Short Cuts: Roaming the Mobile Computing Industry

Lexicus Enhances Longhand

Cursive handwriting recognition is often referred to as natural writing, presumably because few of us prefer to write notes and memos entirely in print. But cursive writing has been a tough nut to crack. Not only is it sometimes difficult to determine one character from the next, but casual observation tends to suggest that people may even have a more varied style when writing in cursive. This is why an adaptive technology seems to make sense in solving this problem.

“Employing AI techniques, Lexicus Longhand Professional improves cursive speed and accuracy.”

Lexicus, the Motorola Division responsible for some of the best handwriting products—including QuickPrint for Magic Cap and the Chinese Handwriting Recognizer described in this month’s leader—recently announced an enhancement to its Longhand cursive recognizer, employing artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to improve the speed and accuracy of the product. Longhand Professional, as the software is known, was on display at COMDEX and is expected to be available in December.

Lexicus has always employed so-called AI techniques in Longhand, including neural network technology which is particularly suited for advanced pattern recognition. Not only are neural networks self-training, making them very adaptive, but they are also inherently fuzzy systems which operate well with incomplete information, extracting salient patterns encoded in the network. Lexicus notes that Longhand Professional is writer independent with no training required, though the system will learn the writer’s most commonly used vocabulary based simply on usage.

Longhand Professional includes several other features that make it more powerful. The program supplies alternate word choices in pen-enabled applications, such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, making correction quick and easy. The system also includes a macro expansion feature for entering complete phrases and addresses, for example. Longhand Pro supports deferred recognition, allowing writers to save handwritten notes for later conversion.

Longhand Professional is designed for use with Windows for Pen Computing and supports the recognizer APIs enabling you to interface the recognizer to your C and Visual Basic programs. For more information, please contact Wako Takayama of Motorola, Lexicus Division at (415) 462-6801, (415) 323-4772 (fax), [email protected].

Hewlett-Packard Says ‘Think Organizer’

When is a PDA not a PDA? When it’s the new OmniGo 100 from Hewlett-Packard. While the device has the classic appearance and function of a personal digital assistant, HP has selected the more consumer-oriented moniker of Organizer Plus instead. As Roy Breslawski, Hewlett-Packard Product Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific Personal Computer Division, explained: “We never wanted to do a PDA. We don’t think a PDA has a reasonable existence, and the market in fact has verified that over and over again.”

“PDAs, when compared to an organizer, are twice as big, twice as heavy, twice as expensive, and half as functional.”
— Roy Breslawski, HP, Asia Pacific Personal Computer Division

Breslawski continued: “Most of all, it’s a terminology thing. We did a lot of focus groups in six countries around the world when we were coming up with the OmniGo name. And we were testing what this thing should be described as. If I can summarize the perception of PDAs today in the population at large: PDAs, when compared to an organizer, are twice as big, twice as heavy, twice as expensive, and half as functional. It’s not an exaggeration, it’s that negative an impression for PDAs today. Ask about a PDA and they tell you that it’s got a pen and it doesn’t understand what I want it to do.”

Summing it up, he observed: “It’s not just perception, it’s reality for these devices that people have labelled PDAs. It’s a perception that’s supported by reality unfortunately.” While many people tend to think of PDAs as programmable versions of their organizer cousins, Breslawski noted that: “That’s very much an industry-centric view.” Breslawski also believes that size and function are more important to consumers: “The reality is that if this device is not in a form factor that’s convenient enough to go everywhere, it has zero value. The information in here is the most valuable, and if it’s too big to take with me, that information has zero value so I’ve wasted my money.”

More significant than its title, the OmniGo and in fact all the HP Palmtop computers are now designed and developed in Singapore. Asked about this Asian focus, Breslawski explained: “It’s not so much of a market focus on Asia, although Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world for HP by far. It’s not the largest, but it’s by far the fastest growing region. We, as a company, do over sixty percent of our business outside of the United States today. There is good engineering talent and exceptional industrial design talent available. These are strengths that we can leverage by developing there.”

For more information, please contact Roy Breslawski of Hewlett-Packard in Singapore at +65-3904109, +65-2945356 (fax).

ARM Gains New Licensees

The processor that powers Apple’s Newton MessagePad is finding new application at two leading semiconductor companies. South Korea-based LG Semicon recently announced that it has licensed the ARM7 microprocessor core and the ARM7110 microcontroller from Advanced RISC Machines Limited (ARM). LG Semicon is in the middle of a major drive to become a world-leading semiconductor supplier, expanding its products from DRAM technology to advanced CPU designs for both ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and microcontroller applications. By merging the ARM technology into its ASIC Library for use with embedded ASIC design, LG Semicon plans to use the ARM design in products ranging from PDAs to set-top boxes for interactive television, along with other high-end consumer electronic applications.

On a separate front, ARM has also reached an agreement with Symbios Logic Inc., under which Symbios will license and use the ARM7 TDMI “Thumb” 32-bit RISC processor for intelligent peripheral products. Among its products, Symbios is a leading bus interface technology provider, controlling 28 percent of the worldwide SCSI chip market, for example.

For information contact Tim O’Donnell of ARM, Inc. at (408) 399-5199, (408) 399-8854 (fax), [email protected].

ACECAD Releases 3rd Generation Tablet

ACECAD has made a business of supplying good-quality digitizing tablets at a low price. At COMDEX, the company revealed a new product representing its third generation of high-resolution tablets. Dubbed the ACECAT III, the tablet is available for both PC-compatibles and Macintosh computers, and incorporates a new electromagnetic inductive technology along with advanced shielding producing increased cursor stability.

ACECAT III comes with a new, programmable, three-button stylus that, together with the lightweight (1.2 lb., 0.55 kg) tablet, can easily be held in the palm of the hand or placed on a lap for extra comfort. The tablet supports resolutions of up to 2,000 lines per inch, adding to the accuracy of input. For more information, please contact Todd Waldman of ACECAD, Inc. at (408) 655-1900, (408) 655-9911 (fax).