No Strings: Fujitsu Features Wireless in New 325Point RF

Having grown up in an environment that is brutally hard on poor handwriting recognition, many vendors are beginning to focus on the real strength of portable, stylus-based computing devices—mobile connectivity.

Fortunately for everyone, the state-of-the-art in wireless communication—especially using spread spectrum—is advancing at a healthy pace. One of the most interesting applications of this technology centers around the dream of true mobility within an office or factory floor, untethered by an umbilical leading to the corporate LAN.

Fujitsu Personal Systems, makers of the PoqetPad Plus and 325Point pen computers, demonstrated their understanding of this goal when they tightly integrated RF communications in an updated PoqetPad called the PadPlus RF. They recently doubled their commitment by delivering the 325Point RF, a fully integrated pen tablet with wireless LAN capability.

The 325Point RF buries Proxim Inc.’s RangeLAN wireless adapter and antenna inside the regular case of the computer. Before establishing a connection, the user simply needs to retract the antenna from the upper right corner of the case.

Using Proxim’s spread spectrum technology, the device can maintain connections up to 800 feet (approx. 243 m) and communicate at a data rate of 242 Kbps. The device is compatible with a wide range of peer-to-peer and client-server network systems including Novell’s NetWare. In order to communicate with a server or desktop computer, that device must be equipped with Proxim’s RangeLAN/ISA wireless adapter.

The computing characteristics of the 325Point RF remain unchanged from the standard 325Point, which features a 25 MHz AMD 386SXLV processor with a 9.4″ (23.8 cm) diagonal transflective or transmissive screen.

The device is available immediately and carries a suggested price between $2500 and $3000.

Fujitsu Personal Systems
5200 Patrick Henry Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408) 764-9465
(408) 496-0316 (fax)