Data in Your Pocket
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story Filed: Friday, December 14, 2001 4:20 PM EST
Johannesburg, Dec 14, 2001 (ITWeb/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- Despite the sharp downturn in the fortunes of the computer industry during 2001, several innovative products have emerged in the non-PC sector.
In part, these devices represent the fruits of R&D investments from key industry players whose share prices have fluctuated with market forces, but whose survival and dominant industry position remains assured.
Handheld market forces
The greatest advances over the last year occurred in the mobile computing market with a flood of new Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) capturing more than two percent of total IT spend -- a significantly greater proportion than ever before.
In October this year Microsoft delivered its latest operating system for mobile appliances called PocketPC 2002. With stripped down versions of popular desktop applications such as Word, Excel and Outlook, and improved Internet connectivity options, support for Virtual Private Networking and wireless LAN cards, PocketPC 2002 has allowed PDAs to gain support in the enterprise computing environment.
PDAs in the corporate world
The penetration of PDAs into the corporate space over the past year can in part be attributed to the formation of hardware and software standard, led by Microsoft. In specifying the hardware combination required to run PocketPC, heavy-handed tactics from Microsoft have once again set the pace and, not surprisingly, PocketPC will only work on the Intel StongARM processor.
The new iPaq 3800-series from Compaq and the Jornada 5600-series from HP both also run PocketPC 2002 and have led the Q4 rush into the corporate market, stealing 20% market share from embattled market leader Palm who, in October, replaced its fifth CEO in as many years.
Together with Palm, PDAs using the Palm operating system (PalmOS) such as popular models from Sony, Handspring and Samsung, continue to dominate the market with more than 60% market share, though this is down nearly 30% from 1999.
The new m500-series from Palm supports the postage stamp-sized Secure Digital (SD) memory stick, popularised in devices from manufacturers of most consumer electronics including Panasonic, Samsung, HP, Kodak, Fujitsu and Canon.
PDA cum cellphone
The most useful business tools of the year were delivered by Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Samsung whose fully integrated PDA and GSM cellphones use the Microsoft and Palm operating systems respectively.
However, the unfamiliar operating systems, low-resolution and greyscale screens used in integrated cellphone PDA models from Nokia, Ericcson and Motorola saw their products largely ignored by the enterprise. Nokia has, however, introduced a colour screen in its 9210 Communicator.
Next-generation GPRS cellphones have been available from most major manufacturers since 2000, despite ongoing debate about the overall suitability and cost of the service. Other than the inclusion of MP3 players in handsets from Siemens and Samsung, value-added cellphone innovations have been minimal in 2001.
The Siemens SL45 phone is the first to include as a standard offering the software and cables required to synchronise appointments and address book with the desktop PC. It also uses an SD removable memory stick to store music and data files.
Thuraya cellphones, not currently available in South Africa, include Global Positioning System modules in their handsets.
Hybrid devices
Imaging devices have converged with personal technology to create hybrid mobile units such as the LG Digital Eye, combination MP3 player and digital camera. Ericsson delivered the matchbox-sized CommumniCam camera which attaches to the base of the cellphone and e-mails its photographs over a GSM network.
Digital stills cameras from HP, Logitech and Epson now sport memory capacity in excess of three megapixels and also record audio and short video clips.
Notebook manufacturers, including Compaq, HP and Dell, all delivered models with a footprint smaller than an A4 page which, they all freely admitted, was designed to reel in the Sony Vaio range which continued to eat into their respective market shares through 2001.
IBM combined the results of several research projects, including thin film transistor displays and compact data storage, into the TransNote portable PC. The TransNote comprises an ordinary A4 notepad and an ultra-thin PIII PC in a leather binder. Notes and diagrams on the A4 pad are captured onto the PC screen and can be catalogued or saved as images, faxed, e-mailed or printed out.
Defying the anti-piracy measures governing the DVD industry LG, followed closely by Samsung, produced the first multi-zone DVD players which would play DVD discs from any country. The LG 3251P is also the first to play MP3 music directly from recordable CDs.
by Gavin Dudley
Copyright ITWeb. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com) |
