Handhelds and PDAs Are Hot Again

Several New and Enhanced Products Shown at CES

What a difference a year makes. Following the respectable, but less than stellar launch of the handheld and PDA market a little over three years ago, it appears that handhelds have hit their stride. In fact, with last year’s introduction of Pilot by US Robotics together with this Fall’s Windows CE and Newton MessagePad 2000 debut, developers are again scrambling to release—and press release—new and upgraded versions of their products.

Why the optimism? And is it justified? Certainly we’ve seen this before. Here’s what’s different:

• Vendors are now selling primarily to existing PC owners, offering better integration and synchronization capabilities.
• Prices have lowered enough to entice many first-time buyers.
• Meanwhile, high-end devices have established new standards in performance and capability. With 160+ MHz processors and built-in Web and Internet connectivity, these devices are becoming serious notebook alternatives.
• Most importantly, developers and service providers are offering an increasingly wider range of useful add-on product enhancements.

What follows is a rapid-fire summary of some of the most important recent handheld product announcements. The range of offerings indicate that something is indeed in the air.

Wireless-enabling Windows CE

Handheld computing and wireless data access is a natural combination. So believes Burnably, British Columbia-based Infowave Wireless Messaging Inc., developer of Infowave CE, software which provides wireless access for Win CE devices. Using the application, people can send and receive electronic mail though wireless via corporate messaging systems or the Internet. In addition, the software is capable of sending and receiving faxes through wireless.

More Wireless Access for CE

GTE and Socket Communications have announced an advanced messaging service for Casio Cassiopeia users that employs the handheld PC as a wireless messaging center. The new offering combines Socket’s PageCard data pager and software with GTE’s wireless network to give the GTE PageCard Wireless Messaging System. Using this system, Cassiopeia users can receive messages in virtually any situation.

The Socket PageCard is a PC Card that can receive messages and direct them to your Windows CE PMAIL Inbox. Also included in the package is a CD-ROM with Socket’s software enabling you to send alphanumeric pages from your Windows desktop system. The Socket PageCard, software, and GTE’s paging service costs $29.95 per month for the basic service and there is no activation fee for those that sign up before May 1, 1997.

Packing Entertainment into Win CE

Computer games are as old as computers themselves. Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of handheld gaming systems, Microsoft recently demonstrated the Entertainment Pack for Windows CE. The package includes handheld versions of ten classic games such as Sink the Ships, Space Defence, Blackjack, Chess, Codebreaker, FreeCell, Hearts, Minesweeper, Reversi, and Taipei. The package is expected to be available by March, 1997.

WyndMail for Newton Update

WyndMail for Newton recently received an important update that enables users of the wireless electronic messaging service to preview the header of messages before downloading over the air. Part of the appeal of WyndMail is that it permits users to receive messages without any of the delay associated with dialing in or initializing.

Messages are delivered over the RAM Mobile Data network and are charged based on the number of message units (one message unit equals 150 characters). Using the new version of the software, MessagePad users can now determine which messages are important enough to download using the service. Filtering messages saves more than cost—storage space is also at a premium on handheld computers.

WyndMail for Newton, designed for the MessagePad 120 and higher, uses 92KB of built-in memory and requires a wireless modem in the PC Card slot.

Pilot Macintosh Connectivity Pack

“The wait is finally over for people looking to use Pilot in conjunction with their Macintosh.”

The wait is finally over for people looking to use Pilot in conjunction with their Macintosh. The Pilot Macintosh Connectivity Pack enables users to transfer data using the same suite of desktop PIM software that has been available to Windows users since last April.

Included, for example, is a contact database, calendar and scheduling utility, to-do list, and a memo pad. Mac users will also now be able to load shareware and commercial software through their favorite desktop computer. Fortunately, no special version of Pilot software is required since the installation tool is clever enough to work with existing applications.

The Mac Connectivity Pack includes a serial port connector and is available for $14.95.

PilotEmailer Coming Soon

One of the limitations of Pilot has been overcome with the release of an alpha version of PilotEmailer from SmartCode Software. PilotEmailer represents the first ever implementation of a native Internet email application for Pilot providing much-requested connectivity to the Internet.

PilotEmailer works over standard external modems through the use of the USR Pilot Modem Cable. The software employs a PPP and TCP/IP stack, which is integrated into the software, to connect to your Internet Service Provider. Though not exactly a true mobile email solution for Pilot, PilotEmailer is still a viable solution for Pilot users who want to send and receive email using their favorite pocket PDA.