RoW International Short Takes

Sierra Wireless unveils rugged wireless modemRichmond BC-based Sierra Wireless Inc. has introduced a new rugged wireless modem card for the Asian, European and North American marketplaces. Capitalizing on the success of the MP200 in North America, the MP750 lets the company enter the global marketplace with a proven technology, the company notes in a news release. The product is currently on display at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France. Commercial availability of the MP750 is expected by May 2003. The product, tri-band GPRS-enabled, is designed for demanding environments and is well suited for the police, fire and rescue and other field service situations. The MP750 also comes with GPS ports. Digit Wireless joins OMAPDigit Wireless has joined the OMAP Developer Networks, a group leading the change to create exciting applications for mobile devices based on Texas Instruments’ OMAP processor. Digit will help in the development of mobile multimedia devices by providing an enhanced user interface through its Fastap keyboard technology. Fastap allows users to create text and multimedia messages more quickly. Industry observers believe that creating a more functional interface for device users to create, send and access multimedia content on wireless devices will only help spur more traffic and subsequently more revenue for the carriers. Microsoft makes several announcements at 3GSMMicrosoft Corp. is making a big splash in the wireless industry with several deals unveiled at the 3GSM World Congress currently being held in Cannes, France. The company announced that it had received a commitment from T-Mobile to launch a smartphone in major markets this summer. During his keynote address, Juha Christensen, corporate VP of the mobile devices marketing group, shared research on how Windows-powered devices will drive data traffic. Microsoft and Samsung introduced the SGH-i700, a new Pocket PC-based handset with built-in camera capabilities. This device is the result of the two companies’ partnership to develop a portfolio of Windows-powered smart wireless devices. Future devices will address a variety of consumer desires and needs. In another announcement, Microsoft and chip maker Intel unveiled a smartphone concept design that will allow handset manufacturers to quickly develop data-enabled handsets, which will significantly decrease the cost and time to market for new devices. Wistron Corp. will be the first company to take advantage of the concept kit to develop and bring to market a new device. It is expected to be commercially available later this year. IBM unveils new open standards-based wireless systemIBM Corp. continues its push for open standards-based systems aimed at easing the deployment and support of wireless services across a wide variety of devices and networks. To further its goal, the company has created two wireless enterprise labs, one in Raliegh, North Carolina and the other in LaGaude, France. The labs will work on extending IBM’s software and services portfolio by supporting the establishment of an open and advanced enterprise reference architecture. The reference architecture is designed to help businesses extend information to disparate devices, significantly reducing the time and costs associated with deploying new wireless applications. The new IBM Wireless Enterprise Delivery Environment creates a framework for the interconnection of wireless networks and enterprise systems and details the common infrastructure needed. Autodesk updates location-based services platformThe location services division of Autodesk Inc. has released version 4 of its Autodesk LocationLogic, the company’s location-based services development platform. LocationLogic 4 introduces a host of advancements designed to speed development and deployment time of time-sensitive location service offerings for consumers and business users.

RoW International Short Takes

News | 02/18/2003 5:00 am EST

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