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News
Issue #2002 - 17
(May 2002)
(Updated May
1, 2002)
APPLICATIONS
& DEVELOPMENT
UPS Turns to Symbol to Upgrade
Drivers’ Handhelds
Symbol Technologies has
inked a deal, worth between $50-million to $100-million, with United
Parcel Service for a next-generation wireless handheld computer,
dubbed Driver Information Acquisition Device, for UPS drivers.
Both companies declined to reveal any details about this new
device, except that it will run on Windows CE OS.
However, there is no lack of speculation about what Symbol will
incorporate into the device. Ethan Cohen, research director at
Aberdeen Group in Boston, told ‘ComputerWorld’ that the new UPS
device could include a variety of wireless connectivity options,
including support for wide-area packet-data networks, Wi-Fi wireless
LANs, and Bluetooth short-range wireless connectivity.
The deal follows rival FedEx Corp.’s announcement that it had
selected Microsoft’s PocketPC as the platform for the PowerPad,
its next-generation handheld system for drivers.
These two announcements have rekindled the Palm OS vs. Windows CE
debate.
Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group, told the computer
magazine that the UPS announcement is further evidence of how
Windows CE is going to beat Palm in the enterprise market.
He argues that enterprises will continue to choose Windows CE or
PocketPC because those operating systems are more tightly coupled
with the Microsoft desktop, which is ubiquitous throughout the
corporate world.
Palm’s director of competitive analysis Jason Hertzberg lashed
back by saying even though Palm lost market share, dipping to 40
percent, when Microsoft introduced its enterprise-based PocketPC,
the company has now climbed back up to more than 60 percent.
For more information: http://www.symbol.com
(Additional source ComputerWorld)
MobileInfo.com’s Comments & Advisory: We do
not want to get into argument with Palm or Microsoft but plain facts
are that there are multiple markets within the PDA market. For basic
PIM functional market, Palm continues to have the lead for a number
of reasons - being the first in the market, price, battery
requirements and consumer loyalty being a few of these reasons. But
for serious and functionally-rich enterprise applications,
Microsoft's PocketPC and Windows CE offer a better platform.
PalmOS 5.0 will help Palm later this year but it may be too late to
slow the momentum that Microsoft has. Therefore, we agree with
Craig's comments.
Note: This news release may contain
forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
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