VisorCentral.com - New Modules

Show 20 posts from this thread on one page

VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Article Comments (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=17)
-- New Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=14769)

Posted by marcus on 05-07-2001 03:20 AM:

@nifty has a preview of a cell phone modem Springboard module for the Handspring Visor. The website is not in English so details are sketchy.

The SnapConnect module is 16,800 Yen and uses what looks to be 2 AAA batteries.

Another module is shown at the DCM Pocket website but I cannot determine what it is for

__________________
<B>Marcus Adolfsson</B>
Editor

Posted by MediaBaron on 05-07-2001 03:36 AM:

It looks like it includes the same functionality as the Visor to Motorola cables but the batteries are used for a different type of cell phone that allows up to 64Kbps download/32Kbps upload speeds. Probably no better than the plain Motorola cables for us in the USA.

Posted by Jeromel on 05-07-2001 05:15 AM:

That's seem for PHS-network, not for GSM-network.
PHS is a specially mobile-network in Japan. Unlike GSM, it is faster and cheaper.

Posted by davecombs on 05-07-2001 09:56 PM:

I think I know what it is...

I'm betting that what you're looking at is a combo of a compact flash card converter/adapter for cell phones, and a Springboard-to-CF adapter.

Do this: Go to the bottom of the page that's called up by the article's link. There is a blue oval; click on it. It looks like it takes you to a press release page. Then, click on the link that's immediately below the one representing the page you were just on. The one you want is the "C@rd-H64 petit" link. When you open that, look at the other pictures and (what little there is of) the English text toward the bottom of the page. The pix show the little module from the article being inserted into an HP Jornada (a CF-enabled machine), and pix of a PC-Card adapter with the little module inserted into it.

Sound/look reasonable? (Since I don't speak Japanese...)

Posted by bkbk on 05-07-2001 10:20 PM:

But, heyyyyyy -- cornocopia (sp?) time, eh?
Think enough has happend in the PDA world since Fri. night (my last log-on)?
Can any of our Yen friends convert the $$$?

__________________
"Great Spirits Have Always Encountered Violent Opposition From Mediocre Minds." -- Albert Einstein

Posted by kaztm on 05-07-2001 10:51 PM:

Well, the latter product is an adapter that can host C@rd-H"64 petit, which is a compact flash Type II device that lets you connect to DDI Pocket's PHS network at the rate of 32kbps per channel (64kbps max.) The adapter does not host other devices.

The CF device is one of the most popular solutions employed in Japan for mobile computing. It is extremely effective there, but unfortunately, there is no such service in the US...

The prior device in James Hromadka's article is similar to the adapter, but its emphasis is on bridging Handspring PDAs to virtually all types of cell phones and wireless phone services in Japan, using cables. The 2 AAA batteries are there to support extended use of wireless network.

Posted by ashman on 05-08-2001 09:30 AM:

How's this for translating? Not perfect but you get the gist of it. Looks like the prior posts were correct.

__________________
If it feels so right then why is it wrong?

Posted by Toby on 05-08-2001 12:24 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by ashman
How's this for translating? Not perfect but you get the gist of it. Looks like the prior posts were correct.

That's what I used, and it translated well enough to figure out. It seems similar to the original user-made SB-CF springboard that sparked a lot of interest here.

Posted by Eug on 05-11-2001 05:21 AM:

What is the PHS-network in a nutshell?

Posted by kaztm on 05-16-2001 08:24 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Eug
What is the PHS-network in a nutshell?

PHS stands for Personal Handyphone System.
It went in service in...well, somewhere around 1995?

The biggest technical difference compared to regular cell phone network we know is that PHS's antenna power is very low (less than 100mW.) Each relay station, which corresponds to a "cell" in the regular cell phone network, has the range of only 1,000 to 2,000 feet, however, because low power relay stations are incomparably cheaper than constructing hi-power towers, they placed dictionary-size relay stations on every several power poles, phone booth, building roof, etc. and came up with a coverage equivalent to that of regular cell phone, in well populated areas.

The concept began as "we use cordless phones at home, so let's make it work even outside our home." This is why PHS phones function both as a cell phone and as a house cordless phone simultaneously. When ringing, you can tell by sound and display whether the incoming call is for the house phone or for the cell phone. PHS phones can also function as mini transceivers, meaning they can call up each other without the help of the network or relay station.

Thanks to the low antenna power, PHS phones are extremely compact, as evident in compact flash size PHS devices. Because each relay stations are connected to ISDN, PHS has been offering 32kbps data rate for more than 5 years. They became capable of doing 64kbps years ago, and now packets and 128kbps is on the way. Pretty impressive speed for a cheap wireless solution, but Japan is now launching 384kbps service with next-generation cell phones.

All times are GMT. The time now is 12:06 AM.

Show 20 posts from this thread on one page