Bridges gap between PDA and laptop
February 1st 2004 Provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection, Psion Teklogix, has launched a new handheld compute that combines virtues of PDA and laptop in one.
A task-oriented mobile computing device, Netbook Pro is aimed at the rapidly growing mobile CRM market, including sales force automation, field service management and field inspection/data collection. According to the company, the Netbook Pro bridges the gap between the small and large form factors, such as the PDA and laptop, eliminating the difficult trade-offs that enterprises have been forced to make in the past.
The high-performance clamshell mobile computer offers ergonomics, flexibility and ease of integration in a single device, combining the virtues of the PDA (size, battery life, low support costs, weight, as well as touch screen and instant-on capabilities) with the benefits of a laptop (large screen size, expansion and connectivity flexibility and a full keyboard).
With the full-colour SVGA screen, web pages and other business applications can be viewed in the same format as a notebook or desktop PC. With its instant-on capability and a full keyboard that is large enough for comfortable touch typing, extensive amounts of data can be entered quickly and with greater ease than touch-screen-only PDA devices. The combination of its size about half that of a typical laptop and its light weight makes the unit particularly suitable for mobile computing applications.
It also offers enhanced connectivity and expansion capabilities for a small form factor device. Flexible expansion means it can be tailored to the unique needs of each customer. Its range of expandability options and superior memory size offer advantages over small form factor devices such as PDAs.
Operating on the latest Windows CE.NET platform and Intel XScale PXA 255 processor, the Netbook Pro is well-suited for sales force automation, field service management and field inspection/data collection tasks, among others. Ease of application integration, comprehensive application development tools and a growing set of connected capabilities make Windows CE.NET an ideal choice for particularly suited to mobile computing products such as the Netbook Pro. Further, the Windows CE.NET operating system was the logical choice for the Netbook Pro, as it addresses the growing popularity of this operating system within the enterprise as well as allowing seamless, reliable integration into back-office systems. Windows CE.NET supports advanced networking and security protocols that make it an excellent match for distributed computing applications.
Other industry standards such as 802.11b, Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS and CDMA/1xRTT can be easily integrated into the Netbook Pro to address a wide variety of enterprise mobile computing needs, both today and in the future.
META Group predicts that by 2005, between 35% and 45% of sales and support professionals will be using connected mobile devices. The Netbook Pro is addressing this trend in the CRM arena as a unique product that, unlike a PDA or laptop, has been specifically engineered for this market. More articles from Psion Teklogix UK Ltd: | 
