Unleashed

By Ernest Lilley

March 10, 2003

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The PDA market is saturated, the economy won't heat up no matter what setting the Fed turns the knob to, and I still get confused trying to pick a cellular plan…let alone decipher the maze of hotspots, wireless data carriers and protocols. So, you've got to wonder why BYTE.com's editorial director, Jon Erickson, fell for my pitch to write a Portable Computing column.

Well, truthfully, I have been following this stuff for a number of years, sitting in on Bluetooth conferences and going to CTIA (Cellular Telephone and Internet Association) year after year hoping that it would all sink in. Last Comdex I even dragooned fellow BYTE.com editor Alex Pournelle to be on my Wireless Network Selection panel, where an early war between Europeans and Americans threatened to break out over standards issues. So, in reality, I guess I have a clue…but the puzzle keeps changing and that makes it hard for anyone to keep up. So maybe a column is a good idea.

I didn't pitch this as just a handheld column, much as I'd enjoy writing one, because data doesn't care what you access it on. Personally, I toss a coin before I go out the door, deciding whether to take my Blackberry, Tablet, Laptop, and/or cell phone with me. I don't usually give much thought to taking my desktop PC with me…but I've seen Jerry Pournelle set one up in his hotel room, so some folks do. So, you'll see me looking at all those devices.

Let's start things off by looking at a few new PDAs, some with cell phones already built in.

Handhelds

Palm is promising to have its Tungsten W handheld in stores by the end of February. The "W" has something for everyone, but the question will be whether it has enough of it. Palm would dearly like to lead the cell/PDA pack with the unit, which sports a GSM/GPRS cell phone, keyboard, color screen (320x320), Palm OS, and $549 price tag.

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