Socket Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCKT, PSE:SOK) today announced a joint development agreement with Sprint PCS (NYSE:PCS) to create software that will make it easy to use Bluetooth wireless technology to connect Windows-based handheld computers and notebooks to future Bluetooth-enabled wireless phones. When the cable-free connectivity solution becomes available, mobile computer users who subscribe to the Sprint PCS all-digital nationwide network will be able to use their Bluetooth-enabled phones as wireless modems to access the Internet or their corporate networks for mobile Web browsing, e-mail, streaming video or file updates.
"Bluetooth wireless technology will redefine the way mobile computers and mobile phones interact," said Kevin Mills, president and CEO of Socket. "We are excited to partner with Sprint PCS in bringing Bluetooth to the forefront of an ongoing convergence of mobile computing and wireless data communications."
Bluetooth is the codename for a widely accepted specification for a small, low-cost short-range radio link that can replace the cables ordinarily used to connect electronic devices. The range for a Bluetooth radio is 10 meters, or about 30 feet. Cahners In-Stat, a market research group, predicts that by 2005 there will be more than 670 million Bluetooth-enabled devices worldwide.
"Socket has a proven track record developing technology that allows handheld computers and notebooks to take advantage of mobile phones for wireless data access," said Phil Garrison, vice president and general manager, subscriber equipment, Sprint PCS. "We are pleased to work with Socket in preparing to offer another innovative connectivity option for our customers to access the Internet or their corporate network on their laptops anywhere on the Sprint PCS nationwide network. Bluetooth wireless technology will eliminate the need to buy, connect and carry a data cable in order to use wireless data. This is especially appealing if you are a frequent or heavy user of wireless data."
A key component of the cable-free solution for Sprint PCS customers is Socket's Personal Network Card, a CompactFlash Type I plug-in card with an integrated Bluetooth radio. The card fits in the industry standard CompactFlash expansion slot of a Windows Powered Pocket PC or, via an adapter, in the PC Card slot of a Windows CE-based handheld PC or pen tablet, or a Windows notebook. Expected to be commercially available in the first half of 2001, the card will make it possible for Windows-based mobile computers to communicate wirelessly with a variety of Bluetooth-enabled devices including mobile phones, Ethernet gateways, Internet appliances, and other computers.
[ Home | Contact | MobiChat | Experts database | Let's do it ]
Comments to the content of this page can be posted on the MobiChat discussion group