Digital Communicators

As mobile phones turn into smart assistants, hand-held PCs become better communicators.

Bob Emmerson

If you want e-mail, faxing, and Web-information-retrieval capabilities in a pocket-size device, then you'll like the idea of smart phones that include a notepad, an organizer, and a Web viewer, as well as hand-held PCs (HPCs) that can communicate over the airwaves. Many new products in this market segment will for the first time be presented publicly at CeBIT 98.

Nokia was awarded BYTE's Best of CeBIT award two years ago for its Nokia 9000 smart phone. Since then, the company has enhanced the product only slightly. The one significant new feature of the 9000i version of the Nokia smart phone is the ability to concatenate short messages and thereby send 228 0 characters in one run. That's why insiders expect a major upgrade or even a totally new product to be released at the show or shortly thereafter.

CeBIT visitors will be able to see the first public demonstration of Nortel's Java-enabled network phone, code-named Orbitor (see "New GSM Network Services," July 1997 BYTE, page 32IS4). The version of Orbitor demonstrated at the show will be the final product; Nortel is working with Cellnet in the U.K. to set up a Java-enabled service for lat er in 1998.

The Orbitor phone, which is based on the StrongARM SA1100 RISC processor, can download and execute Java applets. Therefore, advanced messaging and other services can be provided on a device that has a lot less memory than a PDA.

Since the launch of Windows CE 18 months ago, the HPC market has separated into professional and consumer segments. For example, NEC's MobilePro 700 has a separate keyboard that provides the same tactile features as a notebook, which clearly makes it a product for the professional market. Also focusing on the professional segment, Compaq and HP will both launch new Windows CE 2.0 HPCs with color displays at the show. Compaq's C-Series includes up to 32 MB of EDO DRAM and 16 MB of ROM on a replaceable module, which enables upgrades to future versions of the OS. HP's 620LX features a 7-1/2-inch display with a VGA resolution of 800 by 600 pixels. Both devices can transmit data at 33.6 Kbps over a serial cable to several types of mobile phones.

Meanwhile, Philips, which is concentrating on the consumer segment of the HPC market, will preview its Nino 300 HPC for the first time in Europe. The Nino 300 includes a 320- by 240-pixel touchscreen and has a form factor similar to that of 3Com's PalmPilot organizer, so the unit fits easily into any shirt or jacket pocket.

At a Glance:

New Windows CE devices come with bigger color screens, more memory, and links to GSM phones. Look for Philips's Nino 300 HPC, which fits into your shirt pocket.

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Telephone, TV, and IT Networks Converge

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Take the Nino With Y ou Anywhere

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Philips's Nino 300 HPC comes with a touchscreen and fits into a shirt pocket.