November/December 2001

[ Go Right To The Internet Appliances List ]

As the novelty of owning a computer and connecting to the Internet has worn off over the years, PC users and businesses have begun to look for new features in their computing products like mobility, compactness, and ease of use. And while laptop computers have had a toehold on the remote worker/road warrior market for many years now, savvy IT directors are beginning to realize the cost savings, convenience, and increased productivity offered by personal digital assistants (PDAs) and handheld computers. The market for these devices continues to grow despite the economic downturn, and service providers have come up with a host of enhanced features to add value to these mini-computing devices.

Most of the appliances listed below fall into the PDA (typically a small device operated using a stylus and touchscreen) or handheld computer (a somewhat larger device and screen, often having a small keyboard) categories, and a few are larger e-mail/Web browsing replacements, without the many applications that typically come bundled with handhelds and PDAs. The opportunity for these devices in the enterprise market cannot be underestimated, as businesses continue to look for ways to cut costs while offering their employees optimum communications solutions for enhanced productivity.

Internet Appliances

PPT 2800 Series
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
One Symbol Plaza
Holtsville, New York 11742-1300
800-722-6234
www.symbol.com/mobile
FEATURES: Bar code scanning and real-time wireless options are available for this series, which was developed for the retail market. Features include Internet browsing, easy database entry and data management, a high-resolution VGA touchscreen, and the ability to run Windows CE applications. Symbols API enables integration of bar code data capture and wireless communications with new and existing applications.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows for Pocket PC

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Intel StrongARM SA-1110 processor at 206 MHz, 32 MB of RAM and 32 MB of ROM

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Mivo 350 
Cidco, Inc. 
220 Cochrane Circle
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
408-779-1162
www.cidco.com
FEATURES: This 900 MHz cordless e-mail system plugs into a standard phone jack for sending and receiving e-mails only at times selected by the user. The device enables viewing of text, .HTML, .GIF, and .JPG attachments, and enables one-touch access to news updates and other information by pressing the MyCIDCO button. A toll-free dialup number is offered in all states but Alaska, and other features include a clock, calculator, and calendar.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Proprietary OS

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: 16-bit Z80 processor, one MB of ROM

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m505
Palm, Inc.
5470 Great America Pkwy.
Santa Clara, CA USA 95054 
408-878-9000
www.palm.com
FEATURES: Offers a 65,000-color screen, vibrating and LED alarms, a universal connector, and a number of software applications including address and date books, memo and note pads, mail, Documents To Go, MGI PhotoSuite mobile edition, AvantGo, Palm Reader, and AOL for Palm OS. Other features include an infrared port for data and software sharing, and a desktop import/export feature.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Palm OS v4.0

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Motorola Dragonball VZ processor at 33 MHz, eight MB of RAM, plus expansion card and slot

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Cassiopia E-125
Casio, Inc.
570 Mt. Pleasant Ave.
Dover, NJ 07801
973-361-5400 
www.casio.com
FEATURES: Provides a TFT color touch-panel display with 65,536 colors, and comes with a USB cradle. Offers serial port, card slot, and infrared interfaces for a maximum connection speed of 115.2 Kbps. Software includes a calendar, address book, Palm Data Converter, and e-mail setup tool, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Microsoft Money for Pocket PC, Pocket Outlook, Pocket Notes, Pocket Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Reader.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows for Pocket PC

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: VR4122 processor at 150 MHz, with 32 MB of RAM and 16 MB of ROM

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iPAQ H3635 Pocket PC
Compaq Computer Corporation
P.O. Box 692000
Houston, Texas 77269-2000
800-AT-Compaq
www.compaq.com
FEATURES: Comes with a color reflective TFT liquid crystal display, as well as a docking cradle with battery charger and USB port connection. Offers the ability to record voice messages, and includes Pocket Outlook 2000, Pocket Internet Explorer, Microsoft Money for Pocket PC, and Microsoft ActiveSync 3.1 for managing calendars. Additional software includes Picture Viewer, Asset Viewer, Windows Media Player, Solitaire, Inbox, Microsoft Reader, and File Explorer.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows for Pocket PC

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Intel StrongARM 32-bit processor at 206 MHz, plus 32 MB of RAM and 16 MB of ROM, iPAQ Compact Flash Expansion Sleeve adds extra memory

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Jornada 540 Series
Hewlett-Packard Company
3000 Hanover St.
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1185
650-857-1501 
www.hp.com
FEATURES: Offers LCD rich color display with pen-and-touch interface, as well as handwriting recognition software, on-screen keyboard, notification LED, and four user-configurable quick launch screen icons. Other features include audio speaker and microphone with built-in voice recorder, infrared and serial ports and a USB cradle, and a CompactFlash Type I card slot. Software includes Pocket Outlook, Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, Money, Reader, and Media Player, as well as LandWare OmniSolve and PeaceMaker 1.0 from Conduits Technologies. CD-ROM software includes ActiveSync 3.1, Outlook 2000, AOLMail 1.0, Yahoo! Messenger, and Image Expert CE.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows for Pocket PC

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: 32-bit Hitachi processor at 133 MHz, 16-32 MB of RAM and 16 MB of ROM

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@migo-600c
UR There
21 NW 5th St.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-929-5048
www.urthere.com
FEATURES: Provides a reflective active matrix TFT screen with 64,000 colors, and comes with an AC-DC adapter and USB sync cable. Other features include a rechargeable battery and a disposable backup battery, a built-in microphone and headphone jack and speaker, and digital voice recording and playback capability. A touchscreen and stylus are also included, as well as handwriting recognition software and standard Pocket PC applications. The unit is also Voice over IP (VoIP) and MPEG 4-ready.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows for Pocket PC

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Intel StrongARM SA-1110 RISC processor at 206 MHz, 32 MB of RAM and 16 MB of ROM, expansion available through PCMCIA Type II slot and CF Memory

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Visor Prism
Handspring, Inc.
189 Bernardo Ave. 
Mountain View, CA 94043
650-230-5000
www.handspring.com
FEATURES: Offers more then 65,000 colors on a 16-bit, active matrix color LCD, as well as an internal battery for recharging in the cradle. Software includes date and address books, memo pad, Mail, HotSync Manager, and Expense. VisorPhone accessory turns the Prism into a dual-band phone and enables wireless Internet access. Features include speed dial, dialing from an address book, and the ability to check calendar items.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Palm OS, v3.5 2H

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Motorola Dragonball-VZ processor at 33 MHz, eight MB of RAM, plus plug-and-play Springboard expansion slot

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BlackBerry 5820
Research In Motion
295 Phillip St.
Waterloo, ON Canada N2L 3W8
519-888-7465
www.rim.com
FEATURES: Currently available in the UK only, the 5820 features an embedded RIM wireless modem, a backlit keyboard, and a thumb-operated trackwheel. Users may select among 13-, 16-, or 20-line display options, and may also choose among tone, vibrate, LED, or on-screen indicators. Additional features include integrated e-mail and organizer software, password protection, internal rechargeable battery, and a docking/charging cradle. Compatible with 900 MHz and 1800 MHz GPRS networks.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Blackberry Enterprise Edition

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: 32-bit processor (unspecified), eight MB of flash memory as well as one MB of SRAM

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HPW-600ET/ETM
Hitachi America, Ltd.
Computer Division
2000 Sierra Point Pkwy.
Brisbane, CA 94005-1835
800-HITACHI
www.hitachi.com
FEATURES: Built-in 56 Kbps modem and USB interface, as well as a VGA output for connecting to external monitors. Features an 8.2-inch DSTN color LCD, as well as a transmissive display for indoor use. Comes standard with serial and IRDA ports, PC Type II and CompactFlash card slots, a microphone, speaker, and a headphone jack.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows CE, Handheld PC Professional Edition, v3.0

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Hitachi SH-4 RISC processor at 128 MHz, and 32 MB of RAM

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Diamond Mako
SONICblue
2841 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054-1838
408-588-8000
www.diamondmako.com
FEATURES: This U.S. version of the Psion Revo Plus offers a 480x160 touch-sensitive screen, and provides mobile office software including a spreadsheet application, word processing, and the Opera Internet browser. Additional software includes a personal organizer tool, synchronization software, and a CD-ROM with EPOC Connect 5.01 for interfacing with PCs via Windows Explorer. 

OPERATING SYSTEM: EPOC 32 Release 5.01

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: ARM 710 processor at 36 MHz, with 16 MB of RAM

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Orbit
Qubit Technology, Inc.
1707 Cole Blvd., Ste. 200 
Golden, CO 80401 
303-716-7826
www.qubit.net
FEATURES: Comes with an active matrix touchscreen, and enables roaming up to 200 feet from base transmitter. This Web tablet offers 11 Mbps 802.11 connectivity, and comes with an onscreen keyboard and recharging cable, as well as an optional USB keyboard. Also features embedded 16-bit stereo audio, and a built-in speaker and microphone. Comes with IE 4.0, and offers plug-in support for Macromedia Flash 4.0, PDF viewer, Windows Media Player 6.4, and Insignia Java Virtual Machine.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Win CE 3.0

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: NSC Geode GX1 processor at 300 MHz, plus 64 MB of SDRAM and 32 MB of CompactFlash

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Handera 330
Handera, Inc.
2859 104th St.
Des Moines, IA 50322 
515-252-7522
www.handera.com
FEATURES: Offers standard Palm applications as well as HotSync for PC synchronization. Features CardPro for accessing CompactFlash, Secure Digital, and MultiMedia cards, as well as capability for backing up the entire device in seconds. The Chapura Pocket Mirror feature enables linking to Microsoft Outlook, and the device also comes with the Quickoffice suite of utilities for synchronizing with Microsoft Excel and editing Word-compatible text. Also offers virtual on-screen Graffiti text entry areas, as well as 360-degree rotation of the screen image through certain applications.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Palm OS 3.5.2

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Motorola DragonBall-VZ at 33 MHz, with eight MB of RAM and two MB of flash memory

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CLIE Handheld PEG-N710C
Sony Electronics, Inc.
One Sony Dr.
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
800-222-7669
www.sel.sony.com
FEATURES: Offering MP3 audio playback and a TFT color display with front lights, the CLIE comes with a remote controller, headphones, and an AC adapter. It features Sonys PictureGear Pocket, PictureGear Lite, Memory Stick Gate, and CLIE Audio Player software, as well as Palms standard applications. Additional software includes AvantGo, gMovie, powerOne Personal, Intellisync, Pocket Vinyard/Pocket Gourmet, Vindigo, Bejeweled, Race Fever, AcidSolitaire, and StreetFinder Express.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Palm OS 3.5.2

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Motorola DragonBall-VZ at 33 MHz, eight MB of DRAM, four MB of flash memory, and eight MB of memory stick removable memory

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MC218
Ericsson Network Systems
1010 East Arapaho Rd.
PO Box 833875
Richardson, TX 75083-3875
972-583-0000
www.ericsson.com
FEATURES: Wireless phone that also offers an alarm clock function, calculator, contacts, e-mail, Ericsson Mobile Internet access and WAP functionality, fax capability, games, a Voice Note application, Microsoft Word, and the My Phone application for managing phone calls and contacts. Also includes an attached keyboard.

OPERATING SYSTEM: EPOC OS Release 5

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: 32-bit ARM 710T core processor at 36.864 MHz, 16 MB of RAM, and 12 MB of ROM

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I300
Samsung Telecommunications America 
1130 E. Arapaho Rd.
Richardson, TX 75081
972-761-7000
www.samsungusa.com
FEATURES: Offers full PDA functionality, and is also a mobile phone with a built-in speakerphone, which lets users talk while using Palm applications. The phone also offers voice dialing, and may store up to 20 names. Enables beaming of contacts, notes, and applications to an IR-capable device, Web browsing in full color, access to all PDA and downloadable content even when the phone is off, and checking of incoming calls in a top LCD view while using PDA functions on the main touchscreen panel.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Palm OS 3.5, including some features from Release 4.0.

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Motorola DragonBall processor, eight MB of memory.

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Genio e550
Toshiba America, Inc.
1251 Avenue of the Americas, 41st Fl.
New York, NY 10020
212-596-0600
www.toshiba.com
FEATURES: Offers Pocket versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Media Player, and enables data synchronization and downloads from PCs through a USB cradle. Provides an SD slot for a secure digital input-output card and SD memory card, and a CF-II slot for CompactFlash cards. Features a 3.5-inch front-light reflective TFT LCD with support for more than 65,000 colors.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows for Pocket PC

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Intel StrongARM Processor at 206 MHz, 32 MB of memory plus a one GB Microdrive on the MD model

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MobilePro 880
NEC Computers, Inc.
15 Business Park Way
Sacramento, CA 95828
888-632-8701
www.necus.com
FEATURES: Offers a 9.4-inch diagonal color touchscreen with SVGA resolution and a touch-typeable keyboard, as well as a USB port for connection of peripherals. Also features a Type II PC card slot and a Type II CompactFlash slot, and a V.90 modem. Provides Pocket versions of major Windows applications, and comes with an internal microphone and speaker. Also comes with the Microsoft ActiveSync CD-ROM.

OPERATING SYSTEM: WinCE Handheld PC Professional Edition v3.01.

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: NEC Vr4121 MIPS processor at 168 MHz, with 32 MB of RAM and 24 MB of replaceable ROM.

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Trium Mondo
Mitsubishi Electric Telecom Europe
Americas Corporate Office
5665 Plaza Dr.
Cypress, CA 90630-0003 
714-220-2500
www.trium.net
FEATURES: This dual-band phone is also a pocket PC and personal organizer, and enables Web browsing and e-mail through WAP 1.1. Offers up to three hours of talk time and up to 100 hours of standby time, an address book, a voice recorder, and an MP3 reader, and GPRS will be available soon. Additional features include fax and data transmission capabilities, a currency converter, built-in hands-free operation, games, and a touchscreen with 16 gray levels. Only available in the UK.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows for Pocket PC

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: Intel StrongARM at 166 MHz, with 16 MB of RAM and 16 MB of ROM

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Nokia 9290 Communicator
Nokia Americas
6000 Connection Dr.
Irving, Texas 75039
800-547-9810
www.nokia.com
FEATURES: Offers an active-matrix color screen and includes PersonalJava, enabling third-party software solutions. Enables multimedia messaging with the ability to send and receive images, video clips, and sound, as well as SMS text messages. Combines phone, e-mail, fax, calendar, and imaging functionality, and supports WAP and HTML-based Web browsers, while offering basic Windows applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SyncML support for synchronizing contact, calendar, and to-do information.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Symbian Crystal OS v6 

PROCESSOR/MEMORY: ARM9 RISC processor, with eight MB of RAM and 14 MB of ROM, plus a two-MB flash internal disk and MMC expansion

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