Thursday, May 6, 2004
Data Evolution Corporation Announces Windows CE Mobile Computer for Education and Government Services Markets
Posted by Jason Dunn in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 01:00 PM
I've always been a fan of HPC devices, especially for students. I started using a Velo 1 in my last year of college, and it revolutionized the way I worked. Even though laptops have become less expensive over the years, the battery life, size, weight, and durability still leave much to be desired from a student's point of view. So this announcement put a smile on my face:
"Data Evolution Holdings, Inc. announced today that it’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Data Evolution Corporation, introduced the CATHENA™, a new mobile computer aimed at the education and government services marketplaces. The Cathena, which runs the latest Microsoft® Windows® CE.NET™ operating system, has the look and feel of a traditional ultralight notebook computer while offering all the features and benefits of a high-performance Windows CE product, such as instant-on, extended battery life, and low support costs.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer a cutting-edge mobile computing device targeted to the education and government services markets - markets that have a direct impact on our daily lives,” said Robert J. Sowah, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. 'The Cathena will provide greater durability than traditional notebook PC’s and substantially increased functionality over PDA-style units utilized in many education curricula and government data processing organizations. Users in these niche markets will no longer have to make the difficult choice between expensive, heavy notebooks and the lack of usability of a PDA.' "
So what will it have under the hood? "....a 12.1”, 800x600 resolution, full-color TFT display, a 400 MHz Intel® XScale processor, an integrated nearly full-sized keyboard, 128MB RAM, a touchpad mouse, numerous in/out ports (two USB, audio in and out, compact flash slot, PCMCIA slot, and VGA out), built-in 802.11b wireless, and a lithium ion battery. The unit measures approximately 10.7”x 9.1”x 0.95” and weighs approximately three pounds." Not bad at all!
No word on pricing yet, and I imagine it won't be decided until closer to the release date. From a hardware point of view, this looks like a great unit - but the price point will be an important factor. Even though they're not targeting consumers, if it comes in at $1000 USD, it will be hard to swallow for the educational market. Governments don't spend their own money, so price point is less of a concern. ;-)
The last hurdle is software - the HPC software market is dead and buried. So the software that comes with the device will need to be reasonably decent and capable of doing the basic functions on its own.
"Data Evolution Holdings, Inc. announced today that it’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Data Evolution Corporation, introduced the CATHENA™, a new mobile computer aimed at the education and government services marketplaces. The Cathena, which runs the latest Microsoft® Windows® CE.NET™ operating system, has the look and feel of a traditional ultralight notebook computer while offering all the features and benefits of a high-performance Windows CE product, such as instant-on, extended battery life, and low support costs.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer a cutting-edge mobile computing device targeted to the education and government services markets - markets that have a direct impact on our daily lives,” said Robert J. Sowah, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. 'The Cathena will provide greater durability than traditional notebook PC’s and substantially increased functionality over PDA-style units utilized in many education curricula and government data processing organizations. Users in these niche markets will no longer have to make the difficult choice between expensive, heavy notebooks and the lack of usability of a PDA.' "
So what will it have under the hood? "....a 12.1”, 800x600 resolution, full-color TFT display, a 400 MHz Intel® XScale processor, an integrated nearly full-sized keyboard, 128MB RAM, a touchpad mouse, numerous in/out ports (two USB, audio in and out, compact flash slot, PCMCIA slot, and VGA out), built-in 802.11b wireless, and a lithium ion battery. The unit measures approximately 10.7”x 9.1”x 0.95” and weighs approximately three pounds." Not bad at all!
No word on pricing yet, and I imagine it won't be decided until closer to the release date. From a hardware point of view, this looks like a great unit - but the price point will be an important factor. Even though they're not targeting consumers, if it comes in at $1000 USD, it will be hard to swallow for the educational market. Governments don't spend their own money, so price point is less of a concern. ;-)
The last hurdle is software - the HPC software market is dead and buried. So the software that comes with the device will need to be reasonably decent and capable of doing the basic functions on its own.
