TECHNOLOGY IN THE ENTERPRISE

Today, as mobile and wireless technology enters the enterprise market, devices are becoming more powerful, faster, smaller, more efficient, and less expensive, creating more value for the users. Wireless bandwidth is rapidly increasing, providing new communication channels and connectivity to information and services. With the Internet age, the corporate environment is also evolving from concentrated industrial workshops and location-focused corporate offices to less structured, virtual office environments covering wider geographical areas. This has created a need for technology that can support a mobile and virtual workforce. To answer the demand, key players in the hardware, software, and telecommunication industries have invested substantial efforts in developing the right mobile and wireless solutions that can deliver the most benefits to the corporations.

THE URGE TO CONVERGE

One of the hottest areas of mobile and wireless technology is focused around the subject of convergence—particularly around exploring the feasibility of combining the wireless phone and the PDA, the two most used devices in the mobile market. This August, Audiovox in concert with Verizon Wireless will launch the Thera, the first American Pocket PC with a built-in cell phone. The Thera will also be the first PDA with the built-in connectivity to one of the fastest next-generation U.S. wireless networks offered by Verizon Wireless. Other U.S. carriers are planning to join Verizon in providing fast-speed wireless data service later this year.

The Thera is a Pocket PC 2002 with phone capability. Because Audiovox provided the phone dialing software found on the Thera, it is technically not the Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition device described in the July 2002 issue. But it is a very close relative. Building on Pocket PC 2002 software, the Thera adds support for data and voice communications to enable integrated wireless Pocket PCs. With the same devices, a user will be able to make phone calls, access e-mail, and surf the Internet or local networks, as well as use mobile services applications on demand. Pocket PC Phone Edition comes equipped with all of the rich Pocket PC features, including Internet Explorer, Pocket Outlook, Pocket Excel, Pocket Word, MSN Messenger, Microsoft Reader, and Windows Media Player. It works with Verizon's new Express Network, which promises to provide 40­60 kilobits of data transmission per second, equivalent to an average dial-up modem.

Thera—the first Pocket PC in the U.S. with a built-in phone that also provides built in connectivity to one of the fastest next-generation wireless data networks in the U.S. offered by Verizon Wireless.

The Thera's wireless phone and data communication capabilities are enabled by Sierra Wireless CDMA modem management software, supporting dual-band CDMA frequencies, high-speed packet data, voice communications, and two-way SMS. The device will be offered to consumers for $800 with a two-year service contract—a price that most likely will not create a huge consumer demand. But Verizon is targeting the enterprise market, in which they have a substantial stake and competency. The question is whether the hybrid devices are attractive enough to the enterprise to create a large demand. Can phone-Pocket PC combos like the Thera provide enough benefits and return on investment (ROI) to corporate customers?