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RioPort to Sell Warner, Artemis Downloads
RioPort will offer 100 secure downloadable singles from Warner Music Group to affiliated online retailers. RioPort will also sell tracks from independent label Artemis Records. MTV.com, VH1.com, Sonicnet, Bolt and HOB.com will sell singles from WMG labels Atlantic, Elektra, London-Sire, Rhino and Warner Bros. Records, as well as from Artemis. No information was available on pricing or format of the singles; in February, Warner began selling downloadable albums in Microsoft's Windows Media audio and Liquid Audio's formats for between $10.98 and $16.98. The Artemis tracks, from artists including Kittie, the Baha Men and Steve Earle, will cost 99 cents each and be available in the Windows Media format. RioPort will provide digital distribution services, including content preparation, hosting and delivery, digital rights management and customer support. Last week, MTV said selling downloads through RioPort is a major part of its new Internet strategy. RioPort lists the other four major label groups -- Sony Music, BMG Entertainment, EMI Recorded Music and Universal Music Group -- as content partners, but currently only sells EMI and Universal tracks through MTV.com, Sonicnet and VH1.com.
jay- thanks for the tip. ps. i am sure tin, joe, and matt will appropriately take care of any bashing.
i'll believe it when i hear it!!!! dazzle 'em w/......
Online music interests converge at Senate hearing
By Margret Johnston
WASHINGTON -- THE U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday once again delved into the issue of music file sharing on the Internet in a hearing that featured Napster CEO Hank Barry, AOL Time Warner (AOL) co-COO Richard Parsons, and musician Don Henley as well as other recording industry representatives and artists.
The hearing was one of a series that the committee has held in its oversight capacity regarding protection of intellectual property and copyright. The committee has in previous hearings expressed concern over Napster and similar services that allow for sharing of copyright-protected music files without, at least in the past, payment schemes for artists or record companies.
The committee has also in previous hearings put pressure on the established music companies to come with a solution that provides for distribution of music and protection of copyrights.
However, the deal announced Monday by RealNetworks to launch a platform for online music subscription services in conjunction with three of the big five music labels seemed to have taken the heat off of the representatives of the major music companies at Tuesday's hearing. RealNetworks' MusicNet will combine the music assets of Bertelsmann, EMI Group, and AOL Time Warner. The companies' music subsidiaries -- EMI Recorded Music, BMG Entertainment, and Warner Brothers Music Group -- will each license their music to MusicNet.
Asked when MusicNet would start offering music on the Internet, Parsons replied that the service would start being marketed in late summer or early fall. Although initially music offered by the service would be restricted to music licensed by the companies involved in the deal at the moment, the goal is "to have access to all the music," Parsons said.
Despite word from some of the major companies at the hearing that a solution to protecting copyrights of digitally distributed music is imminent, musician Don Henley said, "We still don't know how this money is going to be distributed ... we don't know how our intellectual property is going to be protected."
Gerry Kearby, CEO of digital rights management and file compression technology company Liquid Audio, acknowledged that although technologically the kinks to distributing high quality audio files over the Web are being worked out, pricing of distribution services is still an open question.
Napster's Barry fielded a number of questions and reported that the company was complying with a court order to identify copyright infringements allowed by the Napster Web-based file-sharing service.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he has heard that up until recently "things are available on the service that shouldn't be there."
"We are in compliance with that [court] order," Barry said, but also added "we are working to make it better." Barry reported that Napster has cut down the number of music files able to be swapped by the service from a total of 375 million to 100 million. Napster has a distributed architecture, he pointed out, and thus one of the major challenges that the company has is that it has to wait until a Napster user logs on before it can detect which music files the user has downloaded from the service or has available for download.
Early last month U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in San Francisco issued a modified injunction, saying it was up to the music labels to identify copyright infringements but nevertheless ordering Napster to remove unauthorized songs within three days after copyright holders supply details about infringements. Patel issued the injunction at the direction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which found that Napster aids in the massive infringement of record labels' copyrights.
In the hearing Tuesday, Berry said he was not asking the court to take the company's word that it was complying with the new injunction, but that the company would work with independent technical advisors appointed by the court, which would ensure that Napster, in San Mateo, Calif., is in compliance with the court order.
Margret Johnston is a Washington correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate.
Lucent Technologies Unveils New Articulator(TM) Text-To-Speech Software Development Kit
Platform Enables Third-Party Application Developers, OEMs and Service Providers to Deliver Text-to-speech Capabilities With Quality Comparable To the Human Voice
MURRAY HILL, N.J., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU - news) today released a new text-to-speech (TTS) software development kit (SDK) that allows third party application developers, OEMs and service providers to provide cost-effective, human-like speech-enabled services to their customers. Developed by Bells Labs, the new TTS software development kit, Articulator(TM), maintains all of the advantages of Lucent's existing TTS in terms of intelligibility and scalability, while making the synthesized voice sound more natural. It achieves the new level of naturalness without a significant increase in engine size or decrease in channel capacity.
Articulator TTS software is ideal for voice portals, services that access the Internet using the voice, that need to convert unrestricted text input to natural-sounding speech output for email reading, information access and other typical voice service applications.
More than 25 customers are currently in trial with the new speech software solution. Beta customers in trial include Nuance Communications, Philips Speech Processing, Motorola and Sound Advantage. Lucent is also deploying the Articulator software as an enabling technology in the Lucent MiLife(TM) Media Platform and the e-Services product portfolio.
``We view the Articulator TTS engine as the highest quality engine on the market today,'' said Kim Terry, senior vice president of Philips Speech Processing. ``The Lucent TTS system is our recommended choice for Philips Speech Processing customers needing a robust text-to-speech solution.''
According to Chester Anderson, senior vice president of Business Development of Sound Advantage, ``Articulator is the most natural and intelligible TTS engine on the market today. As a major e-mail reading provider, high-quality TTS is critical to our business success.''
``Lucent's Articulator SDK represents a significant step forward in the TTS offerings from Lucent Speech Solutions,'' said Rich Di Pietro, president of Speech Solutions, Lucent Technologies. ``Our TTS solution is extremely flexible because it is supported both as a software engine and on our scaleable speech server, making it an excellent solution for service providers.
The Articulator TTS is a stand-alone multi-channel software package based on a distributed architecture that runs on Windows* or UNIX operating systems and may support one to several hundred simultaneous TTS sessions. It includes a custom dictionary that enables users to create specialized pronunciations for any words they choose. It also comes with a language ID module that automatically recognizes the language of the text input. Included in the SDK is an email preprocessor that converts email messages into a form well-suited to be read aloud.
The SDK supports the Microsoft Speech API (SAPI) standard for the Windows operating system as well as the Lucent Speech API (similar to JSAPI) for both Unix and Windows operating systems. It includes full documentation and sample code for application developers.
U.K. English is currently available for the Articulator SDK and Lucent plans to add Articulator engine voices for all other supported languages, such as U.S. English, French, Spanish, German and Italian by the end of calendar 2001.
Lucent plans to demonstrate Articulator TTS at the AVIOS trade show (Booth #118) in San Jose, Calif. from April 2-4, 2001.
Supported by Bell Labs, Lucent Speech Solutions delivers state of the art speech recognition and industry leading TTS technology along with the only fully integrated speech platform.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as broadband and mobile Internet infrastructure; communications software; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation
IBM merges desktop, laptop divisions
By Joe Wilcox
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
April 2, 2001, 5:30 p.m. PT
IBM on Monday consolidated its desktop and notebook units in what analysts characterize as a forward-looking move.
The change created a new Personal Computing Devices group that combines not only the NetVista desktop and ThinkPad portable product lines, but also their design, development and logistic operations.
''It's mainly to focus on our competitive position in devices,'' IBM spokeswoman Marta Decker said Monday. ''We're combining resources, doing what's smart for the business and making sure we have a much more competitive footing when it comes to personal computing devices.''
This is the second major reorganization within IBM's PC division in recent months. In February, Big Blue moved its Intel server operation out of its PC division, which was then renamed the Personal Computing and Printing division. With servers out of the picture, many analysts have been predicting that the Personal Computer and Printing division will post a first-quarter loss.
Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds said the newest change ''makes all the sense in the world. The customers don't differentiate between desktop and notebook products, and handling the products in different ways just doesn't make sense.''
IBM last year cut $1 billion in costs out of its PC division, but it needs to squeeze out even more for efficiency's sake. The new organization could save IBM a bundle in the long run, Technology Business Research analyst Bob Sutherland said.
''I think they're cutting costs because (desktops) and notebooks will be sharing development,'' he said.
Last year, IBM began closing the gap between desktops and portables by introducing an all-in-one computer built around an LCD (liquid crystal display). Sutherland said he expects more changes for desktops that draw on the resources of notebooks. ''In a year, why couldn't the desktop motherboards really be ThinkPad motherboards?''
The new move also indicates IBM plans to focus much more on different types of devices that transcend typical PC designs, as it did with the ThinkPad TransNote. The mobile product combines a notebook, writing recognition software and a notepad with paper.
''This is an indication of the things to come with devices,'' Sutherland said. ''What's going to make the difference going forward is flat screens, for example. IBM is on the leading edge of flat screens,'' otherwise known as LCDs.
With LCDs already playing a critical role in notebooks and with IBM pushing LCDs for desktops, the company could further blur the line between the two types of computers, he added.
Fran O'Sullivan, who had been in charge of the ThinkPad group, will become general manager of the new Personal Computing Devices group. John Judge is general manager over the Personal Computing and Printing division. Harry Nichols, who had been responsible for desktops, moves on to become vice president of cost management, large enterprises and direct enablement.
With a computer price war happening and major players likely to exit the PC market, such a consolidation makes tremendous sense, Reynolds said.
''By bringing the products under one roof, IBM has the opportunity to really leverage all their skills in the marketplace,'' he said. ''So I think it's a great move for the company.''
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-5427918.html?tag=lh
April 2001 The upper handheld
The Palm and Pocket PC platforms continue their struggle for dominance.
Erik Sherman, Contributing Editor
Ah, poor Palm. Like an unsuspecting child with a "Kick Me!" sign on his back, the company makes an enticing target. And Microsoft—high-tech's version of the playground bully—is smiling close by (along with a few other potential troublemakers). Will Palm end up like the many other innovative companies that built up market momentum, only to watch Microsoft muscle in and wrest the prize away?
No doubt, Palm deserves credit for popularizing the PDA. And no doubt, Microsoft really wants to own the market. But the situation isn't nearly so clear-cut.
PDA vendors are working hard to morph their products from simple organizers into full-fledged Internet and multimedia appliances. Cell phones are pushing on the PDA category from a different direction. Meanwhile, the irresistible force of consumer desire impels designers to increase power and ease-of-use. And don't forget application developers; their buy-in is essential, but they're loyal to revenues, not to vendors. In other words, expect continuing turmoil, because vendors will battle and consumers haven't decided what they really want, anyway.
Before looking at where Palm and Microsoft are trying to head, remember from whence they, and PDAs, came. In 1993, Apple introduced the PDA category with the Newton, but the product suffered a cruel fate due to handwriting-recognition foibles. Palm unveiled the PalmPilot in 1996. Its small size, power, and simplicity caught the eye of early adopters. Continued improvements brought more consumers into the fold, and the company—purchased by 3Com, then spun off again—gobbled up market share.
“Anybody who is building a mobile device is looking to embed Internet connectivity. If they’re not putting it into today’s devices, they’re putting it on the road map.”
Curt Schacker, Wind River Systems
Microsoft watched all this, decided that Windows needed a vacation bungalow, and so devised Windows CE. But even with the promotion from Redmond and some major hardware manufacturers, early versions of the operating system met with disappointing results, leaving Palm today with a lock on sales.
"Palm definitely has a hold on the marketplace, especially in the under-$300 market space," says Ed McKernan, director of marketing at Transmeta, a chipmaker targeting the mobile-device space.
Even looking forward, Palm has some considerable advantages. "If you look at any technology adoptability, it's the simplicity of the form factor," says Imran Haque, vice president of Internet strategy and technology at LogonHealth, a software vendor developing healthcare applications for portable devices, among other platforms. Microsoft's latest take on Windows CE—version 3.0, otherwise known as the Pocket PC—is much improved over earlier editions, but still more confusing than the Palm. "We believe it's not as easy to use," Haque says, though he concedes he personally likes the platform.
It appears that others are starting to like the Pocket PC, too. According to projections from International Data Corp (IDC), the Pocket PC will grab a fifth of all PDA sales by the end of this year and top a third of all sales by 2004. Meanwhile Symbian, whose EPOC platform has found success in cell phones, will just break 10 percent, and other vendors will show only insignificant movement (see the table, "Doing the numbers").
Whatever the relative balance between Palm and Microsoft, vendors on both sides of the aisle tout major sales. Palm, for example, claims that it shipped 3.6 million units in the first half of fiscal year 2001 and boasted four consecutive quarters of doubling revenues. During the recent World Economic Forum, Compaq CEO Michael Capellas noted that demand for the company's Pocket PC-based iPAQ was outpacing supply by 25 times. Compaq also expected to move $500 million of wireless computers just in Europe, with the iPAQ representing the bulk of the sales.
"As of January 1, Compaq is now shipping 100,000 [iPAQs] a month," says Randy Giusto, a vice president at IDC. "It's like the crank was turned on, big-time, in the fourth quarter."
Transformers
All this sets the stage for what is about to happen in the market. Let's be honest: Viewed at the simple level of portable organizers, PDAs are pretty boring. After all, how much excitement can be had from looking up a phone number? But add an Internet connection, and how quickly things change.
"Anybody who is building a mobile device is looking to embed Internet connectivity," says Curt Schacker, vice president of marketing and corporate development for Wind River Systems, which sells software and development tools for Internet devices, among other things. "If they're not putting it into today's devices, they're putting it on the road map."
The PDA vendors are part of the pack, and they have some advantages in the chase. Unlike cell phones, PDAs have enough screen area to make using the Internet almost worthwhile. In many cases, they also have enough processing power to do almost anything, from running a spreadsheet to controlling a digital camera. Also unlike phones, PDAs can add Internet connectivity after purchase. What could be wrong with this picture?
“I still don’t see one device solving anyone’s needs. There’s never been an example in this industry of a one-device-fits-all.”
Randy Giusto, International Data Corp
Actually, plenty. Remember that purchase rates are not the same as adoption rates. "I think the numbers put out by both of these sides are misleading," says Jeffrey Henning, who, before becoming president of the software division of Perseus Development, a software-development firm, followed the handheld computing market for several analyst firms. "Unlike PCs, I think these have a high abandon rate. I know a lot of people who have bought a Palm and don't use it anymore. I know even more people who have bought a Windows CE [device] and don't use it." In addition, people lose or break units. "I've dropped two, and I had one stolen—though I don't know if the person who stole it is using it," Henning quips.
Randy Giusto
Then there's the question of how solidly consumers are welded to their first choice in device. Certainly, Palm has accustomed millions to its interface. Yet the total number of handheld computers sold to date equals no more than a month or two of desktop PC sales, marking the devices as still in an early-adopter phase. "I think there is a chance for big swings in market share," Henning says. "Especially because a lot of people use the Palm with [Microsoft] Outlook, so their data is in Outlook anyway. All you really care about is your data." Because the Pocket PC has its own version of Outlook that synchronizes with a desktop, a transition in either direction would be easy.
So would a transition right away from PDAs and toward a cell phone, pager, or some other device, if people decide that organizer functions are not the main reason for an Internet appliance. The proper mix of functions—contact information, telephone communications, mobile access to Web pages or services—that will win the affection of the market is fog-bound. All that anyone can agree on is that the overall category will be big. "It's probably the hottest market in the IT field," says Gary R Schultz, US director of product marketing in Casio's Mobile Information Products division. "The projections are [that mobile Internet devices] will outsell desktops 10-to-1 in the near future."
Wider view
The realities of the Internet-appliance space could explain why Palm and Microsoft haven't squared off more directly in their marketing (with the exception of Microsoft's short-lived "Can your Palm do that?" campaign). Both companies have bigger worries—the future of popular computing. Palm, Microsoft, and the other hardware companies using their operating systems are chasing the Internet-appliance market because such devices potentially represent the future of computing.
There are two basic types of PDA users, says Mike Flom, CEO of Portable Internet, which produces interactive city guides for wireless devices. "There are people who use the stuff as organizers," he says, including most current users in this group. "Then there are the early adopters who see it as a handheld-computing platform. They are buying add-on programs, memory cards, cameras, and GPS units. As the price points have dropped, what you'll see is more movement of palmtops as a computing platform, sometimes server-connected with a modem, sometimes not."
So the handheld stands a chance of becoming a new type of client device, and the companies allied with both the Pocket PC OS and the Palm OS are trying to learn how they might get their fair share—or more than fair share—of a market that is far from unified. If need is the driving force, the mobile worker would seem a good fit. "I'd say 80 percent of the reason why people carry their laptop when they travel is to check their email back at their office," says Lisa Best, product manager for Handspring, manufacturer of the Palm OS-based Visor PDAs. Handspring is creating add-on modules, for its SpringBoard expansion slot, that will give its handhelds the same functions for which most users carry notebook PCs. "There's going to be a way where you can give a presentation using your handheld as the driver," Best adds.
Certainly the hardware development has supported that approach. "The evolution [of handhelds] is very much like the early days of the PC," says Portable Internet's Flom. "The first applications were very crude games and pretty crude spreadsheets. It wasn't until GUIs came out, with Windows and Mac stuff, and they went into color at reasonable price points, that people started using more sophisticated functionality. The modems went up to the current rate in a few years, but the price point actually dropped. If that didn't happen, the Internet never would have happened."
Such changes have begun to occur in the handheld space. Units with black-and-white screens now fall in the $200 range. Color devices go for under $500. For an extra $100 to $150, a user can pick up a wired or wireless modem. "The constraints are actually very, very similar to the PC," Flom adds. "Consumers are looking for a certain price point with a certain level of functionality."
Under the radar
As the PC did before them, PDAs are entering corporations under the nose of IT departments. "We're seeing a big push," says Schultz. "People buying it at retail are taking it to work and deploying it in the enterprise." Just two years ago, according to Schultz, corporate technology groups were reluctant to support the devices. But as PDAs pour into companies with employees trying to find smaller and lighter ways of gaining access to email, IT departments are having to relax their opposition. This pressure will only continue as vendors find ways to support Microsoft PowerPoint and other presentation programs.
Then there will be integration with telephony, allowing business users to have everything they need at hand. "The Pocket PC guys want to become [NTT DoCoMo] iMode," says IDC's Giusto, referring to the popular mobile-data service in Japan. "Symbian [for example] really sees that their golden nugget is the cell phone, but they're doing these other platforms as well, because they want to go mass market. And the mass market is cell phones in Europe."
Integration of telephones and PDAs seems to be occurring in two major ways, differing by the relative balance of functions. In one case, the emphasis is on the PDA, with telephony as the addition. Handspring, for example, offers a module that turns its PDA into a GSM cell phone, and TouchStar Technologies is building a wireless voice-and-data module for Casio's Cassiopeia EG-800 Pocket PC. Some observers argue that the public won't be willing to carry the growing size of these devices, but Schultz disagrees. "They're bulky compared to maybe a Palm V," he says, "but they're not bulky when you compare them to a 10-pound notebook," which people have been lugging around for years.
“I’d say that we’re all working toward the same goal, and that is bringing the handheld market to a broader audience.”
Lisa Best, Handspring
The other approach is to emphasize the phone, adding on the PDA functions. Verizon Wireless has already begun to sell Kyocera's Smartphone, which uses the Palm OS to double as a PDA, and which will download full HTML Web pages. In February, Microsoft previewed its smart-phone platform, code-named Stinger and based on Windows CE 3.0. Samsung Electronics and Sendo have announced support. Because of the CE foundation, phones based on Stinger will come with versions of Outlook and Internet Explorer.
As PDAs move toward the phone market, the barriers to entry for other vendors begin to drop. LG InfoComm, for example, is building a phone that Sprint PCS brands as its TP3000. In addition to extensive telephony features, the device has organizer functions and synchronizes with Microsoft Outlook, eliminating one of the advantages previously enjoyed by the PDAs. Retailing for $400, the unit is price-competitive with buying a separate PDA and cell phone. Sprint may be subsidizing the hardware cost, as is common with cellular carriers, but that makes little difference to buyers and simply underlines the degree of competition that exists.
By changing the emphasis on functions, these new crossbreed devices start to move away from a business market to potentially embrace consumers at large. "I'd say that we're all working toward the same goal, and that is bringing the handheld market to a broader audience," Best says. "Everyone now seems to be turning toward consumer and bringing the wireless device to the masses."
Unholy matrimony?
But as the two categories of products come together, it is unclear how cleanly the functions can actually integrate. Requirements clearly conflict. A PDA needs a reasonably large screen, which interferes with the small size so prized by cellular mavens. "Today, I don't see a cell phone coming out where it will be as easy for the person to write Graffiti as well as use the cell-phone part," Haque says. "Not every handheld device will have a phone attachment, and vice versa."
"If I look out five years from now, I still don't see one device solving anyone's needs," says IDC's Giusto. "There's never been an example in this industry of a one-device-fits-all," because of the number of segments in mobile use and business. According to Giusto, the split in integration tracks between phones and PDAs will continue to thrive, with the latter containing more memory and storage and possessing a better ability to manipulate data.
In fact, both Palm and Microsoft have a strong incentive—the dollar sign—to maintain devices that emphasize the PDA. Phones have an obvious advantage in volume shipments, and that would seem an overwhelmingly lucrative market. "But large volumes don't necessarily translate into high margins," Giusto points out. Cellular carriers often keep price tags low via subsidies. Therefore, money is tight and prices have to be as low as possible, which also translates into relatively little money for the OS vendor. Linux, which has started making inroads via embedded versions into mobile devices, has an inherent price advantage and could become a threat.
“The palm is a PIM device; it’s not a mobile Internet device.”
Nahemia Davidson, Jigami
Slim pickings in the phone market will become a bigger problem in another way for hardware designers and OS vendors, as user demands are going to require changes in unit design and even basic architecture for the Internet appliances to be of service. In the view of Transmeta's McKernan, users are beginning to demand multimedia support, a trend that could have an especially strong impact on Palm. "Generally, that means it requires more CPU horsepower than on a Palm," McKernan says. Palm recently announced a plan to give its devices more muscle by moving to a more robust processor platform.
Nahemia Davidson
So far, the number of applications available for the Palm has been one of its major selling points. But even many of the developers behind the software have become frustrated with the platform. "It's like writing for 8-bit microprocessors, which is what you're doing," Flom says.
Some companies have started bypassing the Palm altogether. For example, Jigami supports a variety of platforms, including the Pocket PC, other than Palm's. "The reason is, the operating system is a single-task operating system," says CEO Nahemia Davidson. "The palm is a PIM device; it's not a mobile Internet device." And a new Palm hardware platform and OS that would bring these services would probably also require rewriting existing applications.
On the other hand, although the Pocket PC may have the inherent horsepower, it does have disadvantages. "If you actually give [a device to] someone who has no handheld experience, they'll be able to run with the Palm immediately," says LogonHealth's Haque. That experience has shown a weakness of Windows CE 3.0 when it comes to a broader market. "Pocket PC works similarly to your desktop, but guess what—a lot of the doctors in our user base in healthcare aren't that familiar with PCs," Haque says. Moreover, the OS creates costs from the developer's point of view. "Overall, I'm happy as a Palm developer with their site and resources," Henning says. "They don't charge for as much stuff as Microsoft does."
However, Microsoft still has time to iron out problems with platform power and usability, according to Ali Sebt, vice president of Hitachi Semiconductor America's product business unit, which sells CPUs into the Pocket PC market. "The [mobile Internet] consumer world in the North American market really didn't exist until a year or two years ago," Sebt says. "Only now are we seeing things...that demand 32-bit processors for consumers." Countries like Japan took more quickly to the high-powered devices because of outside forces, such as the high cost of telephone landlines and small living spaces that made PC boxes impractical for many people.
Then again, consumers in Japan and Europe have had better wireless data connectivity than in the US. No matter how good portable Internet appliances are, they are unlikely to gain converts without reliable data connections. "Being able to make content connectivity is the challenge we have today," Sebt says.
No matter what the final outcome in terms of bandwidth, costs, hardware, applications, or convenience, it's a good bet that no vendor will abandon this market. "The stakes are huge for the companies that really hit on that killer device, that killer application," says Wind River's Schacker. "It's talking about recreating the value of Intel, Microsoft, and IBM around the PC."
More
· This month’s Inside the Digital Den (“Pick Pocket,”) looks at the Pocket PC and Palm platforms from the user perspective.
· Next month’s Digital Den article will examine several hybrid phone/PDA devices.
Author information
Contributing Editor Erik Sherman would prefer not to divulge where his handheld loyalties lie.
http://www.commvergemag.com/commverge/issues/2001/200104/04f1.asp
Creative Introduces NOMAD Jukebox C-Series Starting at an Estimated Internet Price of $269
NOMAD(R) II C-Series and NOMAD Accessories Also Debut to Offer a Bevy of Listening Options
MILPITAS, Calif., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Technology Ltd. (Nasdaq: CREAF - news), the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for the personal computer and the Internet, today introduced the C-series of NOMAD products to its already #1 selling line of digital audio players. The NOMAD Jukebox C and NOMAD II C offers consumers attractive price options when looking for one of the most sought after digital audio players.
The NOMAD Jukebox C, boasting an impressive 6 GB of storage capacity, will ship with an estimated internet price (EIP) of US$269. The new NOMAD II C digital audio player, bundled with 32 MB of onboard memory and a Smart Media memory expansion slot, will carry an EIP of US$129. Both digital audio players are now available in the U.S.
To complement the NOMAD C-series, Creative also unveiled a wide range of NOMAD accessories to enhance the audio experience for users. The NOMAD Jukebox C accessory kit (EIP US$49.99) includes a Jukebox pouch, carrying case, four AA NiMH rechargeable batteries, car-cassette adapter and stereo backphones. The NOMAD II C-series accessory kit (EIP US$29.99) includes a carrying pouch, wired remote control, car-cassette adapter, and stereo backphones. The two C-series accessory kits and a wide range of other NOMAD accessories are now available from www.nomadworld.com.
``The new NOMAD C-series digital audio players and accessories offer consumers a myriad of options when it comes to listening to their MP3 and WMA digital audio collections,'' said Kevin Brangan, NOMAD brand manager at Creative. ``By providing choice, convenience and great pricing options, we're making our award-winning products even more attractive to a wider range of consumers.''
NOMAD Jukebox C
The NOMAD Jukebox C is a lightweight (14oz.) digital audio player, which is the size of a portable CD player, featuring a line-in for analog recording from external sources and dual line-out connections for immersive surround sound. Unlike other hardware-based solutions, the NOMAD Jukebox C also includes an onboard real-time digital signal processor (DSP) for superior audio playback, EAX(TM) technology and customization. A headphone-out jack supports headphone spatialization and equalizer effects. This firmware upgradeable portable digital audio player supports multiple formats including MP3, WMA and WAV file formats. The NOMAD Jukebox C also supports downloadable features including new effects algorithms, new compression standards, security features, and auto playlist generators and other personal storage capabilities.
NOMAD II C
The NOMAD II C with 32 MB of onboard flash memory is designed for the active consumer, containing features that emphasize quick setup and versatility such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) support and a voice recorder. The stylish-looking NOMAD II C also includes an icon-based backlit LCD with scrolling text to view artist name and song title, and an open Smart Media slot for memory expansion. With all of these features, the NOMAD II C is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and weighs a svelte 3 ounces. In addition, the NOMAD II C allows consumers to download support for future codec standards and digital rights management technology, enabling the NOMAD II C to play digital music in secure formats.
NOMAD C-series Digital Audio Player Software:
-- Creative PlayCenter(TM) 2 software provides a universal, intuitive
interface for encoding, decoding and archiving high quality MP3 files
and Windows Media files as well as converting unlimited numbers of CD
tracks
-- SoundJam(TM) MP® the premier MP3 player and recorder for the
Macintosh® allows easy encoding, downloading of music, building of
custom playlists and sorting of music by artist, track, song, genre and
more
Pricing and Availability
The NOMAD II C (EIP US$129) and NOMAD Jukebox C (EIP US$269) digital audio players are now available. More information on these two products and all NOMAD accessories may be found at www.nomadworld.com.
About Creative
Creative is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for the personal computer and the Internet. Famous for its Sound Blaster® sound card and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like its highly acclaimed NOMAD® Jukebox. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment -- anytime, anywhere.
This announcement relates to products launched in the United States of America. The product names, contents, prices and availability are subject to change and may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements.
NOTE: The Creative logo, Sound Blaster and Blaster are registered trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries.
NOMAD is a registered trademark of Aonix and is used by Creative Technology, Ltd. and or its affiliates under license in the United States and/or other countries.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders in the United States and/or other countries.
SOURCE: Creative Technology Ltd.
NOMAD ---$$269!!!!!!!!!!!!Portable MP3 Player Breaks Price Barrier
Music: Nomad Jukebox, now available for less than $300, should appeal to a more mainstream audience and to retailers.
By JON HEALEY, Times Staff Writer
A leading maker of digital music players is slashing the price of its hand-held MP3 jukebox by almost half, potentially accelerating the migration of personal music collections from bookshelves to book bags by moving within reach of a mainstream audience.
By dropping the price of its high-capacity Nomad Jukebox below $300, Creative Technology Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., has broken through an important psychological barrier, observers say, and opened a new sales outlet for its hard-drive-powered players. Creative is expected to announce the new price--$269--today, barely six months after shipping the first units.
"It's an extremely significant development," said analyst P.J. McNealy of the Gartner research and consulting firm. "We thought that this price wasn't going to drop that significantly that quickly."
MP3 players are a key element of the music industry's digital upheaval, helping consumers slowly shift from physical goods such as CDs to digital audio files that can be stored online or stuffed by the hundreds into hand-held devices.
About 3.3 million of these players sold in 2000, and the market is expected to grow to nearly 26 million in 2005, the IDC technology research firm estimated. That compares with about 19 million portable CD players shipped in 2000, according to the Consumer Electronics Assn.'s estimates.
Sales of the Nomad Jukebox and other solid-state digital players have grown rapidly, yet their steep prices have limited the market to high-end buyers. Although the Creative models still cost far more than the average portable tape or CD player, their rapid drop suggests that hard-drive-powered units may soon reach mass-market prices.
The Jukebox, which Creative started selling in September for $500, was the first truly portable device that could hold more than 100 CDs' worth of music. The disc-shaped, 14-ounce Jukebox stores 6 gigabytes of digital audio files, or 100 to 125 hours of near-CD-quality songs. That's enough to house all of the CDs that the average music fan listens to on a regular basis.
Though today's price cut is good news for consumers, it probably won't be welcomed by the record industry. That's because the Jukebox doesn't impose the limits on copying and transferring music files that the major record labels have sought in their Secure Digital Music Initiative.
Ken Fong, marketing director for subsidiary Creative Labs, said buyers demanded the ability to copy the contents of their Jukeboxes for safekeeping--something that SDMI doesn't allow. "From a business standpoint, you have to allow the end user to back up the investment they're making," Fong said.
Most digital music players store songs on flash memory cards, which are smaller and lighter than hard drives but much more expensive--more than $1 per megabyte of storage. While the price of those cards is being propped up by the white-hot demand for cellular phones, which also use flash memory, the price of hard drives is falling steadily and steeply.
That's why Creative can sell the Nomad Jukebox for less than flash memory MP3 players that store only two to four hours' worth of music.
Now that the Jukebox is priced less than $300, Fong said, major electronics retailer Circuit City has agreed to sell it. "They didn't necessarily agree with our earlier price point," he said, adding that the company "didn't feel it matched the consumers we were trying to reach."
McNealy said MP3 player prices will have to drop below $100 to have truly mass-market appeal, especially given that portable tape players can be bought for less than $50. Still, he said, Creative's price cut is "really going to put pressure on anybody else who wants to get into this market."
None of the big-name consumer-electronics companies has produced a high-capacity MP3 player yet, offering only lightweight players with flash memory cards. But McNealy predicted that Creative would see more competition for the Nomad Jukebox this year, and some of it probably will come from the electronics giants.
Aside from price, the main limiting factors for MP3 players are the need to own a PC and the lack of readily available content, said Bryan Ma, a senior analyst at IDC. "It's still a lot easier just to walk down to the record store and buy the CD," he said.
* MUSIC DEAL
Three major record companies are close to signing a deal with RealNetworks to make their music available on the Internet on a subscription basis. C2
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Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times
Digital giants eye Napster's market
BY DAWN C. CHMIELEWSKI
AND KRISTI HEIM
Mercury News
Two digital media giants appear poised to announce major forays into the online music business as the issue of digital music heats up on Capitol Hill.
RealNetworks and Microsoft are in a race to develop online music subscription services to compete with Napster, the popular file-sharing service that attracted millions of users by offering a way to download songs for free.
MSN, Microsoft's network of Web sites, is set to announce its first online music service next week. If it follows the model Microsoft has outlined for its new Web services strategy, the service is likely to include a basic free service plus optional fee-based content.
Seattle-based RealNetworks is negotiating with three major record labels -- AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann AG and EMI Group -- for rights to distribute their music through a subscription service, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Major labels involved
The timing is impeccable for the record labels, which face potentially tough questions from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. On Tuesday, Hatch will hold a hearing on Internet music distribution. Last summer, Hatch warned the industry to set ``fair and reasonable'' licensing rates to allow music to be swapped over the Internet -- or face new laws requiring forced licensing.
``It appears as if the music industry will want to point to this deal with RealNetworks as a genuine indication of licensing for digital use,'' said Ric Dube, a digital media analyst for Webnoize in Cambridge, Mass.
Neither RealNetworks nor the record companies would comment on possible talks or the timing of a possible agreement.
Any such deal would legitimize online music distribution, which up until now the industry has equated with shoplifting. The industry appears ready to change its tune and embrace the notion of Internet distribution beyond its own small-scale trials.
``As Victor Hugo put it, `You can defend against invasion by an army, but there is no defense against invasion by an idea,' '' said Phil Leigh, digital media analyst for Raymond James & Associates.
Microsoft in September bought Los Angeles-based Internet start-up MongoMusic, a technology that makes music recommendations based on listeners' preferences.
``We've had strong relationships with the major record labels,'' said Michael Aldridge, lead product manager in the Windows Digital Media Division. ``We've been working closely with them for well over two years.''
Microsoft is also working on so-called superdistribution, which allows people to legally share music or video over the Internet while letting the content owner define the terms of use. CenterSpan Communications for example, is relaunching the Napster-like Scour Exchange this week using Microsoft's technology, Aldridge said.
``In the post Napster-era companies are looking to our technology as an answer to deliver content in an easy way while still respecting the rights of copyright holders,'' he said.
Digital music's validation
RealNetworks' possible alliance with Warner, BMG and EMI, through its MusicNet service would give consumers access to about 40 percent of the current album tracks, according to SoundScan. And it would build on RealNetworks expertise in digital music delivery. Its pioneering RealPlayer software has been downloaded 190 million times.
Any possible RealNetworks subscription service is but one of several the industry is considering, as record labels try to walk a fine line between matching Napster's chief appeal -- its breadth of content -- without running afoul of federal anti-collusion laws.
``The thing everybody agrees on is -- in order for one of these things to be compelling, it's got to have everybody's content,'' said one record label executive, noting multiple deals are in the works.
Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group plan to jointly launch a subscription service code-named Duet. And America Online is developing its own music, leveraging the Warner Music assets it acquired along with Time Warner.
Indeed, the industry is holding quiet negotiations with Napster, even as it publicly criticizes the Redwood City company's $1 billion settlement offer and pursues a copyright infringement case in federal district court, industry sources say.
While RealNetworks and Microsoft may never emerge as the dominant distributors of music over the Internet, their movement into digital entertainment is nonetheless significant.
``It validates the market,'' said Talal Shamoon, senior vice president of media at InteTrust, a Santa Clara company whose digital-rights management technology would be central to any pay music service.
APRIL 9, 2001 Handhelds That Are Less of a Handful
A couple of Palm-based products take a big step up the evolutionary ladder
Stephen H. Wildstrom
A handheld computer, apologies to the Duchess of Windsor, cannot be too thin or too light. Palm Computer (PALM ), taking the dictum to heart, has come up with a new line that retains the form of the popular Palm V while adding an expansion slot and a color display. Partner and rival Handspring has entered the field with the sleek Visor Edge, which retains the Springboard expansion slot in a Palm V-like design. The new products should help Palm and its licensees hold and even increase their dominant market share for the time being despite a stiffer challenge from Microsoft's PocketPC (MSFT ).
The $399 Palm m500, which will be available in April, is practically a dead ringer for the Palm V in size, shape, and price. The $449 m505 adds a color screen. The big difference in the new models is a slot that accepts a postage-stamp-size card. Currently, the cards offer memory expansion and software including a $29.95 game card and U.S., European, and Asian city guides ($39.95 each). Developers plan various accessories, with the most exciting being wireless communications options. If the Handspring (HAND ) experience is any guide, however, it will be months before the first of these hits the market.
The new Palm has a rechargeable battery that uses a relatively new technology called lithium polymer to pack more power. Palm claims up to five weeks of normal use per charge for the monochrome model and about three weeks for the color version. I would guess that two weeks is closer to the mark, but that's plenty for most business trips. The sync cradle doubles as a charger. This is the first Palm model to use the universal serial bus instead of the older serial connection (a serial version is a $29.95 option).
One way Palm extended battery life and kept the color unit thin was to use front lighting rather than the brighter and more even back lighting. The result is a screen that is a bit dimmer than the Palm IIIc or Visor Prism, but still quite acceptable. Most Palm applications don't make effective use of color, but the m505 is much easier to read in dim light than the monochrome model.
The Visor Edge, which costs $399, is similar to the m500 in size and function. It is rectilinear, though, where the Palm is curvy and comes with a flip-up metal cover instead of a leather flap. The stylus clips to the outside instead of fitting in a slot. The arrangement seems secure, but I managed to lose mine within a week. The Edge is too small for Handspring's standard Springboard slot for accessories, so an adapter clip allows use of Springboard modules, such as the VisorPhone. Unfortunately, they hang somewhat awkwardly over the back. In time, models will be designed for the new connector, but they won't fit snugly within the body of the Visor, as they do with the older models.
The new Palms come with version 4.0 of the Palm operating system, which supports the accessory slot and has enhancements that make the Palm better at wireless communications through add-ons. Meanwhile, Palm will be totally upgrading the software. The next version, probably at least a year off, will allow a move to a faster processor and a higher-resolution screen.
ET TU, IBM? Most Palm buyers use little beyond the contact and calendar functions. For them this next upgrade won't make much difference. But to retain those who seek more from a handheld, especially corporate customers who want custom applications and secure wireless communications, progress is vital. Palm has wrung all it can from the Motorola DragonBall, a 25-year-old processor. And the coarse 160-by-160-pixel display used on all Palms limits graphics capabilities.
Meanwhile, Palm's competitors aren't standing still. Microsoft PocketPCs, including the new $359 Hewlett-Packard Jornada 525, are getting thinner, lighter, and cheaper. And IBM (IBM ) is widely rumored to be readying a challenger of its own for the corporate market.
The new Palm and Handspring products are solid, evolutionary steps. But to maintain its lead over improving competition, Palm may have to pick up the pace.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_15/b3727032.htm
Motorola Launches Two Digital Personal Companion Handsets
The Motorola i85s and i50sx Handsets, First in a New Generation of Wireless Devices, Combine the Freedom of Wireless Communication With the Power of Mobile Computing
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) today announced the i85s and i50sx handsets, which combine many of the capabilities of a handheld computer, two-way radio, interactive text pager, and Internet-ready mobile phone in a single device. These mobile personal companions, which are expected to be available in certain markets beginning this month, are the first in a new generation of products from Motorola that allows users to expand the functionality of their phones by downloading and running applications to meet their individual needs.
The Motorola i85s and i50sx handsets are the first mobile phones in North America to use Java(TM) 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME(TM)) technology, which makes small wireless devices more intelligent. This technology allows users to constantly update their devices with applications to meet their changing needs, in much the same way users upgrade their PCs and handheld computers. Additionally users can retrieve information using the phone's ``always on'' Internet access, without the need to establish a dial-up connection. The offline capabilities of the Motorola i85s and i50sx handsets allow users to access applications residing in the phone even when disconnected from the network. Both handsets will come with several applications pre-installed, including productivity tools and the Sega game, Borkov.(1) Additional applications may be downloaded after purchase.
Examples of applications users will be able to download include, but are not limited to, business applications such as expense reporting, e-mail, and corporate directory access; entertainment applications such as games; and productivity tools such as notepad and calculator. Both handsets support powerful features including voice dialing, a voice recorder for recording incoming phone calls or verbal memos, and hands-free speakerphone.(2)
The Motorola i85s handset
The Motorola i85s handset is designed for the mobile business professional who needs to stay connected with people and information to increase productivity and save time.
``The Motorola i85s handset will allow users to merge their various devices into one personalized handset to manage their professional and personal lives,'' said Bill Werner, corporate vice president of Motorola and general manager of the company's iDEN Subscriber Group. ``This is the ideal business tool for anyone who needs to stay in touch with people and information to be productive and efficient.''
The Motorola i85s handset measures 130 x 50 x 30 mm (5.1 x 1.9 x 1.2 inches) and weighs 132 grams (4.7 ounces).
The Motorola i50sx handset
For users who want to express their individuality, the Motorola i50sx handset allows them to personalize the look of their handset with interchangeable colored faceplates, available in blue, black, green, bronze, purple, and silver.
``The Motorola i50sx handset will allow users to personalize their phones both inside and out,'' said Werner. ``Users can now tailor the phone with applications to meet their individual needs and change faceplates to reflect their personal style.''
The phone measures 133 x 52 x 30 mm (5.2 x 2 x 1.2 inches) and weighs 165 grams (5.8 ounces).
Both handsets will support a variety of optional accessories, including a foldable keyboard for messaging and convenient data entry, a hands-free car kit, several headsets, chargers, and holders. Interchangeable faceplates in a variety of colors will be available for the i50sx model.
Both handsets will be available through Nextel Communications, Southern LINC and Pacific Wireless Technologies in the United States. TELUS Mobility in Canada will be offering the i85s handset in the coming months. Prices will be determined by carrier.
About Motorola and iDEN
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT - news) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2000 were $37.6 billion. For more information visit www.motorola.com .
iDEN handsets combine the capabilities of a digital wireless phone, text pager, ``always connected'' Internet microbrowser, and two-way radio to enable users to instantly communicate with one or hundreds of individuals at the push of a button. For further information on iDEN handsets, visit www.motorola.com/iden .
1. Pre-installed applications vary by service provider.
2. These features ship with the i85s and may be added to the i50sx for an
additional charge.
MOTOROLA, the Stylized M Logo and all other trademarks indicated as such herein are trademarks of Motorola. Inc. (R) Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Java and all other Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. (C) 2001 Motorola, Inc. All rights reserved.
Motorola Reinvents the Wireless Phone as Digital Personal Companion
First two Java(TM) technology-enabled handsets in North America
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) today announced a new generation of wireless handsets that bring computing power to the palm of your hand and combine many of the capabilities of a handheld computer, two-way radio, interactive pager, and Internet-ready mobile phone in a single device. Users can easily and repeatedly customize these Java technology-enabled wireless handsets to meet their individual needs by downloading and running applications. These personal companion devices will be available through iDEN® network operators in certain markets beginning this month.
Two new handset models, the Motorola i85s and i50sx, provide a convenient way for users to manage their personal and professional lives and are the first wireless phones in North America to incorporate Java(TM) 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME(TM)), a software environment from Sun Microsystems. With these new handsets a user can schedule a meeting in the phone's datebook, submit an expense report to the office remotely, use two-way messaging to stay in touch with family members, play a Sega game during downtime, and much more. Users can also place and receive phone calls or use the handset's two-way radio capabilities, which offer instant communication with one or hundreds of individuals at the touch of a button. These models commenced shipment last month.
These new models were designed to offer an unprecedented level of personalization to meet a wide variety of preferences. Users can easily change the Motorola i85s handset's settings to adapt to different environments, such as the home, office and the car, which can be accessed through the phone's voice recognition feature. For example, when in a meeting, the user can set a style that will activate the phone's VibraCall® alert, filter for important calls and change the size of the display text.
Both handsets have sufficient flash memory to store several applications, which can be repeatedly updated to meet the users' changing needs. The handsets will come with several applications pre-installed, including productivity tools and the Sega game, Borkov.(1) The offline capabilities of J2ME technology enable users to run applications even when disconnected from the network.
``These handsets are all-in-one personal companions, allowing users to stay in touch with people and information to better manage their lives,'' said Bill Werner, corporate vice president of Motorola and general manager of the company's iDEN Subscriber Group. ``For the first time, users will be able to customize their phones with applications to meet their individual needs, while offering the flexibility to change the applications as their needs change.''
Motorola i85s and i50sx handsets
This new product family will include several J2ME technology-enabled models. The first models in this new product category are the Motorola i85s and the i50sx handsets. These models will be available beginning this month through iDEN network operators including Nextel Communications, Southern LINC, and Pacific Wireless Technologies in the United States. TELUS Mobility in Canada will offer the i85s handset in the coming months. Pricing and availability will be determined by each service provider.
The Motorola i85s handset is designed for the mobile business professional who needs to stay connected with people and information to communicate more effectively, increase productivity and save time. For users who want to express their individuality, the Motorola i50sx handset will feature interchangeable faceplates in a variety of colors. Both handsets support powerful new features including voice dialing, a voice recorder for taking verbal notes and customizable menus.(2)
``J2ME technology-enabled devices, like the Motorola i85s and i50sx handsets, promise to revolutionize the way people communicate and simplify their busy lives by combining existing technologies -- a digital wireless phone, two-way radio, alphanumeric pager, and Internet microbrowser -- with the computing power of Java technology in a single, palm-size device,'' said Mark Driver, research director for Gartner Group.
The Motorola i85s and i50sx handsets are the world's first wireless handsets with Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) certification from Sun Microsystems, and Motorola is one of the first handset manufacturers in the world that is CLDC (Connected Limited Device Configuration) compliant. This certification allows J2ME technology-enabled iDEN handsets to carry Sun's Java technology logo.
``Sun salutes Motorola in the milestone development of the world's first J2ME handset that supports the MIDP to ship commercially,'' said George Paolini, vice president, technology advocacy and marketing, Sun Microsystems. ``With Java technology integrated into the innovative design of the i85s and i50sx handsets, mobile users will be able to enjoy new, exciting downloadable services.''
Software Update Site
Motorola will be introducing iDEN Update ( www.motorola.com/idenupdate ), a website that will allow users to personalize their J2ME technology-enabled iDEN handsets with applications. Users will be able to quickly and easily update their iDEN handsets with applications such as notepad, calculators and games.
Accessories
Both the Motorola i85s and i50sx handsets will support a variety of optional accessories, including a foldable keyboard for messaging and convenient data entry, a hands-free car kit, several headsets, chargers, and holders. Interchangeable faceplates in a variety of colors will be available for the i50sx model.
Alliances
Motorola has been working with a number of solution providers to develop J2ME applications for the handset platform. Previously, Motorola announced alliances with Sega, Bonita and HiddenMind, among others.
Customer Care Website
To further its commitment to total customer satisfaction, Motorola announced today the introduction of the iDEN online customer support center at www.motorola.com/iden/support . This web site offers numerous services to support the needs of the users, authorized dealers and service providers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, the website enables users access to new product training, frequently asked questions, the latest software downloads, and much more. In addition, it allows users to submit and track repair service online.
Developer Support Program
Motorola's new iDEN handsets can run certified applications developed by J2ME software developers. To facilitate the development of compelling applications, Motorola's iDEN Subscriber Group has established a comprehensive developer support program that provides developers with virtually everything they need to develop, deploy and commercialize their J2ME applications for iDEN handsets, including development tools, technical support, marketing, and distribution. For more information or to obtain a free CD-ROM, visit www.motorola.com/idendev.3 .
About Motorola
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT - news) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2000 were $37.6 billion. For more information visit www.motorola.com . For further information on iDEN handsets, visit www.motorola.com/iden .
(1) Pre-installed applications vary by service provider. Additional
applications may be downloaded from iDEN Update at
www.motorola.com/idenupdate .
(2) Certain features are optional and may be purchased for an additional
charge.
(3) Due to export regulations, Motorola can only ship to certain
countries. A shipping charge will be added to orders outside the
United States. Please see www.motorola.com/idendev for further
details.
MOTOROLA, the Stylized M Logo and all other trademarks indicated as such herein are trademarks of Motorola, Inc. (R) Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Java and all other Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Motorola, Inc.
===========================================
FF/edig newsletter 6/27/00-
Wireless Industry Explosion
The next revolution in the information-based economy is the development and deployment of new wireless products that communicate with the Internet-giving users updated, personally-selected information-and communicate with each other-creating constantly shifting personal area networks. We continue to upgrade and modify MicroOS so that the technologies we have developed will work in a wireless environment with standard and emerging communications protocols such as Bluetooth, WAP (Wireless Access Protocol), CDMA2000 (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), GSM (Global Standard for Mobile Communications), iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network), HSCSD (High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data), and the 3G ("Third Generation") wireless platform.
- Unified messaging has come of age! After years of struggling, unified messaging is earning the reputation it deserves, from vendors and users alike. According to a new report from The PELORUS Group entitled "Unified Messaging CPE: Moving To Unified Communications", although 1999 generated $145 million worldwide (up significantly from just $70 million in 1998), explosive growth has yet to be realized. But by 2004, the market will have soared to $6.3 billion!
As of the end of 1999, competition for the market was already intensifying. As shown in "Unified Messaging CPE: Moving To Unified Communications", the top three vendors in worldwide UM seats shipped were Lucent Technologies, AVT, and Nortel Networks, in that order, with several entrepreneurial companies eager to close the gap. System shipment front-runners were Nortel, NEC, and Active Voice.
What makes UM compelling is the variety of features that render mixed-media messaging much simpler. The ability to use "terminals of choice" to access messages, including the telephone and PC, has grown to critical importance. Users receive messages from a variety of portals, whatever is most convenient at any given moment or circumstance. In the near future, this will expand to two-way pagers, video systems, and PDA, making it even easier to communicate on the fly.
Blair Pleasant, Director of Communication Analysis with The PELORUS Group notes, "The industry is now moving to the fourth generation of UM we call Unified Communications (UC). UC embraces unified messaging plus real-time call control, collaboration, media handling, voice-enabled groupware capabilities and more. UC will mark a new era of profits for both established players and emerging competitors."
The report argues that whether it is for access via the web or transport, the Internet is opening new applications for UM while adding to the complexity of the solution. The ease of use and wide-spread access to the Web enables more users to embrace the technology. According to the study, this means continued market growth and evolution
UNIFIED MESSAGING TO TOP $6 BILLION
BY 2004!
Date: April 26, 2000
Contact: Greggory S. Blundell
Phone: 908-707-1121
Fax: 908-707-1135
E-mail: info@pelorus-group.com
Raritan, NJ - Unified messaging has come of age! After years of struggling, unified messaging is earning the reputation it deserves, from vendors and users alike. According to a new report from The PELORUS Group entitled "Unified Messaging CPE: Moving To Unified Communications", although 1999 generated $145 million worldwide (up significantly from just $70 million in 1998), explosive growth has yet to be realized. But by 2004, the market will have soared to $6.3 billion!
As of the end of 1999, competition for the market was already intensifying. As shown in "Unified Messaging CPE: Moving To Unified Communications", the top three vendors in worldwide UM seats shipped were Lucent Technologies, AVT, and Nortel Networks, in that order, with several entrepreneurial companies eager to close the gap. System shipment front-runners were Nortel, NEC, and Active Voice.
What makes UM compelling is the variety of features that render mixed-media messaging much simpler. The ability to use "terminals of choice" to access messages, including the telephone and PC, has grown to critical importance. Users receive messages from a variety of portals, whatever is most convenient at any given moment or circumstance. In the near future, this will expand to two-way pagers, video systems, and PDA, making it even easier to communicate on the fly.
Blair Pleasant, Director of Communication Analysis with The PELORUS Group notes, "The industry is now moving to the fourth generation of UM we call Unified Communications (UC). UC embraces unified messaging plus real-time call control, collaboration, media handling, voice-enabled groupware capabilities and more. UC will mark a new era of profits for both established players and emerging competitors."
The report argues that whether it is for access via the web or transport, the Internet is opening new applications for UM while adding to the complexity of the solution. The ease of use and wide-spread access to the Web enables more users to embrace the technology. According to the study, this means continued market growth and evolution
Microsoft's Motorola-based pager-phone handheld device
02 April 2001
Microsoft has launched a two-way pager and a mobile phone with a colour screen that browses the Web, as the software giant continues to spread its corporate wings beyond its basic software business.
The Motorola-based pager will include Microsoft's instant message and Hotmail e-mail services, while the cellphone, made by Mitsubishi, uses a compact version of Microsoft's Explorer Web browser.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer also announced a deal to make a phone based on Microsoft's "Stinger" system, as well as a joint effort with Hewlett-Packard to make and sell a low-end model of its Jornada Pocket PC handheld computer.
Mr Ballmer made the announcements in his keynote address at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association conference in Las Vegas last week, the largest United States wireless trade show.
The moves are part of Microsoft's effort to develop business opportunities in the market for handheld devices.
"It shows that we are making a decent amount of progress in the wireless space," says Phil Holden, director for Microsoft's mobility group. "It's not just announcements with no deliveries. The schedule for the year is going to be very aggressive, and there will be a lot going on. You're going to see products in the stores this year," Mr Holden says, referring to criticism that Microsoft has been talking about its Stinger phone and mobile browser for more than a year, but has made little progress in bringing such products to market.
Microsoft hopes that by pushing a new generation of wireless devices, it will help build a foundation for a potentially huge new market for ways to sell data and services to people on the go, which is the cornerstone of its .Net strategy.
"If you look at the software-as-a-service discussion, customers are only present at the PC for 20 to 30 per cent of the day. There's a significant amount of time being mobile, maybe not on a plane or in a car, but just away from the desk," Mr Holden says.
The pager will be available in stores later this year for about US$99 with a $15 monthly fee.
It will let users access their web-based Hotmail e-mail accounts and hold real-time two-way chats with other users of Microsoft Messenger.
"It is a part of the .Net program to offer more services, and offering them on multiple devices," says Bob Visse, product manager for MSN marketing. – SVNS
3MS unveils voice recognition module
By Jeong, Ji-yon
Saturday, March 31, 2001
3MS(chaired by Lee In-gi http://www.3ms.co.kr), a firm specializing in 3D multimedia solutions announced on March 30 that it developed a voice recognition module(3V-RE-10) with its own technology. As the product is 2 X 5 cm in size with ultra slim weight of 2.5g in stand alone structure, it is designed to run by itself without installing additional computer systems.
In addition, the product is equipped with 16 units of 10 ports, which enable users to input 16 kinds of voices and it is impossible to copy system structure as it is designed with embedded ASIC technology. The product is divided into two sorts. One is the speaker dependent type that recognizes certain voice of a user alone and is used for security purpose.
The other is the speaker independent type that recognizes every voice for common use. The company has already developed a door look pilot product and plans to offer the product to system companies requiring voice recognition functionality such as electronic goods, telephone, hands free and toys.
Lee In-gi, CEO of the company said, "As a result of self performanc test, the rate of voice recognition was over 97%, which boasts excellent quality. We will supply the product from miminum 100 units considering system makers' convenience."
Subject: e.Digital mention in Parthus prospectus
From torpeym
PostID 81780 On Sunday, April 01, 2001 (EST) at 11:05:53 AM
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Let me preface this post as simply being interesting info, more FYI than anything.
I have been following Parthus Technologies (of which I own no shares) as I see them as a competitor to e.Digital (of which I am a die hard long). I had even gone so far as to call RP and inquire about his feelings concerning the company. He said they were aware of them, but did not consider them a competitor as they were involved in silicon solutions, and e.Digital was involved in software solutions. Ok by me.
Interstingly enough I just got Parthus' investor info and low and behold, under the competitor section that pertained to audio was as follows(p 50):
we compete in specific areas of the Internet audio market with Micronas, e.Digital and Xaudio.
We cannot be certain that we will have the financial resources, technical expertise, marketing or support capabilities to compete successfully in the future.
I see the last blurb as just the standard CYA statement. I did find it interesting that e.Digital mentioned in their list.
Matt
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doni- did you see TI's PR this week about new cheap DSPs for industrial controls, etc.
hai- i believe MIT is working with one of the auto makers and have developed what i will call a "cone of music". Imagine a 4 passenger auto where each person can independently listen to different music,etc. w/o headphones and not bother the other passengers. i have an article somewhere i'll dig up.
doni- you are probably right, but my focus will go more in the direction of personal use. I have to finish my posts on telematics chapters, than voice enabled PDAs/smartphones. After that I will address wearable computers/portable core computers and then voice recognition- NLU. Take a look at ONEV and its IVAN which uses NLU; IBM and viavoice are very much involved w/ ONEV. Imagine a computer/robot/"pet" that can "understand" what you tell it or ask it and it responds accordingly. The Jetson's dog is not that far away.
QDX aims to be digital audio standard
by Dennis Sellers, dsellers@maccentral.com
November 15, 2000, 7:00 am ET
Despite many trials, investments, announcements, and strategic alliances a new standard for digital audio has yet to emerge -- QDesign Corp. plans on changing that with QDX.
"The game is far from over," Ken Ashdown, QDesign's vice president of marketing, told MacCentral. "The ultimate winner will be the format to offer a truly seamless music experience. To earn consumer confidence, technology must provide 'anywhere, anytime' quality and ease-of-use across the widest array of hardware and software platforms."
QDesign is promoting QDX, which they describe as the "first truly scalable, secure digital music platform," at this week's Webnoize 2000, an annual summit meeting for music industry reps and technology people.
"The topic that consistently makes the rounds at such meetings is that the public has spoken, and there is a future for digital music," Ashdown said. "The question is how can we make it easier for consumers so that they enjoy the experience. We don't need a complex or painful way to get digital music. But there are more and more hardware devices, more and more modes (both wired and wireless) -- and storage media proliferates. But consumers need to be able to get music in a seamless and easy-to-use way. We think QDX is the answer."
QDX is a dynamically scalable digital music platform solution that offers exclusive user-friendly features and enables new products, services, revenue streams, and business models, said Ashdown. Unlike other formats, a single QDX source (master) file can be streamed or downloaded at any equal or lower data rate without transcoding, while maintaining exceptional quality and resulting in significant asset management savings."
QDX means you're no longer limited to music-only downloads, subscription or ad-based streaming models, according to QDesign. They say that its enhanced security protects your copyrights; that it guarantees optimal quality over any network, any bandwidth, and any modem speed; and that QDX offers genuine dynamic "on-the-fly" scalability.
QDX also sports Fit-to-Media and Fit-to-Stream features, which are designed to dynamically and automatically scale music files to the smallest increments. Fit-To-Media can purportedly store up to five times more music on a portable device (2.5 hours per 32 MB memory). The Fit-to-Stream feature means that music can be streamed and/or downloaded to cell phones, PDAs, office desktops, portable digital devices, car stereos, and in-home systems from just one file, said Ashdown.
"QDX is designed for both streaming and downloading at high and low end rates," he said. "This means that providers can get their music to lots of users without having to store to lots of different files for each song. For consumers, this means they can get the very best quality music for their particular type of online connection. It will also make it easy for consumers to transfer music they have bought and paid for from one device to another."
The QDesign and Apple QuickTime teams are working to make sure that QDX and Apple's multimedia technologies work together flawlessly, said Ashdown. Whether this results in QDX plug-ins for QuickTime 5 or making QDX "native" to QT is still being determined.
QDX, unveiled in July, is beginning to pick up steam as more companies come aboard, said Ashdown. For instance, Texas Instruments is supporting a version of QDX in two of its chips.
"QDX proper, as we refer to it, has a number of features that are a function of dynamic scalability and need to be implemented in a certain way," Ashdown said. "You can't automatically access all the features just because you can access the format. However, our hope is that as QDX is adopted into streaming architectures and used in more devices, the record companies will see the value of format and it will continue to grow."
www.hama-danmark.dk/utility/mp3models.pdf
a little outdated now; looks like as of 5/2000
Aiwa Expands MP3 Player Lineup
Arnel Lim - Thursday, January 4th, 2001 / 1:44PM PT
Expansion includes portables, boomboxes, cd players, home and car audio products
RIAA notwithstanding, MP3 products are hotter than ever. Take a look at Aiwa's Press Release:
( BW)(NJ-AIWA-AMERICA) Expanded AIWA MP3 Line Offers MP3 Playback in Portable, Mobile and Home Products
Business Editors
MAHWAH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2001--In an aggressive expansion of its MP3 player lineup, AIWA AMERICA this spring will introduce a new product line that offers MP3 playback in portable, car audio and home products.
The new line, to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show that opens in Las Vegas on January 6, will include dedicated portable MP3 players plus car audio, portable CD and home audio products that play MP3-encoded CDs.
"The popularity of the MP3 format continues to grow, and as MP3 libraries expand, consumers are eager to have the same playback options they enjoy with CDs," said Akio Imanishi, Senior Vice President, Marketing for AIWA AMERICA, INC. "We initially offered a car audio receiver and home DVD player with MP3 playback, and the positive response to those products led us to expand the line for 2001."
In flash memory portables, AIWA will field four players this year. The new MM-RX400 includes a built-in AM/FM tuner and offers 64MB of memory, USB interface, SDMI compliance and supports both the MP3 and WMA music formats. It will be available in April at a suggested retail price of $400.00. It joins the recently introduced MM-VX200, which continues in the line. It is an SDMI-compliant player with 32MB of memory and an included 32MB memory card. It has a suggested retail price of $299.00.
In the summer, AIWA will expand its line-up with two new multi-codec flash memory players, one with a built-in AM/FM tuner. Model numbers and pricing will be announced at that time.
Other options for listening to MP3 files on the go include the AIWA XP-MP3 portable CD player that plays audio CDs and MP3-encoded CD-R/RW discs. It displays ID3 tags, and offers a fixed/variable bit rate (32k-320kbps), E.A.S.S. Plus on audio CD playback, three-point LED battery indicator, multi-bit dual D/A converter, rechargeable battery compatibility, and comes with a car kit that includes DC and cassette adapters. It will be available in February and carry a suggested retail price of $240.00.
Boombox fans who want their MP3 can choose a new AIWA unit, the CSD-MP3, that plays both audio CDs and MP3-encoded CDs. The new boombox features four-speaker front surround, remote control, AM/FM digital synthesized tuner and QSound for surround sound effects. It will be available in June at a suggested retail price of $175.00.
In home audio products, AIWA is offering a system with a three-CD changer that will also play MP3-encoded CDs. The XS-V30 will be available in June at a suggested retail price of $350.00.
In car audio, AIWA is expanding its MP3 options, adding the new CDC-MP32 while continuing to offer the CDC-MP3, both of which offer playback of MP3-encoded CDs. The CDC-MP32 is a step-up model with an internal amplifier with a power output of 50 watts X 4. It offers a motorized hideaway control panel, CD changer control, wireless steering wheel remote controller and a front input jack for connecting an external source, such as a portable MP3 or cassette player. It will be available in April at a suggested retail price of $400.00.
Headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey, AIWA AMERICA, INC. is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of audio, video, car stereo, and multimedia products. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIWA CO., LTD., based in Tokyo, a $3 billion manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional audio and video entertainment, computer, data storage, and communications products.
Dictation goes digital
Transcribers of all fields leave two-wheel tapes in the dust
Sarah L. Ferguson Business First Correspondent
You may think of dictating and transcribing as office practices from the past, but those methods of recording information still are used by professionals today. Only now, digital technology has allowed the dictator freedom from the tape recorder, and the transcriptionist is more likely to work at home than in an office.
Just as digital recording has revamped current dictating and transcribing systems, speech recognition looms on the horizon as another innovation with the power to completely change the way things are done today.
Documenting health care information
"A modern dictation system is a voice-processing system, or a sophisticated database management system," said Walter Bradley, regional health care sales manager for Lanier Worldwide Inc. at its district office in Louisville. Lanier is an Atlanta-based sales and service firm offering digital dictation systems, printers, copiers and related services.
The major market for dictation systems is the health care field, said Bradley, because doctors see hundreds of patients a day and don't have the time to sit and write notes on every case, so they dictate the information.
Bill Vessels, owner of Total Office Products & Service, said dictation systems are used by legal and insurance professionals as well.
Standard minicassette recorders can be used by workers in factories who want to dictate what was accomplished on various shifts, Vessels said.
The recorders range in price from $185 to $369 for a portable analog machine, he said.
Although tape-based systems are still in use, "digital systems rule the day because of the ease of use, the ability to quickly find and edit work, and the clarity of dictation," Bradley said.
With digital systems, the recorded voice is stored on a hard disk, he said. That allows random access of material, which also can be prioritized and routed using different methods.
Doctors working in a hospital with a digital dictation system can use small input instruments or even telephones to access and dictate into the system.
A transcriptionist then can retrieve the voice document, type it up and enter it into the system, where it can be stored, faxed, or routed to different areas of the hospital.
Those types of systems can cost upwards of $60,000, said Bradley, adding that some complex, customized systems might cost as much as $1 million.
As simple as talking on the phone
Lanier offers a digital dictation system called Cquence for medical document management. Prices start at $100,000, said Bradley.
Dictation can be done on a mobile, hand-held unit. When finished, the unit is placed in a docking station, or base, and the voice files are downloaded to a personal computer, which is linked to the business' computer network for transcription.
Transcription can take place two ways: the file can be transcribed by someone listening to the voice file, or it can be sent through a speech-recognition engine housed in another computer and then edited by a transcriptionist, which is a quicker process.
Dolbey and Co., a Cincinnati-based dictation and document-management company, offers a digital system called DVI VoicePower 2000 through its Louisville location on Plantside Drive.
The Louisville office only handles Sony and Racal products, said Tammy Seithel, a company trainer for digital voice dictation. Dolbey's Cincinnati office handles sales and service of the medical dictation equipment.
The DVI VoicePower 2000 system's price starts at $4,000, depending on the size of the system. It operates in a Microsoft Windows environment and also allows dictation from a phone, direct-wired station or portable recorder.
Dictation is recorded onto a computer hard drive, where the voice is digitized. "You can do things with voice on a computer that you couldn't do with tapes," said Seithel, who is based in Cincinnati.
Dolbey also offers a palm-sized portable dictation instrument called the MobileMD, a new product that allows physicians to dictate files while on the move.
MobileMD can even store information, such as patient schedules and room locations. Pricing details were not finalized as of a July interview. Information also can be e-mailed from the MobileMD, said Seithel.
WinScribe, which starts at $1,999, is the digital dictation system available from Total Office Products & Service in Louisville.
It also uses the familiar Windows toolbars and dictation can be done from any touch-tone or mobile phone. WinScribe also can be integrated into an office by using the existing PC network and telephone setup. A system with 24 ports, for example, might cost as much as $21,795, said Vessels.
Working from home is one possible benefit
Baptist Hospital East and Jewish Hospital both use digital dictation systems, according to Lori Corrao, health care specialist for Lanier.
Baptist has a system with 32 ports, and Jewish has 64 ports, she said. That means that 32 or 64 people can be working in the system at the same time.
To use the system, a doctor in the hospital can go to a station after seeing a patient, lift the handset, enter his or her five-digit Kentucky medical license number, key in the patient's medical record number and start dictating. The system also can be accessed from any touch-tone phone.
Transcriptionists also have an identification number to access the system, and they can work from home or at an office in the hospital. About half of Baptist's transcriptionists work at home, said Corrao, and Jewish has all of its transcribers working from home offices.
Linda Anderson, director of health information for Jewish Hospital, said transcriptionists train at the hospital, then work at home. "Being able to have people work at home has been a big boost for us," Anderson said. "It has enabled us to recruit and retain good transcriptionists."
A speed-typing system, called PRD Plus, is one of Anderson's favorite innovations. With PRD Plus, the dictation equipment is programmed to expand abbreviations as they are entered by transcriptionists.
"We've been able to increase our productivity through software enhancements," Anderson said.
Speech-recognition tools not widely used
Anderson also said that Jewish is "actively researching voice-recognition systems."
Their implementation could result in cost savings, Anderson said, because the number of transcriptionists would be reduced.
Voice recognition would be tried in specialty areas first, she said, such as the emergency or pathology departments.
General practitioners see so many different patients and so many different conditions, it would be hard for them to use voice-recognition systems, said Corrao. But doctors in emergency or radiology departments may be able to use the technology because they use a more limited vocabulary.
"Speech recognition will turn transcriptionists into editors," Corrao said, but won't entirely eliminate transcription. Bradley called speech recognition "an emerging technology" with an ultimate goal of reducing costs.
Several of those contacted for this report said the industry generally sees speech recognition as new technology that still needs to have kinks worked out.
For now, most said, a transcriptionist always will be necessary for editing a document dictated by a doctor because speech recognition is not flawless.
Vessels calls voice recognition "voice wreck ignition" to demonstrate the faults inherent in the system.
He noted that "with voice recognition, you can dictate, but it's going to require a high level of editing. Is this what people really want?" http://louisville.bcentral.com/louisville/stories/2000/09/11/focus3.html
Repost of article: Multiplicity
One world, one operating system? Forget it.
Paul G Schreier, Contributing Editor
New markets have a way of shaking things up. When desktop PCs arrived, venerable mini and mainframe computer suppliers such as Digital, Wang, and IBM watched their empires crumble at the feet of upstarts like Compaq and Microsoft. The emergence of convergence devices—also called Internet appliances, information appliances, digital consumer devices, and post-PC devices—is setting off a similar restructuring, this time in the world of operating systems.
Because Microsoft's OS dominates the desktop so completely, the terms "Windows" and "PC" are all but synonymous. And we've gotten used to thinking of the operating system as a defining characteristic of the product. But this dawning era of convergence brings a new set of technical requirements. So you can erase those old assumptions.
Forget about hegemony. The new landscape will involve a host of frenetic competitors vying to have designers choose their software. Established vendors of RTOSs (real-time operating systems) for embedded systems want to retain their leadership in the new post-PC market. Second-tier suppliers see a chance to step up. A new group of suppliers is arriving with unique offerings. Even vendors of desktop OSs—some of whom never found much success against Windows—see a chance for redemption.
Meanwhile, a growing faction contends that the OS doesn't really matter. Instead, designers' thoughts will be occupied by middleware—chunks of code that work closely with the OS to provide critical features. There's more than one way to build a better mousetrap, and designers will look at any method that can deliver the features after which consumers are lusting.
"The core [real-time OS] feature set is no longer the battleground."
Anup Murarka, Spyglass
Just what's at stake here, anyway? According to International Data Corp, in 1997 PCs accounted for roughly 96 percent of all Internet-access devices shipped in the US. By 2002, we'll see a dramatic reversal, with shipments of consumer information appliances outnumbering consumer PCs. The worldwide market for information appliances in 2004 will exceed 89 million units (accounting for $17.8 billion in sales), up from a market of 11 million units ($2.4 billion) last year.
The needs of convergence devices, which typically involve Internet connections and/or multimedia, present a new set of requirements for designers, who therefore use different criteria to compare candidate environments. "The microkernel itself is the least of our worries when selecting an RTOS," comments Anup Murarka, vice president of Interactive TV at Spyglass. Even though today's RTOSs use different kernels (the core OS code that controls fundamental processes), they all provide a baseline feature set. For example, they all support POSIX (portable operating system interface for Unix), a standard that developers follow to ensure that applications and OSs can work together smoothly. "The core feature set is no longer the battleground," Murarka says.
Instead, support modules and development-tool chains have become paramount. Remember not so long ago when the application you wanted to run was key in choosing a computer platform? If you needed serious engineering tools, you selected Unix. Desktop publishing? The Macintosh. Office tasks? DOS and later Windows.
Today an emerging class of software—middleware—is driving the selection of a convergence OS. In simple terms, middleware refers to software that sits between the OS and the user application. Middleware encompasses the enabling technologies that allow designers to build the applications with which users ultimately interact. Examples include a TCP/IP stack (code that's necessary for Internet communication), a graphics engine, or even a mini Web browser. Reinventing the wheel is out of the question when time to market is so critical. So developers are seeking OS vendors who have integrated these convergence capabilities into their product lines.
Why bother?
Before digging any deeper into this topic, let's be cynical for a moment. If convergence devices have only a few specialized tasks, do they require a full-blown, multitasking kernel at all? Can't you simply write program code that boots up from ROM (read-only memory) and executes the required tasks?
It's not such a radical notion. Consider, for instance, Thompson Consumer Electronics' Lyra MP3 player. This groundbreaking convergence device uses no RTOS. Rather, it works with a simple mini-kernel running on a Texas Instruments DSP, which joins forces with an NEC microcontroller. In addition to supervisory functions, the DSP uses its onboard memory to perform sample-rate conversion, provide digital volume control, implement a five-band equalizer, and handle audio fast-forwarding and rewinding. The NEC chip controls the user interface, keyboard, and display, and runs the file system that reads music tracks off of CompactFlash memory cards.
Indeed, the fact that the Lyra doesn't need to write to memory at all allowed its designers to get by without an RTOS. Users load music into the CompactFlash cards using a PC, so many of the functions that would otherwise require an RTOS can reside on the PC. When the Lyra reads the card, it simply examines the file-allocation table, recovers the directory listing, and starts streaming the music. Similarly, the Lyra contains no music decoder. Instead, the PC places an executable file, which contains the decoding algorithm, along with the music file on the memory card. This approach will make it easy for Thompson to upgrade the system to handle new formats as consumer tastes and industry standards change.
Designers speak
The Lyra's champion at Thompson, Tibor Csicsatka, admits that if a suitable RTOS had been available for the NEC chip during the design phase, he might have been tempted to go with it. This philosophy concurs with that of most design consultants. Consider some words from Steve Christian, marketing director at Doctor Design (a consulting firm that recently became part of Wind River Systems): "In this day and age it's foolish to try and get by without a foundation on which to base hardware and application layers. You want to get from a napkin sketch to a shipping product in the shortest time. We're always looking for shortcuts, and an RTOS provides a good one on the development path."
"You want to get from a napkin sketch to a shipping product in the shortest time. We're always looking for shortcuts, and an RTOS provides a good one."
Steve Christian, Doctor Design
Adds Paul Leroux, technology analyst at QNX Software Systems, "I can't imagine most net-appliance manufacturers wanting to do any of this work themselves. Writing a browser, for example, is a never-ending process, and precious few software houses are competent enough to do it properly. More to the point, most players in this space want to concentrate on the user experience, on what they can add, and not on the underlying technology."
Steve Christian
Christian expands on this point, noting that for convergence devices, the nuts and bolts of the OS play a relatively insignificant role in the decision matrix. "When first sitting down with prospective clients, we often start by talking about the middleware they want, such as a Web browser or a Java environment," Christian says. "Then we find the best OS and chips that can run that middleware while meeting other design criteria, such as size and cost." Middleware has come to dominate designs in terms of code size, royalties, and user-interaction models, he adds.
Another design consultancy brings interesting perspectives to net appliances thanks to its history. At one time, Spyglass was the exclusive licensor of the Mosaic browser technology, but several years ago the firm started to focus on embedded-systems design. Today its target markets are interactive TV and mobile data. When selecting an OS, reflects Spyglass' Murarka, designers must remember their basic objectives: time to market, product functions, and the overall software strategy. Your choices will differ according to whether you're designing a single product or planning a scalable design for a series of future products. He adds that price is becoming an important and sometimes messy issue. Will you pay a one-time charge for the OS? Pay royalties on each design? Cough up for each product shipped?
Need support
Support tools for the OS also warrant careful attention, Murarka says. "We've seen tool chains so poor that we've sometimes spent more money working around development-tool problems than we spent in up-front costs." This threat could be especially large if you're looking at a no-charge OS such as Linux (see sidebar, "Linux starts to converge").
The tool chain can be a crucial element, agrees Jeff Silver, sales manager with Annasoft Systems, a design consultancy that specializes in Windows CE. In his experience, customers choose WinCE because of its wide range of familiar development tools, its GUI, the availability of Microsoft Foundation Classes, and the availability of connectivity stacks such as TCP/IP. Further, he cites the army of Windows developers as an asset. As for the argument that designers should choose middleware first, Silver notes that WinCE offers considerable capabilities with no extra purchase.
Windows CE isn't dominating the convergence space by any means, and Silver admits the OS would be overkill in some classes of devices, such as MP3 players. For one thing, it runs only on 32-bit processors, and imposes a footprint as large as 5 or 6 Mbytes. Much of the criticism volleyed at Windows CE has focused on its poor real-time characteristics. Silver predicts that version 3.0, due out in a few months, will make CE attractive for new classes of devices, especially those where real-time operation is important. The current version's interrupt latency—a measure of how quickly it responds to requests—is roughly 250 microseconds, Silver says. But version 3.0 should drop that to below 50 microseconds, making a huge difference in some cases, according to Silver.
Tantalized by huge market projections, other established OS vendors are making efforts to convince engineering managers that they've got what it takes to speed development in the convergence space. Often it simply involves taking existing products and wrapping them up in new marketing clothes.
For example, QNX offers the Internet Appliance Toolkit. Besides the QNX OS, the toolkit adds an embeddable windowing system called the Photon microGUI, plus the Voyager Internet Suite, which includes an HTML browser, an email client, an Internet dialer, and a Web server. Supporting elements include a TCP/IP stack and development goodies like C/C++ compilers. Going a step further, QNX has joined forces with National Semiconductor to supply a reference design for the WebPAD, a touchscreen wireless device optimized for Web browsing and email. The firms claim that OEMs can go from concept to finished product in six weeks.
While Microware has a long history of providing middleware, it hasn't done a terribly good job at letting the world know about, says Curt Schwaderer, director of network technologies. He claims that his firm was the first to include a TCP/IP stack in 1987, the first to include a GUI with the 1989 introduction of Rave, and addressed digital TV technology as early as 1994 with an OS product called David (digital audio video interactive decoder). Microware was also the first to license a Java machine to use with an RTOS, and meanwhile has 350,000 Java-based devices deployed, claiming 99 percent of that market segment, according to Schwaderer.
Recognizing that development tools can be as important as middleware, some firms with strong backgrounds in tools are shifting to operating environments. Wind River Systems bought Integrated Systems and its well-known pSOS to deliver a stronger one-two punch in the embedded world, with an eye on the convergence marketplace. Other firms haven't purchased product lines outright but are instead forming tight alliances. For instance, Green Hills Software, traditionally a tool supplier, recently entered an arrangement to serve as the exclusive sales and support branch for Express Logic's royalty-free ThreadX RTOS. The two products aren't just bundled together for shopping convenience, says Express Logic President Bill Lamie; they're tightly integrated to quicken the development of optimal target code.
An emerging breed of operating environment combines the functionality of an OS with a subset of middleware tailored for a very specific application niche.
The situation has even reached the point where you can get an RTOS for free—literally. Expanding its desktop concept into the embedded arena, Linux-packager Red Hat recently acquired Cygnus Solutions, which for several years has made available at no charge its eCos (embedded configurable OS). The OS has mainly supported development work on Windows NT hosts, but the obvious move to Linux is underway.
The embedded market is attracting other desktop OS companies. Perhaps looking for another chance after nearly a decade of having little impact on the desktop, Be Inc recently announced a platform dubbed BeIA, which specifically targets information and entertainment appliances. Founded by Apple veteran Jean-Louis Gassee, Be hopes to leverage its multimedia experience. BelA includes an integrated Web browser and a Java virtual machine. The OS also supplies services tailored for streaming media, such as data conversion, buffering, and presentation. At the highest level lie application services such as email support, file viewing, or even a PIM (personal information manager) module. BelA runs on Pentium or PowerPC processors.
Another familiar name is looking to expand its customer base, even though it's already well known in the convergence space. Most products running the PalmOS today come from 3Com itself or OEMs such as IBM and Franklin. A few other firms—among them Handspring (with its Visor), Symbol (the SPT1500/1700), Qualcomm (the pdQ), and TRG (the TRGpro)—have licensed the OS. Other recent licensees include Sony, Nokia and Motorola, although they have yet to announce products.
Do one thing, do it well
That 3Com is pushing the PalmOS as an alternative platform for convergence devices merely hints at the specialization the market is starting to see. An emerging breed of operating environments combine the functionality of an OS with a subset of middleware tailored for extremely narrow application niches.
How many design teams need a package optimized for digital cameras? More than a handful, hopes FlashPoint Technology, which developed its Digita operating environment just for that niche. Among the vendors working with it are Kodak, Minolta, Hewlett-Packard, and Epson (in photo printers). Digita makes it simple for designers to deliver products that let users easily capture, edit, catalog, annotate, and share digital photos, according to Stephen Saylor, FlashPoint's executive vice president and general manager.
Digita runs on top of VxWorks, but Saylor says Wind River Systems' most important contribution is the tool chain. Just 20 percent of Digita's memory footprint is related to VxWorks, primarily real-time services and the file system. FlashPoint then supplies support for USB ports, PC Cards, and serial ports, as well as a toolbox layer including a small-footprint GUI, class libraries, and a multimedia-friendly database manager. Finally, developers use an API to write programs, create unique features, and add applets.
Following the "Intel Inside" model, Flashpoint plans to use a logo-based marketing engine that creates demand for products using Digita. Furthermore, all Digita licensees participate in patent agreements and patent pooling, as they would in a consortium, Saylor adds.
Another specialist, Symbian, targets its Epoc OS/application suite and its recently announced Quartz reference design at wireless information devices such as smart phones and portable communicators. Formerly the software division of Psion, the company in 1998 became an independent joint venture of Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, and Psion, with Matsushita joining the fold roughly a year ago. Here again you get more than a kernel. Epoc supplies an application suite that includes modules for communications, a PIM, office programs, utilities, system tools, and desktop-synchronization tools.
Similarly, Phone.com (formerly Unwired Planet) develops software for the convergence of the Internet and telephony. Its UP family brings email and net-based information services to the screens of mass-market wireless phones. More than 20 phone manufacturers have licensed the UP.Browser microbrowser and UP.Smart application suite, which enable them to enhance their devices with Internet access. Third parties work with the freely available UP.SDK (software development kit) to create Web-based content and apps suited for the UP.Browser.
Recognizing the importance of flash memory in digital devices, e.Digital developed MicroOS, which specializes in managing flash devices—organizing files, controlling power use, and preventing trouble by ensuring even wear of the chip's memory cells. The firm has since evolved into a design house specializing in emerging markets where users pull multimedia content off the net. The company provides reference platforms such as a multi-codec music player built around a Texas Instruments DSP. It also developed Cquence, a portable digital voice recorder and docking station, for Lanier Worldwide. Based on the Lanier project, e.Digital expanded the MicroOS to incorporate the real-time functions needed for such designs.
3/39/2001 CeBIT update: NTT comes to Europe with 3G standard
Japanese mobile telephone provider NTT DoCoMo is set to target the European market with its 3G standard, Foma.
Speaking at the CeBIT trade Fair, Kyoji Murakami, NTT's senior manager, announced that Foma has been designed to handle next generation, high-speed mobile internet access, incorporating animation downloads, audio and video streaming.
The Japanese company is primarily intending to target European business customers and power users with the offering. It hopes to attract 150,000 customers by the end of the year and predicts six million users by March 2004.
NTT DoCoMo claims that network coverage throughout Europe should stand at 22 per cent by May, increasing to 97 per cent within three years.
Murakami blamed the slow development of WAP services in Europe on content volume, data transfer speeds and the lack of 'always-on' connections, saying that thanks to its Java and GPRS capabilities, Foma will buck the trend.
Texas Instruments Addresses Its Vision for What's Mobile Cool in 2.5 and 3G; TI Executive to Deliver Remarks at Key Industry Forums
LOS ANGELES and SAN DIEGO, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Texas
Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) (TI) wireless applications will only get
cooler as software developers unleash the performance of new processing
solutions and figure out what can be done in a wireless broadband world.
Whether it's streaming video, mobile commerce, location-based services or
fingerprint activate security access, wireless applications will be enabled by
TI's DSP-based OMAP(TM) wireless architecture. Having the OMAP wireless
architecture powering a wireless device proves what Mom used to say, "It's
what's on the inside that counts." (See http://www.ti.com/sc/omap.)
WHAT:
Alain Mutricy, general manager of Texas Instruments OMAP platform, will
deliver remarks as part of an iWireless Forum panel entitled "Mobile Cool," a
look at next-generation wireless technologies. Mr. Mutricy will also join
wireless leaders on a panel sponsored by the San Diego Telecom Council Mobile
Wireless Special Interest Group.
WHERE: WHEN:
iWireless Forum
"What is Mobile Cool?" Monday, April 2
Santa Monica Room 11:10 - 12:10 a.m., PDT
Beverly Hilton
Beverly Hills, Calif.
San Diego Telecom Council
"The Next Generation of Killer Apps" Tuesday, April 3
Nokia Facility 7:30 - 9:00 a.m., PDT
12278 Scripps Summit Drive
Poway, Calif.
ABOUT TI'S OMAP ARCHITECTURE:
Unveiled in May 1999, TI's programmable DSP-based OMAP architecture
delivers advanced wireless Internet and multimedia functionality without
compromising the battery life essential to wireless communications devices
such as digital wireless handsets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and
Internet audio devices. TI's OMAP architecture is quickly becoming the de
facto standard applications platform for 2.5G and 3G with public endorsements
by manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson, Sony and Handspring. Additionally,
Symbian's EPOC operating system, Microsoft Window's CE operating system and
Sun Microsystems' Java 2 Micro Edition platform are endorsed and supported on
the OMAP processor available today.
OT: Intelligent machines evolve
By Mark Williams
Red Herring
March 29
This article is from the April 3, 2001, issue of Red Herring magazine.
Danny Hillis pioneered the concepts that enable massively parallel computers. In 1983, while completing his degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he cofounded Thinking Machines to market them. Nowadays, listing the companies for which he serves as either a board member or technical adviser would take pages, so we'll just mention the Presidential Information Technology Advisory Committee, the Science and Technology Working Group of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Moreover, Mr. Hillis holds more than 40 U.S. patents. Indeed, he has been responsible for such diverse items as disk arrays to store large databases, forgery prevention technologies, a giant clock designed to run 10,000 years, and a computer made from...Tinkertoys?
Well, yes. What's most interesting about Mr. Hillis is that in his world, all the serious stuff fits right alongside that Tinkertoy computer, which has been displayed at the Boston Museum of Science. While in high school, Mr. Hillis's first job was designing computer-oriented toys for Milton Bradley. He's been a Disney (NYSE: DIS) fellow and vice president of research and development at Walt Disney Imagineering. Last year Mr. Hillis and Bran Ferren, Disney Imagineering's president of research and development and creative technology, departed to start a new company, Applied Minds. The company's mission is still under wraps, but Mr. Hillis holds the titles of cochairman and chief technology officer.
BRAIN TEASE
The idea of parallel computing had been around for years before you made it work. Why was that?
For years, whenever I talked about massively parallel computers, somebody brought up a mathematical proof called Amdahl's law which said [parallel computers] would only be good for a very specialized set of problems. I knew that couldn't be true, because human brains do many different things. Of course, once parallelism became normal, it destroyed the supercomputer business. That's the problem with starting with a technical idea instead of a business idea. We put ourselves out of business.
So what interests you these days?
What I've always been interested in: making intelligent machines. I used to think we'd do it by engineering. Now I believe we'll evolve them. We're likely to make thinking machines before we understand how the mind works, which is kind of backwards.
You like to quote Chief Seattle's speech in which he told the Europeans that once their conquering ended, they'd run out of story. We've now reached that point, you've claimed, where we literally cannot imagine our future. In an article in Wired's April 2000 issue, Bill Joy [Sun Microsystems's (Nasdaq: SUNW) cofounder and chief scientist] wrote what many of us had known: that when you graph current trends over the next few decades, we're looking at a radical discontinuity with human history. Are you as worried as he is?
Computers and communications technology in particular are causing a profound change in what humans are. Humanity has only gone through such changes three or four times. When we moved to agriculture was one time. The industrial revolution was another. It's a discontinuity; you can't get to the future by extrapolating the past. That's why Bill Joy's article struck such a chord. People are uneasy because they literally cannot imagine the world their children will live in. But I don't think intelligent machines will happen suddenly. They'll happen gradually. For example, people believed a machine couldn't beat a human at chess, or thought it'd be the end of the world. Then Deep Blue happened, and it didn't matter -- people still play chess, though machines are better at it. We'll see lots of steps like that.
How will corporations compete as automation makes their products uniformly reliable and durable?
I can imagine a time when, for example, companies will give away cars and make their money on the ancillary services they provide. I believe it's already the case that the car company doesn't make its money selling you the car. It makes more money if it finances the car for you.
We asked management theorist and consultant Peter Drucker the question we've just asked you. He said that the first thing he tells any client is that they cannot survive as a manufacturing company. They must become knowledge companies based on distribution.
Exactly. One of the things I enjoyed about working for Disney was that it's a pure knowledge-distribution brand. One reason Disney ran into problems with the religious right was that it was doing a better job of providing the stories that gave kids moral structure than religious institutions were. As product differentiation disappears, brand -- which is essentially an information device -- will become much more important. Also, the company of the future will increasingly be a knowledge-based network. We're building Applied Minds so we'll have very few people inside the company.
While you were at Disney, one of your projects was how virtual characters might be depicted so people would care about them as if they were human. Using software, couldn't you build storytelling and personality into a product? The product itself could tell its story and be responsive.
Yes, I agree. The product of the future will have personality.
You said you wouldn't talk about Applied Minds. But that's like saying, 'Don't think about the pink elephant.' It's big, and it must relate to work you've done in the past. Are we too near the elephant?
You're getting close. You're on the right track. But that's fine. It's OK to have teasers like that.
Toy Robots: Fun and More
Michel Marriott New York Times Service
Monday, March 26, 2001
Utilitarian Machines Profit From Advances for Kids
NEW YORK At the annual Toy Fair here, the huge show where the toy industry promotes its newest creations, robots were everywhere.
Tiger Electronics, a division of Hasbro Inc., showed off no fewer than two dozen interactive robotic toys that it plans to unleash for the holiday season. They include a free-ranging turtle and other automatons for the fish bowl, as well as a gleaming, robotic baby that coos while responding to touch, sight and sound.
There were plenty of robotic toys from other makers, too: more dogs than you can throw a stick at, joined by cats, birds, mice, bugs, dinosaurs and even potted plants.
Many are crammed with sophisticated electronics and software so that they can sense walls or other obstacles. Many can hear and recognize simple speech and respond to commands; some can see, detecting light and even colors. And all are capable of movement.
These toys might represent the best of their breed, but they are still only toys. None of them measures up to the vision of robots as powerful, helpful servants made popular decades ago in science fiction like Isaac Asimov's stories and the "Jetsons" cartoon series.
While the fair last month was overrun by toy robots, the relatively modest number of useful robots are mostly tucked away in research laboratories or at work on factory floors.
But robotic toys, experts say, may help usher in the day, in the not too distant future, when more practical, utilitarian robots are common around the house.
The clever use in toys of microprocessors, memory chips, sensors, servomotors and advanced software, like the sort that makes voice recognition possible, is pointing the way to vastly more advanced robots that can work with humans without intimidating them.
"Toys are just the tip of the iceberg in what is coming," said Wayne Walter, a founder of the Laboratory for Cooperative, Autonomous Microsystems at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Moreover, some analysts say, by growing up with robots as favorite toys, a generation of children may more readily accept robotic assistants working among them in the home or office when they are adults.
"These toys are opening the door for broad acceptance of robotics in the same way that Pong and other home computer toys opened the way for computers to be used on a daily basis," said Brian Friedman, managing director of Robotic Ventures, a Chicago venture capital company that invests in robotics and artificial-intelligence companies.
Nowhere is the influence of robotic toys more pervasive than in the area of robot-human interaction. Here, some robotics specialists say, toys might have a few tricks to teach more utilitarian robots of the future about how humanlike they have to act and look.
Like early 20th-century forecasts of flying family automobiles by the 21st century, the walking, talking, mostly anthropomorphic robots in the home, office and factory never materialized. By the mid-1980s, serious talk about a personal robot - a tireless, intelligent, forever helpful mechanical servant, something to wash the dishes, clean the house, cook the meals, water the plants and watch the children - had all but vanished.
Instead, Mr. Friedman said, highly specialized robots emerged, often designed to take over repetitive or dangerous tasks. Robots also became popular research projects at universities around the world. Nevertheless, Jeff Burnstein, vice president for marketing and public relations at the Robotic Industries Association, said useful interactive home robots were becoming more likely by the day.
"If you get more sophisticated in voice recognition and sensor technology and vision," Mr. Burnstein said, "you are getting to a point where it becomes more likely that you are going to have useful home robots. But there are still a lot of hurdles."
Pradeep Khosla, a professor of engineering and robotics at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, said the designers of advanced robotics could learn a key lesson from the popularity of electronic toy robots.
"They make these machines human-friendly and take away the intimidation factor," Mr. Khosla said.
Many of the robotic toys bubble over with virtual personalities - cute, microchip-based quirks that Andrew Filo, an inventor who has worked with Tiger Electronics, calls a "variation in their emotional states." Some speak or light up in response to certain stimuli; others respond to voice commands.
Such capabilities are crucial to much more sophisticated robots designed to perform in the home, Mr. Khosla said. It would be difficult for humans to interact with robots on the machines' terms. Instead, he said, a robot must be able to understand humans on their terms. That means understanding spoken human language, gestures and body language.
"We must build robots to reach the level of human interaction," Mr. Khosla said, "instead of making human beings stoop to the level of the robot."
But not everyone is convinced of the value of toys in the evolution of robots. The playful nature of toys is not really adaptable to more serious robots, said Joseph Engelberger, who in the 1950s invented the first industrial robot.
"When I tell a robot to get me a beer," he said, "I don't want it horsing around. I want it to get a beer
Repost re VoiceTimes member NEC--
NEC Develops Personal Robot with Speech, Image Recognition
March 23, 2001 (TOKYO) -- NEC Corp. said it has developed a robot called PaPeRo, short for "partner-type personal robot," focusing on communication ability with humans that is enabled by speech and image recognition technology.
The characteristic of the robot -- the company's second prototype -- is the ability to recognize up to 10 persons' voices. In addition, with the image recognition ability, it can detect and identify the speaker.
Made for the home environment, the round-shaped PaPeRo can communicate with humans. For example, it looks for human company, calls out one's name, approaches, makes small talk, dances, tells riddles and sings a song with natural facial expressions on the eyes (serving as CCD cameras) and the mouth (LEDs). It is able to recognize 650 phrases and speaks 3,000, and it is possible to increase the vocabulary.
It has a function to serve as a remote control for TVs. In a demonstration, it turned on the TV, and changed channels and volume upon the speaker's request. (photo: PaPeRo listening to the speaker's request to turn the TV on) It also works as an answering machine. When one family member asks the robot to take a voice message for someone absent from the house, the robot delivers the message to the right person upon his or her return.
Yoshihiro Fujita, project manager of the Incubation Center at NEC Laboratories, said, "We will explore how to apply use of a partnering robot best fitted for people who'd never used a robot, like youngsters and the elderly." There are a variety of uses, he said, including a device to monitor people for their care.
Fujita stressed that PaPeRo can become a research platform for prototyping and development. He touched on a future plan that his team plans to work with research institutes and universities to improve the recognition and movability, in addition to studying the relationship between humans and robots. It also will seek cooperation from industry application development.
There is no plan to commercialize the robot yet, he said.
The height of the PaPeRo is 385mm. The body looks "chubby" and measures 248mm wide x 245mm deep. The weight is 5.0kg, and it can run on a battery for two to three hours.
The PaPeRo, similar to a notebook PC configuration, has a 500MHz version of Intel Corp.'s Celeron microprocessor and 192MB of main memory. The operating system is Windows 98.
Bill Gates Paints Vision for Future of Human-Computer Interaction at CHI 2001
MICROSOFT LOGO
Microsoft company logo. (PRNewsFoto)[PM]
REDMOND, WA USA 08/22/2000
Computer Usability Insights Unveiled in Microsoft Research Papers, Workshops,
Tutorials and Panels
REDMOND, Wash., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)
will demonstrate its continuing dedication to making computing more natural
and emphasize strong support for the computer science community through
several activities at the Computer-Human Interaction Conference (CHI 2001).
Organized annually by the Association for Computing Machinery's special
interest group on Computer-Human Interaction, CHI 2001 will be held from
March 31 to April 5 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )
Bill Gates Keynote: "Advancing the User Experience"
When: Tuesday, April 3, 2001, 9 a.m. PDT
Where: Washington State Convention Center, Ballroom 6ABC
What: At the opening plenary session, Microsoft Chairman
and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will reflect
on the history of human-computer interfaces and
discuss the industry's perspective on elements such
as usability. Gates will also highlight work done at
Microsoft Research labs
( http://research.microsoft.com/ ) and examples of
Microsoft projects that address the challenges facing
natural computing. Photographers are asked to limit
the use of flashes to the first 90 seconds of Gates'
address. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and a special
seating area will contain audio and video connections
for electronic media. Registration information for
members of the press is detailed below.
March 29, 2001 Audiovox plans integrated PDA/phone
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—Audiovox Communications Corp. announced plans for an integrated personal digital assistant and wireless phone, to be introduced in the third quarter of this year.
According to Audiovox, the wireless information communicator will be third-generation cdma2000 1x-ready, and will work with carriers supporting the 3G network. The device is expected to offer digital calling capabilities through a hands-free attachment and should enable consumers to access the Internet, make notes, make calls, and watch video sequences.
“Timing is crucial,” said Philip Christopher, president and chief executive officer of Audiovox. “Audiovox is preparing to introduce its combination personal digital assistant and cellular phone just as U.S. carriers will begin to implement 1x technology. The PDA/phone is the optimal wireless communications tool for consumers to take full advantage of the power of 1x technology.”
Smart Handheld Market to Reach USD26 Billion (3/30/2001)
Originally Published:20010319.
SALES OF HANDHELD IT and communications devices will grow at 48 percent per year over the next four years to reach USD26 billion per year by 2004, according to a report from market analyst International Data Corp. (IDC) in Framingham, Mass.
Worldwide sales of these devices - principally PDAs (personal digital assistants) and smart phones that support data applications - will grow from 12.9 million units in 2000 to 63.4 million units in 2004.
Technological progress, particularly in mobile multimedia and wireless areas, will continue at a rapid pace, and 2001 will prove to be the year when mobile access devices hit their stride, IDC said in a summary of the report.
The fastest-growing area of the market will be in smart wireless phones, according to IDC. From 480,000 units in 2000, shipments of smart phones will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 164 percent to more than 23 million units per year by 2004.
PDAs currently dominate the smart handheld device market, representing 73 percent of worldwide shipments in 2000. Most PDAs ship with the Palm operating system, and Palm has dominated this space since its inception, according to IDC.
But new products from Microsoft and Research In Motion have softened Palm's grip on the market-leading position, and Palm is for the first time facing a solid threat to its dominance, IDC said.
IDC is a subsidiary of International Data Group, the parent company of the IDG News Service.
Handheld frenzy Sales of handheld IT and communications devices will grow at a remarkable 48 percent per year until it reaches $26 billion by 2004.
Worldwide sales of these devices projected to grow from 12.9 million units in 2000 to 63.4 million units in 2004 The fastest-growing area of the market will be in smart wireless phones, growing to 63.4 million units in 2004 PDAs currently dominate the smart handheld device market, representing 73 percent of worldwide shipments in 2000
InfoWorld
(C) 2001 InfoWorld. via Bell&Howell Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
DDI Pocket Adds Music Delivery Method to PHS Using SD Memory Card
March 30, 2001 (TOKYO) -- DDI Pocket Inc. announced that from late April it would support AAC-formatted music data on its "Sound Market" service, a music data delivery service for a personal handyphone system service dubbed "feel H" (edge)."
The Sound Market has supported MP3-formatted data for delivery to PHS.
The new service, offering a choice of AAC-formatted music data to be delivered, is called SDAIR. It enables feel H" PHS phone users to download and transfer music data to a portable music player that supports feel H". The downloaded music data can be stored on an SD memory card.
PHS phones as well as portable music players for the new SDAIR system will be sold by Toshiba Corp. and by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
The SDAIR system was co-developed by Toshiba, Matsushita Electric, Kyusyu Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd. and Music co.jp Inc. Based on the EMMS data distribution technique of IBM Corp. of the United States, these four companies combined the AAC music data compression technique and the Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM), an encryption/authorization technology. CPRM has been developed jointly by Matsushita Electric, Intel Corp., IBM and Toshiba.
The new SDAIR service in the Sound Market sets the bit rate at 128bps. For example, it can download a three-minute song in 6 minutes. The charge is the same to that of the conventional MP3 delivery method the Sound Market has used (Keitaide-Music ): 200-400 yen per song, excluding the communication charge (13 yen per minute).
Toshiba will start selling "Beat Carrots DL-B01" series PHS phones and "MEA212AS" portable music players by the end of April. Both prices will have an open price tag.
DL-B01 has two body colors, black and pink, and MEA212AS has one silver body color. By connecting with a cable (photo), music data downloaded by a DL-B01 phone can be transferred to an MEA212AS. Data is stored by the MEA212AS built-in memory or on an SD memory card. The DL-B01 model itself cannot store the data. The MEA212AS can be connected to PCs by USB cables to transfer the data.
DDI Pocket started the Sound Market service on Nov. 30, 2000. At present, 16 companies including Toshiba EMI Ltd., Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. and Pony Canyon Inc. are providing about 1,000 music data. Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. and Kyocera Corp. have been selling PHS phones that support Keitaide-Music, or the Sound Market service for MP3 data.
DDI Pocket said that more than 200,000 feel H" series phones have been sold, about 70 percent of which were for the Sound Music service, and thousands of people are using the service every day. Accesses to the Sound Market service are about 7,000 a day. Users download 2,000 free music data for demo play and 200 charged data every day.
http://www.nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com/wcs/leaf?CID=onair/asabt/news/126995
These are carrots i can get behind.
MH/ALL: WATCH FOR A RIMMSHOT IN THE 2ND QUARTER OF THE GAME; COULD BE AN EDIG SLAMDUNK. [but don't set your clock by it; you know how easily one quater can roll into the next]
Wireless: Research In Motion Leads Race to Introduce Voice-Enabled PDAs
August 28,2000 The next thing you hear from Research In Motion [T.RIM] [RIMM] might be the sound of its PDA ringing. And the next thing you see might be its stock price dancing to the tune.
Research In Motion's products have become synonymous with email for people on the go. No place where business folk assemble is safe from the sight of the Blackberry wireless two-way pager dangling off belt loops. But the company is now working on turning its new handheld device into a phone, as well.
RIM will be testing voice capabilities on the 957 Wireless Handheld, with its large screen and keyboard, in Europe this fall. The commercial rollout is expected around May. This is sooner than analysts had originally predicted. It means that Research In Motion will likely have the first voice-enabled PDA on the market, ahead of well-known competitor Palm [PALM]. Analysts believe that this has not yet been accounted for in RIM's stock price.
The commercial rollout is expected around May. This is sooner than analysts had originally predicted.
The 957 has an embedded radio which will communicate with the GSM network that is the dominant cellular system in Europe. The device will support GPRS, a next generation enhancement to GSM that enables a constant flow of packet data.
"There's no reason it can't do voice calls as well," says analyst William Crawford at Merrill Lynch.
By plugging an earpiece into the 957, it will retain its PDA-look but be able to take and make phone calls. "When coupled with RIM's always-on access to email and personal information, the unit could be a formidable competitor in the smart phone market," Crawford suggests.
Suddenly, Research In Motion would be encroaching on the Web phones that many believed would herald its demise. When Barron's featured the company on the front page of its February 28 issue, it caused quite a stir in wireless circles. Barron's claimed data devices such as RIM's Blackberry, would be ultimately be vanquished by Internet-enabled phones.
"Even as handhelds grow faster and smarter -- nearly all will soon offer e-mail and Internet access -- a mighty competitor lurks that will likely relegate them to technology's scrap heap by 2005. The enemy is the cellular phone," wrote Barron's Jay Palmer.
But by moving beyond the wireless email niche, at least RIM is a contender.
While Internet-enabled phones do offer many PDA functions, such as personal organizers and email, they are notoriously awkward for these purposes. It is too soon to tell whether a device from a voice background or data background will win consumers over. But by moving beyond the wireless email niche, at least RIM is a contender.
"People just don't like carrying around that many devices," says Francesca Mabarak, a senior analyst of wireless/mobile technologies at Yankee Group. "And the cell phones are still so clumsy." She doesn't consider voice-enabled PDAs a huge threat to cell phones, but she believes it will take a piece of the market.
She also suggests that for health reasons, consumers will choose to use a PDA that has an earpiece, rather than holding a phone that emits low levels of radiation to their heads. "It doesn't seem to be a worry yet, but it is feeding waves into your brain," she says. "It's very stupid to carry a cell phone and put a plug in your ear. But here, you use [the PDA] for both purposes."
RIM is not the only data-centric device company with voice development. Palm is working on voice-enabling its popular PDAs. "They're both going to go about it the same way," says Mabarak, "but RIM's going to get out to market first. It will definitely have some sort of impact."
Crawford believes the company will have another advantage when it hits the European market. "RIM's real advantage over other device companies…is Blackberry server's integration with enterprise messaging systems," he suggests.
Corporations that embrace the Blackberry and distribute it to employees have RIM servers installed behind the corporate firewall, making messages secure. Other companies offering mobile data services in Europe employ the Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) standard to access corporate data. This is not a secure connection. Crawford believes this difference will give RIM voice and data enabled devices an edge over competition. "RIM is positioned to be the best vendor of converged voice and data services in the European enterprise market."
The analyst has a US$70 target on the stock with a "near term accumulate" rating. He says that the company's potential in the voice arena is not reflected in the stock that closed at US$63.68 on Friday.
nada: and if 6 turned out to be 9
MH: yeah sure, we just know you like to hear yourself talk. I believe this site will be getting more power next week per Matt, the webmaster.
MH: yeah, i wish we would get a few karats instead.