|
Toshiba comes calling with a new PDA
By Kuriko Miyake (IDG) -- One of the next new products from the mobile communication unit of Toshiba will be a personal digital assistant that can also be used as a telephone, a company executive says. Toshiba, which entered the competitive PDA market earlier this year, is on the way to unveiling a PDA with a built-in mobile phone during the second quarter of 2002 in the U.S., says Tetsuya Mizoguchi, president of Toshiba's Mobile Communication. The new product is part of Toshiba's plan to boost global marketing of its PDA line, which at present consists of one model. "In Japan, cellular phones are more popular than PDAs, so people don't need PDAs with a telecommunication function, whereas in the U.S., PDAs are widely used," Mizoguchi says. Toshiba is planning to support CDMA2000 1x in the device, which should enable 2.5G speed data transmission.
PDAs with mobile phone modules and cellular phone handsets with PDA functions have been available in the U.S. from makers such as Handspring or carriers like Verizon Wireless since earlier this year. However, Toshiba aims to differentiate its product by building in support for faster networks. The company also plans to market such PDAs in Europe, and in that case it will adopt General Packet Radio Service technology, another 2.5G standard, Mizoguchi says. Toshiba, which targets its PDAs at business users, hopes to develop Java-enabled devices when PDA use spreads deeper into Japanese corporate markets, Mizoguchi says. The company is also looking at battery life, a matter of crucial importance for mobile devices like PDAs. The company has been developing a fuel cell, which it expects to commercialize within two years. "PDAs will be the first product to take the new battery," Mizoguchi says. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RELATED STORIES:
Toshiba unveils Windows-based PDA
July 17, 2001 Great add-ons and accessories for your PDA July 3, 2001 Toshiba eyes July launch for Pocket PC PDA April 20, 2001 Review: Add-ons for your new PDA December 28, 2000 Add-on modules lure users to PDA demos November 20, 2000 Add-on modules lure users to PDA demos November 15, 2000 Palm announces cell phone add-on September 26, 2000 RELATED IDG.net STORIES:
 Palm, Texas Instruments hook up on PDAs, 3G
(Computerworld)  Delayed Yopy PDA shipping soon (PCWorld.com)  Zaurus handheld to debut next year (Computerworld)  Chinese version of Pocket PC 2002 unveiled (InfoWorld.com)  Treo 10 offers pocket music library (PCWorld.com)  Palm unveils the $40 PDA in Japan (PCWorld.com)  Graceful Palm phone with color screen (PCWorld.com)  Who really needs a Tablet PC? (PCWorld.com) RELATED SITES:
 Toshiba, Inc.
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
TECHNOLOGY TOP STORIES:
Report: SUVs pose danger to cars New telemarketer tool trumps TeleZapper Terra Lycos logs $2.2B loss AOL to offer song downloads Microsoft seeks fiscal fountain of youth (More) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Back to the top |
© 2003 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. |