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More Of Palm Product Line To Go Wireless
Spasemunki writes: "The NYTimes has an article lurking in their tech page today on Palm's plans to add wireless connectivity to their whole product line. Wireless connected versions of the Palm III and Palm V lines should start appearing "in the reletively near future", with some changes to the product line appearing by the end of this year. Free registration required; you know the drill." From this article, it's not even clear what sort of wireless they're going to choose, but even so: the ubiquitous, wireless personal computer is crawling up onto land. If you had a nearly-a-billion-dollar IPO, you might want some wireless tools / toys, too.
"Free registration required; you know the drill..."
Yup, we sure do...
http://partners.nytimes.c om/cnet/CNET_0_4_1697833_00.html
Many posters here are presuming that wireless automatically means internet access over pcs networks etc. There's another, "unseen" market, that I think Palm is going for.
Just about every office worker in America sits in front of a computer, which is anchored in their office/cubicle. However, they still have to get up and walk around to ask people questions, deliver papers/material, and have meetings. Questions and appointments generated during these trips usually have to wait until the user walks back to their computer and either queries it or enters the commitment in their calendar.
With a short-range wireless Palm device, users could keep continuous contact with their e-mail and time manager software. They'd be able to take notes in meetings that save straight to their desktop, rather than transferring a note from their Palm. The Palm device would serve as a mobile terminal to the desktop.
IMHO, Palm is looking to create a "must have" accessory for every office worker in America, rather than build more expensive geek toys for those of us who need to check our e-mail fifty times a day (it's a bigger market segment, after all).
Marc Siry || interactive media professional, motorcycle enthusiast ||
I don't own a palm. I've thought about it, but at this point in my life, a nice TI calculator is really more useful for me :)
My question to those with these things is: is there any content out there for you to read? I imagine they can do email, which is nice. But can they read any regular webpages (the point, for most people, of an internet connection)? With wireless devices like this apparently increasing in popularity, is there anything we should do to our webpages to make them more palm-friendly?
Communication is only possible between equals
From the FAQ:
Q: What is the range of Bluetooth transmitter/receivers?
Bluetooth is designed for very low power use, and the transmission range will only be 10m, about 30ft. High-powered Bluetooth devices will enable ranges up to 100m (300ft). Considering the design philosophy behind Bluetooth, even the 10m range is adequate for the purposes Bluetooth is intended for. Later versions of the Bluetooth spec may allow longer ranges.
Given the range limitations noted above, I find it doubtfull that bluetooth can be employed as a wide area access solution. I think bluetooth will be a replacement for the IR port, and may help get rid of the sync cradle, but it is hardly a "confirm the-fedex-shipment-from-the-back-of-a-cab" kinda thing.
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