Mobile
|  | by Chuck Horowitz |
I didn't! I wanted a palmtop computer that could run my data base, spreadsheet and wordprocessor. I want to be able to take it anywhere I go. No more notepads, PDAs, electronic address books and scrap paper. Santa didn't bring me any of my wishes. I know that they're out there because I have some information on at least three different palmtops that claim to fill my needs. Hewlett-Packard makes the HP200LX; Prolinear makes the MINI-NOTE 80386 and Psion makes the Series 3a 512K. I need more information before I can make a decision on one of these and I will let you know about each one when I get enough facts. Comdex Fall '95 (Las Vegas) was bigger and better than ever and I have information on many products relating to mobile computing. Iomega, you know the Zipdrive people, now make the JAZZ, a parallel port or internal drive that stores a gigabyte on one disk. I was told by Iomega that this drive would be available in December. If it takes off like the Zipdrive did, I don't know when you'll be able to get one.
Pentax makes the Pocket Jet, "the smallest portable printer in the world." Only 17.53 ounces, including the battery. It does not use ink cartridges or ribbons. It does produce 300 X 300 dpi text and graphics. Motorola has the Personal Messenger 100D, Type II, PCMCIA wireless messaging card that integrates a two-way data modem, battery and antenna. No need for a phone line here. Connectix has the QuickCam for Windows. This is a parallel port, fully digital video camera. It uses a black and white Charged-Coupled-Device (CCD) to capture 6-bit grayscale video and still images. You can add movies and pictures to any application that supports Windows AVI movies or standard Windows BMP or TIFF images.
Megahertz makes the Allpoints Wireless PC Card, a standard size Type II PC Card which works with your existing notebook, palmtop or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). You can transmit data over the RAM wireless packet data network (available nationwide) for e-mail, faxing, file transfer, acknowledgement paging and two-way messaging. New Media provides the GAMEjammer Sound Card, a PCMCIA Type II card with New Media's Plug & Play client driver. Auto-Install, ,CardSleuth and GAMEjammer diagnostics software is included. For all you "Road Warriors," Pentax has a Pocketjet printer that almost literally fits in your pocket. This direct thermal printer has a resolution of 300 X 300 dots per inch and will do up to three pages per minute. Speaking of Road Warriors , Road Warrior International, Inc. has the Mobile GPS (Global Positioning System) Sensor to find your way to a particular map location in a strange city. They also have the Mobile GPS Locator which allows you to electronically mark your destinations on the map (computerized of course) and then point the icon in the direction of your visit. If you don't have a PCMCIA slot, you can plug into your serial port. In addition, Road Warrior has the Scoutmaster, a portable GPS receiver which stores up to 250 locations that can be downloaded to your computer through the serial port.
Rockwell International Corporation makes the Trekker Mobile Information System, a voice-controlled, miniature full-function computer with a head-mounted display the allows users to quickly "access, interpret and react to key data and information without taking their eyes, hands or attention from the tasks they are performing." Logitech has the ScanMan PowerPage, a full page scanner with "all the best features of a flatbed, sheetfed and handheld scanner" in a compact go anywhere unit. This unit connects to your parallel port and comes with OmniPage OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and FotoTouch image editing software. You can add a high-speed serial port, a plug-and-play ethernet connection or a GPS Card to your notebook computer via the PC Card slot with devices from Socket Communications. No PC Card slot in your notebook? Databook Corporation makes a parallel port unit that reads and writes most of the PC Cards available, including the ATA Hardrive Type III cards.
Need a desk in your car? Mobile Desk is available for your computer and printer. This adjustable desk mounts on the floor of your car and has a safety lock for use when you are moving. You can add an auto power adapter with an A/C outlet that plugs into your cigarette lighter. For more information and some retail prices on some of these items check out Mobile Planet at 1-800-675-2638 or http://www.mplanet.com on the Web and Envoy Data Corporation at 1-800-368-6971 and ask for their catalogs.
Chuck Horowitz is a HAL-PC member.
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