Mobile Letter

Blue Vector X-3000 Network Based RFID Infrastructure Solution

Businesses focused on improving their supply-chain efficiencies require RFID solutions that conform to their existing business processes.  The Blue Vector X-3000 is an appliance-based RFID network infrastructure that efficiently RFID-enables supply chain environments, providing a mission critical system that is easy to configure, deploy and maintain while ensuring key quality of service criteria to support business processes. The Blue Vector X-3000 is a suite of distributed-computing appliances consisting of the Blue Vector RFID Edge Manager Appliance™ (EMA), and the Blue Vector RFID Network Manager™ Appliance (NMA) that has a web-based Configuration Management System (CMS) to create the underlying RFID network.

These products combine to create an RFID network infrastructure designed to enable companies to address the cost and operational complexities of initially building a pilot to smoothly migrating to a production system. This network appliance based approach simplifies RFID deployments and reduces implementation and operating costs. The highly scalable Blue Vector RFID network appliance infrastructure solution is easily reconfigured centrally to support dynamically changing supply-chain situations across all distributed process end-points. Unlike customized service and software solutions or RFID middleware, the Blue Vector X-3000 RFID network infrastructure is optimized to conform to the needs of supply chains from initial build out to on-going operations while providing unparalleled quality of service throughout the solution.

Insight: Blue Vector is the first company to treat RFID as an appliance based total distributed systems solution from managing RFID readers and other device elements, eliminating spurious information to executing application logic across the infrastructure and then routing the information into the customer’s back end information system.  Their graphical user system interface allows customers to graphically configure their distribution facility, which then automatically creates the underlying infrastructure managed by their Network Appliances. Thus, we believe that Blue Vector will succeed in the market because they allow customers to think in terms of the underlying business processes.

Apple Unveils New iPod mini Starting at Just $199

Apple unveiled on Feb. 24 the second generation iPod mini lineup with a new 4GB model priced at just $199 and a new 6GB model with 50 percent more storage priced at $249.  Both iPod mini models feature increased battery life of up to 18 hours, USB charging and an ultra-portable, lightweight design available in four vibrant colors.

Insight: What’s interesting to me is the increase in the storage capacity of the Hitachi Global Storage Solutions 1” Mircrodrive from 4GB to 6GB (that’s an increase in areal density from 57Gb/sq.in for the 4GB model to 78Gb/sq.in for the 6GB).  That’s walloping 36% increase in the past year.  Hitachi has announced a smaller footprint 1-inch embedded only product nicknamed "Mikey" that will ship in 2H2005 at 8 - 10GB.  It wasn’t long ago that a 2.5” notebook hard disk drive (HDD) had that capacity.  This could usher in a number of smaller handhelds such as SmartPhones, media players and wireless Internet devices with significant storage capacity.

Positive Networks Shared VPN Service

Positive Networks has launched PositivePro, software and back-end service to provide VPN and remote PC desktop access via a service rather than requiring small and medium businesses to buy hardware and installing software to do VPN and remote desktop access functions. 

Insight: While small businesses who don’t have any IT consulting assistance may want this, we recommend that companies use a local IT consultant to set up a local VPN.  And, if you use a notebook as your primary PC, then you shouldn’t need to do any remote PC desktop access as the desktop is always with you.

HP Mobility Summit

HP met with press and analysts at the San Jose Fairmont on Feb. 2 to announce a major mobility initiative.  Ted Clark, Sr. VP of Mobile Computing, led the meeting.  HP announced a new line of notebooks claiming they will regain the number one position in notebooks worldwide.    HP emphasized their being the only company that works through out the entire food chain building and selling notebooks, handhelds, infrastructure, systems integration.  After summarizing the new line of notebooks, HP sounded more like IBM Global Services than a hardware manufacturer (which is good for enterprise customers).

Ted also announced plans for HP to create a line of SmartPhones later in 2005.  The announcement created quite a stir among those attending.  The big question is “Will HP build it themselves or co-brand it with a handset manufacturer?” 

During the product and solutions fair, I met with Eric Chaniot from HP in Grenoble, France who’s in charge of the Digital Pen & Paper group.  They have a clever solution for helping mobilize industries that are focused on pen and forms such as health care and insurance.  The solution uses a Nokia Digital Pen that incorporates a camera in the tip of the pen along side a ballpoint pen, storage in the pen to record the form image & keystrokes and Bluetooth to enable the information to be forwarded to a server through the user’s cell phone. 

The server analyzes the information and re-creates the data entered.  The system doesn’t require any form calibration as each form is generated with a unique image that the pen can recognize.  Thus, someone has to use their software to generate a custom form.  It, therefore, doesn’t work with any random form.  My take is that this is a great way to “bridge the gap” to the day when low cost tablet computers and digital ink on forms will become the standard.  Unfortunately, this may be 10-20 years from now. 

Insight: With the announcement that Carly Fiorina has resigned, we suspect that the HP PC business may be sold off much like IBM’s PC business was sold late last year to Lenovo.  Could we see a resurrection of Compaq Computer Corp.?  In any event, the mobile business at HP is solid with new products in the pipeline for both consumer and enterprise.  Dell, HP and IBM appear to be the “big three” in the enterprise space, but only HP sells handhelds and notebooks and plans to sell SmartPhones before the end of the year.  HP takes mobility seriously and we expect to hear more exciting announcements from HP the coming months.   

Intel Launches Next Generation of Centrino

Intel is introducing its next Intel® Centrino™ mobile technology platform (codenamed Sonoma), which boosts performance and security options for enterprises and is a breakthrough for consumers with great graphics, video and audio.

This year is lining up to be Intel Centrino mobile technology’s best year yet, with the Sonoma introduction bringing more systems than ever before, mobile recognized as the fastest-growing IA segment, and Wi-Fi growth continuing to skyrocket. Intel is the only company delivering a combination of tested and tuned technologies for mobile PCs and working with the larger ecosystem to cultivate the support and infrastructure for an outstanding mobile computing experience.

Insight: When Intel Centrino introduced mobile technology almost two years ago, Intel changed the mobile computing landscape with an architecture & platform that benefits mobility top to bottom, and provided a way for Intel to design a CPU from the ground up that is focused on the requirements of the mobile user.  Some vendors will still prefer to use Pentium M and then use another supplier for wireless LAN such as Atheros.  We still think the idea of tying Intel’s Wi-Fi chipset to the Centrino brand is wrong.  But, we do commend Intel for creating a processor family and chipset that greatly helps the mobile professional get great performance and reasonable battery life. 

Glance Networks

Very clever simple solutions to allow people to share their desktops with others (up to 15 people).  It’s a simpler and gentler version of WebEx.  You send a URL to the other people.  The systems logs them in and they all can see your desktop. You can share a PowerPoint, Word or spreadsheet – any document. 

Insight: I really like this simple product. They sell it now as a service but I’d recommend they consider a simpler pricing model for the occasional user, e.g. buy the software for $49.95 and then pay $5 per use or pay a higher price like $79.95 and get up to 50 uses of their sharing network.

SyChip 802.11g Embedded Module for Mobile Handset Market

SyChip has announced an 801.11g module that provides 54Mbps connectivity in less than 200 square millimeters. It’s designed for embedding into mobile handsets. SyChip’s WLAN 6100EB offers an industry-leading IEEE 802.11g feature set optimized for mobile handheld devices through advanced power save functions, security capability and physical form factor.  The module includes a full suite of test and integration tools that enable handheld device manufacturers to rapidly accelerate their design cycle time from concept to mass production.

Benefits of the 6100EB include broad support for leading handheld Operating Systems including Nucleus, REX, Palm, Linux and Windows Mobile; and a very low profile package (1.7mm) and small footprint (12x15mm) for space-constrained applications. The module supports three host interfaces in a single package: Compact Flash, Serial Programmable Interface and Secure Digital Input/Output (CF/SPI/SDIO) thus allowing the ability to quickly interface with numerous host processors.
The 6100EB also provides Quality of Service traffic prioritization ideal for VoIP and multimedia applications in conformance to IEEE 802.11e.  Robust security features are also provided in compliance to IEEE 802.11i.

Insight: I think this could enable all wireless cell phones and other wireless handheld devices to incorporate Wi-Fi by 2006.

IBM Raises the Bar Once Again with the ThinkPad T43

IBM has raised the bar once again on secure business computing, unveiling its fastest performing thin-and-light notebook computer to date, the ThinkPad T43 with an available fingerprint reader. Equipped with a new layered approached to virus-protection and the industry’s most advanced mobility, security, data recovery and power management features, the T43 is designed for business users who demand performance, security, and new levels of control.

The ThinkPad T43 features a new version of a ThinkVantage Technology, the enhanced Rescue and Recovery 2.0 with Antidote Delivery Manager. Rescue and Recovery helps users perform system back up and restore infected or deleted files, and 'Antidote Delivery Manager' helps IT departments protect ThinkPad notebooks against viruses and worms by enabling companies to deploy updates efficiently throughout their enterprise. It also sets policies so that the PCs retrieve and install those updates quickly, or the PCs can be removed from the network. Rescue and Recovery also includes a pre-boot environment that can be used to deploy updates and help IT management perform required and timely maintenance tasks, even if the main operating system already has been corrupted by a worm or virus.

In response to the pivotal role that power management plays when working in wireless environments, the ThinkPad T43 is equipped with the ThinkPad Power Manager, another new ThinkVantage Technology. The Power Manager gives users control over the thermal management of their notebook PC, specifically the processor speed and the speed of the fan that cools the processor, two devices that significantly impact battery life. The Power Manager also includes additional power management features that let users create battery schemes tailored for their specific computing needs. Additionally, the Power Manager includes a Battery Information tab that serves as a control center for the battery, providing charge capacity and time remaining, as well as information about the battery specification that users may need to know for support reasons.

Increased Speed and Enhanced Graphic Capabilities The new ThinkPad T43 is equipped with new Intel Pentium M Processors with 533MHz front side bus. Additionally, the T43 supports up to 2GB DDR2 533MHz system memory, up to 80GB hard drive capacity and has one Express Card slot and one PC Card slot.  The ThinkPad T43 also features the new PCI Express architecture that supports forthcoming ExpressCard options.

Combining high-speed performance with robust graphics capability, the T43 is available with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900, making it the first model of the T series to include an integrated graphics solution. For increased levels of graphics performance, users can choose models with the ATI RADEON X300 or ATI Mobility FireGL V3200 graphics adapters. At approximately one inch thin and with a travel weight of 4.5 pounds, the T43 is both thin and light, making it the ideal notebook choice for on-the-go business executives.Featuring high-performance wireless networking with integrated wireless, including Intel 802.11b/g and 802.11a/b/g wireless adapters on select models, the T43 meets even the most demanding executive’s mobile needs.

The ThinkPad T43 comes preloaded with a variety of ThinkVantage Technologies that are designed to manage power consumption, simplify IT management, enable secure computing, and provide ease-of-use when connecting wirelessly. The new T series model is equipped with latest version of Access Connections, a software solution that saves users’ wireless and wired network settings and simplifies the management of multiple connectivity environments.

The ThinkPad T43 also features a multi-layered approach to security to manage increasing security threats. Select models of the T43 come equipped with the integrated fingerprint reader with Password Manager and the Embedded Security Subsystem. With the integrated fingerprint reader, users encrypt files using fingerprint authentication, combining convenience with strong notebook security.

Insight: The ThinkPad is still the best money can buy.  But, can they retain their leadership under Lenovo? See my Inside Mobile & Wireless Open Letter to Steve Ward, the new CEO of Lenovo for what I recommend they do. (http://www.mobiletrax.com/im/20050204.html)

WCA “What’s Hot (and What’s Not) in Wireless.”

“Making money in wireless often requires a double bank shot.”

(In reference to it taking a handset manufacturer plus a carrier working together in order to make money in wireless.)
Kevin Efrusy, Accel Partners

I recently attended a Wireless Communications Alliance (WCA) panel session on “What’s Hot (and What’s Not) in Wireless” at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005.  The panel members were:
• Bill Reichert, Garage Technology Ventures (Moderator)
• Bob Ackerman, Allegis Capital
• Kevin Efrusy, Accel Partrners
• Greg Galanos, Mobius Ventures
• Wes Raffel, Advanced Technology Ventures
• Eric Zimits, Granite Ventures

Here’s a summary of the comments made by the panelists:
• Eric – There’s a big need for reduction in cost throughout the wireless food chain.  This  should be an opportunity for investment.
• Greg – We need to see more end-to-end platforms (reference is to Danger one of their investments) & components in the unlicensed spectrum.
• Bob – Agrees there’s a need for lower cost solutions via disruptive technologies that will produce >50% gross margin. He sees a big opportunity for vice (porn, gambling) that VCs are prohibited from investing
• Wes – Better and faster to market at lower cost; increased ease-of-use.
• Bill – One of the most dramatic revolution going on in the world is the deployment of wireless in Iraq.
• Eric – WiMAX will be a big opportunity. 
• Bob more cautious about WiMAX and said that as key applications will drive it. Felt that RFID and Location Based Services (LBS) are hot areas.
• Wes – Need for WiMAX systems with interfaces and content; also DRM
• Kevin –VoIP in wireless, handset software stack, LBS
• No one seemed to think that wireless sensor networks would ever be a big enough market in which to see major investments
• Wes – wireless distribution of video in the home; mesh networking everywhere; MVNO’s will thrive like Virgin
• China – all felt IP issues are very real and will cause for lower growth in China.
• Licensed vs. licensed – the panel voted for licensed (strange).
• Games – Realize it requires a different user experience.
• Business other than email – virgin territory with lots of opportunities.
• Greg: I don’t know how to make money off free Wi-Fi
• Wi-Fi voice roaming to wide area – silence (how about Kineto?).

Using Your Cell Phone as a Credit Card for Purchases

Cell phones are being outfitted with an RFID chip so they can be waved in front of an RFID reader that sends the credit card number selected on the cell phone display to the credit card reader.   Phones are being manufactured in Korea, Japan and other parts of Asia with this new RFID technology. 

Major credit card companies have developed RFID payment technologies for checkout counters that allow customers to wave their RFID cards near an electronic reader without having to swipe the card or sign their name.  MasterCard, for example, has introduced a system called PayPass that lets RFID cardholders wave a card in front of a reader to initiate a payment, much as motorists use E-ZPass and similar systems to pay auto tolls and  ExxonMobil customers use SpeedPass to buy gas. Several major credit card companies issue PayPass cards. American Express will have ExpressPay in more than 5,000 CVS drugstores by the middle of year.  Reference: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-5518756.html?tag=zdnn.alert .

Insight: If retail organizations all include RFID readers in their checkout areas and if cell phone makers add an RFID, then it will allow us to simply select the credit card number we want to us on the display and swipe the phone across the reader in the store.  It verifies that the phone is owned by you and acts to make a secure transaction.  Most of all, it means that you can throw your credit cards away and use your phone to pay for all credit card purchases.