New Palm Organizer Offers Wireless Connectivity
Palm Computing, a 3Com company, has extended its product line with the introduction of the Palm VII connected organizer. With this organizer, end users can obtain information for web and intranet sites through a wireless connection to the Internet. In addition, users can employ this device as a two-way personal communication system.
To provide wireless links, the organizer incorporates a two-way radio with integrated antenna. Lucent's POMP-15 digital signal processor (DSP) is at the heart of the integrated radio. This chip performs functions such as channel coding, digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, and analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. When employed in the organizer, the chip runs from a +3 VDC supply and consumes 40 mA current in sleep mode.
Wireless services are delivered directly to Palm VII users through a new service called Palm.Net. To activate this service, users enter secure billing and credit card information into the registration screen that appears the first time the Palm VII antenna is raised. Wireless connection to Palm.Net is provided over BellSouth Wireless Data network, which covers 93% of the US's urban business population.
Web browsing can be slow and cumbersome on a handheld device. To avoid this problem, Palm has included a query application in its new organizer. This query application lets users define the specific type of information desired by installing from pre-installed options, such as stock quotes and flight schedules. The user can then send the query to the Internet with a tap of the stylus, and within seconds, a web clipping is returned. This clipping is a page of results catered to the user's specified request and specifically formatted for viewing on the Palm VII screen.
Since query applications reside on the device, the wireless radio is not activated until information is sent by the user. According to Palm, this allows the organizer to access the Internet using minimum power.
Developers Program
3Com has announced a program designed to enable web designers and Internet content providers to offer Internet-based information wirelessly to Palm VII users. Through this program, 3Com will offer a free set of tools, technical resources, and services for making information available on web sites accessible to Palm VII users. These development tools provide an intuitive interface for building query applications that can be downloaded from the desktop of the organizer.
The Palm VII organizer is expected to be available in 1999. The development tools will also be supplied in 1999.