InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
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April 2, 2001 |
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From Calculators To The Wireless Web
Handheld devices have advanced at a fast clip; today's models meet a variety of needs
By Norbert Turek
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ome 30 years ago, about the only handheld computing devices available were programmable calculators. Ingenious at the time for their ability to perform complex math in microseconds, they pale compared with the handheld devices available today, on which people can write and send E-mail, make phone calls, schedule meetings, and even wirelessly access company data stored in massive computers miles away.
For techno-fiends like Brian Schmidt, manager of corporate network resources at PeopleSoft Inc., the evolution of handhelds, particularly in the last decade, has been astonishingly swift. A true romantic, Schmidt remembers every device he's owned or admired over the years. His first handheld was an Apple Newton 110 in 1993. "It was awesome at the time. I still have it," he says. Next came the backlit Newton 130. In 1996, Schmidt bought a U.S. Robotics Palm Pilot "that changed everything," once he learned how to use it.
Next came the first generation of Microsoft's Windows CE. "It was slow, but easier to learn than a Pilot," Schmidt recalls. Then came a Handspring Inc. Visor that was "a nice extension of the Palm. It's upgradable, so its future is less limited than a Palm." Now he's using a Compaq iPaq running the Windows CE 3.0 operating system. "It's nice because it basically Web-enables everything, and its cool factor is off the scale," Schmidt says.
The current crop of handhelds spans a wide range of utility and cost. At the low end are always-on $19 one-way pager devices with nearly complete coverage in North America. For several hundred dollars more, more functionality comes with always-connected two-way pagers such as Research in Motion Inc.'s BlackBerry devices, and Motorola Inc.'s Talkabout, which have great metropolitan area coverage but aren't as useful in rural areas.
Browser-based phones may come free with a service agreement or cost hundreds of dollars for users who don't want a long-term plan, and their coverage and data services usually depend on the carrier and service-level agreements. At the high end are PDAs, handhelds with or without wireless connectivity and real computer power, and the new crop of smart phones that include PDA functionality. Products here range from a personal organizer such as the $150 Palm m100 with 2 Mbytes of RAM to the increasingly powerful stylus-based pocket-size devices, to writing-pad-size tablet computers that have all the punch of a workstation at a fraction of the weight.
It's a tough choice for individuals, and even tougher for companies to decide what's best.
IT managers shouldn't standardize on a single device or even several devices if it's being done to simplify IT support, says Ken Dulaney, VP of mobile computing at Gartner. "Technology is just changing too fast. What happens when the next great thing comes out in two years?" Dulaney says.
Bryan Wargo, chairman of 2Roam Inc., a wireless content and application service provider, agrees: "I see myself carrying multiple devices--say a phone, two-way pager, and PDA--for some time to come."
Some businesses can establish best-device recommendations. For instance, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the IT department has built Web-based patient-information systems that can be accessed by the more than 2,000 resident and nonresident physicians. For now, wireless access is available only via Palm VIIs, which have built-in modems. "It only took a weekend to tweak the Web sites into shape for the Palm, and the sites are fast. That's good. Physicians hate to wait," says Dr. Ray Duncan, technology director in enterprise information services at Cedars-Sinai.
Choosing between a Palm and a PocketPC is a common decision for technology directors like Duncan. While most PocketPCs and their Windows CE predecessors have more memory (up to 64 Mbytes and expandable vs. 2 Mbytes to 8 Mbytes for a Palm), color screens, and a browser that functions like a PC Internet browser, a lack of applications and power consumption have worked against them.
But the lines between the devices are blurring. Palm has more than 120,000 application developers, while a growing number of products are being developed or scaled for PocketPCs. Palm has introduced color screens, and PocketPC devices are becoming more efficient. There are other form factors getting tossed into the mix, too, such as the pen-based Compaq iPaq, which weighs roughly 6 ounces and measures 5 by 3 by 0.63 inches, and has 64 Mbytes of memory in its top-end model, creating interest among Palm users. "The iPaq is worth a look. They're just hard to get hold of right now," Duncan says.
Even businesses that recommend best-choice devices have to contend with variations among their employees. Some people have terrible handwriting that stumps even Palm's Graffiti software. Others, like Mike Taliaferro, executive VP at Calabasas, Calif., Countrywide Home Loan Inc. and an ex-pro football player, don't like small keys and keyboards. "I've got big hands. I hate those little buttons," Taliaferro says.
Still others hate the small displays of Wireless Application Protocol-based phones. "Our senior management likes the idea of wireless E-mail, but they don't like the little WAP phone screens," says Jim Sanchez, manager of electronic messaging at Equity Residential Corp., a Chicago manager of residential properties.
Residents in the pediatric ward at Cedars-Sinai need keyboards to enter data and handhelds have to fit in their white lab-coat pockets, so they use the PocketPC-based Hewlett-Packard Jornada 680. At 1.1 pounds, it weighs twice as much as most devices (and doesn't fit in most people's pockets), but it includes a full-size keyboard, a 56-Kbps modem, and a color screen.
At Buyproduce Inc. in Irvine, Calif., which manages a produce-delivery supply chain with 1,300 subscribers of mostly rural sellers and urban buyers, participants are wirelessly sent up to 17 event alerts as orders make their way to their destination. To accommodate these alerts, urban customers are encouraged to use the Compaq iPaq, because it's optimized for Windows, has slots for digital camera and wireless modem attachments, and the iPaq H3650 has a screen that adjusts to changing light conditions.
Meanwhile, farmers tend to be in areas with spotty wireless coverage best suited for one-way pagers. "Our surveys showed that only about 28% of our suppliers can get even two-way pager service," says Jim Delurgio, chief technology officer at Buyproduce.
Instead of supporting multiple devices, it's now possible to buy handhelds that combine phones and PDAs in one package. With Handspring's Visor Springboard expansion slot, users can add a phone, modem, global positioning service device, or digital camera. Considering that the developer of the PalmPilot (Jeff Hawkins) and two senior execs from Palm Computing (ex-president Donna Dubinsky and VP of marketing Ed Colligan) founded Handspring, it's no surprise that the Visor line shares many of Palm's features. The Visor uses a pen for input, utilizes Palm's operating system, and runs on Motorola's 33-MHz DragonBall processor. Without Springboard attachments, it measures about 5 by 3 by 0.8 inches and weighs 6.9 ounces.
Verizon Communications Inc. recently launched the Kyocera QCP-6035, which has 8 Mbytes of memory, wireless E-mail, Palm's 3.5 operating system, pen-based data entry, a WAP browser, and a CDMA phone, all packed into a 7.35-ounce package and retailing for about $499 with a year of Verizon service.
There are more combo handhelds on the way from vendors such as Samsung, which is developing both a Palm and Windows CE smart phone, and Motorola, which has the Accompli 009, a three-band GSM phone with full standard keyboard for data-centric users.
The burgeoning Bluetooth standard, which provides 1-Mbps wireless performance over distances of about 10 meters and is designed to connect multiple intelligent devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and appliances, could add a twist to the handheld market. "The question is whether or not Bluetooth will change the way we look "at things," says Gartner's Dulaney.
Like its namesake--Harald Bluetooth, the 10th-century Danish Viking king who sought to bring the warring factions of northern Europe together--Bluetooth technology seeks to provide a wireless local communication method that lets diverse and separate applications communicate. A person on a cell phone, for instance, could search for an address on a PDA that's tucked inside a briefcase in the backseat of a car.
But most vendors are hedging their bets regarding Bluetooth before including the communication chips in their devices. One issue is that Bluetooth transmits in the frequency range of 2.4 GHz, the same as 802.11b, a popular LAN wireless frequency. A new LAN standard being developed, the 802.11a, operates at a higher frequency and should eliminate interference.
Most companies will continue to battle with handheld devices. For now, that means being flexible. Says Joanne Bocci, managing director of the mobile and wireless practice at Analysts International, which provides consulting services worldwide: "We're totally device-agnostic. We need to use what's best."
Photo of Schmidt by Natasha Fuksman
Photo of Delurgio by Edward Carreon
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