Short Cuts: Roaming Around the Mobile Computing Industry

Neural Chip Will Aid Handwriting Recognition

Even though the true usefulness of a pen computer is most closely related to the length of its battery charge, mainstream users will continue to make early judgements of these devices based on its ability to perform handwriting recognition.

While many of today’s mobile computers are powered by sophisticated processors—some rivaling desktop performance—they still seem to become overwhelmed when presented with the additional task of understanding a typical person’s scrawl.

Nestor, Inc. and Intel Corp. think that one workable solution may be to devote a special processor to these complex pattern recognition tasks. Nestor is a company with wide experience in developing advanced neural network systems to solve exactly these types of tasks. In cooperation with Intel, the two companies have been hard at work bringing this neural network technology to semiconductors.

Recently, Nestor announced that it has renegotiated its agreement with Intel and will maintain exclusive rights to the pattern recognition chip, known as the Ni1000 Recognition Accelerator.

Formerly, Intel had licensed Nestor’s technology and had plans to market the component itself. Under the new agreement, Intel will continue to manufacture the neural chip, which Nestor expects to sell for between $500 and $1000 starting this summer.

Nestor is right to feel confident about the potential of this market especially if the chip performs as designed and Nestor can succeed in finding vendors willing to incorporate the chip into upcoming systems. Neural networks are especially suitable for complex tasks that tend to be fuzzy by nature such as handwriting recognition.

This is due in part to the way information is encoded in a network of neuron-like elements enabling it to capture subtle properties that are likely to be missed by other programming methods.

More Power in PEN PAL 5.0

While some pen computing environments offer interesting bells and whistles, developers that need to build working applications under real-world schedules have consistently turned to no-nonsense tools to get the job done. Of these, Power PEN PAL—developed by PEN PAL Associates—has formed a loyal following.

Recently, PEN PAL added some additional power to its namesake product in the new version 5.0. PEN PAL claims over forty new features for the new release including support for new screen sizes (256 x 320, 320 x 480, and 200 x 320), the ability to merge global forms from several projects, and desktop and laptop operation for programs that are keyboard aware.

These features complement the expected improvements in speed and run-time file sizes. For example, Power PEN PAL 5.0 improves on the speed at which overlays are redrawn on the screen. In addition, version 5.0 enables developers to significantly reduce the size of their .RUN files.

PEN PAL Associates will also continue to offer their Design Studio training sessions. This service enables application developers to consult one-on-one with a specialist from PEN PAL to design and prototype a real-world application. For more information, contact PEN PAL Associates at (415) 917-6950.

WinPad and Envoy Will Assist Drivers

Microsoft’s WinPad may still be a ways off, but that hasn’t stopped developers from announcing their support for the unreleased technology. The newest player to jump on board is Navigation Technologies, who announced their intention to provide software enabling WinPad mobile companions to access NavTech’s DriverGuide on-line system.

The DriverGuide service provides users with turn-by-turn driving instructions between any two addresses in supported areas. The system also features a good selection of points of interest including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATM machines, and others. Using a WinPad mobile companion, DriverGuide will visually present a series of turn-by-turn instructions for users as they are travelling.

NavTech has also signed an agreement with Motorola to provide the DriverGuide system on Motorola’s new Envoy wireless personal communicators. Envoy’s built-in wireless capability is ideally suited for this type of application where a small handheld device provides access to a massive geographic and information database.

Palm Adds Zip to Your Zoomer

Aside from developing much of the software that ships with each Zoomer PDA, Palm Computing has taken a lead in enhancing the user’s experience of the device by offering a range of information content and utilities.

Most recently, Palm announced the availability a new collection of useful programs designed to improve the efficiency and performance of Zoomer PDAs. Dubbed the PalmUtilities, it enables the Zoomer to free some internal storage, operate faster, and assist in converting text files imported from desktop personal computers.

For example, features in the PalmUtilities enable you to convert text files on the PC to Zoomer note book documents and to safely backup Zoomer documents to a PCMCIA storage card. PalmUtilities also adds a system tune-up feature that clears up unneeded system files, thereby improving the switching speed and internal storage availability.

At $29, Palm has correctly priced the PalmUtilities for the PDA market. The utilities are available directly from Palm at 1-800-881-7256. For more information, contact Palm at (415) 949-9742

RAM Adds Wireless Options

RAM Mobile Data, one of the leading U.S. wireless data communication providers, has enhanced its support for enterprise messaging at both the front and the back-end.

At the front-end, RAM has certified Motorola’s InfoTAC radio modem for use with its nationwide data network. This means that users are now able to select modems from either Motorola, Intel, or Ericsson based on the features required.

The InfoTAC radio modem provides two-way wireless connection for electronic messaging when attached to a computer. However, even by itself, the InfoTAC is capable of acting as an acknowledgment pager that stores incoming electronic messages and can respond using a preprogrammed reply.

On the back-end, RAM is providing a dial-up connection service between its wireless data network and a company’s messaging network. This connection can be made over regular telephone lines, however RAM offers the option for heavy traffic users to migrate to dedicates X.25 lines in the future.

For more information, contact RAM Mobile Data at (908) 602-5500.

Pinnacle Offers Optical Portability

Certain applications require massive amounts of data to be resident with the mobile computer. For these applications, Pinnacle Micro offers a new portable 3.5″ magneto-optical drive known as the Tahoe-230.

The drive, available for $999 for Macintosh computers and $1199 for PCs, stores 230 MB of data on a single ECMA standard disk. Each 230 MB disk costs $69, and users can choose to purchase an optional battery pack and travel case for extra duty.

The Tahoe-230 uses fully rewritable optical technology and can be connected to any SCSI interface or parallel port on the computer. Since the removable disk is ECMA standard compliant, you can swap it into any other ECMA 3.5 inch magneto-optical drive.

The performance of the drive is good with a 30 msec seek time and a rotation speed of 3600 RPM. While the Tahoe-230 is certainly portable, at 1.4″ x 4.5″ x 8″ (36 x 114 x 203 mm) and 1.8 lb. (0.81 kg), it is a bit large for mobile use. However, the drive fits in any briefcase for easy transportability.

For more information, please contact Pinnacle Micro at (800) 553-7070 or (714) 727-3300.

Apex Expands PCMCIA Line

PCMCIA options are growing fast and Apex Data, Inc. of Pleasanton, California has added several new options to their existing range of PCMCIA adapters. The new cards, introduced over the past two months, include a Token-Ring adapter, a SCSI-2 card, and new Slim Line data/fax modems.

Apex’s Token-Ring adapter enables you to connect a mobile computer to any 16/4 Mbps token-ring network. The device includes the Card Enabler software, which provides compatibility for computers running Windows, DOS, and OS/2.

For the problem of connecting a mobile computer to a SCSI device, Apex now offers a SCSI-2 adapter in PCMCIA Type II format. Using this card enables mobile users to easily connect to a range of external devices including magneto-optical drives, CD-ROMs, Floptical drives, HP Scanners, and others.

Apex claims that, at 2 MB per second, its SCSI-2 adapter provides the fastest data transfer rate for a mobile configuration. The card is bundled with three applications including: Tape Mate II SCSI tape backup software, Music Box CD for DOS and Windows, and Photo CD Viewer.

Apex also introduced two new data/fax modems dubbed Slim Line. The modems, available at speeds of 2400/9600 and 14,400/14,400 for data and fax respectively, are priced at $299 and $329.

The Slim Line modems include a seven foot (2.1 m) lightweight cable. The modems also support host communications via AutoSync and include the Phoenix PCM+ to ease installation.

For more information, please contact Apex Data at (510) 416-5656.