| San Francisco 2002: Show News
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September 25th: Report From The Planet PDA Show
Floor
By Tom Keating
While attending Planet PDA Expo I had to fight through some very busy
booths to speak to the vendors, see the product demos, and then report on
the latest happenings in the PDA market. I wasn't able to get through all
the booths on the first day, due to the amount of attendee traffic, however
I was able to find some interesting products worthy of note. Also, I checked
out some of the conferences and found that security and PDA management were
probably the two hottest topics.
In fact, Trust Digital showed
me a few of their security and asset management products. First, they have a
PDA security suite called PDA Secure, with their version 2.0 being announced
at the show. PDA Secure v2.0 works on Palm, Pocket PCs, Handspring, Sony,
and more and features military-grade encryption of data using single-key
encryption. This software gives you the ability to completely lock down any
PDA. Two other interesting products from Trust Digital included a PDA asset
management utility and a PDA VPN client. I found the PDA VPN client very
interesting due to its ability to communicate directly with various
firewall's chipsets (such as Cisco's) in order to set up a VPN connection.
By using this product you eliminate the need for a special VPN concentrator
or hardware device at the CPE! Not only does this save cost on hardware --
it also does away with all the hassle and complexity of asking the IT guys
to set up a VPN to allow PDA remote access.
F-Secure, Inc. was another company
offering encryption of data on PDA devices with their support for 128-bit
AES encryption. Interestingly enough, they also offer anti-virus protection
on handheld devices. Although there haven't been any viruses that have
targeted handheld devices -- at least, not that I am aware of -- it's only a
matter of time. So their product line is certainly worth checking out.
Some other interesting products I discovered included:
- Infinite Peripherals -- a
thermal printer for PDAs that allows printing from any app on your PDA
(supports Palm, Pocket PC, and even some cell phones).
- ACER -- the TravelMate 100 Tablet
PC, which actually converts from a traditional "clam shell
mode" for keyboard input to "tablet mode" for using a
pen. Essentially, you can picture this as a traditional laptop with the
lid closed -- only the screen is located on the outside. Faster than
Optimus Prime can perform his transformer conversion into a truck, you
can convert the TravelMate 100 from a laptop look-and-feel to a tablet
PC look-and-feel.
- Transplant Computing
-- they make GPS accessories. Okay, big deal, right? Of course you know
there are many GPS manufacturers for PDAs, but what makes their product
really interesting is that in addition to a CompactFlash GPS receiver,
they also offer a Bluetooth GPS receiver. This Bluetooth GPS receiver
can connect to Bluetooth devices such as Pocket PCs, laptops, and even
cell phones. Very cool! Just think of the possibilities. You can be
carrying your Bluetooth GPS in your pocket along with your Bluetooth
cell phone and receive location-based services, such as being notified
you are near Home Depot and they have a special going on. Okay, maybe
that's not for everyone, but you can at least use it for getting
directions. The fact that it's Bluetooth means you can use it on any
device that supports the Bluetooth standard.
- Lifeview -- speaking of cool,
this company has some of the most interesting accessories for the Pocket
PC. First, they have a CompactFlash video camera (720x480, 24bit color)
that can capture and then play back video. It can also be used with
third-party software for video conferencing applications. Next, they
have a product line called the FlyJacket Series. There are several
products in this family, but the main one is an expansion sleeve for the
iPAQ that has a VGA connector for connecting the PDA to a PC monitor --
useful for presentations. It also comes with an S-video connector for
connecting to a TV, VCR, etc. You can also get the IR remote pen that
allows you to, for instance, change PowerPoint slides on the iPAQ from
several feet away. Thus, using this product you can give a PowerPoint
presentation using an iPAQ just as easily as you would from a laptop.
The IR remote even features a laser pointer.
Well, I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of exhibits I missed
on Thursday -- that's today by the time you read this. There is so much to
do and so little time! Till my next show report, this is Tom Keating,
signing off.
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