November 29, 2001
Korea-based Cyberbank Corp., maker of the PC-EPhone, one of the world's first combined mobile phone and palmtop computers, has selected Citrix(R) MetaFrame(R) application server software for use in the latest version of its innovative handheld device. The Citrix (Nasdaq:CTXS) solution will allow smooth and full-featured PC wireless application services to be accessed and displayed on the device -- even at transmission speeds as low as 10-20 kilobits per second (kbps).
Cyberbank's PC-EPhone, which captured second place in the best Wireless/Mobile Product category at last year's Comdex show, contains a full VGA-sized Web browser that allows users to access full-size Web pages over low-bandwidth Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless connections. Pages are displayed on a 4-inch backlit color thin film transistor (TFT) LCD. The device's Windows(R) CE operating system allows a variety of applications to be run, including email, address book and scheduler, notepad, recorder, calculator, MS Pocket Word, and telephone services.
"By integrating PC-EPhone with Citrix MetaFrame, we are providing wireless application services that offer a superior competitive edge in the personal digital assistant services landscape," said Cho Jeongsik, assistant manager of Cyberbank. "By overcoming the limitations of existing PDAs and mobile networks, Cyberbank is providing seamless Internet and application services with the ideal wireless access to all PC-EPhone customers."
The PC-EPhone, which weighs around 10 ounces, is the first combined mobile/PDA to feature a stylus/wireless handset utilizing Bluetooth technology. This stylus/handset features a numbered keypad which can be used for making and receiving calls within 10 meters or 30 feet of the main unit.
The need to deploy Citrix MetaFrame arose when the PC-EPhone was originally developed for access at speeds of up to 64 kbps and running on a Windows CE platform. The challenges stacked up because of the limited offering and functionality of WinCE applications, as well as the need to develop applications suitable for a mobile computing environment.
Citrix MetaFrame software enables applications to be completely run on central servers, which in turn act as compensation for the low specification and narrow bandwidth environment of PDAs. Incorporating Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA(R)), the bandwidth requirement for data transmission is only 10-20 kbps on average, providing LAN-like performance on a wireless network.
"By deploying Citrix MetaFrame, Cyberbank strengthens its competitiveness by eliminating the need for application development and minimizing build-up time in Korea's competitive mobile computing landscape," said Andrew Chan, Citrix's regional director for North Asia. "Server-based computing is a technology in place today that caters to the requirement of tomorrow's mobile enterprises, enabling businesses to benefit from the growing trend of global wireless access."
In the near future, Cyberbank plans to offer a mobile solution that allows individual users as well as enterprise customers to use mission-critical applications by expanding their wired Application Service Provider (ASP) business using MetaFrame.
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