10-17-2002, 11:51 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Socket Announces Bluetooth SDIO Connection Kit for Pocket PC
http://www.socketcom.com/about/press/read.asp?ID=64
Does anyone else wish press releases always included pictures? For those of you who have been waiting for a company other than Toshiba to release a Bluetooth SD cards, Socket has come to the rescue. I'm not sure of the dimensions, so I don't know if the Socket SD card sticks out as much as the Toshiba BT card does. I'll see if I can get a picture out of Socket. In the meantime, here's the press release from Socket on this product - MSRP is expected to be $159.
"Socket Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCKT, PSE: SOK), the Mobile Connection� Company, today announced its Bluetooth SDIO Connection Kit, which includes Socket�s easy-to-use software and a new SD form factor card. The card allows anyone with a Pocket PC that has a Secure Digital (SD) I/O slot to communicate with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. For example, with a Bluetooth-enabled phone users can quickly, easily, and cost-effectively access email, the Internet and a corporate network via a cable-free connection. The card works in devices running BSQUARE Corporation�s SDIO Now! software, ensuring compatibility with devices via this standard."
�Socket is demonstrating clear industry leadership in the emerging SDIO market by being one of the first companies to introduce a product with SDIO Now! drivers,� said Mark Sage, Senior Product Manager, SDIO, BSQUARE. �Mobile professionals want to use small form factor devices that are compatible with one another. By using SDIO Now! drivers with its new SDIO Bluetooth Card, Socket is offering a solution that will work with products from other industry leaders, such as Pocket PCs from HP, NEC and others.�
�This new SD form factor is the smallest available for Pocket PCs and will enable even more devices to add Bluetooth technology. As more people become part of the mobile workforce, they will need an easy and cost-effective way to access email, browse the Internet, fax, and print when away from their desks,� said Patti Cassalia, product marketing manager for Socket. �Our Bluetooth SDIO Card meets this need by offering a connection solution that will easily work with devices from leading manufacturers which include the SDIO Now! software with their products.�
Socket provides a unique Get Connected! Wizard which makes establishing a connection to a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone quick and easy, while hiding the more technical aspects of the process from the user. The printing application mirrors desktop printing functionality, making it simple to use. In addition, a dialer application can dial any phone number in the contact database from the Bluetooth phone with �tap/hold and select�.
Socket supports connections to Bluetooth-enabled phones from Ericsson, Nokia, Sony, Motorola and NTT DoComo and works on CDMA, GSM and GPRS networks. GPRS networks use packet data technology and allow users higher speeds (throughput is 30-40 Kbps) without higher costs. The Bluetooth SDIO Card also allows a user to print to a Bluetooth-enabled printer, access a network via a LAN Access point, and ActiveSync with their Bluetooth-enabled desktop or notebook.
Pricing and Availability
Socket�s SDIO Bluetooth Connection Kit is scheduled for availability in December through Socket�s website (www.socketcom.com) and through Socket�s worldwide distribution channels for a suggested retail price of U.S. $159."
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10-18-2002, 12:34 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,768
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bluetooth
I was talking to one of the PMs for the PPC PE - name was Drew (can't remember last name) at the MEC 2002 conference. He said that the next PPC OS (due Q1CY03) based on .Net will include a Bluetooth stack and support the SDIO Now API natively.
__________________
Jonathan (JonnoB)
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
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10-18-2002, 01:26 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 47
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It's supposed to be the new smaller format sd that's actually manufactured by Toshiba. It still sticks out but not as far as the original Toshiba.
TJ
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10-18-2002, 04:31 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 305
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It's my opinion that the original Toshiba Bluetooth SDIO card ( along with their PPC SD slots and Palm device SD slots ) was a version that was just BASED on SDIO qualifications. Toshiba is currently coming out with a newer version card that is both smaller and less power hungry, but is based on their own software and drivers.
Since the just announced Socket Bluetooth SDIO card uses BSquare's SDIO Now! software and driver, it will not work on Toshiba Or Palm products that use Toshiba's version of SDIO specs.
Seems like a David and Goliath type of situation. Fortunately for Socket, they have a big rock to use in their sling. Microsoft was an original member of BSquare's SDIO Now! program.
Also knowing Socket's small form factor products pretty well, I have little doubt that their Bluetooth SDIO card will fit entirely in the SD slots for the PPC manufacturer's that will base their slots on the specs of BSquare's SDIO Now! program.
We shall see.
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10-18-2002, 03:52 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 24
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Re: bluetooth
Quote:
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Originally Posted by JonnoB
I was talking to one of the PMs for the PPC PE - name was Drew (can't remember last name) at the MEC 2002 conference. He said that the next PPC OS (due Q1CY03) based on .Net will include a Bluetooth stack and support the SDIO Now API natively.
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Any chance the next PPC OS can be installed over '02 on X-Scale machines?
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10-18-2002, 04:17 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Re: bluetooth
Quote:
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Originally Posted by dmkozak
Any chance the next PPC OS can be installed over '02 on X-Scale machines?
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Yes, there's a very good chance - Microsoft made Flash ROM a requirement for a reason. The only issue may be ROM size.
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Linear Mode
