Sensiva has ported their Symbol Commander gesture recognition software from Windows to Pocket PC. "Symbol Commander allows users to command and control their device faster and more easily just by making gestures on the screen with the pen. They draw a 'W' to launch their word processor, an 'E' to check their email, simple lines to copy/paste, etc." US$39.95 http://www.sensiva.com -- Posted Friday, September 27, 2002
Trust Digital releases PDASecure VPN
PDASecure VPN is a secure remote access product announced by Trust Digital. It uses IPSec encryption, 802.11 security, and authentication that secures client-to-gateway and client-to-client communications. "PDA Secure VPN will bring wireless security to a new level of reliability [to PDAs], said Kevin Shahbazi, TrustDigital's Marketing VP. "The portable nature of these devices increases the risk of having vital personal or corporate data falling into the wrong hands." http://www.trustdigital.com -- Posted Friday, September 27, 2002
Iambic and Red Mercury announce bundle
Iambic will be bundling Red Mercury's AcidImage with their own Iambic Mail 3.0, allowing users to receive and view images by email on their Palm devices. Available for US$32 from either the Red Mercury or Iambic websites. A free 30 day demo is also available. http://red-mercury-store.com | http://www.iambicstore.com | -- Posted Friday, September 27, 2002
Xybernaut unveils Atigo flat panel display
Xybernaut Corporation, maker of wearable computers, has announced their Atigo convertible displays. The displays are capable of serving as wireless displays, tethered via 802.11b, or as stand-alone Web-enabled tablet computers. The internal Lithium-ion batteries allow operation of 4-4.5 hours runtime. The Atigo L runs Windows CE .NET, and runs on an Intel StrongARM SA-1110 processor. Pricing starts at US$1,795. http://www.xybernaut.com -- Posted Friday, September 27, 2002
Bachmann Utilities introduced at PalmSource Open House
Bachmann Software has announced that its FilePoint Pro and PrintBoy Anywhere products are available as a bundle called Bachmann Utilities. The bundle, the company says, give Palm OS handheld users all the "essential file management and printing capabilities that users take for granted on their desktop PCs." FilePoint Pro is a file management utiltiy for copy files to and from the PC, and also allows users to see every file in detail on their Palm. It then gives them the ability to move and structure files at will, between different types of media. PrintBoy Anywhere enables printing from the handheld via 802.11b, modem, infrared, and even Bluetooth. US$69.99; for a limited time, it can be purchased at US$59.99. http://www.bachmannsoftware.com -- Posted Friday, September 27, 2002
Handspring releases Palm Desktop for OS X, cuts workforce
Handspring announced Monday that the new Palm Desktop 4.0 for Mac OS X is available to work with Handspring Treo and Visor products. It is a free download from http://www.handspring.com
In seperate news, Handspring has cut 20% of its global workforce, reducing its staff from about 400 to about 320 people, according to an IDG story. While the staff cuts were worldwide, apparently most of the cuts were in the marketing department, according to company spokesman Allen Bush. More details on the reorganization will be announced on October 17 when the company releases its 2003 first fiscal quarter earnings. [source: http://www.maccentral.com ] -- Posted Wednesday, September 25, 2002
Intermec ships model 700 rugged Pocket PC
Intermec Technologies has begun shipping their 700 series color Pocket PC. It uses a 400 MHz X-Scale processor, and can be equipped with an imager for interpreting barcodes, taking photos, and capturing signatures. "X-Scale offer an excellent balance of power conservation and computing power that can support even our most demanding wireless, barcode scanning, and full-motion video requirements," said Craig Miller, Intermec's 700 Series Product Manager. The 700 can also integrate up to three wireless communication options, including 802.11b, GSM/GPRS WAN, and Bluetooth. 802.11b and Bluetooth models are available now, with GMS/GPRS and CDMA/1xRTT expected in Q4. http://www.intermec.com -- Posted Wednesday, September 25, 2002
CES adds presentation software to office suite
Cutting Edge Software's Quickoffice goes Pro with the addition of Quickpoint, a PowerPoint import, viewing, and editing tool. To ease selection and import of files to the Palm device, a Quickpoint menu is added to the PowerPoint screen. The software also supports high resolution devices, like the Sony CLIE line. Quickoffice Pro is US$49.95. Quickpoint is available as a standalone program for US$29.99. http://www.cesinc.com -- Posted Wednesday, September 25, 2002
Handspring updates Treo 90 with SDIO
Handspring's Treo 90 shipped with an SD card slot, but that slot didn't support SDIO, the ability to use expansion cards like Palm's SD Bluetooth card or Margi's Presenter-to-Go. They're now offering an update that will make that slot compatible with such expansion. Installation on my Treo 90 went flawlessly, with detailed onscreen instructions. Units will be updated to Palm OS 4.1H2. New Treo 90's will ship with the updated software. For existing users the update is free, available at http://www.handspring.com/support. -- Posted Wednesday, September 25, 2002