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- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- Soundoff: Wireless (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=5503)

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Originally posted by rmapes:
And you don't need a springboard, just a serial cable.

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I really don't need this now, nor do I ever anticipate casual web-browsing (i.e. for fun) on the small screen of a handheld. But I think it would be a great convenience to be able to send and receive e-mail from a handheld without having to hotsync. It would also be nice to be able to access specific information on the web, such as checking movie times, traffic reports, or buying airline or concert tickets,...

Then again, the way technology is going, 20 years from now, you'll be able to even go to the bathroom from your wireless ethernet connection! *yikes* ;-)

Wireless is an interesting option, but not *that* interesting that I would - at least taking my current financial status into account - buy a springboard and get a wireless plan for that purpose.
The main thing that I am interested in is receiving my email using a cell phone and only browse the web when I desperately need information and no PC is around. The Visor screen is simply to small to browse the web for a longer period of time.
A decent cell phone with a cable for my Visor or via IR should do the trick for me - at least as far as email is concerned.

In a few years when I have a real job with a salary that lets me afford such 'luxury' or when I really need it for my job, then wireless would be very interesting...

But not now...

[This message has been edited by mc9 (edited 06-30-2000).]

yeah, for now, until the Mark/Space serial cable is available (hopefully in about a week), the two ways I have found to hook up my Visor to my cellphone are 1) the EFIG, and 2) the serial cradle (with flow control turned off). The Mark/Space serial cable will work if it mimics the serial cradle.

Without question, downloading e-mail is the "killer app" for wireless for me. It's surprisingly fast and you can respond to your e-mails fast. I was at the Rangers and Oakland A's game Wednesday night and I casually e-mailed the score each inning to my co-workers across the country (they were working late) just to piss them off in real-time - it was great.

If this is an example of the benefits of wireless, change the bumper sticker from "Kill your TV set".. to "Kill your PDA"!

"Kill your PDA?" Web surfing on a PC is more analagous to TV than a PDA is. One of the nice things about accessing the internet on a PDA is that once you get the information you're looking for, you tend to get offline immediately (once the novelty has worn off). I've used the Omnisky for the Palm V for a couple of week, and I noticed that I stayed online for maybe an average of one minute if I was looking up something specific on the web, like directions or a phone number; five or ten minutes if I was checking email. Rarely, if ever, do I spend less than fifteen minutes online on my PC.

When typical PC users boot up the computer, log on and surf, they spend a lot more time since (1) they're sitting down, (2) they're mesmerized by a large monitor, (3) they want to justify the three minutes it took to boot up and log on, (4) they've got a multimedia experience.

The smaller and more portable our technology gets, the less self-conscious about it we'll become. Then, instead of isolating ourselves in an electronic hearth, we can go out in the world and interact with other people.

quote:

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Originally posted by rmapes:
I have been using Sprint PCS to download my e-mail and even surf the net using my Visor. And it cost $9.95 per month. And you don't need a springboard, just a serial cable.

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James, you ask if we see wireless as something we need now, or (like Hawkins) would we rather vendors focus on other features?

Yes, I do think it's needed now if the PDA is to retain it's advantage over other types of technology that will be wireless and provide internet access. I don't need wireless internet access but I want it when I travel and I would like to have it without lugging along a notebook computer to have it. Besides email, there are certain sites, mostly newspaper sites like the Houston Chronicle, that I look at every day. BTY, the Houston Chronicle should have a PDA version soon. Those that I look at daily aren't now available with a service like AvantGO. I would like to be able to do that on my Visor and be able to do it without exorbitant cost. Then there are all the business reasons for being able to access the internet while traveling without lugging a notebook along. I don't think the PDA would be used to "surf" but to access sites that we already know and now use frequently.

Michael Dell sees wireless Internet access as the future of portable computing--and maybe of all personal computing. At a Dell Computer reception at PC Expo, he told CNET News.com that wireless broadband likely will displace its landline counterparts, such as cable and DSL. This is one reason Dell is embracing existing wireless technologies like (IEEE) 802.11 and putting wireless antennas in Latitude notebooks. He announced a new wireless division at Dell. See:
http://2.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin2/...erq0Gl6f0U0Cnex
and http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2153912.html

quote:

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Originally posted by JHromadka:
Are you going to shell out the $$$ for these modules?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Charo:
Besides email, there are certain sites, mostly newspaper sites like the Houston Chronicle, that I look at every day. BTY, the Houston Chronicle should have a PDA version soon.

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On a consumer level, I don't currently have a need. Not only is it costly, but I already have web access at home and at work, how connected do I really need to be? On a professional level I am interested in wireless enterprise solutions for INTRANET applications. I'd love to be able to receive reports/memos/email wirelessly using my visor from our corporate servers. If I could only get bureaucratic data security on board.

I would agree with others here that intant messaging is really the killer app for wireless. I could care less for the latest sports scores from Yahoo or ESPN from my cell phone. But what I really want is instant wireless access to my email, and maybe some low end web searching for information, for example if I want to track a package via FedEx or UPS mobile services. Maybe I might want to find out the latest weather forecast if I'm on the road, and I agree with Gameboy, that transferring files from remote locations would be great!

But considering the cost and small screen, I really don't see myself sitting in my living room *browsing* the web on my cell phone or PDA.

[This message has been edited by foo fighter (edited 07-01-2000).]

quote:

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Originally posted by Charo:
And Sprint is now selling a phone combined with a Palm III device, featuring a large screen, to use for that $9.95, see below.

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pk, you're right. Wireleless e-mail from your corporate e-mail server is the killer app. In fact, you can do it right now by just forwarding your corporate e-mail to your ISP personal e-mail account. I've been forwarding a copy of all my e-mail from work (Lotus Notes) to my ISP e-mail address and I download it to my Visor using my $100 Sprint PCS cellphone (no need to tie directly into your corporate server - no security concerns, and you can respond back). I pay $9.95/month and can get my e-mail any where. Sprint has pretty good coverage now (gets better every day) and they are moving to CDMA 1x in a matter of months (144Kbps, I understand, which is faster than my home!). I don't need my laptop on the road now. Also, I find it more convenient even when I'm in town - no long boot-up process just to get e-mail. One cool use is to download your e-mail while waiting for your plane to take-off, read it and compose a response in-flight, and respond when you land. It's what PDAs are all about -time saving convenience. And oh, by the way, I also use my cellphone and visor with Proxiweb - it's a great way to get weather, news, maps, etc. off the web from yahoo etc - it's formatted for PDAs and best of all, it's free.

And have you seen the device in person? It's about twice the thickness of a real Palm III.

I want wireless intyernet access and I want it now.:-)

But at $369, I think I could wait. Hopefully a lowere price on the springboard will come with a under $30 monthly fee.

One thing ppl should consider about the future of wirelesss surfing the web is that the more ppl who use this the more web pages will change to fit these devices. Not unlike what avantgo is today. You will have pages with less graphics and more text to speed up your surfing.

Felipe

The wireless gennie is out of the box. Hawkins and Handspring will have to focus on wireless also. See what the other guys are doing in this CNET news roundup of the PC Expo. The full stories of those captioned below are at:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-201-1559146-0.html

PC makers see future in wireless
Top PC executives predict the death of the desktop computer as the leading method of accessing the Internet, saying wireless handheld devices will soon rule the day.
Boom leads firms to swap strategies
A number of firms have shed their original business plan to tap new Internet-driven ideas, a telling sign about the promise of the wireless Web.

IBM jumps into wireless pool
Big Blue's new software will translate existing information and images on Web sites into a format readable by handheld devices, such as cell phones and personal digital assistants, and by future technology, such as Web browsers in cars.

FCC chairman proposes wireless exchange
Aiming at reducing pressure on mobile phone networks, the nation's top telecommunications regulator proposes a new way of selling wireless bandwidth between companies.

Sun to announce partnership with Palm
The Java creator and server giant plans to announce a partnership tomorrow that aims to make the Palm handheld device into a more useful tool for the office, sources say.

Gates: Microsoft committed to wireless
Bill Gates gives a strong sales pitch for the software giant's products and services during a keynote speech at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's trade show.

Ethernet card module?

Austin's Bergstrom International Airport this week began offering high speed wireless Internet access throughout its terminal, allowing on the go computer users with the right equipment to connect to the Web without a telephone line. It is the first airport in the nation truly wired for wireless Internet connection according to Charles Gates, aviation director. Wayport, the Austin based Internet service provider that contracted with the airport, plans to launch the service at DFW, LaGuardia, JFK & Newark within the year. By 2001, 30 major airports will have the radio transmitter receivers needed to connect to local networks controlled by Wayport, the company said. Its wireless service is already available in 600 hotels nationwide. Computer users must have an Ethernet card that plugs into or is built into their units. Users then must establish an account with Wayport by using an airport kiosk or visiting the company's Web site. From an AP story 7-1-00.

It is interesting how a lot of comments are based on what is possible now. Computer users at one time were very happy with amber text on black screens and thought that was good enough. Apple advanced the game with WYSIWYG but then stayed stuck in small screen black and white too long. Jeff Hawkins has fallen in this trap. He had a great initial vision but now has tunnel vision in listening to the small spectrum of current owners who have satisfied their immediate needs.

The palm/pocket is the right form factor. Hawkins proved that to definitely be true. The measuring stick is the device must fit in the shirt pocked (whether you intend to carry it that way or not--kind of like the airline carry on test).

Two, color is inevitable and along with color more resolution will be needed. PocketPC has that part right.

Three, the read factor emulation will be newspapers and not books. The newspaper column reads much faster than the standard book page. The only reason books are the size they are is because the limitations of bindings and numbers of pages. A pocket/palm device does not have this limitation.

four, these devices will evolve from being simple PIM devices to Full Information Gatherer devices (FIGs). That means books, newspapers, magazines, office files, email, etc. all delivered in this fashion. Why not movies, multimedia, radio and TV?

Finally, information needs to be current and available immediately and everywhere. That makes wireless inevitable as part of the evolution. In the future we will not understand how we could have done without it just like FAX, computers, email, copy machines and cell phones. We will never have a true vacation again.

Make a Springboard module with:
* A 56K modem with cellular capability
* Piggyback slot for CF Type II memory cards
* Built-in terminal program (or include sotware) that will allow Zmodem, FTP, Telefinder file uploads (probably a barebones terminal program for each protocol)

You'd sell of ton of these to photojournalists around the world. We'd just have to jot down which photos we want transmitted then pop the memory cards outta our digital camera and into the Springboard Module for transmission back to our newspapers or news services.

We're already burdened with lots of photo gear and having a handheld device to take the place of a laptop would be great. We can edit what we want to send via the LCD screens on our cameras so we don't need to view the images on the Visor.