Thursday, January 16, 2003
Secure Linux PDA by IBM and CDL
Posted by Janak Parekh in "HARDWARE" @ 11:13 AM
"An innovative PDA created by IBM and Consumer Direct Link promises to reduce the risk of unauthorized entry into the offices, facilities, manufacturing sites or warehouses of businesses and government agencies.
The Paron MPC converged device combines the functions of a Linux-based PDA and mobile phone, with the notable additions of a biometric fingerprint-recognition application and security-oriented hardware/software architecture, in addition to Bluetooth wireless capability."
I did a quick Google search and found the following unit on CDL's website.
Looks like a pretty typical ARM/Linux-based PDA, except for that hardcore-looking biometric scanner and the combination of both GSM/GPRS and Bluetooth (which no one else has to date, if I'm not mistaken). The device is slated to cost $500.
Interestingly, this makes me believe that, despite recent predictions of convergence between PDAs and cell phones (or the supplanting of PDA's with smarter cell phones) in the consumer market, PDAs in their existing form factor will still exist in the future for many business and governmental applications. PDAs as handheld computers have a tremendous value proposition.
The Paron MPC converged device combines the functions of a Linux-based PDA and mobile phone, with the notable additions of a biometric fingerprint-recognition application and security-oriented hardware/software architecture, in addition to Bluetooth wireless capability."
I did a quick Google search and found the following unit on CDL's website.
Looks like a pretty typical ARM/Linux-based PDA, except for that hardcore-looking biometric scanner and the combination of both GSM/GPRS and Bluetooth (which no one else has to date, if I'm not mistaken). The device is slated to cost $500.
Interestingly, this makes me believe that, despite recent predictions of convergence between PDAs and cell phones (or the supplanting of PDA's with smarter cell phones) in the consumer market, PDAs in their existing form factor will still exist in the future for many business and governmental applications. PDAs as handheld computers have a tremendous value proposition.
