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From...
Digital devices complement PCs
Personal digital assistants exploit the Net to expand their utility.
December 7, 1998
Web posted at: 11:00 AM EST
by Cheri Paquet
SAN FRANCISCO (IDG) -- Mobile computing is going mainstream, as handheld devices become more task-specific and professionals use them increasingly as an extension of their desktop PCs, according to keynote speakers at the Personal Digital Assistant conference held here this week.
"Mobile computing devices are becoming application-specific," said Vinny Luciano, director of product management at Symbol Technologies, which provides data transaction systems and sold 550,000 handheld computers in 1998. "Companies are taking computing to where the work is being done," said Luciano. PDAs have come a long way and now can not only retrieve data but can process transactions as well, he added.
"There are huge shifts on the way," said Jacob Christfort, Oracle's director of product management and marketing. Corporations are shifting away from the constraints of the PC, combining mobile and Internet computing to give users access to shared data, he said.
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Handheld devices are not replacements for desktop PCs, but are extending traditional computing models, executives from Oracle, Microsoft, and Symbol agreed.
Anytime access
Oracle's platform for mobile Web applications, Oracle8i Lite 3.5, lets a PDA act as an extension of the desktop by taking a "snapshot" of a large database, making it accessible to mobile workers anytime, anywhere, Christfort said. Oracle8i Lite 3.5 enables companies to supply data backup, information, and software upgrades to their mobile users.
Oracle next week plans to announce additional platforms supported by Oracle8i Lite 3.5, which currently runs on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows CE, and Palm Computing's platform.
The company sees centralized data storage and management as the future of its mobile computing strategy. "Centralized data processed in a shared manner is more valuable, and this is Oracle's vision," Christfort said.
Microsoft's companionable moves
Like Oracle, Microsoft is seeing corporations expanding their operations by supplying employees with handheld devices, according to Jim Floyd, product manager for handheld PCs. "PDAs are a PC companion," said Floyd.
Microsoft's Windows CE is a general purpose operating system and uses a subset of the Microsoft Win32 application programming interface, which forms the basis for the Windows desktop and server operating systems.
Microsoft has improved its latest version of the Windows CE mobile computing system, Handheld PC Professional Edition, to include support for the IMAP 4 e-mail standard, office folders, and pocket applications including Word, Excel, Pocket PowerPoint, and Access. Other enhancements are added security, hard cursor support, and networking and communication capabilities, said Floyd.