technologies Pty. Ltd. has announced that it is launching with Motient Corp., Yambay's MACH(TM) Wireless Platform (Enterprise Edition) on the Motient(TM) network. The system brings wireless push with acknowledged delivery. The first target platform is Palm OS.

Yambay Technologies Pty. Ltd. (enterprise wireless push) http://www.yambay.com/
[2002/02/10]

IntelliWhere OnDemand Mapping For Windows CE

Feb. 7, 2002, Business Wire reports that Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions has announced IntelliWhere OnDemand vector-based mapping software will be available in April, 2002.

IntelliWhere vector mapping for Windows CE http://www.intelliwhere.com/
[2002/02/10]

Sun Releases Java(TM) 2 Platform Standard Edition 1.4

Feb. 6, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Sun Microsystems, Inc. has announced the immediate release of its Java(TM) 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE(TM)) version 1.4. [While this product is mainly aimed at "enterprise" use, all Jave 2 are closely related. -- JO]

Java 2 SE 1.4 http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/
[2002/02/10]

AMD And Ferrari

Feb. 6, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that AMD has announced that it is sponsoring Ferrari's F-1 racing team. Ferrari will use AMD based PCs for its team computers. [There is no announcement whether it would use AMD parts in on-board computer systems, which would be "mobile" computing. -- JO]
[2002/02/10]

OmniVision To Provide Camera Chips For Hyundai Cell Phones

Feb. 6, 2002, PR Newswire reports that OmniVision Technologies, Inc. has announced that it will provide CameraChip modules for Hyundai Curitel's cell phones. The technology offers resolutions up to 1.3 mega-pixel.
[2002/02/10]

In The News Feb. 2 - 5, 2002

Toshiba Uses GeForce4 In Satellite 5005-S507

Feb. 6, 2002, PR Newswire reports that NVIDIA(R) Corporation has announced that Toshiba is using NVIDIA's GeForce4(TM) 440 Go mobile GPU in Toshiba's Satellite 5005-S507 laptop computer.
[2002/02/06]

Three-Five Announces 32,000 Colour Displays

Feb. 6, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Three-Five Systems, Inc. has announced it has added new 32,000 colour STN (passive) LCD displays as standard products in its line. According to the company "the CSTN modules incorporate advanced color drive schemes and sophisticated internal cell structures to provide the additional viewing dimension that color adds."

Three-Five Systems, Inc. http://www.threefive.com/
[2002/02/06]

Toshiba Introduces 5400 RPM 2.5" HDD

Feb. 6, 2002, Business Wire reports that Toshiba has announced what it claims is the industry's first 9.5mm 5400 RPM drive family, including 20GB, 30GB and 40GB capacities, using an areal density of 34.7 gigabits per square inch.
[2002/02/06]

Kontiki Brings Its Digital Media To PalmOS Devices

Feb. 6, 2002, Business Wire reports that Kontiki Delivery Network will support Palm, Handspring, Sony and other handheld devices with its digital media delivery services.

Kontiki Delivery Network [PalmOS] http://www.kontiki.com/
[2002/02/06]

AMD Goes MIPS

Feb. 5, 2002, Business Wire reports that MIPS Technologies, Inc. has announced that AMD has become a MIPS licensee with its acquisition of Alchemy Semiconductor.
[2002/02/06]

Sega, Metrowerks and Motorola Bringing Sega Games To Dragonball MPUs and PalmOS

Feb. 5, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has announced that Sega and Metrowerks (a Motorola company) will develop an API for "next-generation Palm Powered devices" which will be integrated into CodeWarrior(TM) for the PalmOS platform. Also, ". . . Motorola plans to optimize the hardware capabilities that accelerate SEGA 3D games applications on its DragonBall platform. . . " [It's not clear whether the announcement means that both the 66MHz MC68000 based DragonBall Super VZ and the 200MHz ARM based DragonBall MX1 devices will have circuitry revisions to add 3D graphics. -- JO]
[2002/02/06]

MARGI Systems Brings "Presenter-to-Go" To Handera

Feb. 5, 2002, Business Wire reports that MARGI Systems has announced a partnership with HandEra. From March 1, 2002, MARGI's Presenter-to-Go will be available for HandEra products based on MARGI's type II CompactFlash module.
[2002/02/06]

Palm OS 5 Beta Previewed

Feb. 5, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Palm announced that its Palm OS 5 beta (for ARM processors) would be "previewed" on Feb. 5, 2002. Attendees at the PalmSource Conference (Feb. 5 - 8) would receive the software and associated support files on CD-ROM and the software would be downloadable via the Internet. "In addition to running on powerful ARM- compliant processors, Palm OS 5 will focus on enhanced performance, data security, multimedia and compatibility with existing Palm OS software programs."
[2002/02/06]

FileMaker Mobile 2 Companion for Palm OS

Feb. 4, 2002, PR Newswire reports that FileMaker has unveiled FileMaker Mobile 2 Companion for Palm OS which synchronizes with FileMaker Pro 5.5 v2 databased. Priced at $49 US, the software will ship on May 2002.
[2002/02/06]

riteMail Coming To Palm

Feb. 4, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Parascript(R)'s Pen&Internet(TM) division has announced that a beta version of its riteMail(TM) electronic ink and mail software is immediately downloadable from its website.

Parascript riteMail beta http://www.ritemail.net/
[2002/02/06]

PR Newswire Netscape Freindly Again

After a year of having to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to use PR Newswire's website, today I found that the company's latest website revision is usable with a Netscape browser. I don't know why it took over a year for this to be done. I think it might actually be better to use than Business Wire, but there has been a substantial reorganization of the data, so I have not really come to such a decision yet.
[2002/02/06]

In The News Jan. 29 - Feb. 2, 2002

AmbiCom Air2Net(TM) Bluetooth CompactFlash Card

Feb. 1, 2002, PR Newswire reports that AmbiCom has announced worldwide availability of its Air2Net Bluetooth Type I CompactFlash card. The suggested retail price is $109 US including a Type II PC-Card adapter. It can be used with Windows CE 3.0, Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2002, XP, 2000, ME and 98SE.

AmbiCom http://www.ambicom.com/
[2002/02/03]

Dolch Announces 6 Slot Portable

Jan. 31, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Dolch Computer Systems has announced its new 6 slot version of its FlexPAC(TM) products. The name denotes room and connections for 6 full size PCI or ISA cards.

Dolch Computer Systems http://www.dolchPR.com/
[2002/02/03]

Fido GPRS To Desktop Email And Files

Jan. 31, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Microcell Solutions Inc. and 01 Communique have announced that Fido customers can use 01 Communique's "I'm InTouch(TM)" service to access email, files and calendar date on home or office computers via GPRS. The rates are $7.50 per month or $75 per year (Cdn) above Fido's GPRS rates.
[2002/02/03]

Bachmann Brings PrintBoy To CE

Jan. 31, 2002, Business Wire reports that Bachmann Software has introduced its "PrintBoyCE" whichs allows Pocket PC devices to print via infrared, 802.11b or Bluetooth. The software is available online for $39.99 US. PalmOS users can use PrintBoy(TM) Deluxe 3.0 which supports margins and paper size.
[2002/02/03]

QNX Better Than Windows CE

Jan. 31, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that QNX Software Systems claims that according to a study by Dedicated Systems Experts, QNX RTOS v6.1 significantly outperforms Microsoft's Windows CE 3.0 in several tests, regarding "OS architecture, ease of installation, and various tests of realtime performance, while remaining on par with Windows CE in other categories."

Dedicated Systems Experts http://www.dedicated-systems.com/encyc/buyersguide/rtos/RtosMenu.htm
[2002/02/03]

In The News Jan. 26 - 29, 2002

AMD Announces New Mobile Duron CPUs

Jan. 30, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has introduced 1.1 GHz and 1.2 GHz mobile AMD Duron(TM) processors. Prices are $130 and $160 each in quantities of 1,000 units. [It is unclear in the announcement whether this is US or Cdn. -- JO]
[2002/01/30]

PowerCAD For Windows CE

Jan. 30, 2002, Business Wire reports that GiveMePower Corporation claims that its PowerCAD CE(TM) is the world's first 2 and 3D CAD system for Windows CE(R) based computers. 3 CE versions were announced: PowerCAD CE Viewer(TM) $99 US, PowerCAD CE Classic(TM) $249 US and PowerCAD CE Pro(TM) $495 US. Supported file formats include standard DWG, DXF and FLX. A free 60-day trial version is downloadable.

GiveMePower Corporation http://www.givemepower.com/
[2002/01/30]

Lawrence Livermore Bans Wireless For Security Reasons

Jan. 30, 2002, Alorie Gilbert writes for CNET News.com that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory which researches nuclear weapons and other US national defense technologies has disabled 2 wireless LANs because security experts have warned that information is often unprotected and easily intercepted.
[2002/01/30]

PenRight! Releases MobileBuilder 2.1

Jan. 29, 2002, Business Wire reports that PenRight! Corporation has announced the availability of its MobileBuilder 2.1 update of its crossplatform (PalmOS and Windows CE) mobile application development system.
[2002/01/30]

ScanSoft Announces Voice Support For Pocket PC

Jan. 29, 2002, PR Newswire reports that ScanSoft, Inc. has announced the immediate release of Dragon PDsay(TM) which adds voice control and speech output capabilities to Microsoft(R) Windows(R) CE- based Pocket PC devices. The prices is $39.99 US.

ScanSoft vox support for Pocket PC http://www.ScanSoft.com/PDsay/
[2002/01/30]

PocketMed Announces 2.0 Billing Software For Pocket PC

Jan. 29, 2002, Business Wire reports that PocketMed has announced the release of its PocketBilling version 2.0 for PocketPC, bringing the software cross platform from PalmOS. The software cost $49.99 US and there is a 30-day trial version downloadable.

PocketMed http://www.pocketmed.org/
[2002/01/30]

Palm Announces i705

Jan. 28, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Palm has introduced its i705 wireless handheld device which includes AOL Instant Messaging service. Wireless connectivity is via Mobitex-based packet data network (Cingular Wireless). The main computer spec is Palm OS(R) v.4.1 on a 33MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ CPU with 4MB Flash memory and 8MB RAM, a rechargeable lithium polymer battery, USB hot synch, 4.65" * 3.06" * 0.61", and weight of 5.9 oz. The device will be available in the US this week at an estimated street price of $449 US.
[2002/01/30]

Toshiba Announces New Satellite Laptops

Jan. 28, 2002, Canada Newswire reports that Toshiba of Canada ISG has introduced its Satellite 5000-X1Z and 1900-OFS laptop computers with advanced multimedia technology and 1800-VF1 and 1800-HV9 lower cost laptops. All are immediately available at the following price ranges:

Satellite 5000-X1Z prices start at $2,999 Cdn.
Satellite 1900-OFS prices start at $2,799 Cdn.
Satellite 1800-VF1 prices start at $1,899 Cdn.
Satellite 1800-HV9 prices start at $2,399 Cdn.

[2002/01/30]

AMD Announces New 1500+ Mobile AMD Athlon 4 Processor

Jan. 28, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has introduced its mobile AMD Athlon(TM) 4 processor 1500+. According to AMD, the Compaq Presario 700 laptop computer will be immediately available using this CPU. The processors are made in Fab 30 in Dresden, Germany using 0.18-micron copper process.
[2002/01/30]

Socket Brings Barcode To Pocket PC

Jan. 28, 2002, Business Wire reports that Socket Communications, Inc. has announced the release of its Type I CompactFlash format In-Hand Scan Xtreme PDF417 laser bar code scanner for Pocket PCs and other Windows CE based handheld computers. The device operates on the lower 3.3V standard.
[2002/01/30]

In The News Jan. 22 - 26, 2002

Lineo Contributes MIPS Port RTAI For Linux

Jan. 24, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Lineo(R), Inc. has announced that it has developed a port of the Real-Time Application Interface to the MIPS family of processors and has released generic MIPS support to the open source RTAI development group.

Real-Time Applications Interface (Linux) http://www.aero.polimi.it/projects/rtai/
[2002/01/27]

Nextel, RIM and Motorola Work Together For Voice Handheld

Jan 24, 2002, Canadian Corporate News reports that Nextel Communications, Inc., Research in Motion Limited and Motorola, Inc. have annouced that they have agreed to develp a new "Nextel/Blackberry(TM)" handheld device with both voice and data capabilities, to work on Motorola's iDEN(R) digital wireless network technology.
[2002/01/27]

Samsung Notemaster 486S/25N: Another Era Ending

I'm in the process of decommissioning my Samsung Notemaster 486S/25N laptop computer. I have about 20MB of data left to reassign, and then decide what to do with the computer itself. It's not in the best shape. The hard drive might have been damaged. I'm not sure. The floppy drive is going bad. It was my first substantial move into mobile computing -- or more accurately, it's immediate predecessor was, since it was actually my second unit of the same type. The original unit "introduced" me to the major mobile technology concern of being stolen.

If I consider hours of use, I probably spend about equal time using pocket computers as I do using desk computers and laptop computers. If I separate the time using my laptop from my desk computers, I probably spend about 2/3rds of my time using mobile technology as opposed to fixed technology. Some people would consider that a misleading statistic since I usually use my laptop computer at a stationary location, but in fact, due to space limitations, it would be impractical for me to use a desk computer in its place, so even if mobility is not absolutely necessary, the characteristics of its mobile nature provide a substantial advantage for its use.

For the last few years, since I replaced it as my main laptop with my Compaq 1130, it has been used as a print-out computer. In fact, it was only used to print out black and white pages since it was far too slow to support colour print-out. Some time in the coming week that role will no longer be necessary. I will be connecting my printer to a printer server and at least 2 computers, and possible 4 or more computers, will be doing their own printing.

Back when I bought my first Samsung many people were skeptical about the value of mobile computers -- even laptops. How could merely being mobile be of significant value? To an extent, that skepticism remains. Today I talked to someone who recently started using a Palm device and he was surprised at the revolutionary effect of simply having a ToDo list manager "with you at all times." I've told people this before many times, but you can't really grasp it until you've used one. Moreover, having a cheap "disposable" unit removes the incentive to "leave it behind -- in a safe place." But it's being better understood now.

This is a time of transition for me in many ways. There is a lot I'd like to say about the changes I'm involved in, but unfortunately, I can't right now. I can only say that mobile technology will probably continue to provide substantial advantages for me in my activities. The Samsung was a part of the proof of that concept for me. I have little nostalgia for the "bad old days" and I don't expect to miss the Samsung, but I'm glad I bought it when I did.
[2002/01/27]

In The News Jan. 19 - 22, 2002

Lexar Announces 1GB CompactFlash

Jan. 23, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Lexar Media Inc. has announced it will begin shipping what it claims is "the industry's first speed-rated 1-Gigabyte capacity CompactFlash Type II card by January 31, 2002. The 16X-speed 1GB Professional Series card clocks a sustained write speed of 2.4MB per second and has a suggested list price of $1,199." [US dollars]
[2002/01/23]

Handango Announces Mobile Forms For Mixed Environments

Jan. 22, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Handango Software has announced the availability of Handango Form(TM) is now available for BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds(TM), with compatible with versions for Microsoft's Pocket PC and Palm OS(R) to become available in this quarter.

Handango Software http://www.handangosoftware.com/
[2002/01/23]

Hawker Introduces Reformulated Lead-Calcium Batteries

Jan. 22, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Hawker Energy Products Inc. has announced the introduction of its new PowerSafe G family of reformulated sealed lead-calcium 6-volt and 12-volt rechargeable batteries.
[2002/01/23]

Intel Announces New Mobile Processors

Jan. 21, 2002, Business Wire reports that Intel Corporation has announced seven new mobile processors which use 0.13-micron fabrication process, completing the company's transition to the new technology for its mobile '86 processor line. The processor lineup now includes the 1.06 GHz Mobile Intel(R) Celeron(R) processor priced at $107 US (in quantities of 1K units), a 650 MHz "Ultra Low Voltage Mobile Intel(R) Celeron(R) processor at 1.1 V. and ranges upward to an 866 MHz version "Low Voltage Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) III processor-M" priced at $316 US (in quantities of 1K units).
[2002/01/23]

Toshiba Claims World's Thinnest Ultraportable

Jan. 21, 2002, Business Wire reports that Toshiba claims that its latest Portege(R) 2000 portable computer is the world's thinnest at 0.6" holding its 2.6 lbs. The new model will be available in early February at about $2,199 US.
[2002/01/23]

In The News Jan. 15 - 19, 2002

Cornwall Police Goes XWAVE

Jan. 15, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that XWAVE has announced that it has delivered its "remote office and dispatch system" (ROADS) and wireless network infrastructure to the Cornwall Community Police Service.

xwave http://www.xwave.com/
[2002/01/20]

In The News Jan. 12 - 15, 2002

Toshiba Introduces 10GB And 20GB 1.8" Hard Drives

Jan. 16, 2002, Business Wire reports that Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) has announced its 1.8" embedded hard disk drives (HDDs) are available in 10GB and 20GB capacities. The drives are 54mm wide and 78.5mm deep and weigh 51 g. or 62 g respectively and will ship in early March and early February respectively. Prices were not in the announcement.
[2002/01/16]

Sony Announces Two New CLIE Models

Jan. 15, 2002, Business Wire reports that Sony has introduced two new Palm OS based products. The CLIE(TM) PEG-T615C is a slim colour device featuring 16MB memory, PalmOS 4.1, Sony's 320 * 320 TFT display, Memory Stick slot, Jog Dial(TM) and bundled software for $400 US in the US, later this month. The monochrome CLIE PEG-S360 features 16MB of memory, PalmOS 4.0, Media Stick(R) slot, Jog Dial(TM) and bundled software for $200 US and will be available in the US in February.
[2002/01/16]

FieldCentrix Brings FX Mobile(R) To Palm, Pocket And RIM

Jan. 14, 2002, FieldCentrix(R) has announced that it has brought its FX Mobile(R) wireless field service software to PalmOS(TM), Pocket PC(TM) and Research in Motion operating systems. The list price is $1,250 US per seat. Palm and Pocket PC versions will be available in Feb. 2002 with RIM support shortly after.

FieldCentrix(R) http://www.fieldcentrix.com/
[2002/01/16]

NetMotion Brings Roaming Proxy Server To New Windows

Jan. 14, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that NetMotion(R) Wireless Inc. has announced that it is extending its NetMotion Mobility(TM) software to Microsoft Windows XP and Pocket PC 2002. The company claims that it brings "true application session persistence" to these platforms, allowing uninterrupted roaming without loss of application sessions.
[2002/01/16]

In The News Jan. 8 - 12, 2002

IBM ThinkPad Certified As CATIA V5 Mobile Workstation

Jan. 11, 2002, Business Wire reports that Dassault Systemes and IBM have announced that the IBM ThinkPad(R) A30p has been certified for Dassault's CATIA Version 5 3D application. IBM is the first hardware vendor to been given this certification. The Thinkpad A30p features ATI Mobility Radeon graphics.
[2001/01/13]

In The News Jan. 5 - 8, 2002

Pendragon Announces Pendragon Forms(TM) 3.2 For Palm

Jan. 9, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Pendragon Software has announced the release of Pendragon Forms(TM) 3.2 which features data storage through the Virtual File System API to storage card devices.
[2002/01/09]

Guidance Software Announces Forensic Software For Palm

Jan. 9, 2002, Business Wire reports that Guidance Software has announced the immediate availability of "EndCase(R) version 3.18" which features the ability to "acquire and preview the physical memory of any Palm OS(R) handheld device" for investigative purposes.
[2002/01/09]

Sharp Commits Zaurus SL-5500 To Q1 2002

Jan. 8, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Sharp Electronics Corporation has announced that its Linux(R)/Java(TM) ARM based Zaurus(TM) SL-5500 Personal Mobile Tool will be available to consumers in the US in the first quarter 2002.
[2002/01/09]

Casio Offers Software Upgrade For BE-300

Jan. 8, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Casio, Inc. has announced an upgrade for its CASSIOPEIA Pocket Manager BE-300 to Windows CE .NET which includes Pocket Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. The upgrade will be available on CD-ROM for $29 US.
[2002/01/09]

ATI Announces IMAGEON 100 Display Processors For Handhelds

Jan. 8, 2002, Business Wire reports that ATI Technologies has introduced its IMAGEON(TM) 100 display co-processor for handheld devices. The device offers increased processing capability for display of MPEG4 and JPEG data with low power requirements. Samples are currently available with mass production due in Feb. 2002.
[2002/01/09]

CompactFlash Warns Of Damage Through Mail

Jan. 7, 2002, the CompactFlash Association (CFA) has announced that semiconductors used in electronic systems including CompactFlash(TM) and CF I/O cards would be irreparably damaged if subjected to the 55 kGy electron beam irradiation process being used by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to sanitize mail since Oct. 2001. Other goods also damaged by this process include pharmaceuticals, contact lenses, biological samples and photographic film.
[2002/01/09]

Magellan GPS Companion For Palm m500 Features Improved Software

Jan. 7, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Thales Navigation has introduced its latest Magellan GPS Companion(TM) for Palm(TM) m500 series handheld computers featuring Rand McNally StreetFinder(R) Deluxe Travel Navigation Software and Magellan NAV Companion(TM) software. According to the companies, "this is the only GPS attachment and navigation software package able to calculate and download a route to a Palm handheld and provide audio-prompted, turn-by-turn GPS guidance on a moving map."

Thales Navigation (Magellan) http://www.thalesnavigation.com/
[2002/01/09]

Toshiba Announces Satellite Pro 6000 Series

Jan. 7, 2002, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada, Information Systems Group has announced the launch of its Satellite Pro 6000 Series laptop computers which feature Secure Digital (SD) Media technology and optional wireless LAN. The computers are available immediately at prices starting at $2,849 Cdn.
[2002/01/09]

Webtech Announces Rugged GSM/GPRS Modem

Jan. 7, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that WebTech Wireless Inc. has announced the commercial availability of its WebTech Connector i1000, which it claims is the first ruggedized wireless modem for the GSM/GPRS network. The device can be used with PDAs, laptop computers and other devices. Current data rates are 30 - 56 kbps. The device is immediately available [price was not give in the announcement. -- JO]

WebTech Wireless Inc. http://www.webtechwireless.com/
[2002/01/09]

Aperto Networks Cleared For 3.5 GHz Band

Jan. 7, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Aperto Networks has announced that it has received regulatory approval of its "end-to-end PacketWave(TM) multiservice platform" from Industry Canada for operation in the 3.5 GHz band, and has begun shipment to Canadian wireless providers. The company notes that it had received Industry Canada aprroval for its 5 GHz band equipment last year. According to the company "The 3.5 GHz spectrum is emerging as a global band for fixed broadband wireless access, with spectrum allocations already complete in many countries and more to follow . . . ."
[2002/01/09]

Apple Announces 14" iBook

Jan. 7, 2002, PR Newswire reports that Apple has announced its latest iBook laptop computers featuring 14" active TFT screens, at prices starting at $1,199 US with a 12.1" screen.
[2002/01/09]

In The News Jan. 1 - 5, 2002

TI Announces Voyage(TM) 200 Handheld Educational Device

Jan. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Texas Instruments has announced that it has launched its Voyage(TM) 200 personal learning tool (PLT) which features the functionality of its previous TI-92 Plus but with increased Flash memory (2.7 MB) and a new shape. The retail price is $200 US. but availability is not clear in the announcement.
[2002/01/06]

In The News Dec. 29, 2001 - Jan. 1, 2002

Microvision Ships Nomad Personal Display System

Jan. 2, 2002, Business Wire reports that Microvision, Inc. has announced that it has begun shipping its Nomad(TM) Personal Display System to customers.

Microvision http://www.mvis.com/
[2002/01/02]

Qualcomm Announces 3G Handsets Shipping

Jan. 2, 2002, Business Wire reports that Qualcomm has announced that operators in North America have begun receiving volume shipments of "third-generation (3G) CDMA2000 1X products, based on the QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies (QCT) MSM5105(TM) Mobile Station Modem (MSM(TM)) chipset, system software and integrated applications software." Data rates supported range up to 153 kbps.

Symantec Warns of ZaCker Virus

Jan. 1, 2002, Business Wire reports that Symantec has warned of the W32.Maldal.D@mm virus which is spread through EMail with the subject line "ZaCker". The virus deletes various files including antivirus software and spreads through by using the Outlook address book.
[2002/01/02]

New Horizons Launches Disposable Cell Phone

Dec. 31, 2001, PR Newswire reports that New Horizons Technologies International has announced that it will launch its "Cyclone(R)" recyclable, rechargeable "Next Generation Disposable Cell Phone(R)" at the 2002 ICES. The show starts on Jan. 8, 2002.
[2002/01/02]

In The News Dec. 25 - 29, 2001

[Not much happened last week. Nothing noteworthy in this industry. In case you missed it, I'm posting my announcement of candidates for the Moving Target Awards for 2001. This announcement was sent via the Newsgroups On Dec. 18, 2001. -- JO]

Newsgroups: comp.sys.palmtops,comp.sys.handhelds,comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Moving Target Award Candidates 2001
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 23:23:12 GMT

Candidates For The "Moving Target" Mobile Products And Achievements Awards For 2001

As is usual, I will NOT give awards for 2001 until 2001 is over. Realistically though, with only two weeks left in the year, the following list is unlikely to change.

Rules:

As in previous years, these are awards for "products and achievements," but the focus is on "commercial products". To qualify as a commercial product, it should have been available to end users within 2001. Otherwise it may qualify as an "achievement" if the achievement could be adequately verified in 2001.

Something available in 2001 is still a product even if no customers actually bought them. It might be called a "failed" product, but it was still a product.

These are products and services available in the world at large, but with preferences to North America, Canada, Ontario and Toronto -- where this Webzine is produced. Products do not have to be "new" in 2001. If a product is the best, that's what counts. If nobody has produced anything better after a year or more, then even more credit should go to those who created it.

The Moving Target Jim Omura, 2001/12/18.

1. Laptops:

Best Laptops: No Award

As in previous years, there is no "best laptop" award. The usual reason still applies. For the most part, comparing the major Windows brands, you pretty much get what you pay for.

2. Pocket Computers:

Best Pocket Computer: Sony Clie PEG-S320

Sony finally came to Canada and the Clie PEG-S320, a competitor to Palm's m500, at $299 Cdn (under $200 US) revolutionized the industry specifically due to its price point.

Most Promising Pocket Computers: Casio BE-300, Compaq iPaq (again), Franklin Bookman and Sharp SL-5000d

Compaq repeats because of minor changes to the H3800 series which should correct problems. The Sharp is mentioned below, as a Linux product. The Casio BE-300 is the cheapest multimedia pocket device with colour screen. The Bookman has a unique form factor.

3. Subnotebooks:

Best Subnotebook: Psion netBook

4. Wireless Services:

Best Services: Bell Mobility And Fido

5. Best Technology:

The following awards are for individual pieces of products. I consider them achievements worthy of awards, regardless of the rest of the products they comprise.

Best CPU: Casio/NEC VR-4131

There is no doubt that the NEC VR-4131 is the best processor in current use in the pocket computer field. With its double issue superscalar pipline design, the 200MHz version is the most powerful processor in current use outright and the lower 166MHz speed version has significant power saving.

Best Input: Sony Jog Wheel

Don't confuse this with the rocker switches used on PocketPC devices. The Sony wheel is like the scroll wheels that are now popular on desk computer mice. The fact that even Microsoft uses scroll wheels on mice instead of rocker switches like the PocketPC devices shows that it's recognized as a clearly valuable input method.

Best Display: Sony 320 * 320 Screen

The screen on the Sony PEG-N710/N760 is a outstanding colour screen with its daylight usability, 320 * 320 resolution and 64K colours. But right now, it's only available at a very high price. Hopefully that situation will change in the near future.

6. Looking Ahead to 2002:

Cheaper Flash Memory:

While the dropping of Flash memory prices has been dramatic, particularly in 2001, the real impact will be felt in 2002. It doesn't make wireless irrelevant, but it reduces the need for remote storage access. When you consider that the Palm devices have proven themselves to be useful with less than 8MB of memory for storage, it's strange to think that next year, we'll probably be buying 100 - 200 MB Flash devices for under $100 Cdn.

Linux: Coming To Your Pocket? (still waiting)

The Agenda VR3 was the first Linux based pocket computer. It has achieved some limited succcess. I might yet test one myself, but that won't be till 2002.

Sharp has already been selling a Linux based pocket computer in Japan. I have no sales figures or reviews for this product. It is, of course, the SL-5000 series device which we will see in North America next year.
[2001/12/30]

In The News Dec. 22 - 25, 2001

No News For Now

No relevant news so far this week, which is no surprise. I expect the same could be true for the rest of this week. -- JO

Happy Holidays!

I'm a bit late with my holiday greetings this year, but may you have a happy and prosperous new year in 2002. My expectations for the computer industry in general in the coming year are actually quite positive. So I feel that my best wishes for all of you have a good chance of being fulfilled.

[2001/12/26]

In The News Dec. 18 - 22, 2001

ATI's Mobility Radeon 7500 In Dell Inspriron 8100 Laptop

Dec. 20, 2001, ATI Technologies Inc. has announced that its Mobility(TM) Radeon(TM) 7500 graphics processor is now shipping and is being used in Dell's Inspiron 8100 laptop computer.
[2001/12/23]

In The News Dec. 15 - 18, 2001

SiPix Pocket Printer A6

Dec. 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that SiPix, Inc. has announced that its Pocket Printer A6 now fully supports Pocket PC version 2.0 to 3.1 devices based on StrongARM, Hitachi SH3 or MIPS processors. Other supported devices include laptop computers (Pentium or higher, running Windows 98, 98SE, ME 200 or XP) and PalmOS 3.0 - 4.1 devices (Infrared enabled and Hot Sync compatible). The printer is thermal technology weighing 14 oz. (including four AA batteries).

SiPix, Inc. (portable printer) http://www.sipix.com/
[2001/12/19]

AMD Announces 1 GHz Mobile AMD Duron CPU

Dec. 17, 2001, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced a 1 GHz mobile AMD Duron(TM) processor. Compaq Computer Corporation is immediately offering the new CPU in its Compaq 700 series laptop computers. The new CPU is priced at $160 US each in quantities of 1,000 units.
[2001/12/19]

In The News Dec. 11 - 15, 2001

Symantec Announces AntiVirus 2002 for Palm OS

Dec. 12, 2001, Symantec Corp. has announced the release of Symantec AntiVirus 2001 for Palm OS. It is included with Norton AntiVirus 2002 Professional Edition or by itself for $39.95 US. Current users can get a $10 US rebate.
[2001/12/16]

Symbian Ports 2.5G OS To StrongARM

Dec. 12, 2001, Business Wire reports that Symbian has announced that it has ported its 2.5G enabled Symbian OS version 6.1 to the Intel StrongARM SA-1110 CPU.
[2001/12/16]

In The News Dec. 8 - 11, 2001

Compaq Announces New Evo N180 and N160 Laptops

Dec. 12, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has announced their Evo Notebook N180 and N160 laptop computers. The N180 is a "desktop replacement" computer with prices starting at $1,599 US. The N160 is a thinline design with prices starting at $1,219 US.

[It is not clear in the announcements, but both products seem to be immediately available. -- JO]
[2001/12/12]

Gateway Announces Solo(R) 1400 Laptop

Dec. 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Gateway, Inc. has introduced its Solo(R) 1400 laptop computer which features coverage of essential computer capabilities at prices as low as $1,199 US. The new model is immediately available.
[2001/12/12]

Gateway Announces Solo 5350 Laptop

Dec. 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Gateway, Inc. has introduced its Solor(R) 5350 laptop computer for users requiring more portability. The case is 1.36". The computer is immediately available at prices as low as $1,999 US.
[2001/12/12]

QNX Announces MOST Kit For Automotive

Dec. 11, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that QNX Software Systems has announced a "Media Oriented Systems Transport" ("MOST") Software Kit for the QNX(R) realtime operating system. According to QNX "MOST< a fiber-optic network optimized for the automotive industry, is the European standard for building multimedia networking products."
[2001/12/12]

Impulsesoft Announces Windows CE Bluetooth Stack

Dec. 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Impulsesoft Pvt. Ltd. has announced the release of it's WinCE(TM) Bluetooth(TM) protocol stack which is a Bluetooth 1.1 compliant set for OEMs and ODMs.
[2001/12/12]

D-Link Announces 100Mbps Wireless LAN

Dec. 7, 2001, PR Newswire reports that D-Link has launched its new D-LinkAir DWL-A series IEEE 802.11a compliant series of wireless LAN products, based on the Atheros AR5000 chip set. Operating in the 5.2 GHz frequency band, it does not conflict with 802.11b, Bluetooth and HomeRF equipment. Security features include 1280bit Encryption Key and 24-bit Initialization Vector. The products will be available in small pre-production quantities this month with high production in Q1 2002. MSRP for the DWL-5000AP access point is $439 US and $169 US for the DWL-A650 PC Card adapter.
[2001/12/12]

In The News Dec. 4 - 8, 2001

[Not much happened this week, and when I looked at what I had, I decided to include a couple of short articles instead. -- JO]
[2001/12/09]

Recent Price Drops

Two notable price drops I've seen at the local Future Shop recently were the Casio BE-300 which has dropped to $299.99 Cdn and the Palm m125 which has also come down to $299.99 Cdn. (though the Palm m125 also includes a mail in rebate for a 16MB SD card). The $299.99 price is also current for the Sony PEG-S320 and the Handspring Visor Neo (which, like the Palm, includes a mail in rebate for a "module of your choice"), making it the action price for the season.

I'll take this opportunity to restate a couple of points I've made before. First, pen based pocket computers wear out. The touch sensor screens themselves wear out. The current products will probably last about 2 years of relatively heavy use -- for some people, even less. Repairing the devices is generally expensive, because by the time the screen has worn out, the rest of the case is also probably going "soggy" and the motherboard is starting to oxidize, and rechargable batteries are also probably deteriorating.

How do you make a pocket device last a really long time? Put it in your desk drawer and don't use it. But then, why did you buy it?

All this is the first reason to buy at the cheap end of the price scale: Pocket devices are "consumables."

The second point is that if you integrate one of these devices into your lifestyle, you can't live without it. Downtime is not acceptable. So if you are finding it useful, then you should buy a backup unit -- immediately. My personal pattern is to buy a new model and test it immediately, and then put it in storage. I use my oldest product daily (a Palm IIIx at this minute). When my current device fails, I can re-install my data and programs into my newer device and keep going.

Stated simply, "If you can't afford 2, then you can't afford 1."

Again, it is smarter to buy 2 $300 devices than 1 $800 device. Or you could buy a $300 device and a spare $500 device. If a salesman tell you you can buy two for the price of one, he might be joking. I'm not. It's a real documented advantage. Moreover, last year's big hit adavantage of integrating an MP-3 player is dead. I can buy MP-3 players for under $100 now, and they don't glitch like PocketPC's.

Put simply, this is why the $300 price is currently where you should probably be buying. If it lasts 2 years, it will have costed about $0.50/day. Even that much will shock some people who will remind you that a paper address books costs a few dollars per *year*. The data re-usability of a pocket device can at least justify that much of an expense, but not much more.
[2001/12/09]

Palm OS 3.5 On Palm IIIx

When I've been asked about Windows CE, I've said on occasion that it tends to be a story of "2 steps forward and 1 - 1.5 steps back -- and maybe a step sideways in there too." No version of Windows CE has lived up to its hype in day - to - day usage. That thought came to me as I thought about writing this short comment on PalmOS 3.5.

Simply put, Palm OS upgrades have never claimed big jumps, and in the long run, they have generally shown more clear improvement from generation to generation than Windows CE. They have generally not had any real drawbacks compared to their predecessors. But when I moved to PalmOS 3.5 from 3.1, I was faced with a significant problem.

I've been having a lot more trouble with Graffiti input after this upgrade. The cause is not obvious. While Palm has tried to add a lot of new short-cut features, I don't know of any new characters or symbols, so I don't know why the digitizer response has been affected. I can say without doubt now, that the "d", "p" and "b" characters fail more often now, and I think the "c" and "l" characters might also be giving me more problems than before. Other problems such as "s", "e" and "c" swapping, and "o" and "g" and "q" swapping are still there, but I don't think are any worse.

Because of these problems, the shortcuts are also affected. I waste a lot more time trying to cancel dangerous errors in the shortcuts than I did before ("delete" instead of "paste") and I think I've even had accidental loss of data when I was in a hurry, though only once or twice.

I expect that the changes probably came from adjustments made to the software for the Palm m100 and m500 devices. I would guess that the input is better on those devices than my old technology Palm IIIx. I haven't heard negative comments from people who have upgraded by buying new devices, so for now, I'll assume this is probably the case. But it makes this latest upgrade disappointing, -- and more like the Windows CE upgrades have traditionally been.

I should add that I have used the new "Duplicate Address" function and that it works well. This alone would have made the upgrade worthwhile. As time goes on, newer software will also need the new system calls, making it likely that there will eventually be more software that won't work on pre-3.5 devices. But that won't really help me much.
[2001/12/09]

In The News Dec. 1 - 4, 2001

WORM_GONE.A Virus

Dec. 4, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Trend Micro has announced that a new "high-risk" virus has appeared which is being called "WORM_GONE.A" (aka "Gone.scr") which is capable of spreading through the ICQ messaging program as well as Microsoft Outlook. When spread through EMail the attachment is called "GONE.SCR"

"Subject: Hi.
Message: How are you?
When I saw this screen saver,
I immediately thought about
you I am in a harry, I promise
you will love it!"

The company has an update to its antivirus software to cover this virus.
[2001/12/05]

Linksys(R) Announces Wireless CF Card

Dec. 3, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Linksys(R) has announced the immediate availability of its Instant Wireless(TM) Network CF Card (WCF11) for Pocket PC and Windows CE devices. The software is unique because it can connect directly to other wireless PC's or other wireless PDAs without going through an access point ("ad hoc" mode). The estimated street price is $129 US.

Linksys http://www.linksys.com/
[2001/12/05]

Sharp Announces SL-5500 PDA

Dec. 3, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Sharp Electronics Corp. has announced that it is working with Aether Systems, Inc. to develop a custom, corporate e-mail system for its Zaurus SL-5500 which was announced on Dec. 3, 2001.
[2001/12/05]

AMD Claims World's Fastest CMOS Transistors

Dec. 3, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has announced that it has developed a device with a 15 nanometer gate length (0.015 micron) which it claims has the fastest switching speed reported -- 0.3-ps or 3.33 trillion switches per second. The company plans on using this device for 30-nanometer process (0.03-micron) which it expects to use by around 2009.
[2001/12/05]

In The News Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2001

Elmic Develops Wireless IP Roaming

Nov. 29, 2001, Business Wire reports that Elmic Systems USA has announced the release of "mobile IP host software that will allow mobile wireless devices to move between IP networks yet maintain continuous connectivity through a single IP address."

[My apologies for the long quote, but there wasn't any better way to put it. - JO]

Elmic Systems USA http://www.elmic.com/
[2001/12/02]

Royal Victoria Hospital Uses Wireless PDAs

Nov. 27, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that OnX Incorporated and the Transplant Research Group of the Royal Victoria Hospital (Montreal) have announced that the group is using wireless PDAs for patient record retrieval and modification.
[2001/12/02]

In The News Nov. 24 - 27, 2001

MARGI Announces Presenter-To-Go For Casio Handhelds

Nov. 28, 2001, MARGI Systems has announced that its "Presenter- To-Go" is available for Casio E-125, EG-800 and BE-300 devices based on Compact Flash display technology. Software is integrated as a virtual printer device in Windows applications and is displayed on the Type II Compact Flash output device with 1024 * 768 resolution. The product is currently available with an introductory price of $249.00 US till Dec. 31, 2001 ($299.00 US regular price).
[Some information taken from the company's website. -- JO]

MARGI Systems http://www.margi.com/
[2001/11/28]

Fujitsu Chooses Symbian for Handsets

Nov. 28, 2001, Business Wire reports that Symbian Co., Ltd. has announced that Fujitsu Limited has licensed Symbian OS for 3G mobile phone handset.
[2001/11/28]

Intel Announces Transistor Technology Breakthrough

Nov. 26, 2001, Intel Corporation has announced the development of a "depleted substrate transistor" and a new material called "high k gate dielectric" which together reduce current leakage and power consumption. "The new structure is being called the Intel TeraHertz transistor. . ."
[2001/11/28]

In The News Nov. 20 - 24, 2001

D-Link Announces Wireless Access Point Firmware Upgrade

Nov. 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that D-Link has announced that a free firmware upgrade is now available for its D-Link Air DWL-1000AP Access Point which adds a 128-bit RC4 based extension of the WEP encryption and other security enhancements and user interface.

D-Link (wireless LAN) http://www.dlink.com/products/wireless/dwl1000ap/
[2001/11/25]

Samsung GT9000 Laptop Features Fingerprint Security

Nov. 21, 2001, Business Wire reports that STMicroelectronics has announced that Samsung's latest GT9000 laptop computer features fingerprint biometric security developed by STMicroelectronics.

STMicroelectronics (biometric security) http://www.st.com/
[2001/11/25]

In The News Nov. 17 - 20, 2001

Cloakware Announces Signature Based Security

Nov. 19, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Cloakware Corporation has announced the immediate availability of it "Cloakware/Signature(TM)" password-replacement system for "stylus-based" mobile devices. The system replaces passwords with actual signature recognition.

Cloakware Corporation http://www.cloakware.com/
[2001/11/21]

In The News Nov. 13 - 17, 2001

802.11g Draft

[Ironically, I've lost my copy of an article which alerted me to the finalizing of the draft for the 802.11g wireless standard which takes wireless LAN to the next level, supporting 22Mbps and, I believe, 56Mbps data rates in the 2.4GHz frequency band. I'll try to find this again. It can probably be found on the IEEE website or the US FCC website. -- JO]
[2001/11/18]

In The News Nov. 10 - 13, 2001

Psion Teklogix Announces New netpad(R) Products

Nov. 13, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Psion Tecklogix has announced it new netpad 1200 and netpad 3500 are hand-held tablet computers which feature scanning and "enhanced navigation capabilities."
[2001/11/14]

Audiovox Announces 3G Phone With GPS and Bluetooth

Nov. 13, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Audiovox Communications Corporation has announced a 3G CDMA handsets with GPS. The 9155GPX is a CDMA tri-mode unit costing $299 US and features GPS and Bluetooth.

Audiovox Corporation http://www.audiovox.com/
[2001/11/14]

Zarlink And Cochlear Announce New Speech Processor Chip

Nov. 13, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Zarlink Semiconductor and Cochlear Ltd. have announced Cochlear's ESPrit(TM) 3G BTE speech processor chip is based on the Babel 24 low-power analog-digital microchip and "works with an internal implant to bring sound to people with profound or severe hearing impairment."

Cochlear Ltd. (speech chip for hearing impaired) http://www.cochlear.com/
[2001/11/14]

AMD Announces 1.2 GHz Mobile AMD Athlon 4 and 950 MHz Mobile AMD Duron Processors

Nov. 12, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that AMD has introduced 1.2 GHz mobile AMD Athlon(TM) 4 and 950MHz mobile AMD Duron(TM) processors for the portable computing industry. Both processors feature a 200 MHz front-side bus. Compaq has announced plans to produce Presario 700 laptop computer featuring both processors starting Nov. 21, 2001. The 1.2 GHz AMD mobile Athlon 4 is priced at $525 US each in quantities of 1,000 units and the 950 MHz mobile AMD Duron processor is priced at $160 US each also in quantities of 1,000 units.
[2001/11/14]

Truth is. . .

Nov. 8, in a press release sent across PR Newswire entitled "New Operating System Is Creating Early Holiday Excitement," Microsoft claims that "Since its retail debut Oct. 25, Microsoft Corp.'s newest operating system, Windows(R) XP, is achieving high demand worldwide. So high that some retailers are having trouble keeping store shelves stocked with Windows XP." The truth is, that I was in one of Toronto's biggest retailers' stores on the afternoon of the introduction ("Future Shop") and there was no-one buying Windows XP despite having probably the best price in the city. The truth is, I have been in that branch a couple of times since, and I haven't seen Windows XP sold in that store at all. There is NO shortage of Windows XP in boxes on shelves in that store, nor in 2 other stores I've been in since that day. In fact, I haven't personally seen even 1 copy of Windows XP sold yet. This kind of distortion of the truth really bothers me.
[2001/11/11]

In The News Nov. 6 - 10, 2001

[Nothing of note. Comdex getting in the way. -- JO]
[2001/11/11]

In The Context of War

I don't often comment beyond the computer industry, on this site, but in a sense, I've made the media an issue already today so I'll give this a little more space. Today was Rememberance Day, and the Canada and the US are in the process of fighting a war. Working at home these past few years, I've spent many Rememberance Days, taking a few minutes around 11:00 to watch ceremonies on Canadian TV. As usual, there were many specials on. Since I don't flip through channels that much while actually watching something, I don't know much about what happens on other channels. But as far as I could tell today, there was almost nothing on the US networks. I checked ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC, around before and after 11:00 and there seemed to be almost no acknowledgement of Rememberance Day. The US stations might have shown a notice for a minute exactly at 11:00, but I don't know.

I'm not criticizing anyones' activities during the time, but I thought it was odd, in the context of an ongoing war, that the US stations didn't seem to be interested in Rememberance Day, while Canadian stations, have generally always made a substantial effort to cover the ceremonies. I don't know what that tells me. It is an odd difference in cultures.
[2001/11/11]

In The News Nov. 3 - 6, 2001

Avaya Software Lets Palms Dial Internet Phones

Nov. 6, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Avaya Inc. has announced that Applied Global Technologies' "AGT Dialer" will enable PalmOS devices to dial its Internet Protocol based phones via infrared ports in the phones. The program costs "$19.95" and runs on PalmOS 3.1 - 4.0.
[The currency is not clearly stated in the announcement. -- JO]

Applied Global Technologies (Avaya IP phone dialer) http://www.dialer.vtcmanager.com/
[2001/11/07]

Fonix Speech Enables Pocket PC Time Management

Nov. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Fonix Corporation has introduced its TimeTalk Alert which reads appointments out using text-to-speech using a synthesized voice.

Fonix Corporation http://www.fonix.com/
[2001/11/07]

Cirque Offers Keyboard For Handspring(TM) Visor(TM) Edge

] Nov. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Cirque Corp. has announced the availability of its PDA Pocket Keyboard(TM) for $41.95 US.

Cirque Corp. (keyboard for Visor Edge) http://www.cirque.com/
[2001/11/07]

Fossil Announces PDA Linked Wrist Watches

Nov. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Fossil, Inc. has announced its "Wrist PDA(TM)" and "Wrist PDA/PC(TM)" which are wrist watches which can carry PDA software downloaded from PalmOS or Pocket PC based devices via infrared beaming. The watches have 190KB of available memory. They will be available in early 2002 at a suggested retail price of $145 US.

Fossil, Inc (PDA linked wrist watches) http://www.fossil.com/
[2001/11/07]

Sharp Taking Orders For Linux Palmtop Developers Release

Nov. 5, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Sharp will display its "SL-5000D" Linux based handheld at Comdex in the Trolltech booth and is accepting pre-orders from developers. The software is based on Trolltech' products.

Sharp Linux Based Handheld Developers Kits http://www.developer.sharpsec.com/
[2001/11/07]

In The News Oct. 30 - 3, 2001

Texas Instruments Announces I2C Touch Screen Controller

Nov. 2, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Texas Instruments has announced a new touch screen controller with "I2C" interface for PDAs. The device is immediately available at $2.30 US each in 1,000 piece quantities.
[2001/11/04]

Minor Book Update

My last update on this page was on 2001/09/05. This latest change consolidates my current advice for purchasing handheld computers.

Handheld Computers
[2001/10/31]

In The News Oct. 27 - 30, 2001

Voluntary Recall of Some Compaq Laptop AC Adapters

Oct. 31, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that CSA International and Compaq Cmputer Corporation of Houston, Texas have announced a worldwide voluntary recall and replacement program for approximately 1,400,000 AC adapters for some laptop computers due to potential fire hazard from overheating. The adapters came with Compaq Armada models M300, M700, E500, V300, 100s, 3500, 110 and E500s, and Prosignia models 170 and 190, and the Notebook 100. The AC adapters have the serial numbers PPP003SD, PPP003 and PP2012 (this latter only for Armada 3500). See Compaq's Website for details.

Compaq Adapter Recall http://www.compaq.com/products/notebooks/adapterrecall
[2001/10/31]

MELCO Claims First 22Mpbs Wireless LAN

Oct. 31, 2001, PR Newswire reports that MELCO INC. has announced that its new generation of "Buffalo wireless LAN" (WLAN) AirStation 2x(TM) offers double the data rate of 11Mbps AirStation(TM) models and is teh first deployable 22Mbps product in the 2.4GHz band.

Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc. http://www.buffalotech.com/
[2001/10/31]

Parachute III Brings Wireless PC Card To Palm III

Oct. 29, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Parachute Technologies has announced that its Parachute(TM) III adapter allows Palm III devices (excluding Palm IIIc) to use Type II PC Cards including wireless connectivity cards. The device is available for immediate delivery at $149 US.

Parachute Technology http://www.parachutetech.com/
[2001/10/31]

New GP Computer OSes

I don't think I have to mention that Microsoft Windows XP became available on Oct. 25, 2001. Other "general purpose" OSes that became available recently include the latest version of Mandrake Linux, and Red Hat Linux 7.2. In the case of Windows XP, an number of computer manufacturers have announced products, particularly laptop computers available with the OS. I'm trying to weed out the "previously released" products and find truly new products to mention. Linux of course is loadable on an current laptop. In particular, as far as I can tell, Compaq's lineup seems to be repackaging, but I'm not sure about Toshiba, which might actually have a newer version (faster CPU?) in at least 1 product. If I confirm this, I'll post it later.

[2001/10/28]

In The News Oct. 23 - 27, 2001

Casio And Sierra Wireless To Bring AirCards To BE-300 And Pocket PC E-200

Oct. 25, 2001, Business Wire reports that Casio and Sierra Wireless have announced that they are working together to bring CDMA and GPRS "AirCard" PC Card wireless modem products to Casio's CASSIOPEIA Pocket Manager BE-300 and Pocket PC E-200.
[2001/10/28]

In The News Oct. 20 - 23, 2001

KDS Announces 1 GHz Valiant Laptop

Oct. 24, 2001, PR Newswire reports that KDS has announced that it is shipping a new 1 GHz Valiant laptop with Microsoft Windows XP. The price is $1399 US.

KDS (laptop computer) http://www.kdsusa.com/
[2001/10/24]

Smith Micro Announces QuickLink(R) Mobile for PocketPC

Oct. 23, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Smith Micro Software, Inc. has announced that its new QuickLink(R) Mobile for Pocket PC will allow Internet connection through mobile phones.

Smith Micro Software, Inc. http://www.smithmicro.com/
[2001/10/24]

Sony Brings Clie To Canada

Oct. 23, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Sony of Canada Ltd. has introduced the "Communication Linking Information & Entertainment" (CLIE(TM)) device line to Canada beginning with the PEG-N760C which features MP3 music playing, a 320 * 320 16-bit colour screen and the Sony Memory Stick expansion system. Also introduced was the PEG-S320 which features a 160 * 160 by 16 level grey scale display. The N760C is priced at $799 Cdn. (MSRP) and will be available at the end of October, 2001. The PEG-S320 has a list price of $299 Cdn. Both will be available from Sony's Canadian Sony Style website.
[Availability for the PEG-S320 was not clear. -- JO]
[2001/10/24]

Kingston Announces 128MB SD Card

Oct. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Kingston(R) Technology Company, Inc. has announced the release of its 128MB SecureDigitalCard (SD), immediately available at $199.00 US MSRP.
[2001/10/24]

In The News Oct. 16 - 20, 2001

Acer Shows Chinese PalmOS Device

Oct. 21, 2001, Sumner Lemon writes for CNN.com that Acer has developed its S10 Chinese language PalmOS based handheld computer. Acer has exclusive writes to offer a Chinese device for "many months." Features include multiple Chinese input methods, trainable handwriting recognition, the ability to run applications written to run on the English version, built in microphone, audio recording, MP3 player and 2 Memory Stick expansion slots. It is 4.7" * 3" * 0.5", weighs 5 oz. and is based on the Motorola 33-MHz DragonBall VZ CPU with 16MB of SDRAM, a 16 [level] grey scale screen and rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and is priced at $390 US.
[The article does not state whether the device is currently selling. -- JO]
[2001/10/21]

Smith Micro Announces QuickLink(R) Mobile for Palm OS(R)

Oct. 18, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Smith Micro Software, Inc. has announced that its new QuickLink(R) Mobile for Palm OS(R) will allow Internet connection through mobile phones.

Smith Micro Software, Inc. http://www.smithmicro.com/
[2001/10/21]

New "Anthrax" Computer Virus

Oct. 18, 2001, Sam Costello writes for CNN.com that a new computer worm has been circulating in English and Spanish versions that is contained in an attachment called "Anthraxinfo.vbs" or "Anthraxjpg.vbs" which deletes .VBE and .VBE files and re-sends itself to addresses in the Outlook address book.
[2001/10/21]

Bell Labs Develops Organic Transistors

Oct. 17, 2001, Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs has announced in the Oct. 18th issue of "Nature" that they have created organic (carbon based) transistors with single- molecule channel length.
[2001/10/21]

In The News Oct. 13 - 16, 2001

Motient Announces MobileModem For Palm

Oct. 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motient Corporation has unveiled its MobileModem by Motient(TM) for Palm V/Vx(TM), IBM(R) WorkPad(R) c3 PC Companion. This wireless modem weighs 4.8 oz. and will be available "this Fall."
[No price was given in the announcement. -- JO]

Motient Corporation http://www.motient.com/
[2001/10/17]

ARM Discloses Extendible PrimeXsys Wireless Platform

Oct. 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that ARM has released details of its PrimeXsys(TM) Wireless Platform which will be based on the ARM926EJ-S(TM) CPU core.
[2001/10/17]

Matsushita And Toshiba To Combine LCD Business

Oct. 17, 2001, Business Wire reports that Toshiba Corporation and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. have announced that they will unify their LCD and next generation display businesses in a joint venture company to be incorporated in April, 2002.
[2001/10/17]

Altair Claims Breakthrough Battery Technology

Oct. 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. has announced that work with the J. Heyrovsky Institute and Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne has resulted in a breakthrough in storage battery technology using nanosized lithiated titania for increased charge and discharge rates.

Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. http://www.altairnanotechnologies.com/
[2001/10/17]

Apple Titanium PowerBook G4 Hits 667MHz

Oct. 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Apple(R) has introduced its latest Titanium PowerBook(R) G4 laptop computer which now features a 667 MHz PowerPC G4 CPU and a new system buss running at 133 MHz, and ATI Mobility Radeon AGP 4X graphics. The new version is immediately available at $2,199 US.
[2001/10/17]

Apple Announces Newest iBook

Oct. 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Apple(R) has announced that its latest iBook laptop computer will feature a 600MHz PowerPC CPU running on a new system buss speed of 100 MHz. Prices start at $1,299 US.
[2001/10/17]

Certicom Extends VPN Security To Pocket Computers

Oct. 16, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Certicom has announced that its "movianVPN" client software available for pocket computers using Palm and Windows for PocketPC 2002. The VPN security software is downloadable and can be tried for 30 days. Individual licenses are $29.95 per seat on an annual subscription basis.
[2001/10/17]

Toshiba Announces Newest Satellites(TM)

Oct. 15, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada Information Systems Group has unveiled its latest Satellite(R) laptop computers, the 5000-Z59, 3000-Q65, 1800-1PK, and 1800-4K1. All are available immediately at prices as low as $1,799 Cdn. for the 1800-1PK.
[2001/10/17]

GeneSys(R) Maximus Rugged Pen Computer w/Colour

Oct. 15, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Xplore Technologies(R) Corp. has announced that its GeneSys(R) Maximus rugged mobile computer line is now available with a 12.1" Active Matrix Color Transflective LCD which allows it to be used outdoors in full sunlight. The computer weighs about 5 lbs. and is powered by an Intel(R) Pentium(R) III. The computer will begin shipping in this quarter at prices starting at $5,895 US.

Xplore Technologies(R) http://www.xploretech.com/
[2001/10/17]

In The News Oct. 9 - 13, 2001

CareCentric Announces Mobile Software

Oct. 12, 2001, PR Newswire reports that CareCentric, Ic. has announced the release of its Visit Assistant(TM) for PDAs. [The platform, price and availability were all missing from this announcement. JO]

CareCentric, Inc. http://www.carecentric.com/
[2001/10/14]

Kingston Announces DDR SO-DIMMs

Oct. 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Kingston(R) Technology Company Inc. has announced the immediate availability of its DDR PC1600 and DDR 2100 Small-Outline DIMM (SO-DIMM) modules for OEM customers.

Kingston(R) Technology Company Inc. http://www.kingston.com/
[2001/10/14]

In The News Oct. 6 - 9, 2001

HandEra To Support Symbol 802.11b WLAN Adapter

Oct. 10, 2001, Business Wire reports that HandEra, Inc. has announced plans to support Symbol's 802.11b Wireless LAN Compact Flash device. Software drivers for the HandEra 330 are currently in Beta testing and are expected to be available around mid-November 2001.
[2001/10/10]

IBM Announces Latest ThinkPads

Oct. 9, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that IBM has introduced its latest ThinkPad laptop computers with new security, management and wireless integration features. The new "R Series" R30 starts at $1,999 Cdn., The new "A Series" A30 features integrated 802.11b LAN and Bluetooth, two modular bays, starting at $2,499 Cdn. The improved "X Series" also offers integrated wireless and security features at prices starting from $3,799 Cdn. The latest "T Series" has similar upgrades.
<[2001/10/10]

Eyring Announces New Embedded OS

Oct. 8, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Eyring Corporation has announced the release of its new prioritized multitasking Real-Time OS for 32-bit x86 computers EYRX(R). The company describes it as "compact, modular, scaleable, deterministic and easily customizable. . . ." It is priced at under $2,000 US for a standard development package.

Eyring Corporation http://www.eyring.com/
[2001/10/10]

LXE Introduces MX3-CE Ruggedized Computers

Oct. 8, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that LXE Inc. has announced its new MX3-CE series rugged mobiel computers. Based on Windows CE and a 133MHz Intel SA-1110 CPU the device has industrial oriented features such as glow-in- the-dark phosphorescent keypads. [Price and availability were not announced. -- JO]

LXE Inc. http://www.lxe.com/
[2001/10/10]

In The News Oct. 2 - 6, 2001

PocketPC 2002 Devices

Oct. 5, 2001, Douglas F. Gray writes for CNN.com that HP's Jornada 560 series will feature more memory (Jornada 565 with 32MBRAM at $599 US and Jornada 568 with 64MB RAM at $649 US), longer battery life (removable batteries rate as giving up to 14 hrs.) and less weight (about 6 oz.) than the 540 series.

Also planning to announce devices are Compaq, Casio, Toshiba and Symbol. All will use the Intel 206MHz StrongARM processor.

The Compaq H3700 series is an upgrade of the H3600 series. The H3800 series features an SD card slot. All will support 64K colours and have better battery life. They will include IBM ViaVoice Mobility Suite which all some voice command capabilities. The H3700 series will be available from Thursday in North America (starting at $499 US) with the H3800 series coming in November starting at $599 US.

Symbols PPT2800 and PDT 8100 with colour screens will feature barcode readers and are available now with prices starting at $1,795 US.
Casio's E200 has 64MB RAM and slots for both SD and Compact Flash, will be available in November at prices starting at $599 US.
The Toshiba e570 will also feature both SD and Compact Flash slots and will be available in November at prices starting at $569 US, though Toshiba warns of limited availability till Q1 2002.

[There are a number of annoucements which I'm not going to cover at this time, primarily because I ran out of time, due to Internet problems. Check Microsoft's Website. -- JO]

Microsoft PocketPC 2002 Devices http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/hardware/default.asp
[2001/10/07]

Toshiba Tecra 9000 and Portege 4000 Have Integrated Wireless LAN and Bluetooth(TM)

Oct. 4, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada, Information Systems Group has announced that its latest Tecra(R) 9000 and Portege(R) 4000 laptop computers have antennae embedded into cases to support Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b and Bluetooth(R) wireless connectivity. The Tecra 9000 series starts at $4,449.00 Cdn and the Portege 4000 series starts at $3,979 Cdn. and both are immediately available.
[2001/10/07]

ACD Announces ACDSee(TM) For Pocket PC 2002

Oct. 4, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that ACD Systems International Inc. has announced that its ACDSee(TM) Mobile for Window(R) CE will run on devices using Microsoft's newest Pocket PC 2002 system.
[2001/10/07]

Emuzed Inc. Brings MPEG-4 To Pocket PC 2002

Oct. 4, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Emuzed Inc. has announced that it has brought MPEG-4 streaming and playback to Microsoft Windows-Powered Pocket PC 2002.

Emuzed Inc. http://www.emuzed.com/
[2001/10/07]

Casio BE-300 Selling

Oct. 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that according to Casio, a number of retails the Casio BE-300 has begun selling in US retailers.
[2001/10/07]

Sanyo Shows Symbian Based PDA Prototype

Oct. 3, 2001, Martyn Williams writes for IDG News Service that Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. has shown a prototype of a PDA based on the Symbian OS. It has a 320 * 240 "10 cm" display and an ARM CPU running at 66MHz and an MMC card slot.
[2001/10/07]

AudioVox Announces PocketPC Device

Oct. 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that AudioVox Corporation has announced that it will have a Pocke PC 2002 device with 32MB SDRAM, 32MB of Flash memory and an Intel(R) StrongARM 206MHz CPU, CF card and SD card slots, a 64K colour reflective TFT display and special connectivity to an Audiovox CDM-9100 phone handset. The company intends to sell their device through wireless carriers. No price or availability date was announced.
[2001/10/07]

Voice Signal Brings Speech Recognition Based Dictation To Windows-Powered PocketPC 2002

Oct. 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Voice Signal Technologies, Inc. has announced its "Embedded Large Vocabulary Interface System" (ELVIS) software which brings speech recognition based dictation to Pocket PC 2002 devices, to be available in Q4 2001. [NOTE: This is not a consumer product, it is a development platform. -- JO]
[2001/10/07]

F-Secure Ready For Pocket PC 2002

Oct. 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that F-Secure Corporation has introduced its "F-Secure FileCrypto for Pocket PC Enterprise Edition". The new version will be released in Oct. [Price was not clear in the announcement. -- JO]

F-Secure Corporation http://www.F-Secure.com/
[2001/10/07]

Technical Difficulties

Yes, we're back to that again. Due to problems beyond my control, I was unable to make use of some of my usual news sources. I will try to recover lost data later. JO
[2001/10/03]

In The News Sept. 29 - Oct. 2, 2001

Philips Announces New Transflective Display Technology

Oct. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Philips Components (Royal Philips Electronics) has introduced a new transflective LCD display "colour adjusting" technology which the company claims enhances luminance and colour saturation. ". . . [A] corner of the pixel filter is made thinner than the rest of it, allowing light to pass through the filter unimpeded and without adding color."

Philips Components http://www.components.philips.com/
[2001/10/03]

MobileBriefs Claim Breakthrough Technology

Oct. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that MobileBriefs has announced a new technology suite based on Personalized Audio Broadcast (PAB) technology, called "Media MobileSuite."

MobileBriefs Inc. http://www.MobileBriefs.com/
[2001/10/03]

Acer Announces TravelMate 744LCF

Oct. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Acer America has announced its TravelMate 744LCF laptop computer featuring a 1.20 GHz Intel Mobile Pentium(R) III, available beginning in Oct. 2001. Prices start at $2899 US.
[2001/10/03]

Kensington Announces Keyboard For Handspring Devices

Oct. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Kensington has announced its PocketType portable keyboard for Handspring(TM) Visor(TM) devices will be available in mid-October, 2001, for $49.99 US.

Kensington Technology Group http://www.kensington.com/
[2001/10/03]

In The News Sept. 25 - 29, 2001

Analog Devices Announces New DSPs

Sept. 28, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Analog Devices, Inc. has announced general sampling of the 16-bit ADSP-21535 Blackfin(TM) DSP which claims 600 million multiply accumulate operations per second (MMACS) at 300 MHz. Also announced was a $10 US version of its ADSP-21532 300MHz DSP (in quantities of 10,000) which will begin sampling in mid-2002.

The ADSP-21535 are available now at $34 US for the ADSP-21535PKB-300 (300 MHz) in quantities of 10,000 and $27 US for the ADSP-21535PKB-200 (200 MHz) in quantities of 10,000.
[2001/09/30]

Dolch Announce 6 Hr. Battery-Life Computer

Sept. 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Dolch Computer Systems has announced that its new "FieldPAC(TM)" ruggedized portable computer features a 6 hour battery life on a Pentium III based computer.

Dolch Computer Systems http://www.dolch.com
[2001/09/30]

Intel Attempts To Push Telematics

Sept. 27, 2001, Reuters reports that Intel Corp. has announced a plan to promote adoption of internet based information and telecom systems in cars. The Intel Telematics Design Center will provide free Web-based support for designing such products using Intel technology.
[2001/09/30]

In The News Sept. 22 - 25, 2001

Alta Terra Announces Palm Support For Linux

Sept. 26, 2001, Alta Terra Ventures Corp. has announced that it is launching its "BearOps Handheld Linx for Linux" product which is a suite of tools to transfer information from Palm and Handspring PDA units and Texas Instruments calculators to most Linux operating systems.

Alta Terra Ventures Corp. BearOps Palm support for Linux http://www.bearops.com/
[2001/09/26]

Kingston Technology Announces 512MB CompactFlash(TM)

Sept. 26, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Kingston(R) Technology Company, Inc. has announced the immediate availability of a 512MB CompactFlash card CF/512. The suggested retail price of the card is $599.00 US. All Kingston CompactFlash products come with a 5 year warranty.
[2001/09/26]

Compaq Announces Presario 700 and 2700 Laptops

Sept. 24, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has announced its latest Presario 700 and 2700 Notebook PC laptop computers. Prices for the 700 start at $999 US and for the 2700 start at $1,299 US.
[2001/09/26]

Nortel Networks Delivers Multi-OS VPN

Sept. 24, 2001, Business Wire reports that Nortel Networks has announced that its Contivity VPN will support remote access for users of Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Solaris, IBM-AIX and HP-UX with no VPN gateway upgrades required.

[Details of its Linux support are not given in the announcement, but if it is open source, then it might be useable on handhelds. -- JO]
[2001/09/26]

AppForge 2.0 Ships w/Palm and PocketPC Support

Sept. 24, 2001, PR Newswire reports that AppForge, Inc. has announced that its AppForge Professional Edition version 2.0 began shipping Sept. 10, 2001 and includes support for Compaq iPAQ and HP Jornada devices as well as PalmOS. Prices are $699 for PalmOS only support, $899 for PocketPC only support and $1,299 for the Professional Bundle which includes PalmOS and PocketPC support. A "lite" "Personal Edition" version for hobbyists is available for $69.
[2001/09/26]

Sony Clie PEG N760C And PEGA-SA500

Some time recently Sony began selling its latest Clie PEG N760C device which features PalmOS V 4.1 supporting the full 64K colours on its 320 * 320 screen. The price is $499.99 US. There is as yet no upgrade for the 710C (which apparently is the same hardware device but with software that only supports 256 colours per pixel). The last software upgrade was Aug. 2, 2001.

The Sony PEGA-SA500 is apparently an adapter that brings MPEG-3 playback capability to the lower line Sony products (N610C and PEG-S300 and S320 models). The price is $129.99 US. I found these on Sony's Website on Sept. 21, 2001, but I have yet to see them announced.
[2001/09/26]

Offbrand Compact Flash Still A Problem

Compact Flash has been a problem, partly due to changes in the specification, but I'd thought that all the problems were probably solved by now. However, recently I bought a new Apacer 96MB Compact Flash card, part number 91.28030.050 and ran into the following:

I tried putting the card into the Compaq Armada 1130 (Win 95) and it crashed the computer while booting. This has happened before with an 8MB Kodak Compact Flash card which is otherwise fine, so that wasn't new. Then I tried it in the Psion Series 5MX, which is notoriously finicky. The card was properly identified, which was promising. But when I tried to format it, the 5MX was very slow and then it failed (got stuck and timed out) at about 1/2 way. I then tried to format it with a Hewlett-Packard Jornada 540. The formatting was slow again, then it stopped and reported the card was 48MB (which corresponded roughly with the point where the Series 5MX failed).

Next, I tried to format it in the Kodak DC-215, which seems to be able to format anything. This ran successfully, though the format program seemed to run through twice. It resulted in a full 96MB format, but with 4KB clusters. I put it back in the Armada 1130 again to see if Windows 95 could format it again. This time it worked. I tried Scandisk first, and though it seemed to slow down at at least 1 point, it completed and reported the card had no errors. I then reformatted it again in the Armada 1130 which gave a format with 2KB clusters.

So the card seems to be working, but not reliably in all my devices. I'm keeping the card, since I can use it in some of my devices, but I would not advise other people to try it unless, like me, one has a number of devices and therefore, is almost certainly able to make use of a product which might be "marginal". In the future I'll probably stick to the more reliable brands like Kingston and SanDisk.
[2001/09/26]

Palm 3.5.2 - 3 Digitizer/Repeating Appointment Bug?

After replacing the Palm IIIx with a new refurbished unit and upgrading it to the same software level, and weeks of use without problems, I've concluded that the problem was purely a hardware problem. The fact that it became apparent when I was starting to use the repeating appointments with alarms was merely a coincidence.
[2001/09/26]

I have run into a problem with the digitizer which might be the result of a bug in the appointment/alarm system. The description of the attempts to deal with the problem are in the order in which I tried them:

I'm using a Palm IIIx. A few months ago I upgraded to PalmOS 3.5.2, and have had no unusual problems. On Aug. 21, I created 3 appointments that repeated daily, with alarms. This is the first time I've made real use of the appointments since I bought the Palm IIIx so I don't know if the problems I'm describing were new to 3.5.2. Shortly after I created the appointments I began having problems. At first I thought it might be application specific, but later I found that the problem was occuring even on the menu level and with all applications.

Description:

Occasionally, the digitizer completely stops working. No screen taps or work at all. At first, I assumed that the digitizer function had completely crashed. The buttons all work -- including the power on/off.

Attempts To Deal With The Problem:

Warm-booting did not fix the problem.

I turned off the alarms in the repeating appointments, but that did not solve the problem (though the problem might have not been quite as severe). I found that if I backed-up the Palm, it would work, and so I thought that backing-up was fixing the problem. Later I discovered that backing-up was not necessary. If I just turned off the Palm for a few minutes, everything was ok. The digitizer has needed re-calibration a few times too.

I'm keeping the 3 appointments in my calendar for now. I think I can live with the problem, if it doesn't get any worse.

Next, I upgraded to PalmOS 3.5.3 and have re-instated the alarms for all the appointments. The problem was still there. When the appointment alarms are on it is seems to be worse. In these cases, it appears that re-synching really is necessary to restore operation.

I turned off the alarms again. The problem was still there with the alarms off. This time it seemed to need a warm-boot, but even that didn't actually restore the digitizer. My main computer was not available, so I could not try a backup. After a long delay (possibly over 5 minutes) it recovered.

Next I tried removing one repeating appointment. At first it was still freezing. I warm booted and eventually digitizer active again. But after the warm-boot, the digitizer freezing stopped. It seems that the problem exists only with 3 (or possibly more) daily repeating appointments, but 1 or 2 are ok.

I reinstated the alarms for the 2 remaining repeating appointments to continue the testing. After about 24 hours since I re-instated the alarms, and some heavy use of the digitizer, I think it's safe to say that setting the alarm on for the two remaining daily repeating appointments has not made any difference. The key problem seems to be having the 3rd daily repeating appointment.

One last point: For those who criticize programmers for not being able put out perfect programs, consider that finding out this much about this bug took me just a little over a week's worth of testing. Granted, a good programmer with the source code and a good set of programming tools to work with might have fixed it as soon as the second day, which is when I'd realized that the interaction was probably between the appointment handling and the digitizer. But a large part of fixing a bug is figuring out what conditions cause a failure.
[2001/08/26]

Hardware or Software Problem?

Unfortunately, my belief that it was stable with the alarms active was premature. Occasionally, with the 2 daily repeating appointments including alarms, the digitizer settings are thrown off and the digitizer reads a screen tap about 1 text line higher or lower that the actual location, which makes it difficult for marking text for editing, or inserting the cursor. When this happens, re-calibrating is a sufficient correction. Later, it finally crashed again, and this time, nothing I did got the digitizer working. I eventually removed the batteries from the unit and depleted the capacitor which keeps the data when a battery is removed. Putting the batteries back in did not solve it. There seems to be a hardware problem. It could be that my use of the repeating appointments and alarms was just a coincidence. I'm going to have to get this Palm IIIx repaired or replaced and start testing all over again.
revised [2001/08/28]

In The News Sept. 18 - 22, 2001

Palm Postpones i705

Sept. 21, 2001, Reuters reports that Palm Inc. has announced that it will not launch its "i705" wireless handheld device this year. According to Reuters, Palm says that "the market is still tiny for the pricey devices . . . and a delay would not significantly hurt Palm's bottom line."
[2001/09/23]

Palm Unveils m125

Sept. 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Palm Inc. has unveiled its m125. Estimated street price is about $249 US. The m125 features PalmOS 4.0, a 33 MHz Dragonball VZ processor, Secure Digital/MultiMediaCArd expansion slot, Palms "Universal Connector" and a large array of included application software on CD.
[2001/09/23]

Toshiba Announces 64Mb Pseudo-SRAM

Sept. 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. has announced a family of 64 megabit (Mb) Pseudo Static Random Access Memory (PSRAM) with access times of 80 or 85 nanoseconds. Designated TC51W6416XB and TC51W6417XB the devices operate with voltage ranging from 2.5V - 3.1V and have a low standby current of 100 microamperes and a deep power down standby mode of 5 microamperes. The devices use a page mode with a page read operation of 4 words. Samples will be available in Oct. 2001 priced at $42 US each with full production scheduled for January 2002.
[2001/09/23]

New Virus W32.Nimda

Sept. 18, 2001, CNN reports that "Nimda" can spread through "a compromised Web page". It can be disguised as a .WAV file. [Ironically, I may have been saved by my "cheapness". The Windows computer I usually use doesn't have a sound card, so I generally don't get ".WAV" files. -- JO]

Sept. 18, 2001, AP reports that a new worm known as "W32.Nimda" was spreading rapidly by Thursday attacking servers. It attacks Microsoft's Internet Information Services sfotware typically found on computers running Microsoft Windows NT or 2000. It uses 16 known vulnerabilities including a security hole left behind by "Code Red II". It also travels via email where a message is typically left blank but contains an attachment called "README.EXE".
[2001/09/19] revised [2001/09/23]

Teletype Compact Flash GPS

Some time recently, Teletype announced that they had introduced a Compact Flash GPS adapter. I will try to get more details later for more details.
[2001/09/23]

In The News Sept. 15 - 18, 2001

Robotic Rescue Operations

Sept. 18, 2001, Leander Kahney writes for Wired News that a number of robotics teams are assisting in search and rescue in the New York World Trade Center disaster.
[2001/09/19]

ACD Systems Announces ACDsee(TM) Mobile For Windows(R) CE

Sept. 18, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that ACD Systems International Inc. has announced that its ACDSee(TM) Mobile for Windows(R) CE is now available. The price for the image viewing software is $39.95 Cdn. and a 45 day free trial version can be downloaded from their website.

ACD Systems International Inc. http://www.ACDSYSTEMS.com/
[2001/09/19]

Motorola Announces i.250 2.5G GPRS Chipset

Sept. 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has announced its new i.250 chipset for 2.5 generation GPRS handsets. The baseband processor IC includes ARM(R) 7 TDMI and DSP567600 cores.
[2001/09/19]

Compaq Announces New Presario 1200 Laptops

Sept. 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq has announced its latest Presario 1200 laptop computers which feature AMD Athlon 4(R) Mobile 1.1 GHz and AMD Duron(R) 900 MHz processors. Prices for 1.1 GHz models start at $1,399 US.
[2001/09/19]

MobileBriefs Comes To WindowsCE

Sept. 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that MobileBriefs Personalized Audio Broadcast is now compatible with Microsoft Pocket PC platforms. Audio data can be used either by syncronizing or by streaming data.

MobileBriefs Inc. http://www.MobileBriefs.com/
[2001/09/19]

Compucentre Has Palm m125

On Sept. 15, 2001, I was in the local Compucentre store and saw the Palm m125 box priced at $379.99 Cdn. I don't know if they had it out a day or two early or whether it has been announced, but it's a good time to release it, about 3 months before Christmas.
[2001/09/16]

End of A TV Era

A long while back, Rogers made their last major channel packages and I decided that we didn't need to get their premium package. I decided to get the package just up from the base package. They have "threatened" to stop the extra channels for a long time. This past week, just after the New York attack, Rogers cuts off the extra cable channels. This is ironic because it was a week in which there was little on TV except for the disaster news coverage anyway. Still, I thought it over yet again and came to the conclusion that I'm probably better off without the extra channels.

Looking at it one way, this will force me to spend even more time working. In reality though, I don't have that much time to spend watching TV anyway. At this rate, I should really return to a regular TV antenna and have cable completely disconnected. Maybe that'll happen in the near future. Ironically, below, I'll say a bit about using handheld computers for video, which at this point is neither for or against cable (since cable is one method of obtaining high speed Internet), but may someday determine the future of video media.
[2001/09/16]

In The News Sept. 11 - 15, 2001

New York Needs IT Equipment And Personnel

Sept. 14, 2001, Michelle Delio writes for Wired News that the American Red Cross in New York needs IT and communications equipment, and personnel to assist in the recovery effort. Among specifically mentioned equipment are "laptops, network cards, printers and CD burners." For personnel, a specific request has gone out for "Citrix server engineers and Microsoft-certified consultants to help in setting up systems that will assist rescue workers in communicating and coordinating the recovery effort." Donations should be sent to Joe Leo, assistant director of the American Red Cross, New York, 150 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10023, USA.
[2001/09/16]

Handspring To Announce New Visors

Sept. 14, 2001, Reuters reports that Handspring Inc. on Monday will unveil the "Visor Pro" which will feature a rechargeable battery and 16MB of memory at $299 US, and the "Visor Neo" entry-level handheld with 8MB memory and replaceable batteries priced at $199.
[2001/09/16]

Wireless Infrastructure Damage In New York

Sept. 12, 2001, Reuters reports that Verizon reported extensive damage to wireline telephone equipment near the World Trade Center, including a four call processing computers serving 200,000 telephone lines and 3 million private data lines for the New York Stock Exchange and other clients. Specific wireless infrastructure damage includes:

- Verizon Wireless, 10 transmitters
- Cingular Wireless, 6 transmitters
- Sprint Corp., 4 cell sites in the Lower Manhattan disaster area and temporary power failures at other sites.

However, AT&T's wireline phone system which was under the World Trade Center was essentially undamaged and continued to work on backup batteries for a long time. Verizon service for the Pentagon was relatively undamaged also.

Many wireless companies have donated equipment to aid the relief effort.
[2001/09/16]

Sony Ericsson Joint Venture

Sept. 11, 2001, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Sony Corporation have announced that their respective Boards have approved their equally owned Mobile Phone Joint Venture which will be called "Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB" and start operations Oct. 1, 2001.
[2001/09/16]

PocketMail Announces PocketMail Composer

Sept. 10, 2001, PR Newswire reports that PocketMail Inc. has announced its PocketMail Composer handheld device is a personal organizer with keyboard which can be used to compose email which can be sent via any phone. The price is $99 US, not including email service of $14.95 US per month.

PocketMail Inc. http://www.pocketmail.com/
[2001/09/16]

In The News Sept. 8 - 11, 2001

AT&T Adds New Class Of Service For VPNs

Sept. 12, 2001, PR Newswire reports that AT&T has announced that effective immediately it has added a new class of service for its IP VPNs. The classes are now "high priority, low priority and best effort."
[2001/09/12]

NextComm Claims Advanced 802.11 Security

Sept. 12, 2001, Business Wire reports that NextComm, Inc. has announced the launch of its Key Hopping(TM) security system for 802.11a and 802.11b Wireless LANs. According to NextComm it is based on MD5 which is the same technology used to secure credit card authentication over the wireline Internet.
[2001/09/12]

Mobile Wireless Internet Forum Announces OpenRAN Report

Sept. 12, 2001, PR Newswire reports that the Mobile Wireless Internet Forum (MWIF) has announced the release of its new industry-wide reference study "OpenRAN Architecture in 3rd Generation Mobile Systems MTR-007".

Mobile Wireless Internet Forum http://www.mwif.org/
[2001/09/12]

AOpen Begins Shipping 1735 BareBook(TM)

Sept. 10, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that AOpen Inc. has announced that it has begun shipping the first two models of its 1735 Series of BareBook(TM) "white-box" laptop computers. Typical suggested street prices are as low as $1,400 US, depending on final configuration for the 1735D.

AOpen Inc. laptop http://www.aopen.com/products/nb/
[2001/09/12]

Price Reduction On Palm m500

Starting Sept. 5, 2001, Future Shop reduced the price of the Palm m500 to $499.99 Cdn. I believe this is a general price reduction in Canada, but I haven't had a confirmation yet.
[2001/09/12]

Multimedia On Handhelds

With the Toronto International Film Festival starting last week I thought I'd look into what was going on in multimedia lately. Casio started advertising multimedia for handhelds with its E-100 product. As of today, all the current Microsoft PocketPC devices, and the upper line Sony Clie 7xx devices advertise multimedia. For the most part, people have rightly limited their use of multimedia to the sound side, using pocket computers as MPEG3 players. Ironically, "next year" may be the year that video reaches some form of practicality. It's in the numbers.

Sound

This much fairly is simple. Most of you probably know more about MPEG than me, but I'll discuss a typical example. I don't have much MPEG (which has surprised people), so looking at my admittedly small collection I'll use Natalie Imbruglia's "Pidgeons and Crumbs" as an example -- because it's the longest file I found. Technically it's a bit odd because it's strongly separated stereo and not the "thickest" sound, but it's not outside the range of what is typical for ballad/pop music. The sample rate is 44.100 kHz with an MPEG bitrate of 153 kbps. I recorded it using SoundJam 2.0 with "joint stereo." The time is 5:21 and the file size is 6,153,243 bytes (a 5.8 MB file on disk). The final byte ratio is 19,168.981 bytes per second or 1,150,138.9 bytes per minute. This is the typical rule of thumb for high quality MPEG3 -- 1MB per minute.

But that's not the whole story. MPEG3 is a variable format. I have heard claims of "acceptable" results at much lower bitrates. I haven't done testing yet, but I find it believeable that bit rates as low as 70 kbps, particularly for monophonic recording could be quite acceptable for many people. As for newer compression methods such as Microsoft and the latest MPEG CODECs I think part of the equation has to be the impact on processor use, and I don't find any tests that prove to my satisfaction that I'd want to use anything more calculation intensive than current MPEG3. I'd rather have a slower running CPU and save battery power, if that's possible.

Full Video, And Formats

Formats are a current problem. Since this is the Film Festival week, I decided to look for movie and TV trailers. Unfortunately, almost everything I found was Apple QuickTime. There is currently no QuickTime support for any pocket computer. But what kind of file sizes are typical? Looking at Fox's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", feature movie trailer which runs 2 min and 16 sec. with a 240 * 180 pixel frame size and sound, the file length is 4,375,338 bytes giving a byte ratio of 32,171.603 bytes per second, or 1,930,296.2 bytes per minute. The quality level is acceptable on my Apple Macintosh Performa 6360 (16-bit colour). On the other hand, a trailer for Alliance Atlantis' TV show Earth Final Conflict "Sins of The Father" episode, has a run time of 30.27 sec. and a 160 * 120 pixel frame size and sound, with a file size of 2,559,734 bytes giving 84,563.396 bytes per second or 5,073,803.8 bytes per minute. Yet the video was flickery on my 160MHz PowerPC Mac. This is clearly because the video data format was "photo JPEG".

The following descriptions are according to PocketTV (and therefore might be biased), and I have not checked it for accuracy:

Software          File Format

ActiveSky         Proprietary
Player

Casio
MobileVideoPlayer Proprietary
                  MPEG-1 video
                  w/DPCM audio

DiVX              Proprietary, based on
                  MPEG-4 version 1
                  video and MP3 audio
                  in an AVI Multiplex

Microsoft         Proprietary, based on
Media Player 7.1  video with Microsoft
                  audio and ASF
                  Multiplexing

Packet Video      Proprietary version
PVPlayer          of MPEG-4

PocketMultimedia  Proprietary
                  wavelet-based (?)

PocketTV          Standard MPEG-1

Note: PocketTV doesn't say what makes Packet Video's format "proprietary."

MPEG-1 is probably a good format for current handhelds, keeping in mind that it is a variable compression format (which uses MPEG-3 audio). Thinking back, I remember the original Amiga (8 MHz 68000 but with special sound and graphics assisting chips) being able to display MPEG-1 CD material but CD-i players based on a similar 8 MHz 68070 CPU could not handle the same discs without an add-on accelerator. In retrospect, I expect the sound compression was probaby the deciding factor. At any rate, I believe that the Sony CLIE 7xx series devices with 33MHz 68000 and DSP co-processing should be adequate to handle this format (and perhaps slightly more complex formats as well), with up to 16-bit colour, and PocketTV claims acceptable results on current PocketPC devices.

PocketTV reports and recommends the following parameters for "all Pocket PC" devices:

240 * 180 with a total bitrate of about 350 - 500 Kbps, with audio in stereo or dual channel at 64 or 96 Kbps. They advise that "good preprocessing" is important as is a "regular frame pattern (e.g. 24 frames/sec . . . )." "Only the iPaq will play properly MPEG files encoded in SIF size (320x240 or 352x240)." [I think that a well written player for the Casio E-125 should be able to do this too. -- JO] According to PocketTV, a 24 fps 240 * 180 using 2 or 3 B-frames between P-frames using 250 - 400 Kbps, and mono or stereo sound using 44.1 KHz at 64 Kbps should give good results yielding more than 30 min. on a 128MB Compact Flash, and reducing the frame size down to 160 * 120 will yield up to 70 min. on a 128MB CompactFlash card (eg. 30 sec. Top Gun movie clip = 1MB at 256Kbps.).

So a 2 MB/min. file compression seems to be a usable estimate.
[2001/09/11]

US Under Attack

While I was working on the above piece about multimedia, I happened to turn on the radio to get a late morning news update and heard about the aircraft crashing into the World Trade Center in New York and the attack on the Pentagon. I intended to adding more to this article, but I can't finish it right now. I don't know when I'll finish the article, but it won't be for a while. My condolences go out to all who have lost loved ones.
[2001/09/11]

HP Unveils Jornada 565 and 568

Sept. 6, 2001, Hewlett-Packard has announced that it has begun shipping its Jornada 565 and 568 handheld computers which feature Microsoft(R) PocketPC 2002 Premium Edition. They feature "CompactFlash Type 1 extended" slot, a removable/rechargeable 14-hour lithium-polymer battery, HP Safe Store and "an additional 8MB of FlashROM for backing up vital data and applications," a 16-bit front-lit TFT reflective colour screen, Intel(R) StrongARM 206 MHz processor, Certicom's MovianVPN and HP Chai and HP Microchai software for Java(TM) support. Consumer sales are expected to begin Oct. 4, 2001, with the 32MB 565 at $599 US and the 64MB 568 at $649 US.

HP Jornada 565/568 Announcement http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/06sept01a.htm
[2001/09/11]

In The News Sept. 4 - 8, 2001

Microsoft's Talisker To Be Released Oct. 4, 2001

Sept. 9, 2001, The Industry Standard reports that Microsoft will unveil its "Pocket PC 2002" operating system on Oct. 4, 2001. Improvements will include Microsoft's instant messaging software, customizable startup page, ability to view contacts organized by company names, handwriting recognition "built into the operating system" (as opposed to separately loaded), ability to send .WAV attachments via email (for voice responses), spell checking in both Word and Inbox, ability to beam messages to and from PalmOS devices, "virtual private network" support (and features to ease development of network based products), return to full passwords (instead of 4 number PINs), but time limited, a new book reader, and Media Player 8.
[2001/09/09]

Unix Reaches 0 hour

Sept. 8, 2001, Farhad Manjoo writes for Wired News that at Sept. 9, 2001, 01:46:40 UT, Unix operating systems will reach 1 billion seconds (since Jan. 1, 1970) and thus, the internal clocks will wrap to "0". No significant problems are anticipated.
[2001/09/09]

MP3 Comes To Palm m100 and M105

Sept. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc., Shinei International and Liquid Audio, Inc. have announced a complete digital music package for the Palm m100 and m105 devices. The system is based on Shinei's Porteson MP3 player which can be used stand-alone or with the Palm m100 or m105. It comes with 32MB of memory for $149.99 US or 64MB of memory for $199.99 US. It also takes SD or MMC cards, comes with a USB interface and runs on 2 AAA batteries.

Shinei International (electromechanical contract mfr.) http://www.shinei.com.sg/
[2001/09/09]

MIDI Announces New File Format

Sept. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that the MIDI Manufacturing Association has announced its new eXtensible Music Format (XMF) specification which is designed for better use with internet and wireless delivery.

MIDI Manufacturing Assocation http://www.midi.org/
[2001/09/09]

Microsoft Launches Pocket PC 2002

Sept. 6, 2001, Reuters reports that Microsoft Corp. launched its Pocket PC 2002 operating system on Sept. 6, 2001. Among the first products which will be available in Oct. 2001, will be Hewlett-Packard's HP Jornada 565 and 568 devices which will retail at $599 and $649 US (less $50 rebate through to the end of 2001).
[2001/09/09]

Bluefish Demonstrates Wireless Node For Palm Devices

Sept. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Bluefish Wireless, Inc. has introduced its Bluetooth and infrared enabled "Access Point" which is capable of supporting up to 8 client devices at once. The Access Point will be available in the 4th quarter 2001 at $500 US. An accompanying server using a 900MHz RF transceiver is available today for $1,200 US.

Bluefish Wireless, Inc. http://www.bluefishUSA.com/
[2001/09/09]

In The News Sept. 1 - 4, 2001

Agfa Monotype To Be In Talisker

Sept. 5, 2001, Agfa Monotype Corporation has announced that it has licensed its patented Asian Compression for TrueType(TM), which is a lossless compression for Asian TrueType fonts, to Microsoft and that it will be integrated into Microsoft's next version of Windows CE (Talisker). Agfa claims compression up to 70% without loss of display quality.
[2001/09/05]

Presto! Bizcard 600 dpi Portable Scanner

Sept. 5, 2001, Business Wire reports that NewSoft has announced the availability of its Presto! BizCard Reader which is a small scanner with OCR software. The scanner is capable of 600 dpi resolution. The product is available for $149 US online at www.eperipherals.com and will be in stores by October, 2001.
[2001/09/05]

Motorola Introduces Rugged iDEN Handset

Sept. 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motorola, Inc. has announced the ruggedized i55sr handset for iDEN systems which meets military standards for shock and vibration resistance and features Java(TM) 2 Platform, Micro Edition support. Prices are expected to range from $129 - $227 US depending on service provider.
[2001/09/05]

MedicWare EMR 5.0 Has PDA Accessibility to Patient Records

Sept. 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that MedicWare Inc. has launched its MedicWare EMR 5.0 which features "real-time wireless access to complete patient medical records using Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or notebook computer.

MedicWare Inc. http://www.medicware.com/
[2001/09/05]

Sony Aibo Third Generation

Sept. 5, 2001, Reuters reports that Sony Electronics Inc. has unveiled its third generation Aibo entertainment robots. This time there are two versions. The Latte which is a light coloured robot and the Macaron which is a dark colour robot, both cost about $850 US each, but are a bit more capable than the 2nd generation Aibo (ERS-210). Spoken command recognition is raised from 50 to 75 and a new tonal language allows for it to sing melodies.

Sony Aibo Robots http://www.aibo.com/
[2001/09/05]

Motorola Announces New Higher Speed Chips

Sept. 4, 2001, Reuters reports that Motorola Inc. has announced that it has developed a method of using gallium arsenide on silicon wafers reducing the cost of GA performance (which is about 40 times faster) to silicon production costs (about 1/10th the cost). Motorola also has rights to indium phosphide and gallium nitride technologies. Chips using the new gallium arenide technology might be available as early 2002.
[2001/09/05]

Mobile Perspective On The HP - Compaq Merger

On Sept. 4, 2001, Hewlett-Packard and Compaq announced plans to merge, with the resulting company mainly using the Hewlett-Packard name and upper management.

Historically, mergers like this have not been beneficial to the mobile computing market. In general, we've lost variety. Three previous mergers stand out. There were the Samsung buyout of AST, the NEC buyout of Packard-Bell and the Compaq buyout of DEC.

In the case of Samsung, AST was reduced from an innovator to a rebrander of Samsung, and then eventually absorbed, though the company name was eventually resurrected. AST was a leader in the wider/thinner format laptop computer movement which has continued to this day. Packard-Bell was a leader in lower priced laptops and though I don't feel they were significantly innovative, NEC never really pursued the lower price laptop market. On the other hand, perhaps the price gap makes the MobilePro-790 more viable, and I consider that a plus. When Compaq bought out DEC, DEC had just brought out a very highly considered line of innovative laptop products, which Compaq soon discontinued.

Also during that period, DEC had sold off its StrongARM to Intel. I don't think you can fault Compaq for that -- there might have been a three-way deal going on, but if so, I have no such information. But the StrongARM was already establishing itself as a leading product in the mobile field before Intel got it. At any rate, we were fortunate that this was not a loss for consumers -- only for shareholders who would probably like to undo that transaction.

As for the current merger, there is some "easy" predicting and some more difficult. The easy prediction is that the current Jornada 5xx series will be dumped. If this happens, it will be a very sad example of real loss to the consumer. One must keep in mind that all handheld products are very heavily compromised, so there has aways been a very wide range of decisions. Many of the HP choices were good -- not all, but many.

The hardware controls on the HP were generally better than the Compaq iPaq. I felt the buttons should have been a bit bigger, but the locations were well considered, and the side rocker switch was the best on any of the "PocketPC" devices. The screen switch properly recognized that the audio player function would be popular. By comparison, while the iPaq controls look like a good arrangement, the big cursor control button turns out to be clumsy. At best it's ignorable since the software always has screen controls. On the other hand, the reflected light TFT screen on the iPaq made it viable both indoors and outdoors. The differences were not that strong in either direction.

The bottom line is that both products were actually viable. I'm not exactly sure why the Compaq sales took off so far better than HP. There are some factors that are clearly significant, but the sales differential was huge -- far beyond the effect of the one or two most obvious factors.

The probable result of this merger will at least be to bring a more consistent line to market -- based on ARM technology. The Compaq iPaqs and the Jornada 720 should be the basis for that lineup. Hopefully there will be more. I felt that Jornada 800 series was dropped prematurely, and perhaps someday they will reconsider that form factor, which was close to the original HP Omnibook series subnotebooks.

Software-wise, things are less obvious and more interesting. Unlike HP, Compaq is a leader in the handheld-Linux field. The success of the Compaq iPaq PocketPC device is a strong indication that the Microsoft name is not that significant in the handheld computer field. If the rest of the PocketPC field had major sales gains like the Compaq, then you might point to the Microsoft influence. But sales of Casio and HP were at best, moderate by comparison. Moreover, the desire for Linux was strong enough that a 3rd party has already begun selling the Compaq with a Linux load in Europe. The decisions regarding the iPaq's software future are dependent on the resulting company's management personnel and philosophy. It will be much more significant than the general public is aware.
[2001/09/05]

In The News Aug. 28 - Sept. 1, 2001

Palm Introduces Educational Software

Sept. 2, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. has introduced its "Palm(TM) Mobile Mentor(TM) software" which consists of 3 CDs of "organization, productivity, learning and teaching applications for educators, high school students and college students." Each CD is priced at $39.95 US. Orders are placeable through "http://store.palm.com/" and is expected to ship on Sept. 25, 2001.
[2001/09/02]

Sony Drops "e Villa"

Aug. 31, 2001, Reuters reports that Sony Corp. has announced that it has discontinued its "e Villa" Internet appliance and is offering to buy them back. The dedicated online service will end on Sept. 13, 2001.

[I rarely include something so remote from the mobile field, but the BeOS based device is apparently being discontinued at least in part because of Palm's purchase of BeOS. This is a surprise since Sony is also a user of PalmOS, so the fact that both software systems will be owned by Palm should not have been an issue to Sony. -- JO]
[2001/09/02]

Sega Coming To PocketPC

Aug. 30, 2001, Reuters reports that Sega Corp. and Synovial Inc. have announced that Sega has licensed game content to Synovial which has developed "Virtual Game Gear" for Microsoft Pocket PC devices. According to Synovial, the Virtual Games Gear software will be embedded into new PocketPC computers sold later this year. Users will have the option to buy additional game software. Sega says that it is continuing to work on software for PalmOS, but has not made further announcements regarding that work.
[2001/09/02]

Motorola Develops Extreme Ultra Violet Photomasks

Aug. 29, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motorola, Inc. has announced that its researchers have fabricated what it claims is the industry's first "extreme ultraviolet" (EUV) photomasks for use in manufacturing sub-micron ICs.

[2001/09/02]

In The News Aug. 24 - 28, 2001

Intel Introduces AnyPoint(TM) Wireless II

Aug. 29, 2001, Business Wire reports that Intel(R) Corporation has announced its AnyPoint(TM) Wireless II Network family of products based on IEEE 802.11b featuring data transfers up to 11 Mbps. The PC card is available immediately for $129 US as well as the USB model at $149 US. A consumer version of the Intel Wireless Gateway will be available in October.
[2001/08/29]

Araccel Announces "Clinical Digital Assistant"

Aug. 29, 2001, BW HealthWire reports that Araccel AB has announced the global release of its Araccel Evolution(TM) Clinical Digital Assistant(TM) (CDA)(TM).

[The announcement is unclear, but this seems to be a software package running on Compaq iPaq and HP Jornada PocketPC's presumably linked through a server. JO]
[2001/08/29]

Visor Phone Almost Free

Aug. 28, 2001, Reuters reports that Handspring has reduced the Visor Phone again. Now, if bought with a handheld device and then immediately activated "through a compatible carrier" the Visor Phone module is free. Existing customers can still buy it for $49 US.
[2001/08/29]

Century Announces Linux Handheld PIM Suite

Aug. 28, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Century Embedded Technologies has announced its PIXIL(TM), a "commercial ready embedded Linux operating environment and development suite optimized for small footprint smart flat-panel devices." PIXIL supports x86, PowerPC, StrongARM, MIPS and SH. PIXIL features a full PIM suite and an Internet browser.

Century Embedded Technologies PIXIL suite
[2001/08/29]

Anycom Announces Commercially Available Bluetooth Compact Flash

Aug. 28, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Anycom(TM), Inc. has announced that it has released what it claims is the first commercially available Bluetooth Compact Flash card in the US and Europe. The card is immediately available globally for $199 US.

Anycom, Inc. (Bluetooth Compact Flash card) http://www.anycom.com/
[2001/08/29]

David Nagel To Lead Palm Software

Aug. 27, 2001, Reuters reports that Palm Inc. has named David Nagel, chief technology officer of AT&T Corp. as president and chief executive officer of its new Platform Solutions subsidiary, in charge of Palm's software efforts.
[2001/08/29]

AlphaSmart Licenses PalmOS

Aug. 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that AlphaSmart, Inc. has licensed Palm OS(R) and is planning new products on this platform while continuing to develop its own AlphaSmart 3000 product line in the educational field.

AlphaSmart, Inc. (mobile educational products) http://www.alphasmart.com/
[2001/08/29]

Gateway Annoucnes Solo 9550 Portable

Aug. 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Gateway, Inc. has introduced its new Gateway Solo(R) 9550 portable computer featuring a Mobile Intel(R) Pentium(R) III Processor-M at speeds up to 1.13GHz and a 15.7" screen. Prices start at $1,799 US.
[2001/08/29]

In The News Aug. 21 - 24, 2001

IBM Achieves Single-Molecule Computer Circuit

Aug. 26, 2001, Business Wire reports that IBM has announced that their research team has created and demonstrated the world's first single molecule computer circuit -- a voltage inverter, from a carbon nanotube. The team has found that the circuit has a gain of 1.6 and the process is selectively controllable and reversable which indicates that it might have the potential to be commercially viable.
[2001/08/26]

Apple Cuts Price of Titanium

Aug. 24, 2001, Reuters reports that Apple Computer In.c has reduced the price of its Titanium PowerBook G4 laptop computers. The 400MHz G4 is reduced from $2,599 US to $2,199 US and the 500MHz version is reduced from $3,499 US to $2,999 US beginning Aug. 25, 2001.
[2001/08/26]

Intel And Compaq To Push iPaq/Intel PCA

Aug. 22, 2001, Business Wire reports that Intel Corporation and Compaq Computer Corporation have announced that they will work together of wireless handheld communications devices and applications based on the "Intel Personal Internet Client Architecture" which will use the Compaq iPaq PocketPC as a reference platform. According to the announcement, the current focus is on "complex multimedia applications."
[2001/08/26]

PacketVideo Brings Multimedia Tools To TI OMAP

Aug. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that PacketVideo Corporation and Texas Instruments Incorporate have announced that they will create application development tools for TI's OMAP(TM) platform and PacketVideo's PVPlatform(TM) for streaming multimedia applications.
[2001/08/26]

PlayMedia Brings MP3 Playback Engine To StrongARM And XScale

Aug. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that PlayMedia, Inc. has optimized its AMP(R) MP3 playback engine for Intel(R) StrongARM and XScale(TM) platforms.

PlayMedia, Inc. http://www.playmediasystems.com/
[2001/08/26]

BestNet Conference Calling For PalmOS

Aug. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that BestNet Communications Corp. has announced that it has begun a new conference calling service for PalmOS users.

[I'm not sure what the benefit is or how the Palm device fits into this service. I'm posting this on a "benefit of the doubt" basis. -- JO]

BestNet Communications Corp. http://www.bestnetcall.com/
[2001/08/26]

In The News Aug. 18 - 21, 2001

SiPix Announces PocketPC Printer

Aug. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that SiPix, Inc. has announced that its Pocket Printer A6 now supports Pocket PC devices when using FieldSoftware Products' PrintPocketCE. The PrintPocketCE software costs $39.95 US.

FieldSoftware Products http://www.fieldsoftware.com/
[2001/08/22]

Qualcomm And Nortel Achieve Mobile IP On CDMA

Aug. 22, 2001, Business Wire reports that QUALCOMM Incorporated and Nortel Networks have announced that they have succeeded in making the first successful "end-to-end live third-generation (3G) CDMA2000 1X Mobile Internet Protocol (IP) call." IS-835 Mobile IP is necessary for data users "to roam uninterrupted across 3G wireless packet networks" by maintaining data connections between cells without maintaining air links and only activating air links when needed to move data. Supporting chipsets are now in production and required software will be available in calendar Q3 of 2001.
[2001/08/22]

HP To Push Small Linux

Aug. 22, 2001, Reuters reports that Hewlett-Packard will launch its "HP Chai-LX" platform to develop Linux applications for small consumer devices like stereos and cell phones.
[2001/08/22]

Intel And Symbian Working Together

Aug. 21, 2001, Business Wire reports that Intel Corporation and Symbian have announced that they are working together to accelerate application development on Intel's "Personal Internet Client Architecture" (Intel PCA) and Symbian OS. Their current effort is to port Symbian OS to Intel XScale(TM) which will be the development path of StrongARM.
[2001/08/22]

AMD Announces 1.1GHz Mobile Athlon 4 CPU

Aug. 20, 2001, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced 1.1 GHz mobile AMD Athlon(TM) 4 and 900 MHz mobile AMD Duron(TM) processors featuring PowerNow!(TM) technology. The Athlon 4 processor is made using AmD's 0.18-micron copper process technology and supports a 200MHz front-side bus. On chip Level 1 cache is 128KB and Level 2 cache is 256KB. At the same time, AMD also announced a non-mobile 1 GHz AMD Duron processor based on the new "Morgan" core which has an extended multimedia instruction set. The mobile CPUs are being used in Compaq Presario 1200 laptop computers available now, with other manufacturers to announce products soon. The 1.1 GHz AMD mobile Athon 4 CPU costs $425 US in quantities of 1,000 units, and the 900 MHz AMD Duron processor is priced at $130 US in quantities of 1,000 units.
[2001/08/22]

Handspring Cuts Prices

Aug. 20, 2001, Reuters reports that Handspring Inc. has announced price cuts on Visor products. The Visor Edge price drops from $399 US to $299 US. Other price drops are: Visor 2MB reduced from $149 US to $129 US, the Deluxe 8MB reduced from $199 US to $169 US, the Visor Platinum reduced from $$249 US to $199 US. The Visor Prism remains at $399 US.
[2001/08/22]

xware Brings Blackberry Convenience To Police

Aug. 20, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that xwave has unveiled its "OnPatrol" product which allows police to use RIM BlackBerry devices to access secured data.
[2001/08/22]

In The News Aug. 14 - 18, 2001

Lexi-Comp Enhances Medical Software With Most Current Information

Aug. 17, 2001, BW HealthWire reports that Lexi-Comp, Inc. has announced that its latest software for PalmOS devices features a "Special Alerts" field which is being used to deliver the most current medical announcements. All products are available for free trial download at:

Lexi-Comp, Inc. Free Trial software http://www.lexi.com/palmcenter.htm
[2001/08/19]

Pocket Computer Security A Growing Concern

Aug. 16, 2001, Reuters reports that at a recent USENIX Association symposium, Peter Zatko and Joe Grand have pointed out that more and more sensitive data is being stored on pocket computer devices, and particularly PalmOS, which have poor security systems. Such applications as "one-time password generation, storage of medical records and confidential inventory tracking," are areas of risk. Connectivity through wireless technology increases the threat of compromise.
[2001/08/19]

Bachmann Brings File Organization To PalmOS

Aug. 16, 2001, Business Wire reports that Bachmann Software has launched the commercial release of its FilePoint(TM) software for Palm OS(R) handheld devices. FilePoint brings the well known tree style file organization to Palm devices. The retail cost of FilePoint is $19.95 US.

Bachmann Software http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/
[2001/08/19]

Motorola Combines GMRS And FRS In T6400 Transceiver

Aug. 16, 2001, PR Newswire report that Motorola, Inc. has unveiled its Talkabout T6400 radio transceiver which combines both 14 FRS and 8 GMRS frequencies, each with 38 call codes, and offering "Eavesdrop Reducer" codes which enhance privacy by selectably coded scrambling. The suggested retail price is $109.99 US, not including the US required FCC GMRS licence which is $85 US for 5 years use. The product will be available in the US in Sept. 2001.

[I don't know the Canadian licensing requirements for US GMRS frequencies. -- JO]
[2001/08/19]

Palm Buys Be Incorporated And Loses Alan Kessler

Aug. 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. is buying the assets of Be Incorporated, and that Be's Jean-Louis Gasse will be assisting the transfer as a temporary advisor, and that Alan Kessler, general manager of Palm's Platform Solutions Group is leaving Palm.
[2001/08/19]

Telesis Announces Release of OnAir Mobile 4.0

Aug. 16, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Telesis has announced the release of its OnAir MOBILE(TM) version 4.0 software which speeds email transfers of Microsoft Outlook and Exchange messages.
[2001/08/19]

NEC Vr-4131: Superscalar Coming To Your Pocket

The upcoming Casio BE-300 will be the first pocket computer to use the NEC Vr-4131 CPU. I haven't checked out all the latest devices in detail, but as far as I know, this will be the first device to use a true "superscalar" RISC CPU. NEC snuck this one past me when they decided to use the Vr-4131 name. NEC already had a dual-issue superscalar core, but it used the Vr-5xxx name system for it. When I saw the Vr-41xx name, I assumed that they were still using a single pipeline design. I haven't seen the actual details yet, but in their preliminary product description, NEC describes the chip as having a "Two-way superscalar pipeline." Based on a 0.13-micron technology, the performance claims are striking:

The chip also features a new 4th energy saving mode. Putting such a chip in its lower cost BE-300 device, with Flash memory should give Casio a fresh start in the eyes of the development community.
[2001/08/19]

In The News Aug. 11 - 14, 2001

WideRay Remote Application Server For 3-Tier Web Apps

Aug. 15, 2001, Business Wire reports that WideRay has announced the availability of its Remote Application Server for HTML and SQL driven applications, supporting Wide Area wireless or small area Infrared and Bluetooth connectivity. Client software is available for Palm and WindowsCE PocketPC devices.

WideRay http://www.wideray.com/
[2001/08/14]

STMicroelectronics Chooses TUXIA Linux

Aug. 15, 2001, Business Wire reports that TUXIA and STMicroelectronics have announced that STMicroelectronics has chosen TUXIA's "TUXIA Appliance Synthesis Technology" (TASTE(R)) Linux software line for its STPC(R) family of x86 System-on-Chipc (SoC) microprocessors.

STMicroelectronics http://www.st.com/

TUXIA(R) Linux http://www.tuxia.com/
[2001/08/14]

iGo Announces Travel Information Website

Aug. 14, 2001, PR Newswire reports that iGo Corporation has opened its Road Warrior(R) International Survival Guide Website and Road Warrior(R) International Survival Guide Handbook.

iGo Corporation Road Warrior(R) International Survival Guide http://www.igo.com/travel/
[2001/08/14]

Tegic Announces 4 New Languages For T9

Aug. 14, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Tegic Communications and America Online, Inc. have announced the release of version 5.1 of "T9(R) Text Input software" which has the ability to add custom words, and adds support for Bulgarian, Indonesian, Malay and Romanian.

Tegic Communications http://www.T9.com/
[2001/08/15]

Xybo Supports GoldMine With Wireless Server Extension

Aug. 13, 2001, Canada Newswire reports that Xybo Systems has announced its WirelessContact Server which acts as an extension to FrontRange Solutions' GoldMine and interfacing with any Internet- enabled device, including RIM products, mobile phones, PDAs etc.

[It is not entirely clear in the announcement, but it appears the product is immediately available. Pricing was not announced. -- JO]

Xybo Systems (wireless extension to GoldMine) http://www.xybo.com/
[2001/08/15]

Palm m500 Price Drop?

On Aug. 14, 2001, I was in the local Future Shop and I saw the Palm m500 priced at $599.99 with a date noted Sept. 3, 2001. It was unclear whether this was a sale by the store or a price drop by Palm. I'll try to find out more later.
[2001/08/15]

Casio Japan E-750

Casio has recently begun selling its new E-750 product in Japan. This WindowsCE PocketPC device features a 200MHz version of the NEC Vr4131 CPU. While the styling has changed to a slightly smoother look giving it a familial relation to the EM-500, the layout of ports and controls appears to be the same as the E-1xx series devices. The screen also appears to be the same backlighted TFT screen used by the E-1xx series. One expects that the same device will eventually show up in North America with English software and possibly, a different name.

Notably, the current Japanese lineup also includes the E-700 which is a Japanese version of the EM-500, the E-800 which is the Japanese version of the EG-800 industrial unit available in North America, and the E-707, which seems to be a wireless adapted version of the EM-500/E-700 (with an antenna port).

Casio PocketPC In Japan http://www.casio.co.jp/pocketpc/
[2001/08/15]

In The News Aug. 7 - 11, 2001

Oracle More Mobile

Aug. 8, 2001, Reuters reports that Oracle Corp. has "shipped an update of its 11i e-business software that enables users to access its applications on hand-held devices, Wb-enabled telephones and other mobile device."
[2001/08/12]

Clickmarks Brings 65 Languages To Mobile Devices

Aug. 8, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Clickmarks has announced the addition of its universal multilingual support to its mobile data products. Its Mobile Habitat(TM) is a portal infrastructure that is licensed to wireless carriers. Its multilingual feature works on any WAP and WML-compliant mobile client devices (including Palm handhelds, Pocket PC's and EPOC devices) equipped with a browser and graphics display abilities supporting GIF, JPEG, WBMP, or PNG image formats.

Clickmarks http://www.clickmarks.com/
[2001/08/12]

Californian Nurses Using PDAs

May 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that every full-time Visiting Nurse at VNA Home Health Systems in Santa Ana, California (a non-profit community-based organization) is receiving a PDA with special software. 35 Visiting Nurses are now using the devices with more to phased in over the next quarter. The software was written by the Visiting Nurse's Association's CEO, Jeneane Brian.

Aug. 8, 2001, PR Newswire reports that the VNAHHS software is now getting international attention, citing the International Mobile Informatics Conference in Healthcare in Nova Scotia and a presentation to a delegation of faculty from the Taiwanese National University on Aug. 4, 2001, and notes that "Beta teams are experiencing up to 50% reduction in time spent on paperwork." Websites are:

Visiting Nurse's Association Home Health Systems http://www.vnahhs.com/

RN Palm http://www.rnpalm.com/jeneane_brian.htm
[2001/05/20] updated [2001/08/12]

TELUS Deploys Fraud Protection

Aug. 7, 2001, Business Wire reports that SOTAS, Inc. has announced that TELUS is now beginning to use its SecureWave(TM) fraud management system. The installation costs TELUS $4.2 million US.
[2001/08/12]

In The News Aug. 4 - 7, 2001

RIM Blackberry Gets AvantGo

Aug. 8, 2001, Business Wire reports that AvantGo, Inc. has announced that AvantGo is not shipping support for the RIM BlackBerry. The products include AvantGo(R) 4.0 M-Business Server and Client for the RIM BlackBerry, AvantGo 4.0 Application Alerts which includes graphics and embedded interactive form support, and AvantGo Mobile Sales(TM) Extensions for CRM.
[2001/08/08]

Lexar 512MB Compact Flash

Aug. 7, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Lexar Media, Inc. has announced the availability of its 512MB 12x USB-enabled Type I CompactFlash(TM).

[Apparently the "12x" refers to 12 x regular speed, or more precisely, 1.8MB/sec sustained write speed. Price was not given in the announcement. -- JO]

Lexar Media, Inc. http://www.digitalfilm.com/
[2001/08/08]

Bell Mobility Moving Into West

Aug. 7, 2001, Business Wire reports that Bell Canada and Nortel Networks have announced a contract worth about $180 million Canadian to expand Bell Mobility's CDMA based PCS network west into Alberta and British Columbia. The expansion will be fully 3G "out of the box" supporting cdma2000 1XRTT and is expected to be operational in major urban centers in early 2002. Data rate targets are 384 kbps in the near term with 2 Mbps in the longer term.
[2001/08/08]

Megallan GPS With Secure Digital Memory Cards

Aug. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Thales Navigation has announced that the new Magellan Meridian(TM) series GPS is the first such product line to use Secure Digital Memory Card for storage. The new products will also feature larger, grey scale screen. Sizes will be about 6.1" * 2.7" * 1.2" with weight of about 8 oz. The first products will be available September 2001 with more to follow in the Fall of 2001.

Thales Navigation http://www.thales-navigation.com/
[2001/08/08]

Toshiba Announces 128MB Secure Digital Memory Card

Aug. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. has announced the introduction of a 128 Megabyte Secure Digital Memory Card, SD-M1280. Sample cards are immediately available at $149 US "in OEM quantities." Toshiba has also announced plans to follow this product with a 256MB SD Memory Card in Q4 2001.
[2001/08/08]

Casio E-125 Price Lowered

On Aug. 3, 2001 I noticed that the price of the Casio E-125 had dropped in the local Staples from $699.00 Cdn. down to $599.00 Cdn. I called Casio Canada today and found that Casio has lowered the price of the E-125 for competitive reasons. The E-125 is the only current consumer handheld computer with hardware floating point support which raises its performance in math intensive applications well beyond even the 200MHz range ARM based devices.
[2001/08/08]

In The News July 31 - 4, 2001

New Variant of Code Red Virus

Aug. 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Computer Associates International, Inc. has found a new variant of the Code Red virus. This version "manipulates system settings, and installs and launches a Trojan version of Windows File Explorer" which can "leave the infected computer open to remote connections making it possible for files to be accessed and stolen." The target systems are Microsoft Windows 2000 running Microsoft Internet Information Server (ISS).

Computer Associates Virus Info http://ca.com/virusinfo/
[2001/08/05]

Sircam Virus Spreading

July 25, 2001, CNN reports that the "Sircam" virus is spreading in Europe. According to the article the virus may be attacking more email systems than just "Microsoft Outlook" (which is the only one specifically mentioned). This virus selects random files on a computer system and sends them to every name in a victim's address book. The virus is harder to identify because the message name changes to the file name sent. The file is found in "C:\recycled\SirC32.exe\" and appears as "SCam32.exe" in the Windows System directory.

Aug. 3, 2001, CNN.com reports that the Sircam virus is still spreading and according to the news website "ForUm", has caused the secret schedule of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and other political leaders to be made public. Also, according to the article, the virus "includes a time bomb, wet to go off on October 16, which in rare instances, could destroy many or all computer files."
[2001/07/25] updated [2001/08/05]

Wi-Fi Security Weaker Than Earlier Reported

Aug. 3, 2001, Reuters reports that according to Scott Fluhrer of Cisco Systems Inc. and Itsik Mantin and Adi Shamir of the Weizmann Institute of Israel, the security system used in IEEE 802.11b "Wi-Fi" networks is even easier to break than was earlier believed. WECA has already been recommending that secondary security systems should be used. A new report will be made on Aug. 16-17 at the Eighth Annual Workshop on Selected Areas in Cryptography in Toronto.
[2001/08/05]

Sprint Offers AirPrime's Digital Link For Handspring Visor

Aug. 2, 2001, Reuters reports that Sprint PCS Group and AirPrime Inc. have announced that Sprint will offer AirPrime's "Digital Link" SpringBoard(TM) for Handspring Visor handheld computer devices. The module will allow the use of the Visor devices at cell phones similar to the VisorPhone, but on Sprint's network.

What is not in the announcement is the fact that Sprint PCS is a CDMA network. It is not clear from this announcement, whether the "Digital Link" uses CDMA technology. -- JO]
[2001/08/05]

Dell Stops Offering Linux On Laptops

Aug. 2, 2001, Reuters reports that Dell Computer Corp. on Thursday announced that it has stopped offering Linux pre-installed on personal computers, including laptops, due to lack of demand.
[2001/08/05]

Plaintree Releases Wavebridge 600 Optical Wireless Link

July 31, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Plaintree Systems Inc. has released its WAVEBRIDGE(TM) 600 series optical wireless link which provides network connections up to 100 and 155 Mbps. The device uses an International Electrotechnical Commission Class 1 rated Light Emitting Diode (eye-safe under all foreseeable conditions, including the use of binoculars for alignment purposes).
[2001/08/05]

In The News July 28 - 31, 2001

MapQuest Announces Mobile Version 3.0

Aug. 1, 2001, Business Wire reports that MapQuest has announced the release of Mobile MapQuest 3.0 for Palm OS devices, and supporting wireless retrieval of maps and travel routes.

MapQuest.com http://www.mapquest.com/
[2001/08/01]

Microsoft Announces Streets & Trips 2002

Aug. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced the availability of Streets & Trips 2002 which the company claims has "comprehensive maps for every ZIP code in the United States and Canada." Some information is updateable via the Internet. The price is $64.95 Cdn with a $15 Cdn rebate until Dec. 31, 2003.
[2001/08/01]

WAP 2.0 Released For Public Review

Aug. 1, 2001, WAP Forum(TM) has announced that it has released the WAP 2.0 specification which features the WML 2.0 for public review. WML 2.0 is now an XHTML architecture incorporating Cascading Style Sheets.

WAP Forum http://www.wapforum.org/
[2001/08/01]

D-Link 802.11b Compact Flash Adapter

Aug. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that D-Link has announced the launch of its D-Link Air DCF-650W which is an 11 Mbps IEEE802.11b Compact Flash Wireless Network Adaptor using 2.4 GHz Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) operating on 3.3V DC in two different power consumption modes. The device is compatible with Windows CE 3.0. The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is $199 US and it is immediately available.

D-Link (Compact Flash WLAN) http://www.dlink.com/
[2001/08/01]

Intrinsyc Introduces Cerf(TM)PDA Reference Design

Aug. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Intrinsyc Software, Inc. has announced its Cerf(TM)PDA reference design which the company is aiming at what they are calling the "Embedded-Internet enterprise" market. The design is based on the Intel(R) StrongArm-1110(TM) processor running Windows CE and Linux. The specification features a 3.8" STN colour display, 64MB SDRAM, 32MB Flash and many configuration options. The design is compatible with the upcoming Intel XScale(R) processor.
[2001/08/01]

Neomar Claims Security Fix For Major Mobile Devices

July 31, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Neomar, Inc. claims to have fixed security holes in Palm and RIM Blackberry mobile devices via its Neomar Enterprise Server which creates a secure link between the corporate network and the handheld devices.

Neomar, Inc. http://www.neomar.com/
[2001/08/01]

Parachute Brings PC Card To Old Palm III's

July 31, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Parachute Technologies, LLC has introduced its Parachute(TM) PC Card adapter for Palm devices. The Parachute III(TM) allows Palm III owners to use PC Cards. The company is taking orders with delivey expected in 6 - 8 weeks. The price is $149.00 US. According to the company, the adapter works with "the entire Palm III series (except the Palm IIIc) including the IBM Workpad PC Companion."

Parachute Technologies, LLC http://www.parachutetech.com/
[2001/08/01]

IBM T23 Futhers Integrated Wireless

July 30, 2001, Joe Wilcox writes for CNET News.com that IBM's latest ThinkPad T23 includes network connectivity on the motherboard (freeing up an extra mini-PCI slot for an internal wirless card) and advanced security hardware on the motherboard. Prices start at $2,279 US and is available July 31, 2001.
[2001/08/01]

Intel Introduces 5 Laptop CPUs

July 30, 2001, Reuters reports that Intel Corp. on Monday introduced 5 laptop microprocessors. The new chips are based on 0.13 micron process technology. The fastest is a Pentium III running at 1.13 GHz.
[2001/08/01]

In The News July 25 - 28, 2001

Palm Reorganizes

July 27, 2001, Reuters reports that Palm Inc. is reorganizing by forming a separate wholly owned unit for its software group.
[2001/07/29]

Stanford Uses Casio E-125 For Research Project

July 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Casio, Inc. has announced that The Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention will use Cassiopeia E-125 Pocket PC devices to conduct studies investigating how portable technology can be used to motivate better health behavior among people over 50.
[2001/07/29]

Portable Innovation Technology Allows Visor(TM) Users To Run Apps From SmartMedia(TM) and Compact Flash Cards

July 26, 2001, PR Newswire report that Portable Innovation Technology, Ltd. have unveiled its PiDirect(TM) application to be used with the MemPlug Springboard(TM) module. The combination of the hardware and software will allow Handspring Visor devices to run application programs and read-only databases stored on the memory card. The program costs $19.95 US for a single user license with an introductory price of $9.95 US until Aug. 30, 2001.

Portable Innovation Technology, Ltd. (MemPlug For Visor) http://www.memplug.com/
[2001/07/29]

PalmOS Emulator for Microsoft PocketPC's

July 26, 2001, Ian Fried writes that George Andre says that he is testing a software emulator of a Palm III that runs on Microsoft Windows PocketPC devices. He projects a price of about $30 US. He claims speed is roughly 70% of a Palm III, but it is an early version and there is room for optimizing.

[The article doesn't say which PocketPC device the software is being tested on. If it's the iPaq, then similar software will probably be even slower on the HP Jornada or Casio devices which run at slower CPU speeds. -- JO]
[2001/07/29]

Compaq Only Merlin Ready PocketPC?

July 26, 2001, Ian Fried writes that according to Compaq, their iPaq is the only device "ready" to upgrade to Microsoft's next version of PocketPC software "Merlin" which is due this fall. Merlin is still based on Windows CE version 3.0 and Microsoft is characterizing it as a "substantial upgrade." According to Fried, Compaq's latest quarterly report claims the company shipped 450,000 iPaq handhelds in the quarter.
[2001/07/29]

Audible Springboard Hits Market

July 25, 2001, Business World reports that Audible and Card Access have announced that the Audible Advisor(TM) Springboard(TM) module for the Handspring(TM) Visor(TM) is now available. The 16MB capacity card holds 4.4 hours of Internet delivered audio. The suggested price is $129.95 US, but an introductory price of $49.95 US is available for customers subscribing for 1 year at $12.95 US per month.

July 24, 2001, Ian Fried writing for CNET News.com writes that the Audible Advisor has 16MB memory which Audible claims will hold 4.5 hours of spoken audio. By comparison, the SoundsGood digital-audio player which costs $149 US has 64MB of memory. Microsoft is an Audible investor. [I usually estimate 1 min. of play time for 1MB for highest quality MP3 files. But MP3 is capable of playing reduced fidelity files which might give the equivalent playback time ratios. I don't know if the SoundsGood can handle such files -- JO]

Audible, Inc. http://www.audible.com/
[2001/07/25] updated [2001/07/29]

In The News July 21 - 25, 2001

Infineon Announces 128-Mbit Mobile-RAM

July 25, 2001, Business Wire reports that Infineon Technologies has announced the availability of sample quantities of it s1280Mbit Mobile-RAM (very low power SDRAM) mounted in JEDEC standard Fine-pitch Ball Grid Array packages. The initial price is $15.00 US in small unit quantities.

Infineon Technologies AG (Mobile-RAM) http://www.infineon.com/mobile-ram/
[2001/07/25]

ADC Announces PalmOS Imaging Support

July 25, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that ACD Systems International Inc. has announced the introduction of its "ACDSee Mobile" software supporting Palm OS(R). The system converts over 40 image formats to a format capable of being viewed on its software running on Palm OS 3.3 or later. The price is $19.95 Cdn. with a 45 day downloadable trial version.

ACD Systems International Inc. http://www.acdsystems.com/english/products/acdsee-mobile/
[2001/07/25]

Palm Announces "Palm OS(R) Ready Program" Participants

July 24, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. has announced that key suppliers of ARM(R) core devices (Intel, Motorola and TI) have joined the "Palm OS(R) Ready Program" and will release reference designs based on each company's ARM based products.
[2001/07/25]

Microsoft Makes MSN Hotmail And MSN Messenger Service Available To Wireless Carriers

July 24, 2001, PR Newswire reports that MSN has announced that it's wireless service MSN(R) Mobile 4.0 has been been upgraded to allow operators to offere wireless access to MSN Hotmail(R) and MSN Messenger Service.
[2001/07/25]

Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital To Use Avaya Wireless

July 24, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Avaya Inc. has announced that Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto is using Avaya's DEINITY(R) Wireless Business System to integrate its communications systems including phone, pager and emergency equipment for more than 300 physicians, nurses and service technicians.

Avaya Inc. (wireless) http://www.avaya.com/
[2001/07/25]

Gateway Announces Solo 1200 and 3450 Laptops

July 23, 2001, in separate announcements through PR Newswire Gateway, Inc. has introduced two new laptop computers:

Solo(R) 1200 is an economical laptop for students and SOHO markets with a prices starting at $999 US.

Solo(R) 3450 is an ultralight laptop computer at prices starting at $2,199 US.
[2001/07/25]

HP Releases Coolbase Software Platform

July 23, 2001, Hewlett-Packard Company has released its Coolbase software development platform which enables developers to crease mobile e-services for embedded and personal systems.

[The details of this release are a bit unclear to me but it was made at the "O'Reilly Open Source Convention" and seems to imply that this is an open source development kit targetted at "context-aware" services. -- JO]

Hewlett-Packard Coolbase Development System http://www.cooltown.com/dev/
[2001/07/25]

Microsoft Releases WinCE Code Sources

July 23, 2001, CNET News.com reports that Microsoft has made source code for Windows CE 3.0 available for downloading to people who sign up for Microsoft's Passport service. There are restrictions on its use and redistribution, and requirements for providing personal information.
[2001/07/25]

In The News July 17 - 21, 2001

RxWebPad Approved in Oklahoma

July 20, 2001, PD-Rx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy has approved its RxWebPad FaxScript which is a software system running on Windows CE devices and interfaces with the PDRx-Net based computer system.
[2001/07/22]

NCR Makes Pocket Computer Accessible ATM

July 19, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that NCR scheduled a press demonstration of an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) that dispenses cash by connecting with a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA).

NCR (mobile phone/ PDA accessible ATM) http://www.ncr.com/
[2001/07/22]

EtherAge Announces New Keyboard for Palm And WinCE

July 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that EtherAge, Inc. has announced its ClipKee keyboard QWERTY keyboard is available for Palm V and Compaq iPaq WindowsCE devices. A second version will include 802.11 wireless network connectivity.

EtherAge, Inc. (Palm/Compaq thumb keyboard) http://www.etherage.com/
[2001/07/22]

Handspring Offers Discounts For VisorPhone

July 16, 2001, Reuters reports that Handspring Inc. has announced new discounts for The VisorPhone Springboard module when bought with 1 year phone service contracts. The price effectively drops from $249 US down to $49 US. Phone service contracts are provided by Cingular Wireless, Powertel Inc. or Voicestream Wireless Corp. The company sites poor sales for the product.
[2001/07/22]

In The News July 14 - 17, 2001

Blue Nomad Releases Wordsmith 2.0 for PalmOS

July 18, 2001, Business Wire reports that Blue Nomad LLC has announced the release of its WordSmith 2.0 word processor which allows importing Windows format TrueType outline fonts and supports bullet lists, full bookmarking, footnotes end notes and comments, faster find and replace and other improvements.

Blue Nomad LLC (PalmOS software) http://www.bluenomad.com/
[2001/07/18]

Empower Announces Linux for Palm IIIx/xe

July 18, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Empower Technologies Inc. claims to have released the "first and only Palm compatible Linux-based operating system for Palm IIIx and IIIxe." The company claims that it's Linux DA O/S DB v1.0 is "faster, more powerful and more robust" than Palm's software. A demo version is available for download from the company's website.

Empower Technologies Inc. "Linux DA" http://www.linuxda.com/
[2001/07/18]

Microcell Announces 2001 Q2 Subscribers

July 18, 2001, Business Wire reports that Microcell Telecommunications Inc. has announced its unaudited subscriber results for Q2 2001:

                     June 30, 2001
Gross activations
 Fido                      133,464
Churn Rate (after 1
 month grace period)           2.3%
Net Additions Q2:
 Postpaid:        45,576
 Prepaid:         17,721
 (Note: 18,794 customers
 converted from postpaid to
 prepaid.  It is not stated
 whether this is included in
 the above numbers.)
Total Net additions         63,297
Total PCS customers:
 Postpaid:       529,124
 Prepaid:        513,039
Total combined:          1,042,163

[2001/07/18]

Hop-On Announces Disposable Cell Phone

July 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Hop-On Wireless has announced that its disposable cell phone is now in production with an expected delivery date of mid-September / October.

Hop-On Wireless disposable cell phone http://www.hop-onwireless.com/
[2001/07/18]

Telus Announces 2001 Q2 Subscriber Numbers

July 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that TELUS Mobility has announced its 2001 Q2 unaudited subscriber numbers:

(Numbers in thousands except churn)
                     June 30, 2001
Churn Rate (including
 30 day guarantee period)     2.02%
Net Additions Q2:
 Postpaid:          34.4
 Prepaid:           41.0
Total Net additions           75.4
Total PCS customers:
 Postpaid:       2,040.0
 Prepaid:          292.3
Total combined             2,332.3

[2001/07/18]

Cell Phone Companies To Publish Radiation Levels

July 16, 2001, Reuters reports that Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson have agreed with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC) and will be including SAR numbers in user manuals.
[2001/07/18]

Toshiba Handheld In North America?

July 16, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Toshiba has unveiled it's Microsoft Pocket PC based Genio handheld computer with plans to introduce products in Japan in August 2001 and later in North America. The first products shown are based on a 206MHz Intel StrongARM CPU, 32MB memory, a colour screen, support for both CompactFlash and Secure Digital cards. The base version will be available in Japan Aug. 20, 2001, at an estimated price of about $560 US. A version containing an IBM 1GB Microdrive will follow at the end of September for about $800 US.

[Checking Toshiba's website in Japan I found some more specifications:

Genio e550: (first product)
- product number CETO100A
- 125 * 77.5 * 17.5 mm, 180 g.
- 240 * 320 * 65536 colour front-lighted TFT display,
- 32MB SDRAM
- 32MB Flash Memory
- Type II CompactFlash

-- JO]

[2001/07/18]

In The News July 10 - 14, 2001

Telenor Uses CMG To Prepare For Multimedia

July 10, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Telenor of Norway has announced purchase of CMG's Multimedia Messaging system to move from plain text "short message service" (SMS) to Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). Delivery of MMS Center (MMSC) is expected in 3rd quarter 2001.

CMG Wireless Data Solutions http://www.cmgwds.com/
[2001/07/15]

COMDEX Canada 2001: "Pathetic"

[Following report contains some information from Casio's Website and prior notes. -- JO]

I went to COMDEX last week. Aside from reporters like me, very few other people attended. There was very little to see. Actually, even when it was bigger there was very little to see. There were, perhaps 3 fairly popular booths. One was Microsoft, one was a Linux booth, and the third was Palm's booth. Of these, I spent time at Palm's booth. I talked to another writer who noted that the word "pathetic" was the most commonly used to describe this event. In the end, I left early, which I would have anyway, since I'm very busy these days, and he wandered off looking for a party -- which I have doubts whether he found.

Kyocera QCP 6035

There's no doubt that the star attraction of the show was the Kyocera QCP 6035 CDMA Smartphone which features the functionality of a Palm Vx.

Kyocera Wireless Corp. http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/
[2001/07/15]

Casio's BE-300 (announced June 26, 2001)

I saw the Casio BE-300. The software reminded me of the old Casio/Tandy Zoomer, though the button arrangement now looks more like the new iPaq PocketPC. The buttons are not used to call up applications but are more general purpose navigation buttons. The literature available at the show was sparse but there were some interesting points.

First, there is a stereo earphone jack, but no "free standing" sound. I expect there is still a "beep" speaker, but there's no microphone. According to Casio's website, it has a 166MHz NEC VR4131 CPU capable of 280 MIPS (compared to the E-125 which uses a 150MHz VR4122 and the E-100/105/115 which used a 131MHz VR4121), 16MB RAM + 16MB Flash memory, 3.2" 320 * 240 * 32,768 colour STN display, a Li-ion rechargeable battery, a Type 2 slot. The literature emphasizes that an expansion allowing full size PC-Cards will be available. The unit size is close to TRG-Pro size (121 * 76 * 17.9 mm and 167 G without cover), and has a Palm III-like flip-lid.

But the biggest news is that the software is in Flash memory -- not ROM. The literature emphasizes that you can load the software you want. On the one hand, this might be a hint that the usual Windows CE PocketPC suite might become available as an "add-on", but one has to wonder if they are preparing for the arrival of the Sharp Linux Zaurus. Linux is currently the only popular "replacement software" movement for handheld computers. The Compaq iPaq has a strong Linux support community and there has been a Linux load for the Casio E-100 series devices for some time now. Casio's EG-800STD industrial handheld also has Flash memory.
[2001/07/15]

In The News July 7 - 10, 2001

Psion Leaves Consumer Market

July 11, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Psion PLC has announced that it has decided to leave the consumer market and "focus its future strategy on industrial and enterprise markets through Psion Teklogix; innovative markets in digital appliances through a restructured Psion Digital; and on its strategic investment in Symbian." The only product line mentioned as continuing in development is its "netBook range of products for the education and corporate markets." In particular, all Bluetooth products are cancelled.
[2001/07/11]

AlterEgo Extends Macromedia Dreamweaver To Mobile Targets

July 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that AlterEgo has announced that it has released AlterEgo Designer(TM) Extension to Macromedia Dreamweaver and Dreamweaver UltraDev, allowing developers to target mobile users of WML, HDML, Palm HTML, cHTML and other mobile markup clients.

AlterEgo Designer(TM) Extension for Macromedia Dreamweaver http://www.macromedia.com/exchange/
[2001/07/11]

Flat Panel Display Revenue To Drop 5% In 2001

July 11, 2001, Business Wire reports that flat panel display (FPD) market research company DisplaySearch has, in its latest Quarterly Worldwide Flat Panel Display Forecast Report, stated that 2001 FPD revenues are expected to drop 5% year over year to $22.8 billion US., due to a 10% drop in TFT LCD revenues and an 18% drop in PMLCD revenues.
[2001/07/11]

Cutting Edge Announces Quickoffice Promo For Palm m50x

July 11, 2001, Business Wire reports that Cutting Edge Software, Inc. has announced a promotion for users of Palm m500 and m505 handheld computers. For a limited time, users of the m50x devices can save 25% on the price of its Quickoffice(TM) suite, which will cost $29.95 US. The offer ends Aug. 31, 2001.
[2001/07/11]

NEC Claims 0.10 Micron By 2003

July 11, 2001, Reuters reports that NEC Corp. has said that it expects to produce 0.10 micron technology chips by 2003. Current industry production is moving from 0.18 to 0.13 micron. Toshiba and Sony, in May, announced plans to develop 0.10 and 0.07 micron processes. IBM has targetted commercial production of 0.10 in early 2003.
[2001/07/11]

NeoMagic Announces MiMagic(TM) Mobile Multimedia SoC

July 10, PR Newswire reports that NeoMagic Corporation has introduced its MiMagic "system - on - chip" (SoC) product family. The MiMagic NMS7040 features a MIPS32 3Kc CPU core with a 128-bit hardware BitBLT, a 256-bit wide memory bus to 4MB embedded DRAM, on chip data bandwidth of 3.2 GB per second. The NMS7041 adds 3D graphics acceleration capable of 50M pixels per second. Development software is BlueCat Linux from LynuxWorks and Qt/Embedded. Sampling will begin "within weeks" in 329-pin PBGA package with full production (in 23mm * 23mm micro BGA package) by the end of the year at Infineon AG. Prices will be $35 US each for the NMS7040 and $50 US each for the NMS7041 in quantities of 100 pieces.

NeoMagic Corporation http://www.neomagic.com/
[2001/07/11]

Kontrol Mobile Computing Announces FieldWorks 8000

July 9, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Kontrol Mobile Computing, Inc. has announced it has started shipping its newest version FieldWorks 8000 Rugged Portable Workstation, which features a 750 MHz Intel Pentium III CPU, up to 256 MB of RAM and up to 2 20GB removable hard drives.

Kontrol Mobile Computing (rugged portable computers) http://www.kontrolmobile.com/
[2001/07/11]

Fujitsu Introduces New Stacked Flash Memory Device

July 9, 2001 PR Newswire reports that Fujitsu Microelectronics has introduced stacked multi-chip packages incorporating NAND Flash memory and Fast Cycle RAM for mobile information terminals. The MB84VN23381EJ and MB84VN23391EJ MCP include 64Mbit NAND-type Flash memory and 16Mbit FCRAM with a static RAM interface. Samples are now available in plastic BGA.
[Prices were not provided in the announcement. -- JO]
[2001/07/11]

Microsoft Pushes Back .NET

July 6, 2001, John Fontana writes for IDG that Microsoft has moved its deadline for enrolling in its "Software Assurance" licensing from Oct. 1, 2001, to Feb. 28, 2002. Apparently, executives have claimed that they could not afford the new licensing system this year.
[2001/07/11]

In The News July 3 - 7, 2001

Apple Recalls PowerBook Power Adapters

July 6, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Apple has recalled power adapters for PowerBook G3 laptop computers shipped from May 1998 to March 2000. A free replacement will be provided. The power adapters can overheat and create a potential fire hazard. 570,000 units are affected. The model number is M4402 and it is worth about $69 US.
[2001/07/08]

Casio BE300 Is WinCE But Not PocketPC

July 6, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Casio's BE300 uses Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 operating system but runs Casio's apps over top instead of the "Pocket PC" software suite in order to bring it to market at its $300 US price point.
[2001/07/08]

Summus Claims More Efficient Mobile Multimedia

July 6, 2001, High Speed Net Solutions, Inc., (Summus) claims that its BlueFuel(TM) architecture (patent pending) with its "Super-Fast Super-Thin(TM)" architecture will be a more efficient way to deliver multimedia to mobile devices. According to the company, processing requirements are 5:1 less than MPEG4 and 5:1 over JPEG2000, and download times are over 50:1 faster than JPEG or GIF.
[2001/07/08]

Xi Graphics Brings Linux Support To Satellite Pro 4600

July 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Xi Graphics Inc. has released graphics system software support for Linux and Unix (Solaris 8) systems for the Toshiba Satellite Pro 4600 which uses the Trident XP graphics chip.
[2001/07/08]

PR Newswire reports that LXE Announces New Vehicle Mounted Computers

July 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that LXE Inc. has announced that its new VX1/VX2 series of rugged vehicle-mounted computers based on Intel 486 technology offer enhancements over the company's prior offerings.

LXE Inc. (rugged mobile computers) http://www.lxe.com/
[2001/07/08]

Handset Makers To Standardize Wireless Games

July 3, 2001, Corey Grice writes for CNET News.com that the major phone handset makers have formed the "Mobile Games Interoperability Forum" which is an outgrowth of the "Universal Mobile Games Platform group." The forum is working with Metrowerks to create a software development kit.
[2001/07/08]

[Correction] Fido Offers GPRS

July 3, 2001, Business Wire reports that Microcell Solutions Inc. has announced that it has signed an agreement with Novatel Wireless, Inc. to purchase Movatel's Merlin G100(TM) Wireless PC Card Modem for North American GSM/GPRS use. On Microcell's GPRS service, the card will support speeds up to 53.6 kbps. and is usable with Windows 98, ME, 200 and Pocket PC computers with Type II PC-Card slots. Microcell will sell the cards for $500 Cdn. with usage plans costing $75 Cdn. monthly for 25MB, $100 Cdn. for 50 MB and $150 Cdn. for 100 MB. A PDA oriented service $25 Cdn. for 2MB will be available later this year. Cards can be reserved now by calling Microcell's corporate sales.
[2001/07/04]

[The above report was changed after confirming with Microcell's representatives that the data sizes were megabytes (MB) and not megabits (Mb). -- JO]
[2001/07/05]

In The News June 30 - July 3, 2001

San Diego Cell Phone Cancer Case

July 4, 2001, Sharon Gaudin writes for CNN.com that Gibb Brower's suit against Sony and Motorola in San Diego Ca. alleging cancer was caused by his use of cell phones made by the two companies. The case is ongoing.
[2001/07/04]

Bluetooth Slow Takeoff

July 2, 2001, CNet News.com reports that a poll by Frost & Sullivan shows that network managers and IT executives at 120 large companies around the world found almost no interest in buying Bluetooth products. Only 3 companies in Europe were testing Bluetooth. Bluetooth was seen as a wireless LAN technology. There are concerns about security, interoperability and interference with other wireless technologies. The article notes that the technology has been under development for over 6 years.
[2001/07/04]

Security Issues With ShadowPlan

Regarding the security issue I reported earlier, I emailed Code Jedi prior to my posting and have since received a reply. Apparently, this security issue was a known issue. However, according to the author, it was noted in the FAQ. I checked the FAQ that was current when I downloaded the file and there is no mention of the issue in the FAQ itself. On the FAQ page there is a link to a "bugtrack.html" page so I checked there as well and still found no mention of the problem. Even if I assume that it is on some other page in the Website I'm still not sure how I feel about this.

If I'd wanted to be more thorough researching before I downloaded, I might have taken the time to read every page on the Website and found some warning about the issue somewhere. But then again, there is no indication that this is anything but what most people would consider a "current final version" so I don't expect significant bugs regardless of whether a "bugs" page is provided or not. Moreover, I don't really spend that much time "online" so to expect that I'm even going to see a "bugs" page that isn't included in the download is currently unrealistic.

At any rate, the author is probably going to get around to dealing with it fairly soon (probably in version 1.6.x), so at that point I'll probably take another look at it.
[2001/07/04]

I have recently been testing "ShadowPlan" version 1.5.6 on PalmOS 3.5.2 and I've found a serious security problem.

System:

- Palm IIIx
- PalmOS 3.5.2

Test:

- Create an "address" item and mark it "Private", making
  it a "known private item"
- In a Shadow list, create a link to the known private
  item
- Set a password and select the "hidden" mode.
- Open the Shadow list and you can still see the item,
  and open it.

NOTE: There are probably other similar or related security issues, but this much is serious enough to reject this program if this type of security is a concern to the user.

Correction:

- To "respect" the Palm security system, at no time should a hidden item be visible when the security is set to "hide" it. Either the link should be completely hidden or at the least, the contents of the linked item should not be accessed or displayed.

I also checked "Arranger 1.21" which is this program's major competitor, and found that this problem does not occur on Arranger.
[2001/07/01]

In The News June 26 - 30, 2001

Natural Machine Announces Free Beta Java AI Verbal Operating System(TM)

June 29, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Natural Machine has announced a free download of its Verbal Operating System(TM) which uses artificial intelligence, speech recognition and "a personality."

Natural Machine http://www.naturalmachine.com/
[2001/07/01]

Compaq Pushing iPaq Add-Ons

June 28, 2001, John G. Spooner writes for Cnet News.com that Compaq is trying to develop its iPaq PocketPC device market with add-ons. According to Compaq's Cindy Box, wireless Internet access is the "most prevalent use" for current expansion packs. Compaq plans to introduce its own Bluetooth expansion pack in the third quarter which will also hold a CompactFlash slot, and a GSM/GPRS expansion pack for the 4th quarter. Other expansion packs by third parties include a GPS ("Pocket Co-pilot") from Navman, a bar-code scanner from Symbol Technologies, another CompactFlash pack called "Silver Slider", "Mstation" which is a mobile point-of-sale terminal with credit card reader and a CDMA based cell phone expansion pack.

Compaq has committed to produce its current form factor through at least 2002.
[2001/07/01]

Intel Announces Tualatin Mobile CPUs

June 28, 2001, John G. Spooner writes for Cnet News.com that Intel has introduced its "Tualatin" series Pentium III-M mobile CPUs built using 0.13-micron process (down from its current 0.18-micron process) which is Intel's first use of copper interconnections. The first chips are expected to run at 866MHz to 1.13GHz, but will not debut until late in July.
[2001/07/01]

DDH Offers HanDBase Based Healthcare Apps

June 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that DDH Software, maker of the HandDBase relational Database for PalmOS devices, has announced that it will market a series of healthcare applications actually written by healthcare workers. The prices for the applications range from $12.95 - $495.99 and can be downloaded from DDH's website.

[I don't generally comment on announcements, but the company has attempted to cast professional programmers in a derogatory light, and asserts that these programs are inherently better, and I think is misleading in a way that is dangerous to the medical profession. Even if the current applications are superior to other similar offerings in their fields -- which I doubt, the real problem is what I call "long term commitment to upgrades."

What happens if Palm changes the OS in a way that doesn't work with one of these apps? What if professional rules and requirements change? Will a "practicing doctor" have the time to provide timely upgrades? If not, then after many years of use, will there be a significant problem migrating stored data to new programs written by other people? These are common problems with all software, particularly programs written by small companies, but the fact that the author wrote these programs as a "secondary interest" makes me suspect that they might be riskier in these concerns than normal. -- JO]

DDH Software, Inc. (medical apps) http://ddhsoftware.com/medical.html
[2001/07/01]

In The News June 23 - 26, 2001

Sierra Wireless AirPath 300 For Handspring Visor

June 25, 2001, Siera Wireless has announced on its Website the AirPath 300 wireless Springboard modem for the Handspring(TM) Visor(TM). The device uses the CDPD networks and has its own Li-Ion battery, a hinged, detachable antenna.
[No price was given in the announcement. JO]

Sierra Wireless http://www.sierrawireless.com/
[2001/06/27]

Nexian To Launch HandyGPS Pro June 29

June 27, 2001, Nexian, on its Website has writes that it will introduce its new product (presumably the HandyGPS Pro) at 12:00 EST, June 29, 2001 on a Webcast featuring Astronaut, Commander M. Scott Carpenter. According to the company, the HandyGPS is "the world's most compact and affordable GPS navigation module." Special offers will be announced at that time. Announced features include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and optional external extensible antenna.

Nexian (HandyGPS Pro) http://www.nexian.com/
[2001/06/27]

Compaq Announces Laptops With Long Battery Life

June 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has launched its Evo N200 laptop computer and claims battery life up to 8 hours using 2 Li-Ion batteries. The Evo is a "Legacy-Free" computer with 2 USB ports (no serial or parallel ports). Pricing and availability have not been provided.
[2001/06/27]

MultiMediaCard Association Approves 3.1 Spec

June 27, 2001, Business Wire reports that the MultiMediaCard Assocation (MMCA) has approved its 3.1 specification. A copy can be bought for $500 US by non-members.

MultiMediaCard Association http://www.mmca.org/
[2001/06/27]

Philips And WIDCOMM Bring Bluetooth To WinCE

June 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Philips Components and WIDCOMM, Inc. have announced that they have jointly developed a commercially available Bluetooth CompactFlash card module for the Microsoft(R) Windows(R) CE operating system.
[2001/06/27]

Pumatech Announces Support For Sharps Linux Handheld

June 27, 2001, Pumatech, Inc., on its Website, has announced that it will support Sharp's upcoming Java/Linux based handheld computer with its Intellisync synchronization software.
[2001/06/27]

Pumatech Announces Browse-it 3.0 For PalmOS

June 26, 2001, Pumatech, Inc. has announced the availability of its Browse-it 3.0 server software which, combined with the Browse-it client software, allows PalmOS based devices to use the Web live or store off "snapshots" for later viewing, and submit forms or request further pages for later retrieval.
[Pricing and availability are unclear. Upon reading the announcement, I downloaded "Browse-it" client software directly from the company's Website and apparently received the 2.0.0 version. As is typical, your personal information is required to download this software. -- JO]
[2001/06/27]

Motion Sense Brings Motion Sensing To Palm

June 26, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motion Sense(TM) Corporation has announced that its SDIO module for Palm(TM) handhelds brings its new MoveIt!(TM) platform's motion sensing capability to these devices.

Motion Sense Corporation http://www.motionsense.com/
[2001/06/27]

Sony Announces 2 Handhelds

June 25, 2001, Richard Shim and Ian Fried write for CNET News.com that Sony has announced 2 new CLIE series handheld computers. The PEG-S320 priced at $200 US is an entry level handheld and the PEG-N610C is a colour screen device priced at $400 US.

The PEG-N610C has a 320 * 320 * 16-bit colour screen, 8MB Flash and 8MB RAM (no MPEG player), USB, a 33MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ CPU and PalmOS 4.0.

The PEC-S320 has a 160 * 160 monochrome display, 4MB Flash and 8MB RAM, a 33MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ CPU, USB and PalmOS 4.0.

Both will be available in August, 2001.
[2001/06/27]

HP Goes AMD

June 26, 2001, Melissa Riofrio writes for CNET Tech Trends that Hewlett-Packard has announced new laptop computer featuring AMD CPUs. The Pavilion n5470 has a 1GHz Mobile Athlon 4 and will be priced at $2,199 US. Other versions of the 5400 series will be available with AMD Mobile Athlon 4, Mobile Duron and Intel mobile Pentium III processors.
[2001/06/27]

Casio Announces BE-300

June 25, 2001, Richard Shim and Ian Fried write for CNET News.com that Casio has announced its Cassiopeia BE-300 which will use Microsoft's Windows CE 3.0, a 166MHz NEC CPU, a 320 * 240 colour screen and a CompactFlash slot for $300 US. [No information about availability was given in the article. -- JO]
[2001/06/27]

Twin Paradox Announces Version 2 USB PC-Card

June 25 2001, PR Newswire reports that Twin Paradox had announced that its new SolarExpress USB 2.0 PC Card supports transfer up to 480 Mbps.

Twin Paradox http://www.twin-paradox.com/
[2001/06/27]

In The News June 19 - 23, 2001

PIT Brings SmartMedia To Visors

June 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Portable Innovation Technology, Ltd. will demonstrate its MemPlug(TM) Springboard(TM) for Handspring(TM) Visor(TM) at PC Expo June 25-29, 2001. The MemPlug SmartMedia Adaptor Springboard comes with seven self-installing applications and a registered gMovie Maker program.
[Prices and availability were not given in the announcement. -- JO]

Portable Innovation Technology http://www.pitech.com/
[2001/06/24]

In The News June 16 - 19, 2001

Generic Media Announce AV Conversion And Playback For PalmOS Devices

June 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Generic Media has announced gMovie(TM) Maker 2 and gMovie Player 2. The Maker 2 software provides high quality compressed stereo audio and uncompressed audio, and video data files. The Player 2 is a freely downloadable program that plays back the Maker 2 files including the Palm, Handspring(TM) Visor, Sony CLIE(TM), IBM WorkPad and TRGpro(TM) devices. High quality stereo audio is supported on those devices enabling hardware, notably the Sony CLIE which comes with the Player 2 software pre-installed. Playback from removable storage is also supported. The software is immediately available and the full price of Maker 2 is $29.97 US with discounts for registered users of gMovie Maker 1.

Generic Media http://www.genericmedia.com/
[2001/06/20]

Argogroup Converts To All Japanese Wireless

June 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Argogroup has announced its UbiquinoX(TM) AnyMobile transcoding software will convert content from DoCoMo's "i-mode" (CHTML) service to EZ Web (HDML) and J-Sky (MML). The converter uses AI technology and does not simply translate formatting codes.
[2001/06/20]

Microsoft Announces More Games For PocketPC

June 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft has announced 2 new sets of games for Windows CE Pocket PC devices. They are the Microsoft Games PocketPak ($29.95 US) which includes "Fire Drill," "Cubicle," "Stock Scramble," "Task Master" and "Killer Commute"; and Microsoft Arcade PocketPak ($34.95 US) which includes "Pac-Man," "Ms. Pac-Man" and "Dig-Dug." Both are immediately available for downloading at http://www.pocketpc.com/.
[2001/06/20]

Trolltech And NeoMagic To Develop Personal Entertainment Platform

June 20, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Trolltech and NeoMagic are collaborating to develop a platform for handheld Internet gaming appliances. The platform will feature NeoMagic's System-on-Chip, Lynuxworks' BlueCat Linux OS and Trolltech's Qt/Embedded GUI framework and windowing system.

Trolltech http://www.trolltech.com/

NeoMagic Corporation http://www.neomagic.com/
[2001/06/20]

Toshiba Announces Four New Laptop Computers

June 19, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Toshiba of Canada has released four new laptop computers. These are the Satellite 1800 S100 with 850MHz Intel(R) Celeron(TM) CPU ($1,799 Cdn.) and S200 with 850MHz Intel Pentium(R) III CPU ($2,349 Cdn.), Satellite 3000 H200 with 850MHz Intel Pentium(R) III CPU and NVIDIA(R) Graphics Processing Unit and IEEE 1394 port ($3,349 Cdn.), and Satellite 2800 C500 with 1GHz Intel(R) Pentium(R) III CPU ($3,899 Cdn.). All are immediately available.
[2000/06/20]

Texas Instruments Announces TI-83 Plus Silver Edition

June 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Texas Instruments has launched its TI-83 Plus Silver Edition handheld which it claims is 2.5x faster than the TI-83 Plus. Based on an advanced calculator keyboard form factor, the device adds PIM software functionality and the ability to add more programs via computer link. The device has 1.5MB Flash ROM and "24K" available RAM. Price is $129.95 US.
[Some information was taken from TI's Website. Availability was not clearly stated in the press release. -- JO]

TI-83 Plus Silver Edition http://education.ti.com/silveredition/
[2001/06/20]

Compaq Announces Future GSM/GPRS Product

June 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has announced that it is preparing a GSM/GPRS tri-band communication capability for the iPaq Pocket PC, to be available "later this year."
[No pricing information was given. Compaq also announced that it shipped it's 1 millionth iPaq Pocket PC. -- JO]
[2001/06/20]

Wireless Growing But Not As Fast As Expected

June 19, 2001, Erich Luening writes for CNET News.com that according to Allied Business Intelligence. ABI's survey predicts that there will be 1.7 billion wireless subscribers by the end of 2006 and about 500 million of them will be using wireless Internet. Similarly, Gartner has recently forecast 1/2 billion cell phone sales worldwide regardless of the slowdown.
[2001/06/20]

PTN Media Announces Jordan Edition Palm m100 and m500

June 18, 2001, PR Newswire reports that PTN Media and Michael Jordan have announced the Michael Jordan editions of the Palm(TM) m100 ($159 US) and m500 ($425 US) handheld computers. Both are immediately available at:

Sports Authority http://www.sportsauthority.com/
[2001/06/20]

AppForge 2.0 Supports Pocket PC and PalmOS Visual Studio Development

June 18, 2001, PR Newswire reports that AppForge(TM) Software Development Kit (SDK) allows single step development for Win32(R), Pocket PC and PalmOS(R) using Microsoft Visual C++(R) and AppForge 2.0 allows single step Visual Basic development for Win32(R), Pocket PC and PalmOS(R) using Microsoft Visual Basic.

AppForge, Inc. http://www.appforge.com/
[2001/06/20]

AOpen Announces "White-Box" Laptops

June 18, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that AOpen Inc. has announced that it plans to introduce a new series of "white-box" laptop computers aimed at the business market.

AOpen Inc. http://www.AOpen.com/
[2001/06/20]

Intel Cuts Mobile Celeron Prices

June 18, 2001, Reuters reports that Intel Corp. has reduced prices on 3 versions of Mobile Celeron processors:

- 800 MHz from $170 US to $107 US (down 37%)
- 750 MHz from $134 US to $91 US (down 32%)
- 700 MHz from $96 US to $75 US (down 22%)
[2001/06/20]

Japanese On Palm: Dokusha 1.3

Minimum Installation:
- PRC in main RAM 81,515 bytes
- PDB's (can be offloaded to storage cards)
 - jdic1 - 4: 537,726 + 694,460 + 715,400
              + 576,200
 - font16 & font24: 250,406 + 562,486
 - kanjidic.pdb: 285,960
Total roughly 3.7 MB
Additional Name files:
PDB's
 - jnamdic1 - 12 about 400,000 bytes each
Total about 4,490,000 bytes (can be
offloaded to storage cards)

Tested in Visor Platinum, loaded into
main RAM.

I'm not fluent in Japanese, but my involvement with small computers makes it important for me to keep abreast of developments in Japan. So I do need to read Japanese material. However, there aren't many people interested in Japanese support for English Palm devices, so I'll keep this short. Dokusha ("reader" in Japanese) is a program that can read some Japanese characters and translate it into English. It is also a free-standing tri-directional dictionary supporting all translations between English to Romanized Japanese, and Japanese characters (including both Kana and Kanji). Actually, that makes it a 4 way translater/ transliterator.

It is, from a programming point of view, a really good job. Unfortunately, it is a large effort built on the wrong underpinnings. On the one hand, the author, Andrew Brault, knows full well that the two most widely known and taught Romanization systems are the official "kunrei-shiki" and the most commonly known Hepburn systems. These are taught in the schools in Japan and I expect also, most school courses outside of Japan. Certainly they are the most common in English speaking countries. Instead he chose "wa-puro-", and in fact, it is a slightly modified version of "wa-puro-".

On the other hand, the character encoding support is mainly EUC with some support for "full-length" JIS and no support at all for Shift-JIS. According to Brault, "JIS codes are sometimes useful for exchanging Kanji between applications." I think this was the wrong choice. The question is what is the best encoding system for Palm users today, and in the future. I'll leave the future alone. There's probably more going on in Japan in this regard than I'm aware of. In fact, what is relevant might not even be the reality of what is actually most common in Japan at all. Since "Dokusha" is aimed at English speaking Palm users, one should ask what is going to be the most common source of material for those people?

First, Web pages are probably the largest source of digital reading material that English speaking people are likely to see. When I first started browsing Japanese sites, I had to manually set the character encoding, so I have a good idea what systems were used for many pages. From what I've seen over the years, Shift-JIS is the most commonly used encoding system used for Internet Web pages.

Moreover, specifically for Palm users who have not bought the actual Japanese PalmOS products, J-OS 1.9, which is also Shift-JIS based has been the most common Japanese text input system. I tried to obtain J-OS IV, but I haven't been able to yet, so I can't say what it supports, but I have also tried CJKOS 4.2 and that input system supports both Shift-JIS and EUC-JIS. So at bottom an English speaking Palm user is more likely to obtain files which are Shift-JIS than EUC right now.

So this program which seems useful as a translating system for English speaking people turns out to be one which will require a lot of translating by the user first -- either translating from the more common JIS to EUC character encoding, or from the Romanization system one has learned to a lesser known one for text entry.

Lastly, the dictionary searches are slow, even in a full speed Visor Platinum. But I wouldn't have minded that if the basics were right. In the end, it's a wonderful job of programming, but not as useful as it could have been -- not useful enough for me to keep loaded. In the common "4 star" rating systems I'd give it " 1.5 - 2 stars".
[2001/06/20]

In The News June 12 - 16, 2001

General Semiconductor Announces New Chip Package

June 14, 2001, Business Wire reports that General Semiconductor, Inc. has introduced its new SMF(TM) package which it claims "offers the current and power handling capability of a power package in an ultra-small package." According to the company "The SMF(TM) matches the JEDEC DO-219 standard outline. In addition to the small footprint, the package has a nominal height of less than 1mm." The company expects the package to be used in portable electronics and automotive applications.

General Semiconductor, Inc. http://www.gensemi.com/

[2001/06/17]

Palm Plans Michael Jordon Edition

June 14, 2001, Ian Fried writes that Palm will announce a Michael Jordon special edition device on Monday. No details were in his article.
[2001/06/17]

AT&T GNS To Offer Brightmail(TM) Anti-Spam System

June 12, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that AT&T Global Network Services has announced that it will offer Brightmail Inc.'s Brightmail(TM) Anti-Spam Solution at no extra charge. The system identifies and tags potential spam, then sends a notice to the customer who choses how to deal with it.
[2001/06/17]

Apple MP-2000 and Performa 6360 And Form Factors

I was going through some old papers and I came across the original press release for Oct. 31, 1996 which involves 2 products of particular interest to me:

Newton MP-2000

This would come with a 160MHz StrongARM CPU, 8MB ROM and 5MB RAM and sold for $1449.00 Cdn., delivery in Q1 1997.

Performa 6360

The Performa has a 160MHz PowerPC603e CPU, 16MB RAM, 1.6GBHD, 8X CD-ROM and 28.8Kb data/fax/voice modem (no monitor) $2,499 Cdn. available from mid-November. I was hoping eventually to get both of these. In the end, I would never get around to buying the MP-2000, though I would eventually buy a used Performa 6360.

The interesting thing is that arguably, neither product was a failure, yet both were dropped. The Performa 6360 horizontal form factor series was replaced by the 6400 vertical minitower which used the same motherboard. The 6400 actually did have some advantages over the 6360, but it was also more expensive.

But there is a more relevant point about the Newton MP-2000 and its predecessors. It's about size. Bill Gates has been running around telling people that tablet computers have a big future. Well, he's right. Of course they do. And as is common these days, it's been obvious to most of the forward thinking people in the industry for some time now. That's why there have already been so many attempts at it before. The success of the Palm size devices has set the groundwork for the success of all the future "tablet-like" products, of any size.

There were a number of deficiencies in the original Newtons and most of them were being addressed over time. Newton products never failed to grow in sales all through the life of the series, and more and more people were satisfied with the products. But the one knock that surprised me was that the Newton was "too big." It was a surprising complaint because the obvious question was always "too big for what?"

The complaint presumed that there is only one market for all such pen interfaced devices and that was the "pocket organizer" type use which the Palm devices eventually filled so nicely. But how could anyone fail to realize that there were always other markets? Even as far back as before the Newton was introduced, there was a growing industrial market where portable computers were selling at prices where the Newton could certainly be viable, even at lower volumes. To this day, there are still devices in the same size range as the original Newtons -- and larger, with or without touchscreens, being sold and used for a variety of applications.

Recently, PocketPC fans have been touting the use of the iPaq and HP Jornada size devices as book readers -- an application for which they are barely tolerable. I believe that book reading on handheld devices is an excellent, and yes, inevitable application. But it is better done on a larger device.

The fact is that sometimes bigger is better. The ability to show a larger display can aid in visualization, or simply require less fiddling around with paging and scrolling controls. As time goes on, more and more form factors will become available for the general public. As the public finally gets around to trying them and finding out that they can be useful, more of them will become established in the consumer market. It's obvious. Maybe that's why Gates is flogging them now. It's an easy call.
[2001/06/14]

In The News June 9 - 12, 2001

Mobile Phone Industry To Attempt New Internet Standard

June 13, 2001, Reuters reports that on Wednesday, the leading mobile phone makes and operators "unveiled an industry-wide initiative to create a common mobile Internet standard." The "Mobile Services Initiative" [M-Services] was launched by the GSM Association to provide an open software standard to replace WAP. The software platform is based on a no-royalty platform developed by Openwave. Initial backers of the initiative include Nokia, Motorola, Telecom Italia Mobile and France Telecom.
[2001/06/13]

Motorola Announces ARMN920T(TM) Based DragonBall(TM)

June 12, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motorola, Inc. has announced its first ARM based DragonBall product the ARM920T core-based DragonBall MX1. Features include on-chip USB, Multi-Media Accelerator, colour LCD controller, A/D converter, Multi-Media Card/Secure Digital and Memory Stick expansion card controllers. CPU core speeds will be up to 200MHz.
[Relevant dates and prices were not provided in the press release. -- JO]
[2001/06/13]

ARM Announces FPU Co-processor For ARM9E-S

June 12, 2001, PR Newswire reports that ARM has announced its ARM(R) VFP9-S(TM) vector floating-point coprocessor for the ARM9E-S(TM) family of synthesizable microprocessor cores.
[2001/06/13]

Portable Innovations Brings SmartMedia(TM) To Handspring

June 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Portable Innovation Technology, Ltd. has announced that its MemPlug(TM) SmartMedia(TM) Adaptor, a Springboard(TM) module for the HandSpring(TM) Visor(TM) will be sold throughout the US in major retail stores at a suggested price of $49.95 US. Built in applications and software drivers are Flash updateable.

Portable Innovation Technology, Ltd. http://www.portableinnovation.com/
[2001/06/13]

Garmin Announces GPS V

June 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Garmin International Inc. has introduced its new GPS V. Based on the GPS III Plus, the GPS V adds longer battery life, higher screen resolution, WAAS capabilities, 19 megabytes of internal memory and turn by turn navigation for drivers. GPS V is expected to be available in 2001 Q3 with a suggested retail price of $535.70 US.
[2001/06/13]

MIPS Announcements Include 4KE And 5Kf Cores

June 11 and 13, 2001, Business Wire reports that MIPS made a large number of announcements regarding licensees committing to produce new MIPS based products, as well as announcing "next generation" MIPS32(TM) 4KE(TM) (licensed by LSI Logic Corp.) and MIPS64(TM) 5Kf(TM) (licensed by Atmel Corp. and Texas Instruments, Inc.) cores. Also among the announcements was that NEC Electronics Inc. has introduced its VR5500 64-bit processor.

MIPS claims that at 1.4 Dhrystone MIPS/MHz, the 4KE core provides the highest Dhrystone MIPS/MHz performance in a synthesizeable 32-bit core. MIPS also claims that its MIPS16e(TM) code compression can reduce memory requirements by up to 40% and that "extensive clock gating significantly reduces power consumption."

Reference process: 0.13 micron
Typical Performance:
- 340 MHz integer
 - 475 Dhrystone MIPS (estimated)
Worst Case:
- 270 MHz integer and floating point
 - 375 Dhrystone MIPS (estimated)
Power Consumption:
0.35 - 0.45 mW/MHz (core only)
0-64KB writeback data cache
0-64KB instruction cache

The 5Kf is claimed to be the industry's only 64-bit synthesizable core with integrated floating-point unit. The 5Kf has the following characteristics:

Reference process: 0.13 micron
Typical Performance:
- 390 MHz integer and floating point
 - 585 Dhrystone MIPS (estimated)
 - 780 MFLOPS
Worst Case:
- 310 MHz integer and floating point
 - 465 Dhrystone MIPS (estimated)
 - 620 MFLOPS
Power Consumption:
1.3 - 1.5 mW/MHz (core only)
0-64KB writeback data cache
0-64KB instruction cache
Memory management
 with translation lookaside buffer

The synthesizable 5Kf core will be available at the end of June.
[2001/06/13]

In The News June 5 - 9, 2001

Intel Announces End Game Transistor

June 10, 2001, Reuters reports that Intel Corp. has announced that it has achieved the smallest possible transistor using current technology -- a transistor 0.02 microns in size, which is about 3 atoms thick, and the smallest transistor possible using current technology. Current processors use 0.18 micron transistors [with 0.13 micron devices coming into production -- JO]. According to Moore's law current technology will continue for roughly the next decade, at which point something new will be needed to continue the advances.
[2001/06/10]

VoIP Coming To Windows CE

June 8, 2001, Business Wire reports that SoftJoys Labs has announced that it has succeeded in porting it own implimentation of ITU-T H.323 version 3 protocol to the Windows(TM) CE(TM) 3.0 environment. The H. 323 Terminal provides 2-way voice communication with any other H. 323 Terminal or Gateway.
[2001/06/10]

Toshiba To Bring Bluetooth To Palm

June 8, 2001, Reuters reports that Palm Inc.'s Japanese unit has announced that a Bluetooth unit designed with Toshiba Corp. will begin selling in Japan in Q3, 2001.
[2001/06/10]

Eletrofuel Announces 2lb. External Battery

June 7, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Electrofuel Inc. has announced that it plans to produce an external laptop lithium ion SuperPolymer battery pack to be called PowerPad 120, which will be 11 3/4" * 8 3/4" * 3/8" and weigh under 2 lbs., giving roughly 8 - 12 hours of use. The battey pack will cost $399 US and be available July 2001.
[2001/06/10]

FIC Handheld

June 6, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com (with added material from company Websites), First International Computer, Inc. (FIC) has shown its first "PDA" which is a 206MHz StrongARM SA1110 based design with 32MB system memory and 16MB Flash memory, Type II Compact Flash expansion, 240 * 320 * 16K colours, reflective TFT LCD (3.6"), built in Bluetooth and IrDA, USB, Linux GTK GUI applications.

MiTac International showed a new Microsoft based handheld.

[No details at this time, even on Mitac's Website. -- JO]

First International Computer, Inc. Linux, Bluetooth handheld computer http://www.fic.com.tw/

MiTac International new Microsoft based handheld http://www.mitac.com/
[2001/06/10]

HandEra Ships 330

June 5, 2001, HandEra, Inc., according to its Website, has announced that it has begun shipping its HandEra 330 which was announced April 23, 2001. The device is priced at $349.99 US and can be ordered through the company's Website.

HandEra, Inc. http://www.handera.com/
[2001/06/10]

Cascading Updates: "The World Changed Yesterday, Again. . . ."

For those who haven't read my articles over the years, the title "the world changed yesterday, again. . . ." has been used before. I'd have to check back through my stacks but I believe I first used it around 1984, and I think it came shortly after I used the title "the world changed yesterday." It has become a running half-joke. It's only a half joke because in this industry, it really does seem like the world changes on certain events.

Yesterday I decided to update my Palm IIIx to PalmOS 3.5.2.

Zip: Overcoming Lethargy And Dread

The problem with updating my Palm IIIx is that the update came on a CD-ROM and my "base station" computer for the Palm is my Compaq Armada 1130 -- which has no CD-ROM, only 48MB RAM and 2GB HD, and is running a somewhat flakey version of Windows 95 Release 2. I do have a "test rig" Windows 98 box which is a Compaq Deskpro 2000, but I haven't gotten around to networking them.

I started by looking at the contents of the CD-ROM on the Deskpro and I wasn't even sure how many files I'd have to move to the Armada. At this point I hadn't even installed Zip (the archive utility) on the Deskpro. Luckily, that was small enough to fit on a floppy, so I brought Zip over from my Armada via a floppy disk. Having installed that, I "Zip'd" a bunch of files from the CD-ROM and ended up with a 15MB file. In the end, this proved to be overkill, but as I say, at this point I had no idea what I'd need.

Now, this is a fairly large file. My first thought was to put together a null-modem cable and XModem it between the two computers directly. But first I'd have to sort through the cables. And I wasn't even sure if I had terminal programs on both computers, so I might have to re-do the installation of Windows on the Deskpro. It should work. On the other hand, a long time ago, I'd bought a refurbished Iomega Zip 100 parallel port drive for the laptop and never gotten around to installing it. It came with the wrong drivers (Windows NT specific), but I had already downloaded a driver to the laptop. I would have to download a driver again to the Deskpro.

[We will take a short break while I run off to a computer store, get rid of my old Toshiba P-321 printer and buy various bits and pieces for some other computers. I have more to do in a day than just this one problem.]

I've put off the installation of the Zip drive because adding system level changes often results in new problems. Every time I've looked at the box I was filled with lethargy and dread. In fact, there were no problems on either the Armada nor on the Deskpro. That much was a relief. The driver software kit I downloaded to the Deskpro was newer than the files I'd downloaded to the Armada, but that didn't make any difference. Both have worked properly so far. I copied the 15MB Zip file to a "Zip disc" and copied that to the Armada, and "unZip'd" the Zip file. If the word zip is getting annoying, don't blame me. . . .

Unfortunately, this is where things really start to go wrong. 2GB has been fairly roomy for me on the Armada, but some of my partitions were getting a bit tight. When trying to install the PalmOS upgrade, the "setup" program reported that I neeed another 10MB. But it didn't tell me where. My "temp" file is in a large partition, and the target partition was also fairly large. So I guess it was unpacking something in the C: partition. Fortunately, I bought Partition Magic a couple of years ago, specifically for this Armada. I spent about 2 hours doing maintenance work on the partitions.

[We will take another break while I have dinner and attend to personal matters.]

Finally late in the evening, I backed up the Palm and made an extra copy of the Palm folder on another drive. Then I installed the 3.5.0 upgrade which came on the CD-ROM. This also did not go entirely smoothly, but I'll leave that for another day. Having succeeded in that much, I went back to the internet with the Armada and downloaded the 3.5.2 upgrade and installed that. By the late evening, I had checked all my programs and a few of the data files I was carrying, and was satisfied that I'd completed a successful upgrade.

Finally, at the end of the day, I decided it was time to update my OS documentation. My last update was for Palm OS 3.3. I knew that documentation was available for 4.0. I downloaded the newest docs and tried to read them. But the version of Acrobat Reader I've been using in the Armada was 3.01. Luckily, version 4.05 comes with the PalmOS 3.5 upgrade, and was one of the files I'd brought over via the Zip disc, so I removed the old Acrobat and installed the new one -- which is already also not the latest version.

As you can see by this, I don't generally chase after upgrades. But occasionally, I'm forced to. And that's about all I want to say about it right now.
[2001/06/09]

In The News June 2 - 5, 2001

Bitstream Claims New Technology Wireless Full HTML Browser

June 6, 2001 Business Wire reports that Bitstream Inc. has announced the development of its "ThunderHawk" Web browser for wireless devices supports "full" web (HTML) pages instead of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) or cHTML (Compact HTML), maintaining full text legibility but without "excessive scrolling." Bitstream has filed 12 preliminary patent applications. Bitstream claims to display full Web pages on "small color LCD screens (320 x 240)."

[I don't like to rain on someone's parade this early -- when I haven't even seen the product, but frankly, it was obviously possible to pull this off, even back when I was using a Newton. Though Newton HTML browsers were never that good, it was clearly a problem with Apple's poorly thought out API and system software which discouraged programming outside the API, rather than the 320 * 240 monochrome display. If they had pulled of the same claims on a screen as small as 160 * 160, then that would be really surprising.]

Bitstream Inc. http://www.bitstream.com/
[2001/06/06]

Three-Five Systems Announces "Paperwhite" LCDs Sampling

June 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Three-Five Systems, Inc. has announced that it has begun sampling its "paperwhite" liquid crystal displays which they claim has high contrast that more closely approximates the appearance of ink on paper.

Three-Five Systems, Inc. http://www.threefive.com/
[2001/06/06]

Compaq Announces 3rd Party Products for iPaq Pocket PC

June 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq has announced a variety of 3rd party products enhancing its iPaq Pocket PC devices:

Colorgraphics Voyager VGA PC Card

According to Compaq, the Colorgraphic Voyager VGA PC Card can be used in the iPaq PC Card Expansion Pack giving SuperVGA (800 * 600 * 256 colour) video display capability. The PC Card costs $195 US.

Compaq iPaq presentation platform http://www.compaq.com/products/handhelds/presentation.html

Insignia Brings Java to iPaq Pocket PC

Insignia Solutions announced the immediate availability of its JeodeRuntime (Java virtual machine). The price is $1995 US.

HandAndGo JeodeRuntime (Java) for iPaq Pocket PC http://compaq.handandgo.com/JeodeRuntime

Siebel Announces Sales Handheld For Pocket PC

According to Compaq, Siebel Sales Handheld for Pocket PC extends Siebel Systems' eBusiness Applications "to the point of customer contact."

Siebel Sales Handheld for Pocket PC http://www.compaq.com/products/handheld/siebel.html
[2001/06/06]

Linsys Announces HomePNA 2.0 PC Card

June 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Linksys(R) has announced its HomeLink(R) PhoneLine 10M Integrated Network PC Card (model # PCM200HA) for laptop computers. The Type II PC Card provides up to 10Mbps connects through regular phone lines using a HomePNA 2.0-certified chipset. The card will be available in Q3 2001 at an estimated street price of $69.99 US.

Linksys Group, Inc. http://www.linksys.com/
[2001/06/06]

NEC Announces High Quality Reflective Colour 8.9 cm LCD

June 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that NEC Corporation has announced that its new NL2432DR22-02B 3.5" (8.9 cm) high-image quality reflective-type amorphous silicon thin-film transistor colour LCD 320 * 240 * 260,000 colour display panel has a maximum reflection ratio of more than 40% and a maximum contrast ratio of 40:1, and power consumption of 25 miliwatts (mW). Sampling will begin in Sept. 2001 with volume production of up to 10,000 units per month beginning soon after.
[2001/06/06]

Philips Announces Polymer-Based OLED Ready For Production

June 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Philips Mobile Display Systems has announced that its polymer-based organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays are now available for production for small devices. A 102 * 65 * 16 level grey monochrome display consumes 90mW in graphics mode with 80% pixels on, 48mW in text mode with 50% pixels on, and 4mW in standby mode, and gives contrast of 1:>200 even in direct sunlight.
[2001/06/06]

HP Announces Bluetooth Coming To Laptops And Printers

June 5, 2001, Business Wire reports that 3Com Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Company have announced that they are working together to embed Bluetooth into future HP Omnibook and Pavilion laptop computers and HP Deskjet 995c inkjet printer.

Via Announces New C3 CPU Targetting Portables

June 5, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Via Technologies has launched its C3 processor (their earlier products were named "Cyrix III" and evolved from the purchase of Cyrix from National Semiconductor and IDT). The new chip is being made using a 0.13-micron process and will begin at 800 MHz.
[2001/06/06]

iPresentation Mobile Converter

June 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Presenter, Inc. has announced free, downloadable software that converts Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to a form usable on a Casio, Compaq iPaq and Hewlett-Packard Pocket PC devices.

Presenter, Inc. PowerPoint converter for Pocket PC devices http://www.presenter.com/
[2001/06/06]

Compaq And Qualcomm Announce High Speed CDMA2000 Module Coming For Compaq Evo Laptops

June 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation and QUALCOMM Incorporated have announced that the will develop a CDMA 2000 1xEV for Compaq Evo c Series laptop computers, providing up to 2.4 Mbps peak throughput on 3G CDMA data services. Sampling is expected to begin in Q4 2001 with commercial availability in Q2 2002.
[2001/06/06]

More On Acer PDA

June 4, 2001, William Chang writes for Palm Infocenter that on June 1, 2001, more details were released about Acer's PDA plans. No model name has been announced, but a prototype was shown with a colour display. Current plans are for PalmOS 4.0 (Chinese Edition), a Dragonball ZV 33 MHz., and a memory slot (type not confirmed). Also, according to Chang, Acer has stopped working on a Linux PDA.

Palm Infocenter re. Acer PalmOS PDA http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=2002
[2001/06/06]

New Handhelds Hit Market

I haven't had time to confirm these items but both the Agenda Linux based handheld computer and the Handera 330 PalmOS handheld computer have apparently begun shipping within the last couple of days.
[2001/06/06]

Recent Updates

I have finally updated Arranger to version 1.21. This is essentiallly the first non-beta since 1.12 back in 1998 (actually there was a 1.20 version which apparently had a bug that was quickly found and corrected in 1.21).

Likewise, yesterday I got a call from Inmac that they received my Palm OS 3.5 update CD-ROM. I picked it up this afternoon and will probably install it shortly. There is a bit of irony here, since Palm has refused to help me fix my Palm IIIx/TRG Xtra Xtra Pro system. I have now removed the Xtra Xtra Pro card and the Palm IIIx is now limited to its original 2MB Flash/4MB RAM configuration. I am undecided whether to send the expansion card back to TRG to check if it's ok. If it is, I could theoretically pick up another Palm IIIx to keep on using it. Then again, with all the new handhelds coming out, that's getting to be a less likely route. Moreover, I am reluctant to build up too many 68K based Palm devices since we are expecting that there will be ARM based units out next year.

I should mention that after about a day of not having the Palm IIIx, I decided to buy another PalmOS based device. So I already now have 2 68K Palm units. I am not saying what the new one is because I might be writing an article about it soon.
[2001/06/06]

In The News May 30 - June 2, 2001

Sharp To Use StrongARM In Linux Handheld

June 1, 2001, Reuters reports that Sharp Corp. has announced that it will use the Intel StrongARM CPU for its Linux based handheld computer which is expected to be ready for market later this year. According to the article, "Sharp, based in Osaka, Japan, has until now used Hitachi Ltd. microprocessors . . . ." And Sharp plans to demonstrate the device at Sun Microsystem Inc.'s JavaOne conference on June 4, 2001.
[2001/06/03]

Acer To Use PalmOS

June 1, 2001, Reuters reports that Acer Inc. has announced that it will use Palm Inc's operating system in handheld computers up to 2005.
[2001/06/03]

Changepoint Brings PSA To PalmOS

May 31, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Changepoint Corporation has announced that it has released its Changepoint Palm(TM) Client which is compatible with version 6.0 of its PSA software. The application supports PalmOS version 3.1.

Changepoint Corporation http://www.changepoint.com/
[2001/06/03]

Sharp To Use Lineo For Linux Handheld

May 31, 2001, Stephen Shankland writes for CNET News.com that Sharp has announced that it will use Lineo's Embedix version of Linux for its new handheld to be sold in North America later this year.
[2001/06/03]

ISMAP To Develop Mapping Engine For TI's OMAP(TM)

May 29, 2001, PR Newswire reports that ISMAP has announced that it will use Texas Instruments Incorporated's OMAP(TM) platform to develop a real-time mapping engine for 2.5 and 3G mobile phones and wireless Internet appliances by the end of 2001 Q3. The engine would be used for location based services.
[2001/06/03]

Linux In Handhelds, Dark Horse For 2001

May 4, 2001, Richard Shim writes in his article "Linux makes a move into handhelds" for CNET News.com that IDC analysts will be tracking Linux-based PDAs for the first time. The article notes that there are 3 commercial Linux distributions suitable for PDA type usage. These are Trolltech, Century Software and Transvirtual.

Century Software (Linux for handhelds) http://www.centurysoftware.com

Transvirtual Technologies (Linux for handhelds) http://www.transvirtual.com/

Trolltech (Linux for handhelds) http://www.trolltech.com/
[2001/06/03]

In The News May 26 - 30, 2001

QRS And TeleVital Announce Web-Enabled PC Card Medical Devices

May 30, 2001, PR Newswire reports that QRS Diagnostics, LLC and TeleVital, Inc. have announced that they have developed a set of Web-enabled PC Card medical device systems which allow real-time monitoring, assessment, analysis, retrieval, and storage of physiological data over the Internet.

QRS Diagnostics LLC http://www.QRSdiagnostics.com/

TeleVital, Inc. http://www.televital.com/
[2001/05/30]

Toshiba Announces 260,000 Colour OLED Display

May 30, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Toshiba Corporation has announced the development of a 2.85" full-colour polymer organic light emitting diode (OLED) display supporting 0.318 * 0.318 mm pixel pitch (80 pixels per inch) and 260,000 colours and 64-level (6-bit) grey scale. Toshiba is using an "ink-jet" to deposit the phosphors on a polymer film. Toshiba expects to have a commercial product by April 2002, with target markets including cell phones and PDAs.
[2001/05/30]

Triumvirate Announces New Junk Mail Filter

May 30, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Triumverate Technologies, Inc. has announced that it has released its "Mailbox Filter(TM)" which works with desk or laptop computers running Windows(TM) 9x, NT and 2000 and is compatible with all Windows POP/SMTP email programs including Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora Lite, Eudora Pro and Netscape. A "full version" 30-day trial can be downloaded.

Triumvirate Technologies, Inc. (mail box filter program) http://www.mailboxfilter.com/
[2001/05/30]

Adobe Releases Acrobat 5.0 Reader For PalmOS

May 29, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced that the first official release of Acrobat(R) Reader(R) for Palm OS(R). Best used with files created with Acrobat 5.0, the software works with PalmOS 3.1 or later, requiring Palm Desktop 3.0.1 200KB of Palm device memory, and is freely downloadable. The current release is for English language users of Windows 98, NT(R), ME and 2000, with support for other languages and MacOS users coming later.

Adobe Acrobat Reader http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html

Info Re. versions of Acrobat For PalmOS http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readerforpalm.html
[2001/05/30]

Danger Research Working On Handheld Computer/Pager

May 27, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Danger Research is working on a design for a handheld computer and pager device similar to the RIM Blackberry series, but with support for full HTML and e-mail as well as instant messaging. The company will not manufacture or market the device but will license the design.
[2001/05/30]

Canadian Corporate News Working Again

Following up on my previous note about Canadian Corporate News, the Website design has been substantially redesigned. In fact, it's now "over designed." They've created a page which bogs down my V.90 modem, 120MHz Pentium, 48MB computer. Moreover, when I first tried it with Netscape Communicator 4.7, it wouldn't work. This is the second news source that has poorly tested scripting which doesn't run on Communicator 4.7. The other is PR Newswire.
[2001/05/30]

Technical Problems

As is becoming a common occurance, one of my news sources was not available today. This time it was Canadian Corporate News. I'll check it later in the week to see if I missed anything.
[2001/05/27]

In The News May 22 - 26, 2001

Bluefish Announces Infrared Nodes For Palm Users

May 25, 2001, Mitch Wagner writes for InternetWeek that Bluefish Wireless Inc. is planning to launch a system for Palm users which will allow Internet access in public places through infrared nodes. The nodes themselves connect to a base station using 900MHz spread spectrum radio, allowing the nodes to be compact (7" * 7" * 1.5") and inexpensive ($200 US each), whereas the base station is a preconfigured IBM NetVista PC running Linux costing $700 US, or an adapting hardware and software costing $350 US. Bluefish will set up their own access points in Atlanta and Chicago airports.
[2001/05/27]

Microsoft Warns Media-Player Dangerous

May 25, 2001, George V. Hulme writes for InformationWeek that Microsoft Corp. security bulletin MS01-029 warns that Windows Media Player versions 6.4 and 7.0 have a vulnerability that potentially lets hackers run code. Microsoft has a patch for version 6.4 and version 7.0 should be upgraded to version 7.1. Older and unsupported versions of Media Player are not confirmed safe or dangerous. The problem comes from Windows Media Player Active Stream Redirector processor which has an unchecked buffer which can overrun.

Windows Media Player Security Bulletin http://microsoft.com/security/bulletin/MS01-029.asp
[2001/05/27]

Transmeta Backs AMD Standards

May 25, 2001, Business Wire reports that AMD and Transmeta Corporation has announced that they have agreed that Transmeta will use Transmeta will be able to use AMD's "x86-64(TM)" and HyperTransport(TM) interconnect technologies.
[2001/05/27]

TELUS Offers Samsung Uproar MP3 Capable Handset

May 24, 2001, Business Wire reports that TELUS Mobility and Samsung Telecommunications America have announced that TELUS Mobility will offer Samsung's Uproar(TM) PCS phone handset which includes dual-band/dual-mode operation and an integrated MP3 player. Consumers will be able to download MP3 audio files from a computer through a USB cable to the Uproar handset for later play. The units 5 line display also supports internet use and personal organizer functions. Samsung claims the unit has sufficient Flash memory to hold over an hour of CD-quality music. The unit is immediately available. [No price was given in the press release. -- JO]

Samsung USA http://www.samsungusa.com/

TELUS Mobility http://www.telusmobility.com/
[2001/05/27]

TTPCom To Develop Bluetooth For MIPS32 Cores

May 23, 2001, Business Wire reports that TTP Communications plc (TTPCom) has announced that it will develop synthesizable Bluetooth(TM) for use with 32-bit MIPS Technologies, Inc. cores. TTPCom believes this will provide a cheaper platform that even a $5 US Bluetooth chip.
[2001/05/27]

In The News May 19 - 22, 2001

NEC, Sony And Fujitsu Announces AMD Based Laptops

May 23, 2001, Business Wire reports that NEC has announced that it will use a 1 GHz AMD Athlon 4 processor in its "La Vie G" series laptop computers which will be available in Japan later this month, and Sony, Fujitsu and NEC have announced laptop computers using 700 to 800 MHz versions of AMD's Duron processors, all also to be available in Japan later this month.
[2001/05/23]

LG.Philips Announces 12.1" Transflective TFT-LCD

May 23, 2001, PR Newswire reports that LG.Philips LCD Co., Ltd. has introduced its LC121S1 which it claims is the first transflective 12.1" SVGA TFT-LCD module. The device will be manufactured in Korea and is expected to be shipped this June. The company claims contrast ratios of 30:1 in transmissive mode (backlighted) and 5:1 in reflective mode (no backlight).

LG.Philips LCD Co., Ltd. http://www.lgphilips-lcd.com/
[2001/05/23]

Motorola Licensing Memory Stick For DragonBall

May 23, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has announced that it is licensing Sony's Memory Stick(R) technology in order to integrate it into new versions of its DragonBall product lines which will be introduced throughout 2001 based on the 68K and ARM processor cores.
[2001/05/23]

Acer Branches Into PalmOS

May 23, 2001, Reuters reports that Acer Inc. has said that it will license Palm Inc.'s PalmOS software for new handheld computer products. A further announcement will be made on June 1, 2001. Acer currently supports Microsoft's Windows CE.
[2001/05/23]

Microsoft Claims Healthy Pocket PC Market

May 23, 2001, Reuters reports according to Microsoft's Ed Suwanjindar, Pocket PC device sales are ". . . trending up in a month-over-month situation," and ". . . [Pocket PC] OEMs . . . are ramping production . . . ." According to Microsoft, sales surpassed 1 million units in less than a year since the April 2000 launch, and total sales have reached 1.25 million. However, according to Reuters, Palm's 13 million users make up "80 percent of the total market for hand-helds."
[2001/05/23]

Advanced Medical Electronics Corp. Gets Grant For Bluetooth Development

May 23, 2001, PR Newswire reports that "Advanced Medical Electronics Corporation (AME) has received a $100,000 phase I SBIR grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to implement a Bluetooth wireless interface for portable medical instrumentation used in emergency applications." The first project will be the development of a portable battery powered 12-lead electrocardiograph (ECG) with Bluetooth connectivity.

Advanced Medical Electronics Corp. http://www.ame-corp.com/
[2001/05/23]

Microsoft Announces Windows Media(TM) 7.1 For Pocket PC

May 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. has announced the immediate availability of Microsoft(R) Windows Media(TM) 7.1 Player for Pocket PC which supports wireless access to digital audio and video for Pocket PC users (network cards, wireless network cards must be used, and might require separate purchasing, as well as payment for connection time fees).

Microsoft Windows Media(TM) 7.1 Player for Pocket PC http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/
[2001/05/23]

WordLogic Corporation Launches New Text Input System

May 22, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that WordLogic Corporation has announced WordLogic(TM) software which uses an adaptive predicting system to speed data entry. The system is intended for wireless touchscreen devices.

WordLogic Corporation http://www.wordlogic.net/
[2001/05/23]

Microsoft Supports Intel XScale

May 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corporation have announced that they will collaborate to optimize Windows Media(TM) audio, video and digital rights management (DRM) software for the Intel(R) XScale(TM) microarchitecture.
[2001/05/23]

Compaq Announces New Evo Series

May 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq has unveiled its new Evo product line which includes both desk and mobile computer products. Two mobile computer announced were the Evo Notebook N400c ultra-light laptop with prices starting at $2,299 US and the Evo Notebook N150 "affordable, lightweight" laptop with prices starting at $1,449 US.
[2001/05/23]

IBM Backing Wireless

May 21, 2001, Beth Bacheldor and Martin J. Garvey write for InformationWeek that IBM is still backing wireless computing with major product plans. In the near term IBM has introduced on May 21, an updated ThinkPad A Series which integrates an antenna within the notebook frame and 2 WorkPad handhelds with monochrome and colour displays. [NOTE: The article refers to these as based on "Palm Pilot IV", but there is no such thing. It is more likely that they are based on the "Palm VIIx" device, but I haven't checked it yet. -- JO]

The article also mentions among other things, that IBM will have a way to administer all IBM servers "from PDAs, mobile phones and other handhelds," and that "IBM and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. are jointly developing low-power microchips for third-generation mobile phones."
[2001/05/23]

Intel Introduces 750/500MHz Mobile Pentium III

May 21, 2001, Reuters reports that Intel Corp. has unveiled a series of chips intended for laptop computer use including a 750MHz mobile Pentium III which consumes less than 1 Watt when running at 500MHz in "battery-saving" mode.
[2001/05/23]

Magellan Upgrades MAP 330 Series GPS

May 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Magellan Corporation has announced that it has shipped its first upgraded handheld GPS devices which can now be accurate to better than 3 meters. The MAP 330, 330M and 330X devices now come with factory installed Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) technology which increases accuracy in areas in the US. Support of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) similarly increases accuracy in Europe as will support for the forthcoming Multifunctional Transport Satellite-based Augmentation System (MSAS) in Asia. Current owners of MAP 330 and 330M products can download software upgrades.

Magellan Corporation http://www.magellangps.com/
[2001/05/23]

The Long Weekend Cleanup

Where I live, May 21 was "Victoria's Day" which made the past weekend a "long" one. For me it was "long" in other ways. I decided to do some cleaning up. There were a few changes that I made in this Website that took time but won't be important to most readers. The most significant effort was a partial update of the "Links" page. Making Websites can be fun. Well, sometimes. . . .
[2001/05/23]

CD-RW -- A Bad Idea That Can't Be Avoided

With the stream of new ideas and technologies in the computer field, it's no surprise that some of them are simply not good right from the beginning. Recording CD's, either CD-R (recordable once only) or CD-RW (rewritable), from a mobile computer perspective is one of those ideas. While a disc is not literally "burned", it does require a relatively large amount of energy to heat the disk either to write it or erase it. A hard drive access is comparatively energy efficient. Even with today's higher capacity Li-Ion batteries, it's not a good idea to try to write a CD-ROM unless you plug the computer into a wall socket.

But the convenience of having a CD-RW drive in a laptop is undeniable -- even if you can't use it literally on the run, so it's no surprise that they are growing in availability. In fact, combination DVD/CD-RW should start becoming widely available in laptops in the near future. Because of the problems with CD-RW, I've avoided the technology until this year, so many readers will know more about this than I do. If you are one of them, you can skip the rest of this report. I only have a couple of things to say, and they aren't "news".

First, if you have an old laptop with a CD-ROM and want to start using carrying data on home-made CD's, it might not work. Older CD-ROM drives can't read CD-RW discs or in some cases, even CD-R discs. Which can read what? I don't know, but I would suggest that anyone looking at a used laptop where this is an issue should try out a test disc before buying.

Second, in the case of desk computers, I was surprised to find out that the speed of the recording is tied to processor speed.

On February 19, I helped debug a CD-RW installation on a 300MHz Pentium II Windows 98 desk computer. The drive was an LG 12X writer. I didn't document the setup fully but we found that it would not record (I think it was an audio track) at the full 12X (which requires 350MHz). The fastest supported speed for the 300MHz box was 8x.

On May 16, I installed a Comstar 8/4/32 (Samtak/Panasonic CW-7586) drive into a Compaq Deskpro 2000 with Pentium 166 CPU and Windows 98 Version 2. The testing program reported that it had full speed support except for a limit of 4x for audio writing.

I expect similar speed scaling in laptop products.

There is at least one brand of external "parallel port" CD-RW drive available. I don't know how well it works. If I find out, I'll report it here.
[2001/05/23]

Inflation And The Internet

On May 19, 2001, Bruce Little wrote in his article "Central bank alters key inflation gauge" in the Globe and Mail, p. B3, that the Bank of Canada had changed the formulation of its "core CPI". The new definition includes 84% of the items in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) list of goods and services excluding fruit and vegetables, gasoline, fuel oil and natural gas, "intercity transportation", tobacco, mortgage interest and indirect taxes such as sales taxes, tobacco and gasoline taxes.

I have never looked into the CPI. I don't even know how it is defined. Is it literally the cost of survival, or does it look for a specific quality of life, or does it take a mean average of spending per capita?

I would be interested in finding out how the Bank of Canada counts computer and Internet costs. Does it look at average price spent on a computer or the cost of computing power? Does it weight the cost of the computer based on sales per capita? What about the cost of phone services? Is the Internet included?

I mentioned before that Axxent is no longer giving discounts for annual prepayment of accounts. I have looked in old magazines and I find that the discount I had was about 20% per year. I was paying $199.95 for a years worth of service which otherwise costed $19.95. Moreover, in theory, I could "carry forward" unused monthly connection time. On the other hand, about a year ago, services had been increased (up to 130 hours per month) and server disc space had been increased. So how do you count that? Was it inflation? It's a very difficult concept.
[2001/05/23]

In The News May 15 - 19, 2001

Trimble Announces Agricultural Handheld

May 18, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Trimble has introduced its AgGPS(R) 160 Portable Computer which is primarily intended for the agriculture industry. The device uses a version of Windows(R) CE. The product is immediately available.

[No size or price was given in the press release. I checked the Trimble website and got the following addition information. The device is based on the Intel StrongARM processor and comes with 32MB internal Flash memory and 32MB SRAM. It has a 57-key keyboard (but not in a normal QWERTY layout). The screen is 320 * 240 * 16 level grey. It weights about .995kg (2.2 lbs.)]

Trimble http://www.trimble.com/
[2001/05/20]

Handspring Carried By Hartco Stores

May 18, 2001, Reuters reports that Handspring Inc. has announced that it has signed an agreement with Hartco Corp. of Montreal to bring its products to Hartco's CompuCenter and CompuSmart retail stores. Handspring products are already in Canada in The Business Depot Ltd.'s Staples, Business Depot and Bureau en Gros stores.

[Actually, I usually see them in Future Shop. -- JO]
[2001/05/20]

US FCC Considering Opening up Wi-Fi Speed To 54 Mbit

May 18, 2001, Wylie Wong writes for CNET News.com that the US FCC has said that it is considering whether to allow IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi), which is now limited to 11 Mbit/sec up to as high as 54 Mbit/sec. The new standard would be called IEEE 802.11g and would still use the 2.4GHz band over 3 channels whereas 802.11a (which operates in the higher speed range) uses the 5GHz band, over 12 channels. The FCC has also recently proposed a rule change to make Wi-Fi compatible with Bluetooth. Currently, the two systems can interfere with each other.
[2001/05/20]

Saskatoon Travelodge Hotel Offers Patrons 11Mbps Wireless LAN To Internet

May 15, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that the Saskatoon Travelodge Hotel, Shaw Communications Inc. and 3Com have announced that patrons of the hotel who use Windows(TM) 95, 98, NT and 2000 computers can obtain a 3Com 11Mbps Wireless LAN PC Card and software from the hotel to connect to the internet through Wireless LAN services through Shaw.

[According to the announcement there are some other hotels in Canada that provide such services too, but I don't remember hearing about any before. JO]
[2001/05/20]

Canada NewsWire Not Responding

As I noted in my last update Canada NewsWire is not working. I'm starting to wonder if it's shut down. I haven't had any news from their Website since May 9, 2001. This is a minor loss since most of the major items I got from that site were Canadian versions of similar announcements from their related site in the US, which is "PR Newswire". But sometimes there are interesting items that I didn't see on the PR Newswire site, so if it's gone, I will miss it.
[2001/05/16]

In The News May 12 - 15, 2001

Trend Micro Palm AV First To Scan On App-Launch

May 16, 2001, Business Wire reports that Trend Micro has introduced its "PC-Cillin(R) for Wireless Version 2.0 for Palm OS" anti-virus software which according to Trend Micro is the first AV software to run automatically when programs are launched (before they are executed) for the most complete protection. Versions are also available for Pocket PC and EPOC. The software is immediately available and for a limited time, free.

[NOTE: Trend Micro requires personal information before allowing downloading. Since such information has value, it is not "free". With current concerns regarding privacy, I may point this out for similar situations in the future. Also, I downloaded files at about 10:30 on the day of this press release and I don't think I got version 2.0. -- JO]

Trend Micro AV software for Palm, WinCE PocketPC and EPOC
[2001/05/16]

Franklin Covey Selling Handspring Visor Packages

May 16, 2001, Business World reports that Franklin Covey Co. has announced that it is now selling "FranklinCovey Planning Software Suite" in packages which include the Handspring Visor Prism, Edge(TM) or Platinum computing devices.

Franklin Covey Co. http://www.franklincovey.com/
[2001/05/16]

AMD Announces Mirror Bit Architecture Flash Memory

May 16, 2001, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced that it has developed a new "Mirror Bit(TM)" architecture which holds twice the data of standard Flash but without degredation of "endurance, performance or reliability." The first products will be available in Q1 2002.
[2001/05/16]

IBM And Toshiba Shutting Down DTI LCD Production

May 16, 2001, Reuter reports that Toshiba Corp. and IBM have decided to terminate joint production of LCD displays at their joint venture Display Technologies Inc. (DTI) before the end of the year due to lower profits caused by falling prices due to competition from South Korean manufacturers.
[2001/05/16]

TouchSystems Announces 6-Wire And Longer Lifespan

May 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that TouchSystems and eTurboTouch Technology have announced "Turbo T6" which advances 5-wire analog resistive touchscreen technology by adding a 6th wire which adds EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) shielding. The companies claim that Turbo T6 has a lifespan of greater than 50 million touches which is nearly twice that of its closest competitor.

TouchSystems http://www.touchsystems.com/
[2001/05/16]

Microsoft Default Browser For Handspring

May 15, 2001, Mitch Wagner writes for InternetWeek that Microsoft Corp. has announced that it has agreed with Handspring Inc. that MSN will be the default home page for Handspring's Blazer Web browser for Handspring's devices which run on the PalmOS. Blazer will be priced at $19.95 by itself but will be bundled with the Handspring VisorPhone module.
[2001/05/16]

IBM Collaboration With PatientKeeper

May 15, 2001, Business Wire reports that IBM and PatientKeeper Inc. have announced "a collaboration to offer a mobile healthcare platform to hospitals and other medical facilities . . . ." IBM will assess needs (consult) and (implement) install backend systems and provide on-site and Web-based training.
[2001/05/16]

SonicBlue Ships Transmeta Based Web Tablet

May 14, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that on May 14, 2001, Sonicblue (formerly S3) will begin shipping its Transmeta Crusoe TM3200 based ProGear wireless Internet tablet computer this week. Priced at about $1,500 US depending on configuration, the initial market of the Linux based product will be hospitals and niche markets, but with hopes of a consumer version later this year.
[2001/05/16]

AMD Announces New Mobile Athlon 4 And Duron Processors

May 14, 2001, Business Wire reports that AMD has announced its new mobile AMD Athlon(TM) 4 and mobile AMD Duron(TM) processors. Compaq has announced that it is using a 1GHz Athlon 4 in its Presario 1200 laptop computer series. AMD claims up to 30% more battery life using its new AMD PowerNow!(TM) technology. Current prices (single piece in quantities of 1,000 units) for Athlon 4 are in US dollars: 1GHz $425, 950MHz $350, 900MHz $270, 850MHz $240; and for Duron are: 850MHz $197 and 800MHz $170.
[2001/05/16]

Handhelds Last About 2 Years

May 14, 2001, Mitch Wagner writes in an article called "Handhelds Nudge PCs" for InternetWeek that handheld computers are displacing desk and laptop computers in many business situations, siting inter alia, Sears Roebuck & Co. deploying PalmOS based Symbol wireless handheld computers, and noting differences in applications and usage between handhelds and larger format computers. Among other things, the article notes that according to Rob Enderle of Giga Information Group, "The replacement cycle on mobile computers is more geared to the fact that they wear out, as opposed to the replacement cycle on the desktop, where they become obsolete before they wear out," and according to Wagner, "The life span for a handheld computer is about two years."

[This fortuitously echos my own informal findings regarding Palm IIIx deterioration which I have recently noted. -- JO]
[2001/05/16]

Did I Miss Some -- Again?

This time it was Canada NewsWire that's broken. Their Website seems to be crashed. There is no response.
[2001/05/13]

In The News May 8 - 12, 2001

Palm VIIx Price Drop In US

May 11, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Palm has dropped the price of the VIIx in the US by $100 US down to $199.00 US. According to the article, Palm sales in April were down 20% from March. Also, many users have dropped out of the service due to the high cost ($24.99 US per month for limited use and $44.99 US for unlimited access). Also noted is that only time frame for the replacement for the Palm VIIx is "by the end of the year."
[2001/05/13]

HP Not Rushing Into Linux

May 11, 2001, Reuters reports that Hewlett-Packard has asked Carenegie Mellon University to experiment with Linux on its Jornada handheld products.

[The general view of the article is that HP is taking a "middle ground" approach to Linux overall (including desk computers, servers and throughout their markets) and not really promoting Linux at this time. There is no indication that HP is ready to jump into Linux on handhelds with an actual product in the near term.]
[2001/05/13]

Microcell Announces 2001 Q1 Subscriber Numbers

[The following is a repost from Apr. 12, 2001 with some additional information released May 11, 2001]

Apr. 12, 2001, Business Wire reports that Microcell Telecommunications Inc. has announced its unaudited subscriber numbers for the first quarter of 2001.

                         3 Months Ended       3 Months Ended
                          Mar. 31, 2001        Mar. 31, 2000
Net subscriber additions
 Retail        56,339
 Non-affliated
  Wholesale     6,428
 - Retail and Wholesale          62,767       (Not Provided)

Total Subscribers
 - gross Fido activations
   121,724 (10% more than
   same quarter 2000)
 - Postpaid          483,548
 - Prepaid           495,318
 - Retail                       978,866              654,309
 - 17,501 migrated from
   prepaid to postpaid
   in the quarter

 - Wholesale                     21,058                3,466
Churn (after
 30 day guarantee)                 2.2%
 (was 2.3% in last quarter)

[2001/04/18]

Overstocked W/BlackBerries?

May 10, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Merrill Lynch analyst Virginia Syer Genereux has said that Aether Systems has enough RIM 957's "to last the next several quarters." But according to RIM's CEO Jim Balsillie "The sector slowdown is mythical. We didn't see a slowdown in demand. And as a result, we're reiterating guidance for the quarter and the year. . . ."
[2001/05/13]

OmniSky Raises Fees For iPaq Users

May 8, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that OmniSky has raised its prices for iPaq users for unlimited Internet connect time to $59.95 US per month (or $54.95US/month with a 1 year contract) while Jornada and Palm users are charged $29.95 to $39.95 US. According to OmniSky, iPaq users are simply using the system more, viewing the iPaq as a true laptop replacement.
[2001/05/13]

Did I Miss Some?

It's been a while since one of my news sources messed up, so I was a bit surprised this time. But yes, it's happened again. I'll try to recheck the problem site in another couple of days in case I missed something significant.
[2001/05/09]

In The News May 5 - 8, 2001

Trend Micro Warns VBS_HOMEPAGE.A Internet Worm High Risk

May 9, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Trend Micro has announced that it has classified a new computer virus it calls VBS_Homepage.A (aka VBS.VBSWG2.D@mm) as a high risk worm virus. It propogates only through Microsoft Outlook by sending itself as an email attachment to all addresses in an address book.

Trend Micro virus info http://www.antivirus.com/vinfo/
[2001/05/09]

Palm m505 Now Available In Canada

May 9, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Palm Canada has announced that the Palm m505 which features a 16-bit colour screen is now available in stores across Canada.
[2001/05/09]

JAWZ Announces DataGator(TM)-v2.1 For PalmOS

May 8, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that JAWZ Inc. has announced that its DataGator(TM) V2.1 security software which encrypts all data on a PalmOS pocket computer (PalmOS version 3.0 to 3.5) is now available.

JAWZ Inc. http://JAWZinc.com/
[2001/05/09]

Intel Brings 802.11b To Handspring Visor

May 8, 2001, Business Wire reports that Intel Corporation has introduced the Xircom(R) SpringPort(TM) Wireless Ethernet SpringBoard(TM) for the HandSpring Visor. The device is IEEE 802.11b high-rate standard compliant. The device is capable of 11Mbps data transfers within 300 feet (90M). It will be available in May for $299 US.

Xircom (Intel) Wireless http://www.xircom.com/wireless/
[2001/05/09]

AMD 32-bit Page-Mode Flash

May 8, 2001, Business Wire reports that AMD has introduced its Am29PL320 asynchronous flash memory device which features 32-bit wide access, page access times as fast as 20 nanoseconds, random access as fast as 60 nanoseconds and data transfer rates as high as 133MB/sec. The device is available now at $13.95 US each in quantities of 10,000 pieces.

[The data capacity of a piece wasn't given in the announcement. -- JO]
[2001/05/09]

Microsoft Begins Term Limited Licensing

May 8, 2001, Mitch Wagner writes for InternetWeek that Microsoft Corp. has begun phasing out "perpetual licensing for its biggest corporate customers." The details of the time limited subscription licenses aren't given in the article.

[I don't plan on following this in detail, but it will be interesting to see if this trend continues down to the consumer level which is where mobile devices tend to be.]
[2001/05/09]

Dell Latitude Has 1 GHz

May 7, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Dell Computer Corporation has announced its Latitude(TM) C600 laptop computer which features a 1 GHz Intel(R) Mobile Pentium(R) III processor and a 14.1" SXGA+ screen. Prices start at $3,799 Cdn.

Also announced was a Latitude C600 laptop computer with a 700 MHz Intel Celeron(TM) processor. Prices start at $2,459 Cdn.

Dell Canada Latitude computers http://www.dell.ca/latitude/
[2001/05/09]

Toshiba To Use Crusoe

May 7, 2001, Reuters reports that Toshiba has announced that it will use the Transmeta Corp. Crusoe processor in one model of its Libretto mobile computers.
[2001/05/09]

Rising Cost Of Internet

May 4, 2001, Jade Boyd writes for InternetWeek that AT&T Corp. (US) has announced that it plans to raise its prices for consumer broadband cable access $6 US per month, bringing monthly bills to $40 - $50 per month. According to the article, due to DLS provider bankruptcies, cable modem services currently account for 3/4 of all broadband Internet links [probably measuring only the US -- JO].

The articles also says that SBC Communications Inc. which is "the largest DSL provider with more than 900,000 customers" announced in February a similar increase from $40 to $50 US, and that EarthLink Inc. with 200,000 subscribers raised its prices last month.

But I don't think it's only the broadband prices that are rising. I just got my bill from Axxent and they have eliminated their annual rates, which give discounts for lump sum payments and the theoretical savings of "carried forward" time. I haven't been shopping around for the last couple of years, but I expect that there may be some similar raises at other ISPs. The industry began with wild attempts to grab market share with unrealistically low pricing, followed by consolidation. Now that competition has dropped, I expect a lot of the account prices have been reviewed and adjusted.

I think that many ISPs are poorly run in general -- not just that the services could be better, but that the people running them don't understand where the profit potentials really lie. I think they could provide better services and make more money doing it. Then again, as I say, it's been well over a year since I last "shopped around" so I could be wrong.

This has implications for the mobile industry. There is a strong belief that pocket devices can boom with the addition of wireless services. But the cost of wireless services is far greater than people realize. Having been recently burned by the "wired Internet" industry, I expect venture capitalist to be more wary of funding costly expansions of infrastructure to service wireless devices. So for now, "mobile" growth is probably going to limited to inherent value of mobility of stored information and current data access facilities and rates.
[2001/05/09]

In The News May 1 - 5, 2001

Handspring Drops Visor Prices

May 5, 2001, Scott Ard writes for CNET News.com that according to the company's Website, Handspring has dropped the price of the Visor Deluxe by $50 US to $199 US and is including a leather case valued at $24.95, and free shipping. Moreover, the Visor Platinum has been reduced from $299 US down to $249 US through to June 17, 2001. The article notes Palm's similar cuts in April.
[2001/05/06]

Dell Inspiron 5000 Series Battery Problem Recall

May 5, 2001, Steven Musil writes for CNET News.com that Dell Computer has recalled "284,000 [laptop computer] batteries due to a flaw that has caused at least one [laptop computer] to catch fire." The batteries are used in Dell's Inspiron 5000 and 5000(e) computers.

On May 3, 2001, Reuters reported that the computers were sold between Jan. 2000 and March 2001, and notes that this is completely independent of a similar battery recall by Dell in October 2000 related to Inspiron 3700 and 3800 series computers. The batteries are being replaced for free.
[2001/05/06]

TI Announces Multimedia API Extensions For OMAP(TM) Based EPOC Devices

May 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Texas Instruments has announced SDK "Plug-Ins" which support multimedia applications for Symbian EPOC based devices built using TI's OMAP hardware platform which includes TI's DSP technology. MPEG4 is now supported and MP3 and speech recognition are targetted for Q3, 2001.
[2001/05/06]

Microsoft Windows 2000 ISAPI Security Problem

May 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that VIGILANTe has announced that it's "SecureScan(TM)" now includes the ability to test for a security problem in Windows 2000 which arises from "an uncheck buffer in the ISAPI Extension that is installed by default in Windows 2000." The problem allows hackers to run their own code or "initiate a buffer overrun."
[2001/05/06]

RIM GPRS Step Towards Voice

May 3, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that when discussing Research In Motion's data-only BlackBerry GSM/GPRS version which will be available in Europe later this year, RIM's chief financial officer Dennis Kavelman noted that ". . . adding voice should be a snap." The article goes on to say "RIM deserves to benefit from the voice calls made over a BlackBerry, Kavelman said, but has yet to work out the financial details with [British Telecom]."

[The article also quotes Kavelman as saying that compared to Palm "We don't have a RIM OS that is trying to compete with Microsoft." This latter is not true. The BlackBerry device does compete directly against Windows CE/Pocket PC devices for market share. -- JO]
[2001/05/06]

Great Deals Coming?

Does the apparent surplus of computer manufacturing capacity point to substantially reduced prices? Compaq has called it a "price war", but is it only hype? I haven't had much time to think about this, but I thought I'd post a quick thought. First, there is a glut of computer parts, but mainly for desk computers.

I have no confirmation of a substantial overhang of parts or stock in the laptop field. While Palm and Handspring have talked of a weaker market, I have only seen a small number of stores with excess Palm IIIxe or Handspring Visor Deluxe. Furthermore, although HP has apparently had sales problems, I have to wonder how much was due to bad PR due to the "16-bit" colour screen issue, and that it is the weakest of the 3 WinCE "Pocket PC" devices. There seems to be no weakness in the Casio or Compaq iPaqs sales -- only supply shortages.

Looking at prices drops, I do not expect to see a substantial drop in profit margin from Dell and Compaq desk computer. I expect that price breaks in components will be passed on, and "cheaper" products may be made available with specs weaker than would have been expected. But if you consider that Dell was working with a roughly 20% profit margin before, then they can't drop prices very much before it makes no sense to be in the business at all. So expect that their products won't be any more of a bargain than anyone else. In fact, they really haven't been any better than Compaq, HP or even IBM for some time now. But do be wary of "support and service" declines particularly from Dell. Where else can they cut back to save cost?

As for laptop computers, the price point of products has traditionally related to the costs of screens. As screen prices have come down, the price points have dropped. Or conversely, sometimes desirable expensive screens have made even more expensive laptops viable. Since the softness in the desk computer market hasn't really been duplicated in the laptop market, don't expect huge changes in that respect. The only effect of significance is that the accelerated price drop in desk computer power will bring more sales back to desk computers from the laptop market. But I don't expect that to be a huge movement.

Through all this, the one business I would not want to be in is the "used desk computer" business. Those companies bought computers over the last 6 months that are suddenly going to be worth less than they paid, thanks to the surprise "reduced" price of the top end Pentium IV's and lower cost for other new components. Those companies will have to find new ways of making their computers worth buying. Perhaps they will move to increase service contracts (which will defray losses for a while), and some companies might try to bundling Linux as an added value service. But they will have to try something, as newer used products come online at lower than anticipated prices.

Lastly, don't expect this to last for long. In the mobile field, what effect occurs may all be over in as little as 3 - 6 months.
[2001/05/06]

Sony Announces Clie PEG-N710C

May 2, 2001, Sony has officially announced that its new PEG-700 series device will be available in the US. The new version Clie PEG-N710C can now be pre-ordered through the Sony Style Website. The price is set at $499.99 US, but no delivery date has been posted. The new device retains the innovative 320 * 320 pixel reflective TFT colour screen, 4MB Flash memory, 8MB main memory, but with English PalmOS 3.5 software, and an 8MB Memory Stick. MP3 audio is directly included. Power is supplied by a Li-Polymer battery.

Sony Clie PEG-N710C http://www.sonystyle.com/vaio/clie/index.html
[2001/05/02]

In The News Apr. 28 - May 1, 2001

AirSpeak Announces FLAIR Mobile PC Access Device

May 2, 2001, Business Wire reports that AirSpeak, Inc. has announced its FLAIR(TM) "handheld PC Access device." The mobile unit has a 12-inch touch screen display which duplicates the display on a desk computer.
AirSpeak, Inc. http://www.airspeak.com/
[2001/05/02]

Red-M Bluetooth Used In German Hospital

May 2, 2001, Business Wire reports that Red-M(TM) has announced that it has completed "another Bluetooth network installation, at the University Hospital (Univeritaetsklinik) in Mainz, Germany . . ."

[I have some doubts about the long term viability of wireless networking in hospital settings. The current ban on cellphone usage in many hospitals may indicate that someday, even this Bluetooth network may be considered too risky. Also, I should warn people with slow computers that I found the Red-M website difficult to use because there was so much animation that my 120MHz Windows laptop was unable to keep up with the display. I lost most control of the computer until I aborted out of my browser. It was a very annoying waste of time. I didn't have time to check it out further. -- JO]

Red-M(TM) http://www.red-m.com/
[2001/05/02]

HomeRF Bumps Up To 10Mbps

May 2, 2001, Reuters reports that the HomeRF wireless standard which is competing against Wi-Fi (802.11b which runs at 11 Mbps) has bumped up from 1Mbps to 10Mbps. when it was ratified two weeks ago, making it more competitive, though for now, there are no products that support the new speed.
[2001/05/02]

Wireless Through Starbucks

May 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation, Starbucks Coffee Company announced that along with Microsoft, they will create high speed wireless Internet access at Starbuck locations.
[2001/05/02]

Compaq Sued Over Warranty Handling

Apr. 30, 2001, Robert Bryce writes for Interactive Week that Wayne Reaud is suing Compaq Computer Corporation over its handling of warranty issues regarding its Aero, Presario, iPaq and handheld iPaq computers. Arch Currid speaking for Compaq said "We feel our products work as intended and we will defend them vigorously."
[2001/05/02]

Apple Latest iBook Cheaper

May 1, 2001, Apple introduced its latest iBook which they claim is "the lightest and smallest full-featured consumer and educational" laptop computer available. Weight is 4.9 lbs. The prices start at $1,999 Cdn. depending on configuration.
[2001/05/02]

In The News Apr. 24 - 28, 2001

Trimble Announces New Pocket GPS For Mapping

Apr. 27, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Trimble has announced its "GPS Pathfinder(R) Pocket" device which is a pocket-sized Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver for the mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) market. The device weighs 5 oz.

[The announcement did not include size, price or date of availability]

Trimble (GPS) http://www.trimble.com/
[2001/04/29]

IBM Claims Breakthrough Carbon Nanotube Transistor

Apr. 27, 2001, IBM claims to have developed a new method of controlled production of carbon nanotube transistor devices which, eventually may replace current silicon based microelectronics.

IBM Research (Carbon Nanotube transistors) http://www.research.ibm.com/resources/press/Transistors/
[2001/04/29]

Ericsson, Motorola And Nokia Developing Mobile Instant Messaging

Apr. 26, 2001, Business Wire reports that Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia have announced that they have established "Wireless Village, the Mobile Instant Messaging and Presence (MPS) initiative, to define and promote a set of universal specifications for mobile instant messaging and presence services and create a community of supporters."

Wireless Village http://www.wireless-village.org/
[2001/04/29]

BCE Releases 2001 Q1 Results

Apr. 25, 2001, Business Wire reports that BCE has released its 2001 Q1 results. There was no separation of Bell Mobility subscriber results in the announcement.
[2001/04/29]

Ginger Is Mobile

This is a story that I haven't been following because I didn't think it was mobile. According to the news releases on the company website, on Mar. 1, 2001, AgeSpan, INc. announced its "Personal Kiosk" which is a personal computer with an easier to use voice interface and 12 * 12" colour screen. At that time it was claimed to be aimed at seniors and the code name was "Li'l Budd-e". By March 14, 2001, it was announced that the product name was "Ginger" and that it would be delivered on Apr. 1, 2001. In terms of physical layout, it turns out that Ginger is essentially a big slate format mobile computer. It uses a 500 MHz Intel Celeron processor (probably a "Mobile" version) and has 128MB RAM, a 10GB HD, 12.5" active touch screen, Windows 98 software, HAL Voice software, and more.

Ginger Interactive, Inc. href=http://www.gingerinteractive.com/
[2001/04/29]

HandEra 330

As previously mentioned, the HandEra 330 was announced Apr. 23, 2001. The following are some of the available stats:

Size & weight:
- 121 * 81 * 17mm
- 167g w/AAA batteries
- 153g w/Li-Ion batteries
Processor & Memory:
- 33MHz Motorola DragonBall-VZ(TM)
- 8MB RAM
- 2MB Flash
Screen:
- 240 * 320 * 16 level grey scale
- "blue-green" backlight
- active area 55 * 73mm
- 360 deg. rotating display
Sound:
- built in microphone
- Internal audio amp and speaker
Storage:
- CompactFlash(TM) Type I/II card slot
- Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard slot
Other I/O:
- IrDA v1.2 port 115kbps
- RS232 serial port (Palm III cradle?)
- Jog wheel and aux button
- LED power external power indicator
Power:
- 4AAA batteries
- (optional Li-Ion rechargeable batteries)

[According to Reuters, Apr. 23, 2001, the HandEra 330 is expected to ship in the 2nd quarter (which ends in June) and will cost $350 US. -- JO]
[2001/04/25]

In The News Apr. 21 - 24, 2001

Big 3 Handset Companies To Standardize Electronic Transactions

Apr. 25, 2001, Reuters reports that according to Nokia, on Thursday, Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson will announce their "Mobile Electronic Transactions (MET) initiative which is "aimed at ensuring wireless devices could be used seamlessly and securely to make electronic transactions."
[2001/04/25]

HP Writes Off Jornadas?

Apr. 24, 2001, Reuters reports that ". . . HP expects to write off $100 million in unsold inventory this quarter, including its Jornada line of handheld computers . . ."

[The implications of this are unclear. I believe there are currently rebates available for Jornada 54x products in stores. It could be that massive discounts are about to come. One wonders whether there is some slopiness in the article. A "write off" generally means bringing the value down to $0. I find that hard to believe since it means that they will actually give the products away for free, or possibly dump them as garbage. More likely it is a "write down" where only part of the value is deducted.]
[2001/04/24]

Sony And Ericsson Announce Joint Venture

Apr. 24, 2001, Reuters reports that Sony Corp. and Ericsson agreed on Tuesday to form a new joint venture company to be called "Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications" to develop and market cell phone handsets. The agreement is due to take effect in Oct. 2001.
[2001/04/24]

In The News Apr. 17 - 21, 2001

HandEra 330 Palm Has 240 * 320 Screen

Apr. 20, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that HandEra (formerly TRG Products) will announce its PalmOS based HandEra 330 on Monday Apr. 23, 2001. The new handheld computer will feature a 240 * 320 display, and both CompactFlash and Secure Digital card sockets. Price is expected to be $350 US including 8MB RAM, sound recording capability (with built in mic.) with product available by the end of June, 2001.

[Information about Flash memory and processor speed was given in the article. JO]

Handera http://www.handera.com/
[2001/04/22]

Dell Canada Announces new Inspirion(TM) 2100 and 2500 Series Laptop Computers

Apr. 19, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Dell Canada has introduced its Inspiron 2100 and 2500 series laptop computers. The Inspiron 2100 starts at $2,999 Cdn. including a 700MHz Intel Mobile Pentium III CPU. The Inspiron 2500 starts at $1,599 Cdn. with a 600MHz Intel Mobile Celeron(TM) CPU.
[2001/04/22]

In The News Apr. 14 - 17, 2001

eMagin Announces Full Colour OLED Microdisplay

Apr. 18, 2001, PR Newswire reports that eMagin Corporation has announced that it is accepting orders for a full-colour active matrix organic light emitting diode (OLED) SVGA+ microdisplay Developer's Kit. The 0.62" diagonal has "over 1.5 million subpixel elements (600 x 3 x 852 pixels)."

eMagin Corporation (OLED displays) http://www.emagin.com/
[2001/04/18]

Pocketmultimedia(TM) Announces PockIt Recorder(TM)

Apr. 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Pocketmultimedia(TM) has introduced its "PockIt Recorder(TM) which will be demonstrated at the National Association of Broadcasters Show Apr. 23-26, 2001. Along with other related products, and requiring a video signal tuner card, it allows simultaneous recording and compression of content to a proprietary (.PMM) format which can later be viewed on a handheld computer. The minimum system requires a 300MHz Intel Celeron CPU with MMX video playback capability.

[Looking at their Website I found that the only target device currently supported is the Compaq iPaq. -- JO]

Pocketmultimedia(TM) http://www.pocketmultimedia.com/
[2001/04/18]

Dell Annnounces New Versions of Inspiron 8000 Laptop

Apr. 16, 2001, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced new versions of its Inspiron 8000 laptop computers which use the Nvidia GeForce2 Go graphics at prices as low as $2,118 US (900-MHz Intel Mobile Pentium III, 15" SXGA+ display, 64 MB RAM, 16 MB DDR Nvidia video graphics RAM, 24X CD-ROM, 10 GB HD and 56Kb modem).
[2001/04/18]

In The News Apr. 10 - 14, 2001

Security Flaw In Alcatel DSL Modems

Apr. 12, 2001, David M. Ewalt writes for Information Week that researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) have identified several security flaws Alcatel "Speed Touch" ADLS modems including a back door that completely bypasses any passwords. Logging on under the user name "expert" allows changing or deleting embedded software. Similar problems might also be in other products by Alcatel. The products are distributed in the US by SBC Communications Inc. and Bell South.
[2001/04/15]

Palm Cut Prices Again

Apr. 11, 2001, Reuters reports that Palm Inc. has lowered prices on several of its products only a few weeks after lowering the prices at the introduction of the m500 series (Mar. 19, 2001). Palm Vx is now $299 US (down from $349 which was down from $399), the m100 was reduced to $129 US (down from $149) and the IIIc has been lowered to $299 US (down from $329).
[2001/04/15]

The "Moving Target" Mobile Products And Achievements Awards For 2000

I've finally gotten around to writing up my awards for 2000.

Products and Achievements Awards for 2000 http://www.pathcom.com/~jimomura/awards2000.html

In The News Apr. 7 - 10, 2001

Handspring Licenses PalmOS To 2009

Apr. 11, 2001, Reuters reports that Palm Inc. has announced that Handspring Inc. has licensed PalmOS throught to 2009.
[2001/04/11]

Compaq Announces Presario 800 Series

Apr. 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corp. has introduced its new Presario 800 series "ultraportable" laptop computers at prices starting at $1,799 US
[2001/04/11]

Adobe Supporting Palm With PDF

Apr. 10, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Adobe has announced that it has begun distribution of a Beta version of a PalmOS PDF Acrobat(R) Reader(TM). The current Beta only runs on Windows 98 or later, or Windows NT or later, with Palm Desktop 3.0.1 or higher and PalmOS 3.1 or higher. The program can be downloaded for no charge, but requires completion of a form for personal information.

[What is odd about this announcement is that it apparently doesn't run on Window 95. I expect this was a mere oversight in the announcement. It would be very surprising if this is an actual technical limitation. -- JO]

Adobe Acrobat Reader PalmOS Beta http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/betareg.html
[2001/04/11]

Microsoft Opening Up Windows CE Source Code

Apr. 10, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Microsoft is allowing "system integrators" access to Windows CE source code although they do not allow changes to the code in products that are released. Moreover, "Talisker" which is the next major upgrade to Windows CE (after 3.0) is in "Beta 1" testing and expected to be available at the end of this year.
[2001/04/11]

QNX To Expand Processor Coverage

Apr. 10, 2001, QNX Software Systems has announced that QNX RTOS, which currently runs on PowerPC, MIPS and x86 processors has been ported to SH-4, ARM and StrongARM processors, with XScale coming.
[2001/04/11]

Franklin Gets Patent For eBookMan CPU

Apr. 9, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. has announced that it has been awarded US Patent 6,205,540 for its "Processor with Enhanced Instruction Set". The 32-bit RISC CPU is used in its eBookMan and other eBook products. The eBookMan contains its EBK2 ASIC which contains the patented 32 bit processor (24MHz) which features a hardware multiplier, glueless interface to SDRAM, EPROM, ROM or NOR Flash, real-time clock, LCD controller, USB inteface, MMC interface, MMU, pulse width modulation stereo audio DAC module and touchscreen interface. The current product range includes the EBM-900 (8MB) at $129.95 US, EBM-901 (8MB w/backlighted display) at $179.95 and the EBM-911 (16MB with backlighted display) at $229.95. All com with a 240 * 200 display and is expandable using MMC cards.
[2001/04/11]

In The News Apr. 3 - 7, 2001

Motorola Introduces Accompli(TM) 008 Handheld Computer/Phone

Apr. 6, 2001, Business Wire reports that Motorola has Motorola has developed its Accompli(TM) 008 handheld computer and phone combination which incorporates a 320 * 240 greyscale screen with a microbrowser and PDA style software with a 2.5G GSM/GPRS phone.

[The annoucement, otherwise has sketchy detail and no information regarding price and availability. I almost decided to skip this item. -- JO]
[2001/04/08]

Wireless Trading Little Benefit

Apr. 6, 2001, Todd N. Lebor writes for Motley Fool that "wireless" equity trading offers little benefit for equity investors or even "traders".

[The article is an opinion piece with no claim of substantive research, and its tone is exagerated, but I suspect it is generally correct. -- JO]
[2001/04/08]

TELUS Claims Record Subscriber Growth In First Quarter 2001

Apr. 5, 2001, Reuters reports that Telus Corp. has claimed to have added 108,000 subscribers (a 19% increase over the same period last year), a record number, in the first quarter of 2001.
[2001/04/08]

Agenda Launches VR3

Mar. 29, 2001, NewsAlert reports that Agenda Computing would officially launch the consumer version of its Agenda VR3 handheld computer on April 3, 2001, at Comdex.

[I haven't found any mention of the launch having occurred. I expect it did, but as I write this, I haven't confirm it. -- JO]
[2001/04/08]

In The News Mar. 31 - Apr. 3, 2001

Microcell Claims First Delivery of 2.5G Wireless In Canada And US

Apr. 4, 2001, Business Wire reports that Microcell Connexions Inc. claims that it has completed its 2.5G General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) wireless data implementation on its network across Canada, giving it the first such working network in the Canadian and US markets.
[2001/04/04]

Visor Phone Rolls Out In Southern US

Apr. 4, 2001, Business Wire reports that Handspring, Inc. has announced that its GSM based VisorPhone Springboard is now available in various consumer outlets in California, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennesee and Georgia. The VisorPhone module costs $299 US when purchased with service plan from Cingular Wireless. A Visor handheld computer must be purchased separately.
[2001/04/04]

Rackspace Battles Knark Linux Trojan

Apr. 4, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Rackspace Managed Hosting has released sources to its "Alamo" software which can assist in protecting against the Linux Trojan virus "Knark" which hides files and is currently undetectable in a running Linux system. The program is not a complete solution to the problem but has been released for open development.

Rackspace Managed Hosting http://www.rackspace.com/
[2001/04/04]

Microsoft And HP Settle Deceptive Advertising

Apr. 3, 2001, Reuters reports that Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have agreed to drop claims that HP's handheld computer came with "built-in" wireless Internet with only a small admission that it required more, costly hardware.

[The strangest thing about this ad problem was that the Palm VII is essentially capable of doing what the Jornada was claiming to be able to do -- access the Internet wirelessly, albeit in a limited way. It is strange that the settlement does not seem to require a complete correction in this regard.]
[2001/04/04]

Compaq Announces New Armada 110 Series Laptops

Apr. 2, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has announced its new Compaq Armada 110 series laptop computers priced as low as $1,099 US for small businesses.
[2001/04/04]

Globalstar May Seek Bankruptcy Protection

Apr. 2, 2001, Corey Grice writes for CNET News.com that Globalstar Telecommunications has said that it might seek Bankruptcy protection if further financing isn't secured.
[2001/04/04]

In The News Mar. 27 - 31, 2001

No Cache Of Unused Spectrum In US

Mar. 31, 2001, Stephen Labaton writes for The New York Times in his article "Studies Find Scant Availability of Spectrum for WIreless Internet" that 3 US government studies have come to the conclusion in the article's title. Radio spectrum is already overcrowded.
[2001/04/01]

AvantGo Releases 4.0 M-Business Server

Mar. 29, 2001, David Cassel writes for MBizCentral that AvantGo has announced that it will release its 4.0 M-Business Server software on Friday Mar. 30, 2001. Support includes GSM, GPRS, CDPD, CDMA, Mobitex, 802.11(B), Bluetooth and will include 3G networks as they become available. Various databases and data formats have been added. Also, according to the articles, "AvantGo said it has also improved the interface to streamline the transition between being offline and connecting to a network."
[2001/04/01]

In The News Mar. 24 - 27, 2001

Electric Fuel Announces Supplementary Power For Handhelds

Mar. 28, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Electric Fuel Corporation has announced that its Instant Power(TM) Chargers (supplementary power source kits) will be shipped early in 2001 Q2. The product line includes kits for Palm V, Compaq iPaq, Handspring Prism and Visor Phone. Other planned products (available later) will include HP Jornada and Casio Cassiopeia. The "charger kit" including SmartCord will cost $19.95 US (MSRP) and Instant Power Cartridges (Zinc-Air fuel cells) will cost $9.95 US (MSRP).

Electric Fuel Corp. (Zinc-Air fuel cells) http://www.electric-fuel.com/
[2001/03/28]

Mitsubishi Brings Trium Phones To North America

Mar. 28, 2001, Mitsubishi Wireless Communications Inc. has introduced its Trium(TM) brand mobile and 3G phones to North America. Models to be seen in North America include the G320 and G360 GSM phones and T300 and T330 TDMA phones.

Mitsubishi Wireless Communications Trium http://www.triumusa.com/
[2001/03/28]

Iridium Restart

Mar. 28, 2001, Reuters reports that the Iridium system, under new ownership, will restart on Mar. 30, 2001.
[2001/03/28]

Central Command Identifies First Windows-Linux Virus

Mar. 28, 2001, Reuters reports that anti-virus company Central Command has announced that it has found a new virus "W32.Winux" which can infect Intel processor based Linux computers or Windows (95, 98, ME, NT, 2000) computers. The virus infects programs greater than 100 Kbytes.

Central Command antivirus http://www.avx.com/
[2001/03/28]

Symantec Announces AntiVirus 2001 For PalmOS

Mar. 27, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Symantec Corp. has announced Symantec AntiVirus for Palm OS is now available to order online, and is also included in the new Norton AntiVirus 2001 Professional Edition. The price for Symantec AntiVirus for Palm OS is $59.95 Cdn. Current users of Norton AntiVirus can get a $15.00 Cdn. mail-in rebate.

Symantec Corp http://www.symantec.ca/
[2001/03/28]

Compaq And Transmeta Working On Windows XP Tablet Computers

Mar. 26, 2001, Reuters reports that Compaq Computer Corp. and Trasmeta Corp. are working on "Tablet PCs". A number of other companies have announced or acknowledged efforts in this direction.
[2001/03/28]

In The News Mar. 20 - 24, 2001

Datacolor Brings Lab Colour Sensor To Palm

Mar. 23, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Datacolor has announced that its new "Mercury(TM) Color Measurement System" uses advanced proprietary sensor technology uses PalmOS technology in the spectrophotometer.

Datacolor http://www.datacolor.com/
[2001/03/25]

PCMCIA Releases CardBay(TM) USB Standard

Mar. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that PCMCIA has announced the release of its CardBay(TM) standard which incorporates the Universal Serial Bus (USB) into the PC Card format.
[2001/03/25]

IBM And Symbian Link Office Data To Cell Phone

Mar. 22, 2001, Cecily Barnes and Stephen Shankland write for CNET News.com that IBM and Symbian have announced that they are working together to integrate IBM's DB2 Everyplace, Lotus Notes and mobile device management via Tivoli Systems with Symbian based products such as the Nokia Communicator 9210.
[2001/03/25]

HP Launches New Cheaper Jornada Handheld

Mar. 21, 2001, Reuters reports that on Mar. 21, 2001, Hewlett- Packard Co. introduced its Jornada 525 PocketPC which comes with 16MB memory and a colour screen. Pricing is expected to be less than the 540 series Jornadas.

HP also introduced its Jornada 710 handheld PC. Both products will be available in North America in early April, 2001.
[2001/03/25]

In The News Mar. 17 - 20, 2001

Glenayre Brings Handspring To Arch Wireless ReFLEX Network

Mar. 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Glenayre Technologies Inc. and Arch Wireless, Inc. have announced the "Arch Webster(TM) 300" which uses Glenayre's @ctiveLink(TM) Springboard(TM) for the Handspring(TM) Visor(TM) Deluxe to allow use of Arch Wireless' ReFLEX network (US) for full bidirectional messaging.

Arch Wireless, Inc. (ReFLEX pager network) http://www.arch.com/
[2001/03/21]

Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Windows(R) CE Edition 1.1

Mar. 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft has announced that its "Microsoft(R) SQL Server(TM) 2000 Windows(R) CE Edition" (SQL Server CE) is now an installable application option in Microsoft Platform Builder 3.0. It can be integrated into a ROMable image for dedicated systems.
[2001/03/21]

PacketVideo To Bring MPEG-4 To Sharp's Linux Handhelds

Mar. 21, 2001, Business Wire reports that PacketVideo Corporation and Sharp have announced that PacketVideo will integrate its PVPlayer(TM) MPEG-4 playback software for use on Sharp's Linux based handheld computers.
[2001/03/21]

RealNetworks Brings Mobile RealPlayer To Nokia 9210 And Symbian's EPOC

Mar. 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Nokia has announced that Nokia and RealNetworks(R) Inc. have announced that Mobile RealPlayer(R) is now available for the Nokia 9210 Communicator which is based on Symbian's EPOC OS.

RealNetworks Software http://www.real.com/
[2001/03/21]

PacketVideo Brings MPEG-4 To Symbian's EPOC

Mar. 20, 2001, Business Wire reports that PacketVideo Corporation and Symbian have announced that PacketVideo has optimized its PVPlayer(TM) MPEG-4 playback software for use on Symbian's "mobile operating system."

PacketVideo Corporation http://www.pv.com/
[2001/03/21]

GTRAN Cards Announces High Speed Wireless Internet On CDMA And GPRS

Mar. 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that GTRAN, Inc. has introduced its line of "DotSurfer(TM)" PCMCIA Type II data cards which allow high speed data connection via CDMA and GPRS. DotSurfer(TM) CDMA 1X is available in 800MHz, 1700MHz, 1900MHz and Dual Band 800/1900MHz supporting speeds up to 153Kbps. DotSurfer(TM) GPRS is available in 1800MHz, 1900MHz and Dual Band 1800/1900MHz and TriBand 900/1800/1900MHz supporting speeds up to 85Kbps. Dr. Frank Lee, PhD (President and CEO of GTRAN) claims actual speeds of 110Kbps - 144Kbps "in a mobile environment." Deployment of product by CDMA carriers is expected in Q3, 2001.

GTRAN, Inc. (CDMA, GPRS PC-Cards) http://www.gtran.com/
[2001/03/21]

iPresentation(TM) Shows PowerPoint On Pocket PCs

Mar. 20, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Presenter, Inc. has announced that its "iPresentation Mobile Playback Option" allows playing back PowerPoint presentations on Windows CE 3.0 operating system for Pocket PC.

Presenter, Inc. http://www.presenter.com/
[2001/03/21]

AMD Develops New "Flex Bank" Flash Memory

Mar. 20, 2001, Business Wire reports that AMD has introduced its new Am29DL640 device which is a 64-Mb Flash memory featuring "Flex Bank" architecture. This new technology extends AMD's Patented "Simulatneous Read/Write" (SRW) technology to multi-bank devices. The new device is available now in TSOP or FBGA packages at $26.15 each in quantities of 10,000.
[2001/03/21]

Motorola Achieves Live Video Over CDMA

Mar. 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motorola, Inc. claims that it has successfully transmitted the world's first live video over its third generation Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 1xEV-DV system and high-speed data throughput of 4.8 Mbps. The system uses a "64 quad amplitude modulation" (QAM) scheme achieved over a CDMA radio frequency channel. According to the announcement "[t]is is significant because it demonstrated the potential to increase the 1xRTT data rate from its initial capability of 144 kilobits per second to a potential of almost 5Mbis with enhancements to the CDMA 1x air interface." The current data rates for 3G CDMA are 144 kbps using 1xRTT, and 2.4 Mbps using 1xEV-DO, neither of which has been fully deployed yet. The 1xEV-DV is not currently an accepted standard.
[2001/03/21]

Socket Announces Bar Code Scanning For Palm M500 And M505

Mar. 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Socket Communications, Inc. has announced its "In-Hand Scan Card" for Palm(TM) M500 and M505 handheld computers. Based on a Symbol Technologies scanning engine, the card is expected to be available in Q4, 2001 at an estimated street price of $249 US.
[2001/03/21]

Socket Announces Palm M500 And M505 - Mobile Phone Interface

Mar. 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Socket Communications, Inc. has announcea a snap-on attachment which allows the Palm(TM) M500 and M505 handheld computers to use a mobile phone as a modem for Internet access. The first versions of this product will be available for Motorola StarTAC, Timeport, Talkabout and V Series handsets, and a variety of Samsung products. Socket expects that its "Digital Phone Connection" will be available in Q2, 2001, at an estimated street price of $69 US.
[2001/03/21]

Palm Announces m500 And m505 Handheld Computers

Mar. 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. has announced its latest m500 and m505 handheld computers. The m500 features and SD and MultiMediaCard slot and a Universal Connector for add-on modules, a 33MHz Dragonball VZ CPU, 4MB Flash memory, 8MB RAM, a vibrating alert and blinking LED, and a new lithium polymer battery, and PalmOS 4.0 software, which includes, among many enhancements, improved security and improved time zone support. The m500 will be available in the US market in April 2001 at an estimated street price of $399 US. The m505 adds a 16-bit colour display and a backlighted Graffiti(R) writing area. The m505 will be available in May, 2001, at an estimated street price of $449 US. Effective today, the Palm Vx price has been reduced from $399 US to $349 US.
[2001/03/21]

PR Newswire Down Again

As has happened before, PR Newswire is not working, so I was unable to complete my update. I'll try to check it again later in the week.
[2001/03/18]

In The News Mar. 13 - 17, 2001

Intel To Announce 1 GHz Mobile Pentium III

Mar. 16, 2001, Reuters reports that Intel Corp. is expected to announce a 1 Gigahertz mobile Pentium III on Monday with over 20 computers using it. The chip is made using an 0.18 micron process technology. Other chips to be announced at the same time will be a 900 MHz Mobile Pentium III and a 750 MHz Mobile Celeron processor.
[2001/03/18]

NCR Sues Palm And Handspring

Mar. 15, 2001, Reuters reports that NCR Corp. has sued Palm Inc. and Handspring Inc. for infringing its patents for a "portable personal terminal" awarding in 1987.

[For an interesting perspective on the prior art regarding this Patent, see "Mote In God's Eye", 1974, Pournelle, Jerry -- JO]
[2001/03/18]

Microcell To Deploy Wireless Enhanced 911 Service

Mar. 13, 2001, Business Wire reports that Microcell has announced that it will "deploy Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 (Wireless E9-1-1) capabilities on its Personal Communications Services (PCS) network in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia." The system will forward the callers 10 digit call back number and location of the cell site to the 911 call center. Microcell has asked the CRTC to make this enhancement manditory across Canada for all local telephone companies.
[2001/03/18]

In The News Mar. 10 - 13, 2001

Sony Japan Includes Sound In New Version Clie

Mar. 14, 2001, Reuters reports that Sony Corp. has unveiled a new version PalmOS based Clie handheld computer which includes audio playback, longer battery life and an improved colour screen. The new version has a 320 * 320 pixel front lighted screen and plays digital audio files from its memory stick storage device. Sales will commence in Japan on Apr. 7, 2001 at an expected price of 50,000 yen ($418 US). No export sales plans were announced.
[2001/03/14]

Electric Pocket and IDEO Integrate For Snap And Send Pictures For Handspring

Mar. 14, 2001, Business Wire reports that Electric Pocket, Ltd.'s "BugMe! Messenger" application now integrates with IDEO's eyemodule series digital cameras and any Springboard module that is a modem (including the VisorPhone(TM), allowing Handspring(TM) Visor(TM) users to snap pictures and then send them to others via e-mail. BugMe! Messenger works on a Visor Prism, Platinum or Edge handheld computer and costs $39.95 US.

Electric Pocket, Ltd. http://www.electricpocket.com/
[2001/03/14]

GARMIN Announces Two Marine GPS

Mar. 14, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Garmin International Inc. has announced GPS 76 and GPSMAP 76. The GPS 76 will be priced at $250 US and GPSMAP 76 will be priced at $399 US. Both will be available in April 2001. Displays are 180 * 240 pixels in 1.6" * 2.2" screens and they operate for 16 hours on 2 AA batteries.
[2001/03/14]

IBM Sony And Toshiba Work On New Broadband Network Chip

Mar. 14, 2001, Yoshiko Hara, Paul Kallender and David Lammers write for EE Times that IBM Corp., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Toshiba Corp. are working together on an new broadband network processor code named "Cell". The goal is to have the first products ready by 2004 or 2005 based on "10S" 100-nm (0.10-micron) process technology
[2001/03/14]

HanDBase And MemoWare Expand Into PocketPC

Mar. 14, 2001, PR Newswire reports that "HanDBase, a leading Palm database application and MemoWare, a leading Palm content site" have expanded their product coverage to include the Microsoft Windows CE based Pocket PC devices. According to Microsoft, MemoWare is a source of eBook files including medical drug databases and engineering specifications.
[2001/03/14]

Pocket PC Gains Market Share In Europe?

Mar. 14, 2001, Michael Kalennos writes for CNET News.com that according to market analysis company Context, European sales by HP and Compaq for December, 2000 totaled 31% of the market (compared to 18% "at the start of the year") while Palm dropped from 59% in January 2000 to 55% in December 2000.

[The articles mentions Casio and the rest of the Pocket PC sources as having little impact and notes Psion's losing market share. I'm not sure whether Handspring and Sony have entered the European market, so I have some doubts about the significance of these numbers.]
[2001/03/14]

WyndTell Service Available On Motorola T900

Mar. 14, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Wynd Communications Corp. has announced that its WyndTell 2-way wireless messaging service which is targetted at people with impaired hearing will be available through the WebLink Wireless network in the US using Motorola's Talkabout T900 2-way text communicator beginning in April, 2001. The T900 will cost $179.95 US less $80 US rebate, and service costs are as low as $14.95 US per month.
[2001/03/14]

Handspring Announces Edge

Mar. 12, 2001, Reuters reports that Handspring Inc. has announced its Visor Edge handheld computer which will sell for $399 US. The Edge comes with 8MB memory and a rechargeable battery, in a slim metal case. But Springboard expansion requires an add-on adapter.
[2001/03/14]

Kyberpass Secures Palm Devices On TCP/IP

Mar. 12, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Kyberpass(R) Corporation has announced that its "wireless security suite, Kyberpass K2(TM) for the Palm OS, will enable Palm OS applications to operate securely over standard TCP/IP networks using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology."
[2001/03/14]

In The News Mar. 6 - 10, 2001

Compaq Announce 64MB iPaq PocketPC

Mar. 9, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has announced new iPAQ Pocket PC models, the H3670 with 64MB RAM which will be available in early April for $649 US, and the H3635 32MB version which comes with a CompactFlash Expansion Pack, Expandable Carrying Case and Peacemaker and ZIOGolf 2, priced at $599 US. Both are powered by 206MHz Intel StrongARM processors and use sidelit TFT colour screens.
[2001/03/11]

McAfee Announces VirusScan Wireless 2.0 For Major Mobile Platforms

Mar. 9, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Network Associates' McAfee has announced the availability of VirusScan Wireless 2.0, its antivirus software for the major mobile platforms including Palm, Microsoft Pocket PC and Symbian EPOC. For the Palm platform, virus scanning is "on-device" while the other platforms are protected on connection nodes.

McAfee VirusScan http://www.mcafeeb2b.com/
[2001/03/11]

VeriFone Announces Wireless Payment Terminal

Mar. 8, 2001, Business Wire reports that Hewlett-Packard Company's VeriFone has introduced its Omni 3600 e-payment wireless terminal. Networks supported include Cingular Interactive Intelligent Wireless Network(SM) (formerly BellSouth Wireless Data), Mobitex and in Europe, GSM.

Hewlett-Packard VeriFone http://www.verifone.hp.com/
[2001/03/11]

Iomega Announces 100MB PocketZip

Mar. 8, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Iomega Corporation has announced its Iomega(R) PocketZip(TM) 100MB drive for handheld devices. Media will retail for $10 US each. Drives and discs will be available internationally in 2001 Q3.

[Drive price was not stated in the announcement.]
[2001/03/11]

IS/Complete Claims Ability To Secure Palm Devices

Mar. 7, 2001, Business Wire reports that IS/Complete, Inc. that its "PDA Restrictor(TM) is the only security program that enhances the Palm OS security module and will not allow unauthorized entry into the device." An enterprise is currently available and a consumer version will be available later this year.

[Price was not stated in the announcement.]

IS/Complete, Inc. http://www.iscomplete.com/
[2001/03/11]

Hypercom And Priva Announce ICE 4000 Card Payment Terminal

Mar. 7, 2001, Business Wire reports that Hypercom Corporation and Apriva, Inc. have announced that Apriva will provide wireless applications and connectivity for Hypercom's "epic(TM) ICE(TM) 4000" Internet enabled card payment terminal and Web appliance. The ICE 4000 supports GSM, CDPD, Mobitex wireless technologies in the 900MHz band and has memory options of 1.0 to 1.5 MB.

[Price and availability were not stated in the announcement.]

Apriva, Inc. http://www.apriva.com/

Hypercom Corporation http://www.hypercom.com/
[2001/03/11]

In The News Mar. 3 - 6, 2001

Dell Announces Inspiron 2100

Mar. 7, 2001, Business Wire reports that Dell has announced its Inspiron 2100 portable computer. This "ultra-portable" laptop has a 1" thcik magnesium case and weighs less than 3.4 lbs. with a 4 cell battery. Prices start at $1,899 US.
[2001/03/07]

F-Secure Announces Updated On-Device Anti-Virus Software For PalmOS

Mar. 7, 2001, PR Newswire reports that F-Secure has announced release of a "second generation" anti-virus program and service for PalmOS. Price is $25.00 US including 1 year of update service.

F-Secure http://www.F-Secure.com/
[2001/03/07]

CIC Announces Java Electronic Signature Development Tools

Mar. 7, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Communications Intelligence Corporation ("CIC") has announced the release of its electronic signature development tool for the Java platform called "iSign(TM)".

Communications Intelligence Corporation ("CIC") http://www.cic.com/
[2001/03/07]

Palm Releases M105

Mar. 6, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Palm Canada has begun selling its new M105 device. The new model comes with 8MB RAM and a serial cradle. The software on the M105 is not Flash upgradeable, but it does come with the Palm's mobile internet kit. The estimated street price for the M105 is $299 Can. and it is immediately available in the Canada and the US with worldwide availability in mid-March.

[According to other sources, the M105 comes with PalmOS 3.5.1 in ROM -- not Flash upgradeable. I haven't had a chance to confirm these latter rumours yet. -- JO]
[2001/03/07]

"NakedWife" Virus Attacks Windows Systems

Mar. 6, 2001, Business Wire reports that Sybari Software, Inc. reports that a new Trojan virus "NakedWife" is spreading as an Email worm. Email arrives titled "FW: Naked Wife" with an attachment called "NakedWife.exe". If the attachment is run, then a Shockwave Flash window opens and the the virus deletes files in the Windows and System directories with DLL, INI, EXE, BMP and COM extensions. The virus propogates through mass mailing via Microsoft Outlook.
[2001/03/07]

In The News Feb. 27 - Mar. 3, 2001

SplashData Introduces SplashPhoto For Palm OS

Mar. 2, 2001, PR Newswire reports that SplashData, Inc. has shipped its SplashPhoto image viewer for Palm OS. The program runs on any Palm device with PalmOS 3.1 or later, including colour devices. Images can be annotated, categorized and beamed. The price is $19.95 US.

SplashData, Inc. http://www.splashdata.com/
[2001/03/04]

Generic Media Announces New Movie System For Palm

Mar. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Generic Media has announced "gMovie(TM) Maker" and "gMovie Player" for converting and playing back movies for playback on PalmOS devices. The conversion software runs on Mac or Windows computers. Video, animation and still formats supported include AVID, DO, MPEG-1, QuickTime, GIF, Macromedia Flash, FLU, BMP, JPEG, Photoshop, PACT, PING, Tara and TIFF. The player is freely downloadable and the Maker is priced at $29.97 US.

Generic Media http://www.genericmedia.com/
[2001/03/04]

Ericsson Plans Bluetooth For Public Access Internet

Mar. 1, 2001, Ericsson Business Innovation has announced plans for "Bluetooth Local Infotainment Point" (BLIP(TM)). BLIP is a stand-alone local platform for accessing the Internet in public places. Ericsson plans to launch BLIP worldwide in 2001.

Ericsson BLIP(TM) Press Announcement http://www.ericsson.com/press/20010301-0030.html
[2001/03/04]

In The News Feb. 24 - 27, 2001

Palm M-105 Coming Soon

Feb. 27, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Palm is expected to introduce its M105 at a price around $200 US. At this price the M105 is expected to come with a cradle and include 8MB RAM (instead of the cheaper cable that came with the $149 US 2MB RAM M100). Palm representatives have confirmed that the Palm IIIxe is no longer being produced but have not commented on rumours of the M105. Fried also mentions a few other rumoured products, such as the "M505", but the M105 is expected to be announced very soon.
[2001/02/28]

Dell Announces Latitude L400

Feb. 27, 2001, Business Wire reports that Dell has introducted its Latitude L400 ultraportable computer. Weighing as little as 3.4 lbs. it is only 1" thick and has a magnesium alloy case.
[2001/02/28]

Microsoft Using False Advertising Again?

Feb. 26, 2001, Reuters reports that according to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft Corp. is being accused of false advertising for the second time within a year. According the the articles, the US Federal Trade Commission found that ads used in 2000 "deceptively claimed features that were unavailable unless buyers spent more for wireless capability."

[The article is unclear in a few ways. For example, was the FTC finding the 1st accusation of false advertising or the 2nd accusation? I suggest at least looking at the WSJ article, or perhaps even searching the FTC website.]
[2001/02/28]

In The News Feb. 20 - 24, 2001

"e-sistant" To Make Handhelds Browse Smarter

Feb. 22, 2001, Reuters reports that Action Engine's "e-sistant" software will work on Palm VIIx and eventually Microsoft's Pocket PC systems (Windows CE) to process more on the local handheld reducing the data requirements in wireless browsing. A public beta is expected this spring.
[2001/02/25]

Aladdin Ships GoBar 2.5 For PalmOS

Feb. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Aladdin Systems, Inc. has announced the shipment of its GoBar 2.5 for PalmOS devices. GoBar 2.5 gives PalmOS a "drag and drop" interface which is similar to desktop computers. The program has a time limited introductory price of $9.95 US with a regular price to be $14.95 US.

Aladdin Systems, Inc. http://www.aladdinsys.com/
[2001/02/25]

Garmin Introduces Cellular Phone/GPS In Europe

Feb. 22, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Garmin Corporation has unveiled its new NavTalk II GSM cellular phone for the European market. The product is expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 2001. No price was announced.
[2001/02/25]

In The News Feb. 17 - 20, 2001

Eatoni Claims Advance In Text Entry

Feb. 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Eatoni Ergonomics claims to have developed a linguistically based text entry system for cell phone keypads which covers 80% of current global "Short Message System" (SMS) messages. 29 languages are currently supported (mostly Roman based character set languages, and Arabic), and Japanese is expected "soon." Also under development are Basque, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian Bahasa, and Korean.

Eatoni Ergonomics, Inc. http://www.eatoni.com/
[2001/02/21]

Get2Net Announces Public Infrared Internet Ports For Handhelds

Feb. 21, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Get2Net has announced that 10 Get2Net Netstation infrared ports, usable with handheld computers, have been installed at Newark Airport, JFK Airport, and the Jacob C. Javits Convention Center.

Get2Net http://www.Get2Net.com/
[2001/02/21]

HP Jornada To Get Wireless Access

Feb. 20, 2001, Reuters reports that Hewlett-Packard Co. has announced that is has partnered with an unnamed mobile phone maker "to allow users of its handheld computers to make calls and read wireless e-mail." No other details were given.

[I apologize for those of you who might be annoyed by this "non-announcment." I almost didn't include it at all, but I expect it will make the rounds in the industry because it contains the words "wireless" and "handheld". -- JO]
[2001/02/21]

Macromedia Turns To PocketPC

Feb. 20, 2001, Cecily Barnes writes for CNET News.com that Macromedia has released a developer of a "Flash" player for devices using Microsoft Windows CE based "PocketPC" software. Macromedia hopes to regain some sales momentum to offset its slowing sales in the PC market. Its Flash 5 player will also be available on Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris platforms. The developer version of Macromedia Flash is now available as a free download for most PocketPC devices.

Macromedia Flash For PocketPC http://www.macromedia.com/software/flashplayer/pocketpc/download/
[2001/02/21]

Compaq Makes Sales Gains

Feb. 20, 2001, Reuters reports that according to PC Data, Compaq Computer Corp.'s iPaq PocketPC sales rose to 4.1% of the US handheld computer market in January 2001 from 2.0% in December 2000. Microsoft Windows for Pocket PC products overall rose to 20% of the market compared to 6% in December 2000. Palm dropped from 65% in December to 60.5% in January 2001. Handspring held 26.2% of the market in the month.

[Note: The article, and most likely the study made no comment on the effect of parts availability. It is likely that the December sales figures were affected by poor planning by the various Windows CE makers who were caught short in December, and the January sales figures simply give a truer picture of the interest and demand that was in the marketplace during the overall period rather than a gain in interest specifically in January.]
[2001/02/21]

Sensate Brings AoIP(TM) Wireless Media To StrongARM

Feb. 20, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Sensate Inc. has announced that it has audio infrastructure software for embedded and wireless systems based on Intel(R) StrongARM and Intel XScale microarchitectures. Support is available for Windows CE, with versions coming for Linux(TM), EPOC(TM), and VxWorks(TM).
[2001/02/21]

Sharp Goes Linux US Zaurus

Feb. 19, 2001, Reuters reports that Sharp Corp. is planning to bring a line of Zaurus handheld computer products to the US using the Linux operating system some time before Christmas 2001. Japanese Zaurus products will still be sold with Sharp's proprietary OS. Java will also be supported in the new products.
[2001/02/21]

Microsoft To Unveil Stinger Platform

Feb. 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft will preview its Stinger smart phone platform at 3G(SM) World Congress on Feb. 20, 2001.
[2001/02/21]

In The News Feb. 13 - 17, 2001

US Congress To Address Wireless Junk Mail Problem

Feb. 16, 2001, Brian McDonough writes for MBizCentral that US Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J. has resubmitted his "Wireless Telephone Spam Protection Act" to the US Congress as H.R. 113. The bill would give customers a mechanism to "opt-out" and avoid receiving text messages or calls that are unwanted sales pitches.
[2001/02/18]

Palm To Start Wireless In Japan

Feb. 16, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Palm and DoCoMo will be introducing an improved version of the Palm VII in Japan at or before midyear with wireless Internet services. This is not the anticipated replacement for the Palm VII in the US (which we expect to be more similar in style to a Palm V, and have an expansion slot).
[2001/02/18]

In The News Feb. 10 - 13, 2001

Digital West To Refurbish Handhelds

Feb. 14, 2001, Business Wire reports that Digital West Marketing Inc. has announced plans to develop a business of refurbishing handheld computers such as Palm and Windows CE devices. According to the company, it has been repairing Palm Inc. and Handspring Inc. devices on an independent basis, but it is "assessing alliance potential" with Palm, Handspring, Casio, HP, Diamond and Sony.
[2001/02/14]

Handspring Presents Two New 3rd Party Springboards

Feb. 13, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Jeff Hawkins of Handspring, Inc. presented two new 3rd party Springboard(TM) products for use with the Handspring(TM) Visor(TM). The Presenter-to-Go(TM) by MARGI Systems, Inc. allows use of PowerPoint presentations through a Visor(TM) and INDEO's "eyemodule2(TM)" full-colour, full-VGA (640 * 480 pixels) digital camera for the Visor(TM). The eyemodule2 is immediately available at $199.95 US while the Presenter-to-Go is expected to ship later in this quarter at $299 US.
[2001/02/14]

NEC Considering Handheld

Feb. 13, 2001, Reuters reports that NEC Corp. has said that it is considering entering the handheld computer market with a wireless product. No specifications were given, but the company hopes to "enter the market this summer or autumn."
[2001/02/14]

Palm Plans Future Revenues From Licensing And Services

Feb. 13, 2001, Reuters reports that Carl Yankowski has said that Palm expects revenues from licensing and services to eventually make up 1/4 of its revenues. Moreover, Palm is "'constantly looking' at publicly spinning off its operating system licensing business."
[2001/02/14]

HP Targets Small Devices With Java Clone

Feb. 12, 2001, Stephen Shankland writes for CNET News.com that on Feb. 12, Hewlett-Packard unveiled its MicrochaiVM ("MVM") which is its Java clone for devices such as Qualcomm's cell phones. While MVM is designed to conform to Java's "connected limited device configuration" (CLDC), HP refuses to submit to Sun's certification because it does not use Sun's sources.
[2001/02/14]

"Anna Kournikova" Virus

Feb. 12, 2001, Canadian Corporate News reports that Trend Micro Inc. is warning computer users of a virus known as "Anna Kournikova" or "VBS_Kalamar.A" which is a mass-mailer virus that uses Outlook to spread itself as an attachment. The email subject line is "Here you have, :o)", message text is "Hi: Check this!" and the attachment is "AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs".
[2001/02/14]

In The News Feb. 6 - 10, 2001

Kingston Brings Out MultiMediaCards

Feb. 11, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Kingston(R) Technology Company, Inc. has announced its first MultiMediaCard product. Its 32MB MultiMediaCard is immediately available for $75 US. Even so, Yankee Group senior analyst Francesca Mabarek believes the industry is viable.
[2001/02/11]

Satellite Phones Future?

Feb. 11, 2001, Reuters writes that satellite phones have a questionable future with reports that Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. costing up to $7 US per minute, cell phones currently already covering 90 percent of the world's populated areas, and two-way radios meeting most other needs.
[2001/02/11]

Lexar Announces 64MB MultiMedia Card In March

Feb. 10, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Lexar Media, Inc. has announced the availability of its new 64MB MultiMediaCard. According to Lexar, the card will be instores by early March, 2001. Price was not announced.

Lexar Media, Inc. (memory cards) http://www.digitalfilm.com/
[2001/02/11]

Tyco Electronics Announces Double Data Rate SO DIMM Socket

Feb. 9, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Tyco Electronics has announced the release of a double data rate ("DDR") SO DIMM socket. The new socket accommodates 200 position DDR SO DIMM modules (JEDEC MO224). Board space for the new socket is about the same as present SO DIMM sockets, having a low profile right angle connection. The announced price is $5.25 each in quantities of 1000 pieces.
[2001/02/11]

MGI Announces Advanced Photo And Video Support For Palm

Feb. 9, 2001, PR Newswire reports that its "PhotoSuite Mobile Edition" allows users to store, view and beam photo and video files on colour and grey-scale PalmOS devices. Desktop support software is included.

[Aside from a limited free trial copy that was available on ZDNet only from Feb. 8 - 10, 2001, no price and availability information was given in the announcement.]
[2001/02/11]

ePocrates Launches Infectious Disease Reference

Feb. 7, 2001, PR Newswire reports that ePocrates has launched its "qID(TM)" infectious disease reference application for PalmOS handheld computers.
[2001/02/11]

NEC Announces Vr4131(TM) CPU

Feb. 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that NEC Electronics Inc. announced that they would introduce its Vr4131(TM) 64-bit MIPS family microprocessor based on 0.13 micro process. NEC claims that at 200 MHz. the "dual-issue" superscalar processor can deliver 340 Dhrystone MIPS using 220 mW on a 1.5V power supply. The chip includes 16 KB on chip instruction cache and 16 KB data cache and a 100 MHz SDRAM controller and PCI interface. It is pin compatible with the Vr4122(TM). Volume production is scheduled for 2001 Q3 and the announced price is $25 each in quantities of 10K. The Vrc4173 system controller companion chip is priced at $20 each in quantities of 10K.
[2001/02/11]

Alchemy Unveils Low Power MIPS Chips

Feb. 5, 2001, Business Wire reports that Alchemy Semiconductor, Inc.(TM), a fabless semiconductor company has announced that it would show its Au1000(TM) 32-bit MIPS based microprocessor at Microsoft Windows Embedded Developers Conference, Feb. 6 - 8, 2001. Versions include 400 MHz @ 0.5 W., 400 MHz @ 900 mW and 200 MHz @ 200 mW. Operating systems supporting the chips will include Window(R) CE, Linux(R) and VxWorks(R). The 400 MHz version will cost $39 US in quantities of 10K with limited customer sampling in February and general sampling in Q2 of 2001.
[2001/02/11]

Reuters Shows It Doesn't Understand eBooks

Feb. 8, 2001, Reuters writes that e-books are "hefty, pricey, and you don't want to drop one during a bath, making electronic books a tough sell even after several heavyweight technology companies have jumped into the untested market."

Actually, "e-books" are a data concept (though many makers of specialty e-book readers would like to try to convince people otherwise) and the 11 million PalmOS devices alone are all capable e-book readers. Moreover, all Windows CE devices (and possibly other devices I don't know about) currently come with specific e-book reader software included. And still moreover, many "application" programs for handheld computers are nothing more than device specific interactive "e-books" anyway.

"e-books" (including the hardware, programs and data files) are already here. Significant reliance on them, however, is still just starting.
[2001/02/11]

More Missing Articles

This time I'm going to "name names." PR Newswire seems to have messed up completely. I was unable to use their Website. The seem to have redone their software. Neither my current version of Netscape Communicator nor my current version of Microsoft Internet Explorer was able to use the new "search" function. Unfortunately, PR Newswire has been a major source of information. Without it, I don't know if it is worth bothering to keep up this newspage. We'll see.
[2001/02/07]

In The News Feb. 3 - 6, 2001

New Software May Improve On T9

Feb. 6, 2001, Ben Charny writes for CNET News.com that Howard Gutowitz of Eatoni Ergonomics claims to have a program that can enter text via a cell phone keypad with fewer key presses than Tegic's T9 system. It uses a higher degree of prediction.
[2001/02/07]

Disposable Cell Phones Coming?

Feb. 6, 2001, Brian McDonough writes for TechWeb that Dieceland Technologies Corp.'s Randi Altschul says that she is hoping to ship the companies disposable cell phones by the third quarter [presumably of 2001]. The cell phones will cost around $10 US for 60 min. of limited "call out" service. A phone that will also receive calls will cost a bit more. The company is currently negotiating with carriers.
[2001/02/07]

Security Flaws In Wireless LAN

Feb. 5, 2001, Reuters reports that researchers from University of California at Berkeley and Zero-Knowledge Systems have found flaws in 802.11 (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN "Wired Equivalent Privacy" security system. Modified equipment can be used to intercept and decrypt data, or transmit potentially harmful data onto the network. Companies using this technology include Cisco Systems Inc., Apple Computer Inc. and Compaq Computer Corp. Phil Belanger of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance acknowledges the security gaps but says that they can be circumvented with existing extra security tools, already commonly used to protect wired networks.

UC Berkeley (Wireless LAN Security Flaws) http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu
[2001/02/07]

Telus Announces First Consolidated Wireless Results

Feb. 2, 2001, PR Newswire reports that TELUS Corporation has announced its 2000 Q4 results and its first consolidated results since its acquisition of Clearnet in Oct. 2000.

                         3 Months Ended       3 Months Ended
                          Dec. 31, 2000        Dec. 31, 1999
Net subscriber additions
 - Postpaid                     166,100              143,500
 - Prepaid                       86,900              135,000
Total Subscribers
 - Postpaid                   2,156,200            1,695,300
 - Prepaid                    1,963,400            1,628,500
Churn (including
 30 day guarantee)                 1.95%                1.73%

[2001/02/07]

TSI To Provice GRX To Microcell

Jan. 19, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Telecommunication Services Inc. (TSI) will provide General Packet Radio Service Roaming Exchange (GRX) which allows General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) users to roam throughout Canada and around the world. Microcell is committed to providing GPRS across Canada in 2001.
[2001/02/07]

Missing Articles

[As has become a regular occurance over for some time, a number of articles may have been lost due to problems at the end of the month with one of my information sources. Since this is a regular occurance, this may be the last time I bother to post a notice about it. I will, as always, try to find if there is anythings significant that I missed.]
[2001/02/04]

In The News Jan. 30 - Feb. 3, 2001

Mobile Linux Sources Coming Soon

Feb. 2, 2001, Paula Rooney writes for CMP's TechWeb that according to Transmeta's Dan Quinlan, sources for Linus Tovalds' Mobile Linux will be made available to the public soon.
[2001/02/04]

Palm To Ship Arabic Version

Feb. 1, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Information Appliances International, Inc. and Palm, Inc. have announced that Palm Inc. will ship devices including the "APOS" language overlay which supports Arabic, at no extra charge, to the Middle East and North Africa.

Information Appliances International, Inc. (Arabic Support for PalmOS) http://www.ia-intl.com/
[2001/02/04]

ART Announces New Writing Recognition For Palm

Feb. 1, 2001, Business Wire reports that Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. has announced the release of its "simpliWrite ver. 1.6" for PalmOS which is claimed to have major improvements resulting in easier use.

Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. http://www.artcomp.com/
[2001/02/04]

FCC Delays Cell Phone Band Auction

Jan. 31, 2001, Reuters reports that the US FCC has said that it will delay the March 6 auction of cell phone frequencies to Sept. 12 in order to allow companies more time to assess their needs.
[2001/02/04]

Intel To Ship XScale Development Platform

Jan. 30, 2001, John G. Spooner writes for CNet News.Com that Intel is expected to ship its XScale development system (with flat-panel screen and keyboards) in the next quarter. The general model supported is Intel's "Personal Internet Client Architecture" (PICA) which corresponds to Texas Instruments "Open Multimedia Applications Platform" (OMAP). Both are based on ARM CPUs.
[2001/02/04]

In The News Jan. 27 - 30, 2001

Nortel Systems Track Internet Use

Jan. 31, 2001, Reuters reports that Nortel Networks has said that its new Internet technology will allow service providers to track customer Web surfing, eliminating the anonymity of Web users. It is expected that the US Congress will pass an Internet privacy bill this year, but currently, this new technology is raising concerns regarding the right to privacy.
[2001/01/31]

Sega To Write Games For PalmOS

Jan. 31, 2001, Reuters reports that Sega Corp. has said that it will develop games for Palm Inc.'s handheld computers by the end of this year. Sega made this announcement along with others, notably that Sega will discontinue its Dreamcast videogame console.
[2001/01/31]

Magellan GPS Now Available For Handspring

Jan. 30, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Magellan Corporation has announced that its GPS Companion(TM) Springboard(TM) module is now available for the Handspring(TM) Visor(TM). [Price was not announced.]
[2001/01/31]

Intel Releases 2 Mobile Chips

Jan. 30, 2001, Michael Kanellos writes for CNET News.com that on "Tuesday" Intel will release a 500MHz Pentium III CPU and a 500MHz Celeron CPU for the mobile market. Power consumption for the new chips is about 1/2 Watt (average) which is roughly half the power of Intel's current mobile CPUs. Some manufacturers will be producing laptop computers based on the new chip without fans. Kanellos describes the chips as having reached parity with the Transmeta chips for power consumption whereas according to Intel, a 600MHz Pentium III "will perform two or three times as fast as the Transmeta." According to Transmeta though, the 500MHz chip runs at 300MHz when a computer is unplugged and actually runs at about double the MHz at the same power levels. According to Kanellos, Intel expects to find additional power savings when it switches from 0.18-micron process to 0.13-micron process with copper around the middle of the year. The Pentium III uses SpeedStep technology (reducing the speed from 500MHz down to 300MHz when run off batteries) but not the Celeron. Both use "QuickStart" which reduces power consumption between keystrokes. The 500MHz Pentium III costs $208 US each "in volume" and the Celeron costs $118 US "in volume".
[2001/01/31]

Compaq Announces Monochrome iPaq PocketPC

Jan. 29, 2001, PR NewsWire reports that Compaq Computer Corporation has announced that its new monochrome version iPAQ PocketPC H3100 Series is now available, as is a folding keyboard for all the iPAQ handheld devices. The H3150 version includes a 15 level grey scale screen and 16MB RAM, and is priced at $349 US.
[2001/01/31]

Diamond Mako Is A Revo With AOL

Jan. 29, 2001, Richard Shim writes for CNET News.com that Sonicblue (formerly S3) has announced that its Diamond Mako handheld computer will include AOL e-mail and instant messaging. The device is essentially a Psion Revo rebranded.
[2001/01/31]

Motorola Splits From Psion Smartphone Development

Jan. 29, 2001, Reuters reports that Motorola has separated from Psion in its development of smartphone products. Motorola will continue to develop its own EPOC based products for this market. According to Psion, although they have lost market share in unit sales to PalmOS devices, they shipped over 1/2 million palmtop units in 2000, which is about 2/3's more than 1999. According to the article though, Psion probably cannot afford to develop the wireless PDA device, which was the goal of the Motorola partnership, on its own and will need to look for a partner to finance its completion.
[2001/01/31]

Franklin Releases Conversion Development Kit For eBookMan(R)

Jan. 29, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. has announced that it has released its content conversion developers' kit (CDK) for Franklin Reader at no charge. The free CDK allows production of eBooks for use with the eBookMan(R).
[2001/01/31]

Caldera Volution Protects Against Ramen Linux Worm Virus

Jan. 29, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Caldera Systems, Inc. has announced that its Caldera(R) Volution(TM) Linux management system can prevent the effects of the Ramen worm virus. The worm attacks systems in default configurations exploiting several network services. Suggested list price for Volution is $2995 US.
[2001/01/31]

In The News Jan. 23 - 27, 2001

Toshiba Satellite 2805 To Have CD/DVD/CD-rewriteable Drive

Jan. 26, 2001, Richard Shim writes for CNET News.com that on Monday, Toshiba will announce new laptop computers including the Satellite 2805 which will probably be the first laptop to have a CD/DVD/CD-rewritable drive. The new model will be available in mid-February.
[2001/01/26]

Compaq iPaq PocketPC Upgrade Backfires For Some

Jan. 25, 2001, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that on Tuesday, Compaq posted a downloadable upgrade for its iPaq PocketPC devices which caused some units to crash. The upgrade was removed within hours, but units with problems had to be returned to Compaq for repair. According to Compaq, only a very small number of units had problems and Compaq is working to find the problem and correct it. The upgrade of the ROM software is itself minor.
[2001/01/28]

In The News Jan. 20 - 23, 2001

IBM To Sell RIM BlackBerry

Jan. 24, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Research In Motion(R) Limited has announced that IBM Global Services will add RIM's BlackBerry systems to its full service supported technologies.
[2001/01/24]

Wireless Check-in In Alaska Airlines

Jan. 24, 2001, Business Wire reports that Alaska Airlines has begun "wirless check-in" service using web-enabled cell phones and Palm Pilots.

Alaska Airlines news releases http://www.newsroom.alaskaair.com/
[2001/01/24]

In The News Jan. 16 - 20, 2001

New Melissa Type Virus Attacks Windows And Macs

Jan. 19, 2001, Business Wire reports that Trend Micro Inc. has announced that it is alerting its customers that the W97M_ASSILEM.B (W97M/Melissa.W) virus is currently spreading and has been missed by some older anti-virus sofware due to a slightly changed file format.
[2001/01/21]

Magi P2P Server Software For iPaq

Jan. 19, 2001, Business Wire reports that Endeavors Technology Inc. has announced that its "Magi(TM)" suite of P2P software can allow the Compaq iPaq Pocket PC to be used as an interactive mobile net server with devices using compatible software.

Endeavors Technology Inc. http://www.endtech.com/
[2001/01/21]

HiSense Choses eZiText(TM) For CDMA

Jan. 16, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Zi Corporation has announced a contract to implement eZiText(TM) for a handset to be made by HiSense Group Corporation for the Chinese market.
[2001/01/21]

In The News Jan. 13 - 16, 2001

Mobli Announces Website For Handhelds

Jan. 17, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Mobli, Inc. has announced that its new website has support for developers as well as download areas for consumers. Mobli claims to be a software publisher.

[I don't know how I'm going to handle this in the future. At this time, it seems to me that Mobli is no more than just another commercial download website. I don't feel that these deserve mention on this website. But I can't ignore that they function as well as any other small time publishers, sometimes assisting in the distribution of significant products.]

Mobli, Inc. (software publisher) http://www.mobli.com/
[2001/01/17]

Audiovox To Ship CMP-3 CDMA Handset Late January

Jan. 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Audiovox Corporation has announced that its subsidiary Audiovox Communications Corp. will being shipping its CMP-3 dual mode CDMA handset with built in MP-3 player and web browser in late January. The handset supports 800MHz CDMA and AMPs
[2001/01/17]

Compaq Updates Presario Portable Line

Jan. 16, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Compaq has announced enhancements to its Presario laptop computers including availability of DVD/CDRW drives in some models of the 1800 series.
[2001/01/17]

Palm Looses Chief Technology Officer

Jan. 16, 2001, Reuters reports that Palm Inc. has lost its Chief Technology Officer Bill Maggs who quit to pursue other interests. Palm has not found a replacement yet.
[2001/01/17]

RIM Integrates BlackBerry Support For Lotus Notes And Domino

Jan. 15, 2001, Canada NewsWire reports that Research In Motion(R) Limited has introduced its BlackBerry Enterprise Edition(TM) for Lotus(R) Domino(TM) which integrates support for Lotus Notes and Domino for the BlackBerry devices. Shipment is targetted for February. Prices were unclear.

RIM BlackBerry http://www.blackberry.net/
[2001/01/17]

Motorola Supports GSM/GPRS With Accompli 009

Jan. 9, 2001, according to a Motorola press release, Motorola introduced the Accompli(TM) Personal Communicator 009 to North America at the 33rd Consumer Electronics Show. The folding pocketable device [first shown Sept. 9, 2000 in China -- JO] is a tri-band GSM and GPRS supporting device with a full QWERTY keyboard and 256 colour screen. Sales are expected to begin in the second half of 2001 at under $600 US.

Motorola Accompli 009 http://www.motorola.com/MIMS/MSPG/Products/Two-way/accompli009/
[2001/01/17]

In The News Jan. 9 - 13, 2001

IBM Announces TransNote Portable Computer

Jan. 12, 2001, Reuters reports that International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has said that it will begin selling its TransNote portable computer in February for around $3,000 US. The TransNote features a "swiveling 10-inch touch screen and full keyboard on the left, and an electronic slate on the right that stores handwriting and transfers it to the computer."
[2001/01/14]

Wireless Facing Slowing Growth

Jan. 12, 2001, Ben Charny and Corey Grice write for CNET News.com that there is a consensus in the wireless industry as that growth is slowing, as indicated by the announcement by Motorola that its sales forecasts have "dimmed" for the year. The article quotes Dylan Brooks of Jupiter Research and others pointing out that the industry is still growing, but not at the rate of some of the most positive predictions. Growth rate is down to around 45% instead of the 60% level it was at over the past two years.
[2001/01/14]

Cadillac Beams Brochure To Palm Devices

Jan. 11, 2001, Rachel Konrad writes for CNET News.com that at the 2001 North American Auto Show, Cadillac has provided a beaming station for PalmOS devices to distribute 16KB of specifications and advertising material. At a press preview, roughly 200 people received the data (about 4% of the attending journalists), but response was considered favourable.
[2001/01/14]

Report Doubts Consumer Demand of Some 3G Wireless Capabilities

Jan. 11, 2001, Sean Yokomizo writes for TechWeb News that according to Jerry Kaufman, president of Alexander Resources, it is not clear "[W]hat is going to consume this bandwidth that consumers will be willing to pay for?" According to Kaufman, desirability of graphical content and video are overrated and "he advocated the development of applications that are more in line with realistic consumer usage and payment models."
[2001/01/14]

AudioVox Enhances FRS Product Line

Jan. 10, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Audiovox Electronics Corporation will add the following FRS products:

GMRGPS, combined two-way radio and GPS unit. "It features 7/38 channels of FRS and 8/38 channels of GMRS. With 2 watts of power and . . . 5-mile range. . . ."

"The Company will also be introducing an FRS-500 Series consisting of the FR-500-2 three-channel unit in twin packs; FR-530-2, a 14-channel model in twin packs; and FR-540, a 14 x 38 channel transceiver in singles. There will also be two individual 14 channel units: the FR-560FM with built-in FM radio; and the FR-550WB with built-in weather band station."

Audiovox Corporation http://www.audiovox.com/
[2001/01/14]

Expanding Palm IIIx

It has been a long time now since the Palm IIIx was replaced by the Palm IIIxe but they are probably going to be around for years. So the issue of expanding the Palm IIIx will be relevant for at least this year (2001). As you may recall, I first installed the Xtra Xtra Pro card in June, 2000, and in late October, 2000, I reported crashing that can occur if you drop the Palm IIIx. It has occurred again, and I think it's time for me to expand my comments on this problem.

The Palm IIIx uses fairly modern low power circuitry. I don't know the exact specs, but essentially, low voltages and low currents are used throughout. Thus, even the memory card buss is probably as low current as is possible. Any movement of the card relative to the buss will cause a crash. Palm uses a pretty good card mounting system that holds the memory cards very tightly, but it is still possible to move the cards in the buss enough to break the contact and cause a crash. The force necessary is high enough that the card generally works reliably. But a drop from a few feet is enough to move the card while it's in the buss. The rarity of such an event will be different for everyone. For me, it was so rare that it didn't happen until Oct. 2000, and then again in mid-December, 2000.

But how "tight" is the buss spec? I've never mentioned how many times one has to install the card in order for it to work, because I've never actually counted. In retrospect, I think I have usually had to re-install the card about a half-dozen times each time to get the card to work. That is to say, you install the card, put the case together, put in the batteries and try to start the Palm unit. Then, if it starts, go through the setup and try to run a couple of programs, to see if it's working. If it fails in anyway, take out the batteries and remove the card, blow out any dirt and start over again. More often then not, the Palm IIIx crashes due to the memory card, and you have to start over. Then, if it checks out ok, the screws are replaced and the data is restored. Then the unit is checked out again. If a new problem is found, then remove the batteries and start over again.

This time the problems started the day I took my Palm IIIx skiing, I think before Christmas, 2000. But it was mainly working, though going through batteries very quickly (Energizer Alkaline batteries burned down from "new" to empty within about 3-4 days). Today, (Jan. 12, 2001), after a series of crashes, I finally got around to re-installing the memory card. I've probably re-installed it about a dozen times today, and as I write this, at around 22:40, I think it's finally working reliably again.

At this time, I think I would generally recommend that if you can get someone to upgrade a Palm IIIx to 8MB by replacing the built-in RAM, that is the better way to expand it. Adding memory via this type of card, even with an average "mean time between failure" of around 3 months, is conversely not recommended. The difficulty of reliably re-installing the card makes it inadvisable. The reasons I have for not changing now are: 1. I'm not expecting to continue to use my Palm IIIx as my main Palm device for much longer (I've already decided on the replacement unit, but recent expenses have pushed its purchase back, most likely, another 3 months), 2. I intend to upgrade the Palm IIIx and then load a Japanese OS conversion into Flash, which the Xtra Xtra Pro's 2MB extra Flash memory should allow.
[2001/01/12]

After a couple of days of working with the Palm with and without the Xtra Xtra Pro board, it seems that there is more wrong with the Palm IIIx now than just the added memory board. I think that there is a hairline crack somewhere. The digitizer goes wrong after I've been out in cold weather for a while. It's not always the whole digitizer either. Sometimes it's just the area of the "silk screen buttons". Sometimes I have to reboot and run the "Prefs" program a few times to get it all working correctly. It is definitely a worse problem when using the memory board. I also changed the WriteRight screen protector but that didn't make any difference (except the screen is clearer).
[2001/01/14]

In The News Jan. 6 - 9, 2001

Microcell Announces Record Subscriptions In Q4 2K

Jan. 11, 2001, Business Wire reports that Microcell Telecommunications Inc. has announced that it has gained 134,654 customers in Q4 of 2000.

                   2000
                   Q4      Year
Gross Activations  194,124 537,443
% increase
 over 1999         20%     30%
Monthly Churn Rate 2.3%    2.25

(NOTE:  It is unclear whether the "churn
rate" includes upgrading from Fidomatic to
post-paid Fido accounts.)

Total Customers
 Dec. 31, 2000    922,527
 Dec. 31, 1999    584,487

[2001/01/10]

Anti-Wireless Spam Bill In US

Jan. 10, 2000, Patrick Ross writes for CNET News.com that US Congress Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J. first introduced a bill to make it a criminal act to send a solicitation to a wireless device without express permission of the recipient, at the end of the last Congress, and this will be one of the first bills to be introduced for the coming US Congress.
[2001/01/10]

Mitsubishi Trium Uses PacketVideo MPEG Over GPRS

Jan. 10, 2001, Business Wire reports that Mitsubishi Electric Corp.'s new Windows CE based Trium Mondo which was launched in Paris, France, will be shipped with PacketVideo's MPEG-4 playback software.

PacketVideo Corp. http://www.pv.com/
[2001/01/10]

eLink And Blackberry Roam Across Canadian-US Border

Jan. 10, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Motient Corporation and Bell Mobility have agreed to allow mutual roaming for each others Blackberry and eLink customers across the US-Canada border, within their networks. Cross border roaming will have an additional charge and will require registration for the added service.

Bell Mobility http://www.bellmobility.ca/

Motient Corporation http://www.motient.com/
[2001/01/10]

Quanta Choses ART Voice Recognition

Jan. 10, 2001, Business Wire reports that Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. (ART) has announced that Quanta has chosen ART's voice recognition technology for cell phone products which are currently being produced for distribution in the near future.

[No actual products were named, nor expected sales dates or prices.]
[2001/01/10]

mp3PRO Codec To Produce Smaller Files

Jan. 10, PR Newswire reports that Thomson Multimedia has announced that a new MP3 CODEC being developed called "mp3PRO" which will provide 128kbps performance at 64kbps, reducing the size of MPEG files. The CODEC is being developed by Coding Technologies.

Coding Technologies http://www.codingtechnologies.de/
[2001/01/10]

ISS Developing Mobile Checkout

Jan. 10, 2001, Integrated Software Solutions, Inc. has announced that it is developing "PalmPOS(TM)" which is "a Web-based software application that assists sales associates in expediting credit card related customer checkout. PalmPOS performs price lookup, scans coupons, connects to the store credit network to validate credit card transactions and prints customer receipts all on a wireless hand-held device from anywhere on the sales floor."

[Sorry for the extensive quote, but it was as brief as I could have written it.]
[2001/01/10]

Toshiba Develops Room Temperature Single-Electron Transistor Circuit

Jan. 10, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Toshiba has announced that it has developed room temperature functioning "single-electron transistor" (SET) circuitry and is able to fabricate it in a way that is compatible with conventional CMOSFET on a single chip.

[2001/01/10]

Apple Introduces Titanium PowerBook G4

Jan. 9, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Apple(R) has introduced its Titanium PowerBook(R) G4 which features a 500 MHz PowerPC G4 processor with Velocity Engine(TM), 15.2" (diagonal) display and slot-loading DVD drive. The new case is 1" thick Titanium and the whole unit (with battery and DVD drive) can weigh 5.3 lbs. depending on configuration.
[2001/01/10]

Garmin Announces 3 New GPS

Jan. 9, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Garmin International Inc. has announced 3 new handheld GPS units which use a new higher resolution 160 * 288 pixel display. eTrex Venture costs $194.27 US, eTrex Legend costs $267.84 US and eTrex Vista costs $374.99 US. All will be available in Jan. 2001.

Garmin Corp. http://www.garmin.com/
[2001/01/10]

In The News Jan. 2 - 6, 2001

Palm Claims Secure eWallet Functionality

Jan. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Palm, Inc. claims advancements that allow secure transactions through infrared connectivity.
[2001/01/07]

Garmin Goes Palm

Jan. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Garmin Corporation has announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Palm, Inc. whereby Garmin will produce handheld products with Garmin GPS hardware and software incorporating Palm OS(R) software.

Garmin Corporation http://www.garmin.com/
[2001/01/07]

Volan Design Unveils Digital Media Players

Jan. 6, 2001, Business Wire reports that Volan Design LLC has unveiled its DataPlay USB player/recorders which download, play and record music, e-books, games and images.

Volan Design LLC http://www.volan.com/
[2001/01/07]

WinCE WebPads At CES

Jan. 6, 2001, PR Newswire reports that 6 new Windows(R) CE based devices wre announced at 2001 International CES. The ones that are most likely to be considered mobile information technology are WebPads (AboCom X-Pilot, Honeywell, Samsung IZZI), the Hitachi wearable Internet appliance and the CyberbankPC-ePhone.
[2001/01/07]

Siemens Announces WindowsCE Based SIMpad

Jan. 6, 2001, Business Wire reports that Siemens has introduced its Gigaset 4600 SIMpad Mobile Internet Pad based on the Windows CE OS. Using HomeRF, it can connect to the Internet around the house.
[2001/01/07]

uClinux 2.4 Kernel Available

Jan. 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that Lineo, Inc. has announced that the uClinux(TM) 2.4 kernel is now available. New features include IrDA and USB support.

uClinux(TM) Kernel http://cvs.uclinux.org/

Lineo, Inc. http://www.lineo.com/

uClinux(TM) Kernel http://opensource.lineo.com/
[2001/01/07]

NDI Unveils Windows(R) CE Handheld Data Computer

Jan. 5, 2001, PR Newswire reports that National Datacomputer, Inc. has unveiled its DC4CE(TM) handheld computer running Windows(R) CE for x86.

Processor 486 DX2-50
4MB RAM (up to 16MB)
320 * 200 * 16 grey levels
backlight
Keyboard: numerical with compact QWERTY

National Datacomputer, Inc. http://www.ndcomputer.com/
[2001/01/07]

Palm Alliance With Sprint PCS

Jan. 4, 2001, Tischelle George writes for InformationWeek that Palm, Inc. has allied with Sprint PCS whereby Palm will develop smartphones for the Sprint PCS system and Sprint PCS will allow connectivity through its network wireless.
[2001/01/07]

Palm Pilot Robot

Jan. 4, 2001, Reuters reports that a Palm handheld computer (other than Palm V) can be used to control a new robot type "PPRK" by Acroname.

[I checked the Website and the kit is priced at $259.00 in rawest form or $299.00 in almost completed form. Apparently, it was designed by Carnegie Mellon as a hobby/educational device.]

Acroname http://www.acroname.com/
[2001/01/07]

In The News Dec. 30, 2000 - Jan. 2, 2001

XM Satellite Radios At CES

Jan. 3, 2001, PR Newswire reports that XM Satellite Radio partners Sony Electronics, Pioneer Electronics and Alpine Electronics of America will show a "full product line" of retail radios for this service. Digital broadcast using 100 channels will be available "coast to coast" for $9.95 US per month, with few or no commercials.

XM Satellite Radio Inc. http://www.xmradio.com/
[2001/01/03]

Apple Drops Some Mac Prices

Jan. 2, 2001, Reuters reports that Apple Computer Inc. has dropped some Mac prices on Jan. 1, 2001 to move inventory. According to the article, MacConnection has reduced the Powerbook $800 US to $2199 US "compared to a previous $200 rebate" which makes a total price drop of about $1,000 US.

[I expect price reductions such as this to be fairly common in the industry in this quarter and as such, I will not be mentioning most of them. Consider any postings I make in this regard as being indicative of the current trend in the industry.]
[2001/01/03]

Motorola Announces 1.3 M-Sensor CMOS Camera-On-A-Chip

Jan. 2, 2001, Business Wire reports that Motorola Inc. has announced its MCM20027 SXGA (1280 * 1024) ImageMOS(TM) process CMOS image sensor with analog and digital signal processing "camera-on-a-chip". The chip features a patented "pinned photo diode" and pixel design which improves "fill factor versus die size." Light sensitivity is 3 LUX at 10 fps. and it requires 250 mW (with a 100 uW power-saving mode). Samples will be available in Jan. 2001 and the price will be $22 US each for quantities of 10,000.
[2001/01/03]

Cell Phone Lawsuits To Continue

Dec. 28, 2001, John Borland writes for CNET News.com that cell phone relation to cancer is still inconclusive and that law suits are still being files based allegations of cell phone usage causing brain cancer.

[Without taking sides on the issue, I think it is important to realize that the situation is changing even as the research is being carried out. The frequencies of PCS phones are not the same as the older cell phones -- they are usually in higher frequency bands which makes the data inapplicable because certain problems could be frequency specific, and they generally use less power and therefore give out less radiation. On the other hand, stats seem to show longer talk-time per month.]
[2001/01/03]

In The News Dec. 26 - 30, 2000

Cirque To Announce New Input Method

Dec. 29, 2000, PR Newswire reports that on Jan. 5, 2001, Cirque Corporation will announce a new input method which it claims will be affordable and convenient for PDA use.
[2001/01/01]

Psion Revo Power Defects

Dec. 29, 2000, Joia Shillingford writes for the Financial Times FT.com that Psion has discovered power management problems with some of its Revo devices. According to Psion, it is a battery problem, but the article mentions memory as a possible problem. "The Revo problem causes the screen to blank out soon after it has been recharged . . ."
[2001/01/01]

Palm In Car

Dec. 27, 2000, Ian Fried writes for CNET News.com that Delphi plans to show its "Communiport Mobile Productivity Center" at the "Consumer Electronics Show" in Las Vegas, Jan. 6, 2001. This interface will allow drivers to retrieve information from a Palm V or Vx.
[2001/01/01]

Samsung Announces PDA Phone

Dec. 21, 2000, Samsung announced PDA phone powered by an ARM 7 CPU and 240 * 120 * 4 grey level display, 8MB Flash memory and 8MB DRAM (110 mm * 49 mm * 23mm, 132 - 147 g). Price, availability and software family were not announced.

Samsung PDA phone http://www.samsung.com/news/samsung/2000/sec1221-20001222155308.html
[2001/01/01]


Miscellaneous Policies:

Industry News:

While I try to keep the content of this Webzine "pure", within the limits of mobile information technology, the fact is, "there is a world out there" and this field is only a small part of it. Occasionally I have to mention stuff going on because the ripple affect is going to eventually hit here. Sometimes you can see it in the distance. I'll usually keep such reports fairly brief.
[1997/02/26]

Re. Links Page: No "Local" OEM/Retailers

This is a "semi-commercial" effort. I'm not getting paid to do this, but it's obvious that as a "writer" if I provide a good service it's probably going to help me in the long run with my work. So far, all the the links I've posted have been to information sources that are on the manufacturing side, to assist people to learn about this technology and industry in order to apply it in their businesses.

In general, I will not post links to sites that are only "local OEM/Retailers". These are sites that build one-off systems from component subassemblies which are largely completed. There are simply too many companies of this type and because they are mainly of local regional interest, it generally offers readers of this site no advantage to find them listed here. So far, the only site I've linked that would be like an OEM/Retail site has been Widget, but Widget is a well known international software developer as well as a retailer.
[1997/01/16] revised [1997/02/14]

2000 Unsorted Material. WARNING! VERY LARGE PAGE.

News Page

Send messages to jimomura@pathcom.com or call (416) 652-3880.

Last update 2009/04/19


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