Hand-Helds Get GSM Connection

Bob Emmerson

Hand-held computers, pocket organizers, and PDAs running the stripped-down 32-bit Windows CE OS will all be on display in the CeBIT exhibition halls. Systems from companies such as Compaq, LG Electronics, NEC, and Philips made their debut late last year. CeBIT will feature a number of localized versions of these gadgets that include wireless connectivity for the European Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network.

For example, the U.S. model of the Philips Velo includes a 19.2-Kbps software fax modem for use with the telephone network. In Europe, h owever, Philips replaces the wire-line connectivity with a GSM wireless link.

Instead of providing connectivity for notebooks and other PDAs via a PC Card, the Velo uses a high-speed (230-Kbps) serial port and a special cable that links directly to the GSM phone, thereby reducing the price and power requirements of the PC Card solution. Only Philips's own mobile phones will be supported at first. Although the Velo supports PC Cards for digital cameras, business-card scanners, and vertical solutions via a snap-on module, it processes the modem functionality in software running on a Mips R3000 RISC core.

Because of the Velo's two powerful communications and multimedia chips, which can handle many telecommunications protocols, including ADSI, DECT, and ISDN, we may soon see a Windows CE PDA that includes a mobile phone. This combination will undoubtedly give Nokia's 9000 communicator some serious competition to contend with.

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The Velo from Philips

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Philips' Windows CE unit connects to the GSM wireless network.