NEW YORK-Surfing the Internet from a wireless Global System for Mobile communications handset is about to get easier and smarter, according to Nokia Inc. and TeamWare, a unit of Fujitsu Ltd.
The Finnish handset manufacturer and the Japanese software developer have teamed up to enhance the capabilities of the Nokia 9000 Communicator, a cellular smart phone that functions like a personal digital assistant. The goal is to extend the handset’s Internet interactivity to include access to standard directory assistance and Yellow Pages-type information systems. Additionally, the enhancements are intended to make it easier to gain mobile phone access to calendar and scheduling systems and electronic mail.
To achieve the goal, the two companies have agreed to develop Nokia’s Smart Messaging Concept, which employs open specifications to provide direct Internet access from standard GSM phones, Nokia said. As part of that development, the two companies plan to introduce new products based on the open software standard.
The TeamWare Group recently announced it has created TeamWare Pl@za, a collaborative Internet work space for users who have either a Nokia 9000 Communicator, a digital mobile phone connected to a notebook computer or a personal computer connected to the Internet.
Prior to this collaboration, Nokia and TeamWare already had worked together on development of IMAP4-based Internet messaging for the Nokia 9000 Communicator. The function lets users store, forward and attach messages as they wish.
TeamWare also developed Intelligent Agent products, managed through a Web browser interface like the Nokia 9000 Communicator, to permit users to specify the kind and timing of mail notifications, as well as how they want the attachments to be forwarded.
