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Technology Industry

Pervasive Computing Era

Software Magazine, April, 2000 by Dan Kara

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At this time, the choice of standard platform limits, and often dictates, the choice of device and vice versa. Also, specific standard platforms vary in their support for different classes of converged functionality. As described in the figure (p. 19), there is a computation-communication continuum on which all of the various pervasive computing devices can be placed, with cellular phones and subnotebook computers found at the communication and computation extremes, respectively. (For this exercise, nonportable screen/Web phones, pagers, and traditional laptops have been excluded). If this continuum is plotted against time on the x-axis, it can be seen that there has been, and will continue to be, a convergence in functionality. Currently, however, developers must map development tools to standard platforms, as well as to device types.

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* Ultralights and Subnotebooks

Programmatically, this class of device, exemplified by products such as Sharp Actiusa and Sony's VAIO, is virtually equal to Windows desktops and laptops. They are used primarily to run personal productivity, scheduling, and contact management applications (Office), along with e-mail and Internet access. These products run full-blown Windows as the operating system and therefore traditional corporate development tools are perfectly applicable for developing for them. While some products in this class do employ touchscreens, most use a traditional mouse and keyboard approach to user interaction.

* PC Companions

Weighing in at 1 to 3 pounds and ranging in price from $600 to $1,000 (and dropping all the time) are PC companions. These products are typically used as adjuncts to desktop systems and even traditional laptops, and are used for travel and portability only. PC Companions subsume much of the functionality of the first generation of HPCs and in some sense will serve as the ergonomic basis for Internet appliances. The HP Jordana 850 and IBM WorkPad z50 typify products in this category. These products almost exclusively run on Windows CE Professional Edition (supporting the Jupiter form factor), and Pocket Office Professional suite of personal productivity applications. Developers, therefore, are limited to CE development environments.

* Handheld Computers

Moving up the computation/communication continuum is the HPC, exemplified by products such as the HP Jornada 680 and Sharp Mobilon HG4600. HPCs typically cost less than $1,000 and run Windows CE. They are primarily used for scheduling and contact management, as well as e-mail and Internet access, Personal productivity applications are limited to Pocket Office/Outlook or the equivalent. Handheld computers support both pen and keyboard input.

This particular niche has been placed under competitive pressure from both the more functional PC Companions and the more functionally appropriate PDAs (see below). It is easy to see the reason for the flat sales. For a bit more money and a little more weight, you could own a much more functional and usable PC Companion. In fact, HPCs acted as the conceptual/functional basis for PC Companions. Similarly, for those interested only in scheduling and contact management, PDAs provide a more economical solution.

Technology Industry

Pervasive Computing Era

Software Magazine, April, 2000 by Dan Kara

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